Parents express anger over kids' walk home from school

Dec 9 2010 by Alastair McNeill, Hamilton Advertiser

ANGRY Meikle Earnock parents hit out this week when their children had to make their way home during Monday’s severe weather.

The parents of Calderside Academy pupils said they had been informed by text to pick up their children, but had been unable to do so due to traffic gridlock.

Children had to walk back from the Blantyre school – a distance of four to five miles.

One parent said her son, a first year pupil, took three hours and 45 minutes to get home.

She said: “Parents received a text at 12.15pm to tell them the school was closing and we had to make transport arrangements to get their kids home.

“A second text was sent out at 12.52pm asking parents to pick up their children from the school.

“I couldn’t get to the school because of the transport situation and my mobile network was down.

“My son had to walk six miles home in the snow. For an hour-and-a-half I didn’t know where he was. I was extremely worried about his safety.

“Somebody should have made the decision earlier in the day and got the transport arranged to get the kids home.

“Allowing children to walk in that weather was totally irresponsible. Other schools in the area kept the kids in the building.”

The father of two Calderside pupils, Ian Brown, emailed councillor John Murray about the matter, but was less than happy about the response.

Mr Brown had pointed out that he was unable to help his teenage children as his car was stuck in the snow.

He told the councillor: “Luckily they are together and have an aunt who lives closer to Blantyre than we do. What about the children who are not so ‘lucky’?

“In my opinion telling children to make their own way home in these conditions is totally irresponsible verging on negligent.”

Mr Murray responded by pointing out that he too would have to try to walk home from the council headquarters “like lots of other people who will have to walk some considerable distance to get home.”

The councillor added: “The head teacher took the decision to close the school. Some people here at the council are prepared to spend the night here and some have already booked into hotels and B&Bs.

“What decisions would you have taken under these very extreme circumstances to get schoolchildren and workers home tonight?”