Wednesday 4 November 2009

When A Policy Is Not A Policy


A quick revisit of the much discussed Watford Council ban on parents at a kids play centre.

Liberal Conspiracy triumphalism looks to be set in clay, as Charlotte Gore has mentioned.

However, let's just point out one further inconsistency in Watford's rebuttal.

Mayor Dorothy Thornhill said:

At one playground a few parents started to stay around for all the sessions, this increased to the extent that staff felt they were spending more time worrying about what the parents were up to rather than watching and supervising the children! They should not have been allowed to stay that’s never been the policy

Yet the last OFSTED inspection stated:

Children under the age of five are welcome if they are accompanied by an adult.

That would appear to be a policy, no?




8 comments:

Witterings from Witney said...

DP,

We are talking about politicians and bureaucrats here are we not?

And you expect logic?

manwiddicombe said...

Nice spot DP!


*linked*

Mark Wadsworth said...

Excellent spot!

Sue said...

Just shows you that their arse's don't know what their elbows are doing!

JuliaM said...

The more they comment, the deeper they dig themselve in...

banned said...

Had a pub lunch yesterday, the landlady and locals were chatting about the Halloween party that had been held in the large garden. LL " So many kids there I might have lost control..."
Barman " But there were plenty of parents around so it all went very well ". Says it all really.

Congratulations Dick for spoting that last double inconsitancy ( allowing parents with U-5s but could you verify this from readers comments

"'They are NOT for adults, who want to hang round'. HANG AROUND? Since when has watching your children play been deemed to be hanging around?"

Other reports quote " Stay on " rather than " hang around ". What did the Mayor actually say ?

Anonymous said...

Might I respectfully point out that the Ofsted Report to which you refer talks specifcally about under 5s whereas the entire site is for those up to aged 16. I can understand why they would want parents around for such young children, possibly with little experience outside their nuclear family. So I'm not quite so sure this is a gotcha.

I do agree with your overall point, however.

Cadiz said...

"Children under the age of five are welcome if they are accompanied by an adult"

Isn't there a law that says they should be in prams, or being breast fed or something?

At what age, is a Britisher allowed to tell his or her parents he is going to a gig?


I wouldn't personally allow anything under six or seven to stand for parliament, or to head-up a govt agency, involved with transport, plastic bags, or the military.

Of course I am a conservative, you know how we are.