As working parents, we are becoming increasingly frustrated with the current position being taken by our school.
We have two children at the school but we are also both working parents, parents supporting the island’s fight against this awful pandemic and the impact on its economy and the normality we all take for granted.
Despite the fact we both work, we have not been able to send our children to school full-time. We have tried raising this through the normal channels with little or no success and our frustration has prompted us to write an open letter in the hope it reaches the broader audience of other parents from the school.
We want all WORKING parents at the school to question why teachers’ children are automatically given full-time education? Why is it that we have to find a solution for home schooling when we both work and we PAY school fees?
Teachers don’t contribute financially to the school fees of their children but their kids’ needs are elevated above those of ours? We are expected to find a solution to the situation we find ourselves in. Why are teachers treated differently?
If other parents share our frustrations and are now reading this letter, please respond to the school or the GDN to show strength in numbers as I believe St Christopher are appalling at listening to its customers and change can only happen if we speak as a group. We know the majority of parents feel afraid to raise their voices and question anything St Christopher’s does but this can’t go on. The school needs to start listening to its customers.
Yours sincerely
A frustrated parent
(Name and address supplied)
The GDN offered St Christopher’s School the opportunity to respond – Associate Editor.
We understand and appreciate that the pandemic has created unprecedented stress on parents, not least on those who are employed full-time. As parents, we understand that supporting children’s education at home is not something that many of us were prepared for during these challenging times. This is not a local issue but one that spans the entire globe. In recognition of the impact this pandemic is having on our school community, St Christopher’s School has already given two voluntary reductions in school fees, including a 10 per cent fee reduction last term.
As a school community, we are doing our very best to accommodate as many students as possible in school while staying within the guidelines of the kingdom’s Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health. Our priority is that we all remain safe and healthy; we fully support the Bahrain government’s excellent response to the management of Covid-19.
This means, we are unfortunately unable to accommodate all parents’ wishes for their children to attend school every day, although we do guarantee that they attend at least every other day. To date, we have an exemplary record when it comes to stopping the spread of Covid-19 at St Christopher’s School and we cannot jeopardise this by breaking the rules set by the Bahrain government. As a school we fully support the tremendous efforts made by the Bahrain authorities and will continue to do so in the future.
Staff children have been allowed to attend school in order to ensure the continuity of education for our entire student body. At St Christopher’s we pride ourselves on being a supportive employer, as we want to ensure we have the very best teachers for our students. Many supportive employers are allowing their employees to work from home, however, this is not an option for us as a school since every St Christopher’s student deserves to have their teacher in front of them when possible. This is why we took the decision to allow teachers’ children into school every day.
We are enabling our teachers to give their very best to the students they are teaching. During the pandemic, our teachers have been working extremely hard to successfully deliver remote, hybrid and in-class teaching to the highest level. As their employer, we understand that this has only been possible because they are able to come to work and focus on all children.
The school is proud of our open-door policy and we are always available to meet with parents to address any issues or concerns they may have. We are acutely aware of the immense responsibility we have to our community.
At the same time, please understand that this does not mean that we will always be able to solve every individual’s concerns or to meet every single person’s needs; especially if it means that it would result in compromising the welfare of another community member. These are extenuating circumstances and we would appreciate the patience and understanding from our community.
Our school’s commitment to you, the parents, is your children’s safety and continued education. Please bear with us during these very challenging times as we make difficult decisions to maintain the highest standards of health and safety for all, while still delivering the best quality of education.
Simon Watson.
Principal.
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