My children's primary school is absolutely brilliant, so I won't name it here - or draw any conclusions about the school from this. But a phone call after lunch has reminded me quite how counter-productive Labour's safeguarding regime became.
My youngest had been stung: was he allergic to stings? Probably not, we said, but could they put some ointment on it?
No, apparently, they can't do things like that. I wonder if they would have been able to do anything if he HAD been allergic to stings.
Would it have made him feel a bit better? Yes. Were we as parents OK about him being 'treated'? Definitely. Was there sting ointment on the premises? I assume so in a well stocked school medical room. But, no - they couldn't do it.
I am, as it happens, right behind the coalition's determination to rid ourselves of the corrosive health and safety regulations that get in the way of humane care of children. This looks like a prime candidate for examination - but I don't agree with David Cameron's approach that this is purely an issue of public sector regulation.
That may be the source of this kind of silliness, but it is just as likely to have come from insane and intrusive insurance conditions from the private sector. So I hope when the coalition finally acts on this, they also have insurance companies in their sights.
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