Today we have sat watching the emmergency services fishing a coach out of a river. This was a coach full of school children heading for a day out at Alton Towers that left the road in a blizzard. Tonight one of the pupils is lying dead and several of her classmates are nursing injuries.
There is no doubt this is an awful, tragic event, but I'm not sure I am happy to call it an accident. One website states the definition of an accident as 'An unforeseen incident'(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/accident). This was certianly an incident, but was it unforeseen.
Severe weather warnings had been issued for the area with the advice not embark on any journeys that were not essential. This implies that the risks of travelling wereshould have been known, yet the teachers and coach driver involved still thought it was acceptable to set off this morning.
It is doubley distressing that this should happen so soon after the Government has been trying to convince us that school is the safest place for children. Following the inquest into the death of Khyra last month politicians claimed that Home Education was a factor in her death and had she been at school she would most likely still be alive.
However it is increasingly appearing that school is not the safe haven they claim. In the past couple of weeks the case has been in the news of a young boy who was left in a corridor during an asthma attack, action which was a contibuting factor in his subsequent death, and then today, this young girl died, when her teachers failed to take the common sense action of cancelling a pleasure trip in a blizzard.
So I have to wonder where my children are safer. Would Khyra really have lived if she had been at school, or would her death simply have been delayed until the long summer holiday when she would have been at home for several weeks? Does child abuse really only take place between 9 and 3? Do abused children really confide in their teachers rather than close friends and family?
On the other hand, would the asthmatic boy have received medical treatment sooner if he had been at home with his mum or dad, would Natasha's parents have set off to drive through a blizzard to Alton Towers if they had known they had the flexibility to look out of the window and decide to reschedule because they didn't have to fit into a timetable?
Nothing is perfect, children are abused, children do die. It is an awful but truthful fact, and whilst we try to help it is unrealistic to think we can save every one. The government have their 'Every child matters' slogan, but it only applies where it suits. Many children could be saved by banning cars, but the sacrifice is deemed too great - essentially the lives saved are not worth the inconvience. Sounds harsh and it is - life is harsh.
I choose to home educate my children because they are my responsibility. I want to have the final say in their care as well as their education. I don't want to rely on someone else to decide if they are ill, or to have to send them on a school trip if I think it is dangerous because they are not allowed unauthorised days off school. I am their mother and it is my job to protect them. I look at situation and way up the odds and really do not want anyone else interferring with that. I don't wrap them in cotton wool - last summer I was told off by a National Express chef for letting them go on a train to meet their dad ( I know - a chef??). I let them do things that WE decide are safe and suitable for THEM.
So while my thoughts are with the families of the children on the coach, those parents wondering who is to blame, what could have been done, I can feel confident that I will never be in that position. If something happens to my children I will be responsible. I will have made the decision that led to the event because I felt it was the best thing. I won't be looking for someone to blame or expecting policies to change. It's a big responsibility, but one that is mine and I accept willingly.
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