to think this is just not on....

[uptherear]

Today I discovered that the school my dc attend has no hot water for children to wash hands with.

Norovirus has struck and today only half the pupils were in attendance. One teacher down too. Small school btw.

Aibu to think its just bloody ridiculous that in this day and age a primary school has no running hot water.

I mean its hard enough to ensure kids wash their hands thoroughly. They are hardly likely to when the water, esp at this time of year, is bloody freezing.

Have y ou asked the school why?

There is surely a problem with things and it will probably be sorted. Will your DC loose his fingers by washing them in cold water?

Will someone think of the children?!

It has no running water ever? Or did the boiler break down? Can you send them in with hand sanitiser instead?

We never got to the bottom of the hot water issue at DD's school.
Head muttered vague HS excuses.

LOL - do you actually think that small children let the water run and wash their hands for long enough to make a difference which tap it comes out of?? It will make sod all difference.

Not bothered about my dc losing fingers in cold water. They are fairly hardy types.

However the matter of no hot water came to light at parent council meeting when we were discussing the fact that half the school had gone off with norovirus.

Antibac gels/alcohol gels dont kill norovirus. Neither does soap and water but running water and soap helps remove norovirus from hands thus reducing risk of passing it around.

Used to be little water heaters things in toilets but they weren't able to control temp apparently and so had to be removed for safety.

Apparently had no hot water for years. Head teacher has raised the matter with council but says little hope of getting it sorted.

Feel like Ive moved back in time.

I think its pretty ridiculous tbh.

Not having hot water is just one of the issues for school toilets. My DS developed a fear of using the toilets when he was little- no hot water, no paper towels, no soap, no toilet paper and sometimes no doors!

Chipping in- but teachers are having to clean up after kids who have come down with this and being sent home. At least hot water would allow them to wash their hands.

My dc will wait for the water to run warm when washing hands because I have made it clear how important hand washing is when there are bugs going round.

Its a tiny school and a pretty basic requirement in my eyes.

Agree that there should be hot water for the kids to wash their hands.

DC's probably won't lose fingers by washing in cold water, but I'd imagine very few children (and probably not that many more adults) are likely to wash hands properly in cold water. It's unpleasant at best.

Could you maybe get lots of the parents to contact the council directly, if the head's had no luck? More pressure on the council might encourage them to act faster.

Absolutely purple. Might see if a letter from parent council to local council will make any difference.

Turn off the councils hot water see how they like it in the middle of winter washing with icy water.
We always had hot water when I was a kid in school, I remember when we were in reception through year 3 the dinner ladies would fill the sinks with hot water, and empty and refill for each kid (loads of sinks in a row) and they'd make sure we all had dried properly before going in to dinner.

I don't understand why it's ok to expect children to tolerate horrible toilets just because they are children. I think it's going to take more than one letter though. If you've got the energy and time why dont you start a proper campaign? Write to the healt hand education secrataries, your MP, get guidelines from the ministries, local papers, petitions, facebook....

If it's any consolation, the staff toilets at my school are just as crappy.