Parents raise safety concerns at Laerskool Christian Beyers
“I just want to know when the school is responsible for my child,” asks a concerned parent.
Parents at Laerskool Christian Beyers are concerned about the safety of their children at the school.
This comes after an incident where a leaner from the school went missing on June 1.
“I just want to know when the school is responsible for my child.
“Is it at 7.15am when I drop my child off at school or is it from when lessons start at 7.30am?” asks a concerned parent.
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Parents allege the school gates are not locked during school hours.
Concerned parents were also angry as they allege they were not informed about the incident that took place.
In a newsletter released by the school the week after the incident, parents allege news of incident was referred to as “skinderstories.”
Laerskool Christian Beyers principal denies this is what “skinderstories” was referring to.
“This was in response to all the rumours that surrounded the incident.
“As for why we did not inform all the other school parents, the parents of the child asked us to keep it confidential as it was a sensitive issue.
“We have to put the interests of the child first,” says Tinus Roberts.
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In terms of who is responsible for the learners, Steve Mabona, spokesperson for the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), says: “the school always has two educators on duty at the scholar patrol points from 7.10am each morning and a secretary in the office from 7am.
“The rest of the school staff are at school from 7.15am until 2.30pm daily.
“Learner contact times are from 7.30am to 12.50pm for Grade R to Grade Two learners and 7.30am to 1.45pm for Grade Three to Grade Seven learners.
“Parents are always urged not to bring their children to school too early as some learners arrive as early as 6.30am.”
“We open the gates for those children to come in as its safer for them to be inside the school premises.
“If a parent is late to fetch the child, we have a waiting classroom that we put the children and we also call the parents to find out if there is a problem,” says Roberts.
With regard to the incident that happened at the school, the department says the school followed proper protocol when handling the matter.
When asked about learner safety at the school and if the department would add patrollers, Mabona says, “the department only allocates patrollers for Quintile one to three schools.
“The school does not have patrollers but has a security system implemented via gate access control, ensuring that gates are locked during contact hours.
“The school has 16 cameras which were fully functional at the time of the incident, covering all key areas around the school.
“Laerskool Christiaan Beyers is a Quintile four school, making the security issue their own responsibility.”
Roberts says,“as a school, we have made security a priority.
“For example, we have erected a barrier so that nobody can get through to the classrooms without going through the office first.
“We also cannot use only one entrance at the school as it causes a lot of congestion.
“As for what happens when someone wants to take their child out of school, we have a book they must write in, show ID and confirm with the child’s parent that person has authority to take the child.
“If everyone works together, we can have a much safe environment,” says Roberts.
Roberts adds that any parent who has additional concerns is welcome to call the school to make an appointment with him.
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