AIBU to think that schools should only keep the kids inside at break and lunch times if there is Monsoon-level rain. Not letting them out because there's a bit of a shower is insane.

Primary teacher of 20 years here and in a word parents! Either not sending them in with appropriate clothing or complaining about them going out!

No such thing as inappropriate weather, just inappropriate clothing for the conditions. I am a TA who will take the children out in monsoon rain. The amount of children who turn up in ridiculous foot wear is insane. Ugg boots anyone. My mantra is “ you will not spontaneously combust because it’s raining” needs explaining but they soon get the message. My other mantra is “natural consequences” if you come to school with no coat and inappropriate footwear - tough, you will get wet and cold. Funnily enough the children learn to come to school with the correct clothing. I am a big fan of tough love and it works.

As with so many things, we're damned if we do and damned if we don't! If we send them out, parents will complain that their child was traumatised by being cold and wet. If we keep them inside, parents will complain that we've violated their child's basic human rights by denying them fresh air and exercise. We can't win.

I loathe wet play. I do break and lunch duty every day and I would much rather get wet than supervise wet play.

The children need to get outside and run around. The afternoons on wet play days are hideous for everybody.

Then the answer is that the children need to be clothed in decent coats.

At our preschool the 2-4 year olds are out in snow, ice rain. They put puddle suits on and do forest school even if it's raining

They all have to have a fleece lined, water proof school coat. It's part of the uniform.

The trouble for my DC when they were at school, was the lack of space to hang wet coats. So if they got wet in morning break, their coats were wet for lunchtime and afternoon break and walking home. I didn’t mind them getting wet but it annoyed me that they were having to go out again and again wearing a wet coat. They didn’t have pegs, only lockers where coats were scrunched up!

On the parents note I have been told I am “fucking ridiculous” by a parent because I took her child outside when it was drizzling! We can’t do right for doing wrong.

Apart from the valid points everyone has already made, we have some teachers who have health conditions that become severe in damp conditions, think breathing difficulties. We take ours into the hall and play games, the children love it.
I have no intention of taking any advice from a judgey supply teacher who won’t be receiving any wrath from the parents for children being damp half the day.

YABU. Even if it's only 'a bit of a shower' the kids will get wet, and be sitting in wet clothes all afternoon. I wouldn't be too happy if my DC told me they had been let outside at break and lunch when it was raining on them, and they had to sit for the rest of the day in wet clothes!

And the poor staff on duty get soaked too.

We simply have too many children turn up without coats. I had one last week who didn't even have a jumper because he couldn't find it - it was 7degrees.

If parents provided proper water proofs and wellies then we could. But in reality many come in wearing unsuitable coats and shoes, we don’t have facilities to dry everyone off!

In early years we do try to have as much time outside as possible but we also have to say no to children if they don’t have suitable outdoors wear (or we can’t cobble something together for them!)

I was the child who used to sneak back into the classroom at playtime and hide behind the bookshelves to sit on the hot radiator pipes that ran round the skirtings. I hated being cold and am still the same to this day!

I’m with you and take them out in all but torrential rain - and they still beg to go out then. Luckily, our parents seem to appreciate that the children will likely survive getting a little bit damp.

This.It almost never rains in the UK.....

Clearly you didn't attend school in the 1970s and 80s....hmmm how I miss sitting through 2/3rds of the school day with trousers clinging to my legs, wet underpants and the smell of wet socks/shoes wafting through the classroom. Girls with sodden wooly tights bagging around their ankles and wet hair forming puddles at their feet.

All because the teachers were in the staff room chain smoking John player specials, Embassy no 6 and for the art teacher, silk cut

I don't think it's being out in the rain that's the problem so much as having to deal with wet muddy children for the rest of the afternoon. Muddy shoes, damp jumpers etc.

That’s great. Do you want to respond to any of the other exceedingly valid points posters have raised?

I agree, but it does depend on parents sending them in with the right shoes and coats etc

The girls shoes especially seem to be awfully flimsy.

They probably don’t have the space for shoe changing (which is a shame) of the staff to split the kids between those who are equipped to go outside and those who aren’t.

But the result is a bunch of kids who think they’re made of sugar and can’t go out in the rain.

I work in a school and we do like to get the children out as much as possible. You can definitely feel the difference when the children have been stuck inside for most of the day. However, a lot of our children don’t come to school with appropriate clothing, so not waterproof coats or wellies. Also, if the children do go out in the rain a lot of our parents usually end up complaining that their children are damp. So it’s not as simple as getting the out in all weathers. Also, some of the children in my class are very reluctant to go outside if it’s cold because their parents have told them to stay inside.

I'm thankful I teach in a rural school where being outdoors is part of the ethos. Parents know they won't get far complaining about children being out in rain and by and large send them with coats (pretty deprived area. We have spares for children who don't bring one). My child's nursery was dreadful for keeping them in all day which I think was just cos the staff didn't fancy being out in the cold. I'm not sure I've ever taught a day where we've not been outside at some point.

Kids do not have appropriate coat and/or footwear for wet (or extremely cold) weather. Slippery playgrounds are a health and safety hazard. Why a teacher is posting this, I do not know. She should be well aware of the rules.