Headteacher demands children cycling to school display number plates

[DRHysted]

He is doing his job, but he is also overstepping his role.
The head has a duty of care of all students traveling to and from school, how on earth they are supposed to do this is anyone’s guess, but if you know anyone who has worked in schools you’ll know they regularly need to preform the impossible whilst constantly being criticised.

When I was in secondary school they brought in a registration system if you were using the bike shed, your legal guardian signed a form, a teacher checked your bike and then a numbered tag was fitted. Any bike without a tag was locked up until the end of the day when a letter was sent home with the offender. This was late 80s so no hi-vis or helmets nonsense, in fact at the time so many walked or cycled that driving at that time of day was nearly impossible because we took up the pavements and roads.

 

[Cycleops]

I wonder if George Orwell’s 1984 is on the reading list at The Beacon School.

 

[Maenchi]

I remember cycles in Portugal having number plates ,are there other countries that have them ?

 

[raleighnut]

Makes me glad I went to School in the 60s/70s (Apart from the hideous clothes we wore back then)

 

[mjr]

I remember cycles in Portugal having number plates ,are there other countries that have them ?

Portugal doesn't any more. I think only Japan still does. More at http://ipayroadtax.com/licensed-to-cycle/licensed-to-cycle/

 

[mjr]

The comprehensive my daughter went to have done this for ages. The stated purpose is so that local residents could report bad cycling and the offender could more easily be identified.

And are those walking to school, waiting at school bus stops or being driven in cars also required to register and display identification numbers to, shall we say, concentrate their minds?

First they came for the cyclists... (yes, I know I'm overusing that this week)

 

[srw]

The comprehensive my daughter went to have done this for ages. The stated purpose is so that local residents could report bad cycling and the offender could more easily be identified. I believe it may have been introduced by the last head but three who firmly believed, as part of his drive to improve behaviour, self-respect , and hence standards, that the school had a legitimate say over anything whatsoever that pupils did where the school was identifiable. He was known for hurtling into the local park well after school hours if he thought a group of pupils were behaving inappropriately. His personality was such that he got away with it. And it worked in that the standards and reputation of the school have not equalled his reign for twenty years since.

So I haven't viewed a school insisting on number plates as necessarily quite so malign.

I suspect the truth is somewhere between your benign view and the entirely predictable accusatory responses from cyclists on social media and the road.cc website (some of which, frankly, are bonkers).

It looks like a new, young, keen, impressionable headteacher doing that thing that far too many new appointees to leadership positions do, when they decide that SOMETHING MUST BE DONE. Without really thinking about the consequences of SOMETHING, talking to someone about whether SOMETHING is a good idea or realising that SOMETHING could damage their reputation.

Add that to the idiocies of the Academy system (the school's website frontpage proudly invites you to visit and see "just how much we believe in, and promote, traditional British values of good manners, hard work, excellent behaviour and academic success") and you've got a recipe for someone putting a foot in it.

Incidentally, further in the website (under "promoting British Values" you discover the following:

"Individual Liberty

Every individual at The Beacon School is encouraged to make the most of every opportunity in order to develop and thrive. We believe very strongly in providing the framework required to allow individual talents and abilities to flourish. This includes a tailored curriculum and extra-curricular activities, such as our wide-ranging Enrichment Programme and Duke of Edinburgh Scheme. Our School and House Councils also ensure our Student Voice is heard loud and clear with an opportunity for students to influence decision-making and effect real change. A clear framework of policy ensures our students are able to develop their abilities and appreciate the importance of informed decisions and the consequences of these actions."

Quite what the paragraph of glurge has to do with individual liberty I'm not sure. And the subsequent paragraph illustrates the care with which they've thought about their responsibilities to facilitate diversity:
"Understanding other faiths and beliefs is fundamental to this and we provide many opportunities to develop this such as [...] visits to a local Mosque,"

 

[slowmotion]

And are those walking to school, waiting at school bus stops or being driven in cars also required to register and display identification numbers to, shall we say, concentrate their minds?

First they came for the cyclists... (yes, I know I'm overusing that this week)

Good point. If the stated aim is to identify pupils misbehaving in school uniform, why have the cyclists been singled out?

 

[Drago]

Its none of his/her chuffing business if people ride to school. If he immobilised onenof my kids bikes I'd immobilise his car until it was released.

 

[Bodhbh]

What the world needs is more kids dropped off at the school gates one by one in 4x4s.

 

[steveindenmark]

I remember cycles in Portugal having number plates ,are there other countries that have them ?

But they are not a requirement in the UK. Neither are vis vests or helmets. I like the idea he wants the children to be safe. But he cannot demand it and he certainly has not got the powers to lock someones bike up and refuse to give it to them.

On a voluntary basis I like his ideas but he sounds a bit power mad to me.

 

[spen666]

do those pupils ( if any) who walk to school have to display number plates to enable them to be identified?

What about those who travel by bus? Do they need numberplates?

Why single out one part of society for this discrimination?

I know it is a reference to Godwin's Law, but didn't a chap over in Germany once insist on a particular group of people having to wear something to enable them to be easily identified? A number plate in the form of a yellow star?

 

[Drago]

The comprehensive my daughter went to have done this for ages. The stated purpose is so that local residents could report bad cycling and the offender could more easily be identified. I believe it may have been introduced by the last head but three who firmly believed, as part of his drive to improve behaviour, self-respect , and hence standards, that the school had a legitimate say over anything whatsoever that pupils did where the school was identifiable. He was known for hurtling into the local park well after school hours if he thought a group of pupils were behaving inappropriately. His personality was such that he got away with it. And it worked in that the standards and reputation of the school have not equalled his reign for twenty years since.

So I haven't viewed a school insisting on number plates as necessarily quite so malign.

Did the pedestrians walking to school never misbehave and require identifying?

 

[Profpointy]

Did the pedestrians walking to school never misbehave and require identifying?

Only cyclists obviously. Don't you read the daily mail or listen to local radio phone-ins

 

[Drago]

That's where I've been going wrong!