...to be [shock] that my local primary school would actually keep the children inside ALL DAY?

[foolonthehill]

Not a joke,
the head went round all the classes today and told the teachers to keep the children in.The school is full to bursting, has one tiny hall that you can barely pack half the school into, and no dining hall. They will be in their tiny classrooms all day.

The sun is shining and it is a beautiful day with acres of green grass outside the windows for the children to look at.

3 weeks ago the pollution was just as bad, Mr Cameron's car did not get photographed covered in Saharan dust and we all just carried on as usual. No-one I know was dreadfully affected......most people were completely unaware the pollution was high.

Serious over reaction by the head there. She probably has her house lined with tinfoil to keep radio waves out too!

Sensible imo. Mine spend rain or shine outside climbing trees and digging holes. They are inside today as its foggy with smog, the cars and windows are layered with grime, and the effects can be quiet harsh for some time if affected.

Surely schools only 9-3 anyway so not all day. If you really want them to go for a run in the smog take them out 3 onwards for a few hours

shes worried about getting sued.

ridiculous but a sign of the times

It's sound like an over reaction but say a child is asthmatic and has an attack because of the weather while outside. The head will get accused of not being cautious enough. Horrible line to walk.

Surely she's being careful in this suing compensation culture I can't blame her. If you want your dc to run around you had a few hours after school to take them yourself.

I live in china and schools will regularly keep children indoors if pollution is high. IMO it's sensible. I see too many children here affected with chronic coughs and asthma that's made some worse by the pollution.

Depending on where you are, it's not that crazy.

Mind you I called dd's school today and asked them to keep dd2 in, because of the air quality, and ds's 1-1 at preschool made the same decision with ds.

I agree that heads are caught between a rock and a hard place...

I myself am severely asthmatic and very allergic, I am being mildly affected by the pollution but take necessary precautions.

However my children walked/scooted 1.5 miles to school this morning and will be outside later. Theyn will not learn as effectively in the stuffy classrooms without relief.

Presumably the windows and doors will have to be kept shut too? otherwise there would be no point in keeping them inside.

the public health advice is contradictory and the Guardian article was particularly aimed at schools in the capital. Where we are the pollution levels were higher 3 weeks ago, high yesterday and moderate today...

The advice is not being led by the pollution levels but the media interest...that's got to be wrong.

PS High pollution levels in China are on a completely different scale to the UK...I'd probably be dead if I lived there!!

My youngest was coughing before he stepped into the playground today, and had his jumper sleeve across his nose and mouth - did anyone else have that awful smell today as well?

The teacher told him he could choose whether to stay in at break (he is asthmatic), which made sense to me.

Or she could just shut the school for a day or two and let parents make their own decision as to whether to let them out or not. That way she can't be held responsible.

if it's a one-off it's not the end of the world - you make it sound like it's going to be like this for ever. But she's following the advice given for the next couple of days - can't blame her for that.

I'm in London and I've kept DD in today as we've both had coughs now for weeks. Ordinarily I wouldn't be bothered but seemed worth it for today - it's no biggie.

It depends on where you are and what public health advice the HT is relying on.

There weren't any pollution warnings in the last few weeks, were there? So I doubt it was just as bad 3 weeks ago. But I suppose some heavily polluted areas might exceed the 'action trigger' threshhold far more often than is publicised.

If your school is in such as area, then the school probably needs some sort of standing arrangement, but as the pupils will also live in such a polluted area then you really need to get your local council on to it (now public health functions have been transferred to them).

Its not nice here. I was coughing when I was outside and I don't have asthma. Must be horrible for anyone who has

Seems like a good idea my boy has has to use his inhaler today, my father has been given steroids to help ease to effect this is having however from bbc News map we are rated a 10, which is the highest rating they give.

Yabu wont do them any harm.

We're on the edge of the area predicted to have poor air quality today. I don't suffer from asthma or have any breathing difficulties, but even I could feel the bad air today.

Normally I would say "yes", he was over reacting, but if you are in the SE, then no, I genuinely don't think he was. According to the lunch time news, the quality was '10'. As bad as it gets.

Grump Yes, it could do some of them a great deal of harm.

back late to this, but driving this afternoon with the window open a wee bit (no air-con) my mouth was coated with dust and I had a coughing fit in the car which was alarming. Definitely the right thing to do - better safe than sorry for a day, surely.

It may not have been down to the head, to be fair - we were also instructed to keep the children inside all day today (NW England), following an 'order' from the Health and Safety officer at the local council. Our head had no choice but to go with it - if any children had been affected, she would have been pretty exposed. Just one of those things - fingers crossed for a better day tomorrow!