Some parents may be wondering why our children were being provided with sandwiches for lunch until recently.
A couple of us made enquiries before half-term and we were told that there was a problem with the cookers in the kitchen.
It now appears that there had been a rat infestation in the school kitchen.
From this information, there are now several questions / points that need an immediate response from the school :
- Why did the school conceal the situation ?
- Was the hall hygiene not compromised by rats ? (It is next to the kitchen and it would seem likely that rats could have got into the hall.)
- Who advised the school about the potential health risk ?
- Was the Health Protection Agency (HPA) involved ?
- Can we be assured that the threat from rats has been permanently eradicated ?
- Also, can we be assured that the areas affected have been professionally disinfected and are now biologically free from any possible infections ?
- How did the rat infestation happen in the first place ?
- Who officially knew about the rats ? (LEA, governors, headteacher, teachers, etc.)
Rats are a common problem, much like lice, but their presence poses a significant health risk. This includes an infection called Leptospirosis which has mild flu-like symptoms or in extreme cases, Weil’s disease, involving jaundice and kidney failure.
The simplest course of action would have been for the school to make us aware that there was a problem and what measures were being taken.
We place our children into the care of others and expect their safety to be respected as paramount. No matter how well we set out to protect their lives, there are always dangers. What is not expected is that those carers will hide possible threats; when we can not see a danger then we are denied the opportunity to take precautionary action !
Duke Street is not the only school that recently has experienced a rat problem :
- School closed by rat invasion
Rats found in North Wales school kitchen
Hundreds of schools plagued by pests
Rat problem closes primary school
Rats can’t keep a good school down
There are many more articles and it is not surprising. It is said that we are never more than 10 metres from a rat, especially at Duke Street !
In the end, it comes down to trust between the school, parents and our children.
The school broke that trust.
What else is there that remains hidden ?
7 comments:
I was trying to remember the word for a group of rats - it's not a school is it ?
There is no mention of the nursery / mothers who bring their babies to school and pregnant mothers.
Rats get everywhere and Im very upset that I didnt know.
I'm disgusted by the thought of rats. According to my brother-in-law who used to be a council pest control officer it usually takes several weeks to really make certain that a rat infestation has been removed and it would take more than one day. It involves baited traps and poisons. I know that there's nothing that I could have done but I'm angry that the school did not tell us.
I was worried before but now I don't know what to do.
I live near the school.What if the school hasn't got rid of all the rats like your brother-in-law says they should have done and they are on the rec. I take my two there all the time. What if they get bitten or flees from them.
We wanted them to go to Duke Street but no way now.
I am confident the problem would have been dealt with promptly, if you have an issue, why listen to gossip, just contact the school and get the facts...
I've heard 'untitled' words like those in the comment above before in his office when I plucked up the courage to see him about a problem. I left feeling like a naughty child not a responsible parent. Thanks PHP for this blog. Now I can have my say about the rats, cookers or anything else. It is now clear that we can only have the "facts" he wants us to have. How do we know the "facts" we eventually get are the truth! The only people that did anything wrong was the school. So please 'anonymous' answer my question that wasn't in the paper "Why did you not tell us?"
If the school knows something and we parents don't know that we should know what they know, how can we ask what they know that we don't know! This is what it's like a lot of the time, we only every find out what we should know through gossip and it might be wrong. The school should have told us and they should keep us better informed about what's going on.
We would like to point out that there was another primary school in the news with a rat problem on nearly the same date as Duke Street.
Head teacher Lauren Connor of Rodbourne Cheney school said “It was decided that it would be in the best interests of children if we closed a day early and gave the Environmental Services time to do all the checks they needed to do to make sure we don’t have this problem again.”
“I realise it is very frustrating for parents but the health and safety of the children has to come first.”
School closed by rat invasion
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