Time to Quit School?

I thought things were going well at school. Until yesterday.

I arrived to fetch the kids, only to find my son outside the school, standing in the playground by himself. Obviously, this was a completely dangerous situation, because the school gates were open and there was nothing to stop him walking through them and down the street, or walking off with a complete stranger.

The school building is made of two separate buildings and you have to cross the playground to get to the other one. My son had crossed the playground, but had been unable to gain entry into the other one, as there were no staff around. The result was that he was stranded outside in the rain.

I spoke to the teacher and got the usual "we're very sorry" spiel, but somehow it did not feel good enough. After all, this is the fourth time that this has happened now. It happened three times last year. The staff don't seem all that concerned that their pupils could possible wander off or get abducted.I spoke to the SENCO and got a similar response. I told her that apologies seemed a bit empty at this stage and that I didn't think my son was safe at her school.

This morning I sent a withdrawal letter, requesting that my son be removed from the register. I will have to home-school him unless things change. My son was quite happy at the idea of home-school, and we have spent the day building skeletons, reading stories and learning about the orchestra.

This afternoon, the head teacher phoned, sounding very apologetic. She wants to meet with me tomorrow. There may still be a chance to resolve this, but I want more than an apology. I need to see a real commitment to change.

We will see.