Year 7s having to eat lunch outside

[curlyLJ]

Not sure if IABU here, but my daughter is in year 7 and has to eat her lunch outside every day, unless it's raining. Even yesterday when it was barely 3 degrees 🥶 She said the benches were all frosty, so she had to stand or she would have got a wet bottom.

I emailed the school and the Head of yr7 replied citing Covid in their reasoning for this, but to me it just doesn't make sense seeing as they are in classes all day, oh and they are allowed inside if they're doing a lunchtime club.
Other than that, they can only be inside when buying food or using the toilets. The rest of the lunch break is to be spent outside and although they are encouraged to wear extra layers, I don't think it's good for their well-being.
I bet the teachers are all eating inside in the warm!

Is this the norm for secondary schools at the moment or have I got grounds to take this higher?

I don’t think that’s by any means the norm. Take it up with school governors?

That’s bizarre, so if she bought a hot dinner they’d make her sit outside and eat it?

I’d definitely write a formal complaint. My sister always had terrible asthma in winter that was triggered by extended periods in the cold, fucking ridiculous they’re eleven!

It’s ridiculous. Shouldn’t the teachers be forced to eat outside on frosty benches “cos Covid” then?
My year 8 ds eats in the dining hall, as do all the kids - unless they choose not to.

If they are doing lunch in class bubbles, then they have to seat some outside as there isn't time to feed everyone inside.
Also trying to make sure everyone gets some fresh air, having been stuck inside all morning.
My ds's school are using tents with some of the sides open to the air as extra dining space. No covid cases currently. But not fun in seriously cold weather.

Our school also has year 7s - well, all years - eating outside at the moment. Ten per cent of one year have Covid, 16 per cent of another.

I'm just about to email my son's high school about this too.

He's y10 and the kids who take packed lunch have to eat it outside, each year group has a separate area of the playground- in his there's about 3 wet benches for a year group of 200 + kids and no shelter at all when it rains.

It's rubbish really.

@CasparsWineBar

I'm just about to email my son's high school about this too.

He's y10 and the kids who take packed lunch have to eat it outside, each year group has a separate area of the playground- in his there's about 3 wet benches for a year group of 200 + kids and no shelter at all when it rains.

It's rubbish really.

Sounds like it could be the same school!

@Arethechildreninbedyet

That’s bizarre, so if she bought a hot dinner they’d make her sit outside and eat it?

Yep! The kitchens are closed at the moment due to a technical problem, but yes hot food eaten outside up until last week!

Our secondary has been doing this, since last September when my daughter started year 7. She ended up taking her coat off to sit on as it's so muddy but can't stand and hold all her bags (they have also got rid of the lockers "due to covid") and eat at the same time. When I approached the school they said they weren't allowed in unless raining (no matter how cold) and they were going to put hay down on the floor to make it less muddy. 😵‍💫 it's beyond ridiculous. Thankfully we went back into lockdown last winter and she missed the really cold weather, but this winter I'm not sure what to do!

Reading responses I think it might be the same school...

It’s like this at the school I teach at and it was the same at the school I attended. I assumed it was pretty normal. There’s quite often not enough dining hall space and if children eat inside classrooms, things get pretty grotty.

In my school the kids have been outside every break time since September 2020! The school have put up some marquees so they have some shelter, but students are not allowed indoors at all at break or lunch except to go to the toilet.

My friend's school is doing the same. Her daughter came back miserable and very cold on Monday. At least it was milder today. At the very least they could use classrooms if it's about separate bubbles or staggered lunch times( which I know are a pain and some learning time would be lost ) . What do they plan to do once it gets below 0 constantly, or snow/ice/rain for weeks on end?

God, as a society we really do treat children appallingly sometimes.

Adds "are they allowed inside to eat?" to my list of questions to ask when visiting secondaries next year!

it just doesn't make sense seeing as they are in classes all day, oh and they are allowed inside if they're doing a lunchtime club.

Classes are within year groups, which limits the spread to the wider school. Having the whole school crammed into an often too-small dining hall is far more risky from an infection control perspective. And children who are allowed inside for lunchtime clubs will likely be doing so in small groups - which is less risky as there are fewer people to spread it to and more distancing is possible. The supervision is almost always done by a teacher volunteering their time.

Last year, some schools had policies of children being in form rooms for 30 minutes at lunch, supervised by the form tutor. Every teacher I know who had to do that simply refused to do it again this year. And they can't be forced to work an additional 2.5 hours per week for free.

That is an absolute disgrace and in no way acceptable.

This has all ways been the case in secondary’s here for years. If it’s not a cooked canteen lunch it’s eaten outside, usually walking around as there’s not enough benches and tables. It’s pretty common. It’s not great but they all survive . Not enough room for them all inside.

In fact thinking about it it was the same when I was at secondary and I’m 47. Secondary is a completely different animal to primary!!

It is just because if the Covid rules. Lots of schools (mine included) do not have a large indoor space. Our break times are short anyway, 2x 30 minute breaks, and seeing as they are inside the rest of the time I don’t think it’s a bad idea for teenagers to spend an hour a day outside in the fresh air.

Normal at my school and DDs and the teachers are outside doing duties.
We have a hot dinner option with seating available but most students grab sandwiches or similar and prefer to be outside. Very few students dress appropriately either, no gloves, hats or even coats even when I know they have them with them, so they can't be too bothered.

DD takes a pac-a-mac in her bag to sit ontop of if the benches are wet, it's not unlike being outside for a picnic on an autumn walk. Most children spend very little time outdoors and 20mins of fresh air and winter sun will do them the world of good.

Is it only my ds school that does staggered lunch breaks then? That allows every year group to eat in the dining hall.

When I was at school in the 70s/early 80s in Scotland, we were outside for both breaks in Juniors up to S2 (Y9).

The only time we had to be in was when there was actual snow, when we wanted to be out.

Our school in Scotland always sends pupils out to eat at lunchtime. They are able to eat inside at the dining centre but that’s not very cool as must choose to go up the street and buy all kinds of junk ! We don’t have the staff available to supervise lunch indoors , on the rare occasion it’s rains heavily they are allowed in but it’s absolute chaos and they leave an awful mess . If it’s snowing they’d rather be outside throwing snowballs &

Our school, long lunch hour and split lunch so that everyone can be accommodated. All seated in dining room for hot meals as usual....currently no cases, clubs running pretty much as usual, minor alterations such as Orchestra in two halves sitting apart etc

School down the road , larger, more year group bubbles , still lets people inside ,6 cases (or at least yesterday that was the number ) .

Honestly I think some SLTs have lost all common sense, not surprising given the pressure that they are under , but nevertheless treating young people like animals , hay FGS , is ridiculous.