Mumsnet Talk

Why would it be a serious safeguarding issue? They are school children, not hardened criminals.

The running around outside in minus temps, well it's not great admittedly, but they wouldn't have been running for long before they warmed up surely? I don't think it's the big deal you are thinking it is.

I also suspect your DD has taken exception to this lesson and has perhaps been creative in the retelling of it.

I think you need to let this one go.

How can they have had inadequate kit?

They must have had shorts, trainers etc.

I can't get fussed about it really

And yes, if they can't concentrate and listen to the teacher, they probably will fail their GCSEs.

Let's hope they learned from this...if it's totally true and not exaggerated in parts.

at serious exaggeration issue!

Without wishing to turn it into a competition, my DD played a netball match outside after school this afternoon. I was stood watching in about 10 layers and still felt frozen yet the girls were all just wearing tshirts and shorts even though they could have worn sweatshirts.
They were all complaining how warm they were!

Who timed how long they were gone?

How long is the lesson actually? They had time to get changed, start the activity, misbehave, the teachers leave for 20 minutes, teachers come back and scream at them, spend another 20 minutes running around outside and then presumably in and changed for the next lesson. That is a very long PE lesson!

Double lesson - 80 minutes.

Even then it doesn't add up. Considering 20-30 minutes of that will be getting ready and then changed back.

I think there is some serious exaggeration going on!

Hmmm. If the teachers did leave them for 20mins then yes it would be a safeguarding issue, but is there any way of assertaining exactly what happened? I would say be careful before you go in guns blazing.

10 mins to get changed, 20 mins bleep testing, 20 mins disappearance, 20 mins running outside, 10 minutes to get dressed again. What precisely doesn't add up for you? What precisely do you think is a serious exaggeration.

I know my dd. She is not generally the child to cry wolf or to make a fuss. Therefore, when she does complain I am inclined to believe her, not least because another mother or a very sensible girl has also been on the phone.

Why don't you find out what bleep tests are before condemning them? They are an extremely common test of fitness, and a very good idea so that improvement can be gauged.

Why don't you also find out what actually happened, instead of flinging around wild and strange sounding accusations about a perfectly normal sounding pe session? Did your DD actually time the absence? Were the teachers perhaps watching from a building?

btw running around in sub zero conditions doens't actually hurt you, you know. Its this strange biological phonomenon of increasing blood flow causing a rise in body temperature.

YABU, because you sound so unrealistic in your ridiculous comment about bleep tests. Why not just google them first?

Perhaps they didn't 'leave them for 20 minutes' but were stood outside the door and saw how the girls behaved in there absense. Probably being loud and rude about the teachers behind their back and they came back in and told them what for.

I don't know why it's always assumed teenagers lie.

My dd would not have lied about the teachers leaving, would not have lied about the screaming/yelling/shouting (whatever is should be described as), would not have lied about the enforced running in the freezing cold as a punishment and would not have lied about the teachers saying all the girls would do badly at GCSE. Presumably the teachers could only speak for PE GCSE which my dd will not even be taking.

If they were running or doing some physical exercise they would have been plenty warm regardless of the temperature or lack of kit

And your DD shouldn't have been talking

YABU

There is a difference between lying and exaggeration.

Sounds like the teachers left them because they were being so rude and silly in the first place. I bet they were just standing the other side of the door seeing what the girls would do.

Running around in the freezing cold was normal in PE lessons in the 80's. We all lived. (Although Y7's in DSs school don't do outdoor PE in the winter in case they get cold. )

I am a teacher and I would never leave a class alone for 20 minutes, I'm paid to teach them, not to ignore them. If they really were left for that long then you need to make a formal complaint to the deputy head. (although from experience of year 9s their perception of time can be a bit off "miss my homework took me hoouuuurrs" etc [grins])

My DS1 who is truthful to his own detriment, reports loads of shouting and unfairness by PE teachers towards DCs who are trying their best but are just not that great at sport. It's a familiar trait IME.

Sure there are lots of lovely creative sensitive PE teachers, but ...

I have spoken to my daughter MissAbs - I am confident that she tells the truth; therefore I do feel I know what happened.

I never did bleep tests at school - we spent PE lessons exercising, trampolining, climbing ropes, vaulting, doing things that appeared to have a plan and a purpose. Presumably if pulses were being taken effectively and accurately the girls also had timers to do so and should have been able to time the teachers' absence perfectly with them.

Very surprised the timing issue is being questioned when the girls must have had time-pieces/stop watches in order to take their pulses. If they didn't they couldn't take an accurate pulse could they?

P.s. the running outside in the cold is pretty standard tbh, you should see the scanty PE kit the kids wear at most schools even for winter sport!

Fair point about the exaggeration

YABU 'enforced running' is PE isn't it? Or will we start calling English 'enforced writing' and Art 'enforced drawing'. If they have a bad attitude to school they will do badly in their exams, as for your daughter being left for 20 minutes with girls who have been excluded, doesn't she spend breaktimes and lunch times in the school? Are they supervised 100% of the time then too?

Dear god what's wrong with running in the cold?

And no the teachers aren't just talking about failing PE GCSE, if the kids decide to use lessons as a social gathering.

delia

they use the bleep teat as a measure of stamina and an objective measure of improvements made as a result of physical exercise.

I shall defend them on a personal level because in Primary, one of my DS1 got best in the class, even though up til that point he deemed himself to be useless at sport. Turns out he's a pretty good long distance runner