Went to drop something off to DD (8) before the bell rang to find her sitting in her classroom on her own. Now I get that kids need to learn a work ethic and finish what they were doing but an 8 yr old expected to work on her own for a whole lesson while the rest of the class and teacher are out (of vision) in the yard playing. (especially a daydreamer of a child like mine ).

I already have issues with this teacher so cannot decide whether I think this is appropriate and if I need a 'chat' with the teacher.

I would be furious that a child of that age was left alone. A multitude of things could go wrong.


What if the fire alarm sounded and in the teacher's haste to round up the children in the playground, totally forgot that she had 1 left in a classroom?

What if there was an intruder on the school grounds and he/she found your daughter before anyone found him.

The mind boggles.

Good grief!!! That is irresponsible! That is not on!! Even in detention the kids are supervised.



That was my first thought.

Speak to the teacher.

I would be and was furious when it happened with H who is 6

Given the other issues with the teacher, maybe approach the principal too?

Totally and utterly inappropriate to leave a child alone unsupervised in a schoolroom. If you already have issues with the teacher, it might be time to have a chat with the principal.

There are plenty of situations where children are not directly supervised at school. I would agree that this one sounds a little wierd, but teachers have a duty to assess the risk, and make decisions based on that judgement. You can't anticipate a nutcase walking into a classroom any more than you would them walking into the playground at recess (which is more likely).

She could trip on a pencil, give herself a paper cut, possibly even fall off her chair - good grief the danger is indescribable.

Paper cuts bloody hurt, hope she knows the number for 911.

J*D... i would be speaking to atleast the teacher, if not the principal.

I dont know many 8yr olds I would trust to work solidly without supervision for that long!

At our school we have the two rule. Wherever any child goes there is always two of them. Makes a lot of sense.

G.

Daliro so does our school yet they were happy to leave my child totally unsupervised

Lol Contumely.

Maybe the teacher trusts your child, but wanted to make a point about the daydreaming.............

OP it really isn't on then. We send our kids to school to learn and to be safe, this is just playing with fate. Yes nothing will probably go wrong but what if it did? Just tell them don't ever want my child left alone AGAIN.

G.

Are you sure she was left alone for an entire lesson? I assume you mean 30 mins or so?

The reason I ask is that maybe the rest of the class was taken out for a 5 minute game and as she had not finished, was left to do so?

I don't think going to the Principal at this stage is warranted, but I think it's fair enough to simply ask the teacher what was happening and why, there may be a simple explanation.

I'm a teacher and I wouldn't leave a child back in the classroom alone.

I always send children to toilet etc with a partner and if children are working in the corridor etc in small groups they are within sight and checked on.

I have to agree with contumely and the stick. Paper cuts really do hurt.

I am also surprised a child was left alone in the classroom, but then again, don't know how long it was for.

That said, surely when children are in the playground, although there teachers are on duty there are a hell of a lot more children than teachers and there is not a teacher DIRECTLY supervising.

Hi,

I am a teacher and there is no way I would ever do that. Imagine if something had happened while no one was watching! I think that is quite slack and irresponsible on the teacher behalf no matter how long they were there or what the reasons were.I actually thought it was illegial for duty of care reasons. Having said that I would speak to the teacher before you speak to the principal. There may be other factors to consider (not that it would be an excuse) but I think you owe it to the teacher to at least discuss it with her first.

Danielle

I'm a teacher - it's a breach of duty of care to leave a child unattended in a classroom.
There is no way I would do it - if a child is missing out on a fun outside activity because they did not finish their work (mucking around etc) then they come out with the rest of the class and sit on a bench to finish it - WITHIN DIRECT LINE OF SIGHT.

It's not illegal.
Teachers have a duty of care, but again, it's to do with risk management. There are student: teacher ratios in terms of excursions outside the school, and there are regulations in regards to yard duty and first aid etc.
But there is not a legal requirement (at least not according to the Duty of Care section of the Children and Young Person's Act, which I happened to be loojing at today..... ) that children must not be left alone in a classroom.

Under any normal, predictable circumstances, the child would probably be fine.

Maybe the teacher asked another teacher next door to keep an eye.

'Supervision from afar' is quite standard. Recess, lunch time....even excursions to the zoo often involve kids going off to do their own thing.

I would want to do know how/why the teacher created that situation, but I don't think it's worth making a fuss over.

.

magenta etc as teachers: are all students in direct line of sight of "duty" teachers at lunch time and recess. I am just confused?

It wouldn't be my first option, either.
But there are plenty of situations where students are alone at school. For example, a student may wish to practice in a music studio. Or finish off an art work. Or complete classwork at lunchtime. Again - risk management is the key.
THere's a directive now that all classrooms should have a wall or door which contains class, to enable monitoring.
Was the student in question viewable from the playground?

.

I don't doubt that, sorry, I was just interested. I suppose our school yard may be the odd shaped thing, and certainly I would doubt that teachers can see everything, but certainly when DS has needed to find one he can.

I also just think that when a child is supervising ? children in the playground line of sight becomes slightly odd as they honestly can't watch them all.

DS has been bitten in a playground in preschool, the teachers did not know. Did I expect them to. No, there are two teachers and 22 children, how can they actually watch that many children. In "real" school it is that much more impossible.

She didn't do a good job of keeping an eye on the child then. She didn't come and ask the OP who she was and why was she in the classroom with the child.

.

Yes. I was there 15-20 mins early and not once did the teacher head in her direction (DD came out briefly at one stage to give to another child the class doll I had dropped off and then went back to the classroom).


Class next door wasn't there either (but she would not have been in line of sight of that teacher anyway).

Not at all.


I would have thought making the child bring her work out in sight of the teacher would have been the appropriate action but wasn't sure I will be bringing it up with the school on monday.

Sorry typo.

I get what you are saying, normal common sense says as you that it really relies on one student coming to tell the teacher, hence my comment about line of sight is really a moot point as you are not relying on seeing everything in the playground.

But your point on numbers make sense, not seeing multiple students is different to leaving ONE child alone.

hmmmm yes i would speak to your DD's teacher.
My first thoughts were that perhaps she could see her from the yard, or a teacher next door was looking in on her but your updated posts have abolished those ideas!
I'm a teacher and I would only leave a child alone in a classroom if there was an adjoining classroom (ie the ones with big sliding doors) that were open, and the next door teacher could see him/her.
Lots of things other than a paper cut could have gone wrong, and no matter how little the risk, it's still there. Fire, bomb threat, intruder, custody issues with a father/mother stealing child, child wandering off to toilet or drink and getting hurt alone along the way...
I guess I'm a worrywart as i am with my own child, but I couldn't live with myself if something happened.
So in answer to your question, I think you are justified in having a problem with this and would talk about it with the teacher, and if you're not satisfied, speak to the principal.

It is breaching the duty of care and that is illegal
I would be furious and you should take it up asap with the school
S

After reading your updated posts, I have to agree that it is not safe for a child to be left alone, out if sight for that amount of time.

I am also a teacher, and we have one of the 'odd' shaped playgrounds and a smallish number of students. We've had people wander onto schoolground many times. Motorbikes fly through our oval, drunk men urinating all over the undercover area Men hanging around the toilets etc.

The fact that no staff member was in sight, or even ear shot is concerning.

My God the child is 8. Give your daughter some credit. If the fire alarm went off do you honestly think she would have no idea what to do?? Was she crying, upset, that she had been left alone, was she scared?

Do you NEVER leave your child alone at home whilst you go outside or is she by your side every second.

My daughter is 8 and often stays in class to finish off work. I don't have a problem with it, because I know that she would still be safe. Its not like the teacher forgot she was in there and she could have easily gone outside.

But what if she got scared when the alarm went off and didn't know what to do? The bomb/gas/intruder threat alarm and the fire alarm can sound similar to frightened alone children. One of the alarms they need to close all the windows, doors and sit under their desk. The fire alarm they need to drop everything, and make their way to the designated spot on (usually) the school oval.

Thank you all. It is interesting to see others opinions on the matter. I guess it didn't sit comfortably to me but wanted to know if I was the only one who thought that. I will be having a quiet chat with the teacher on monday to make sure it won't happen again.