to ask about sun safety at school?

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I think DD's class went outside at the first sign of sun on Tuesday and haven't been back in since. Apparently they have been doing work, but I think they've mostly been playing with water and sand (by the looks of her uniform).

She isn't sunburned but she is definitely a little pink. They didn't put suncream on the children, although they did give them water. They were definitely out at 10am and 2pm, because I drove past and could see them all. There is no shade in the playground at all- it's such a sun trap.

If they do the same any later in the summer she will definitely burn.

An all day one is supposed to be OK for 6 or so hours so should cover the school day.

They have been all out week. I do appreciate that they're not slaving away inside, but there is no shade at all in the playground.

One application a day sun protection products

You may be aware of some sun protection products which offer 8+ hours of protection from one application. In relation to said products it is important to remember that the majority of us do not apply sunscreen appropriately. We often apply suncreen too thinly, at insufficent intervals and tend to miss sections of difficult to reach areas such as the back. When sun protection products are tested for protection ratings they are applied correctly (liberally and regularly), if we do not follow the same practice then we will not be affored the full strength of protection.

We also often overlook factors which cause accidental and premature removal of sun protection products. Exposure to water, sweating, towel drying and any form of abrasion can remove sun protectors from the surface of the skin and leave it exposed.

The primary issue with once-a-day sun protectors is that they do not account for the afformentioned poor application and accidental removal. If a section of skin is accidentally missed in the initial application or has its protection removed then it will fall subject to raw sun exposure. We generally recommend that sunscreen is reapplied liberally ever couple of hours to ensure that any exposed patches are protected.

www.bad.org.uk/for-the-public/skin-cancer/sunscreen-fact-sheet

The rest of this page is also worth a read, especially the bit that says how much sunscreen should be used...

I burn very easily. With p20 I have put it on at 6am, driven to an event, pulled a wetsuit over it all, swum for half an hour in a lake, cycled for an hour, run for half an hour and stood around and still not burnt. Def doesn't rub off round necklines etc

I've found Ultrasun pretty good for long-lastingness. But it would annoy me having to put it on young skin 'just in case' - we don't really know that it is safe to use over and over again, even though it is almost certainly safer than sunburn.

This used to REALLY annoy (and worry) me when my dcs were little. Teachers couldn't wait to get out and catch a few rays I reckon: dd in particular used to come home with a red face - and sometimes a burned scalp (she was very fair then). Of course despite my requests they had not got her to put on her hat, and suncream wasn't so long-lasting 10 years ago, or not the stuff I had then.

I think its a good topic to raise via the school governors - now's the time!

...The good stuff also really stains the collars/necklines of their clothes - though a lesser worry, certainly

This is interesting. draxe.com/75-of-sunscreens-are-toxic-what-to-do-instead/

Interesting, but I'm not convinced in its accuracy.

It's sort of right about one thing though, sunscreen should be the last line of defence. Covering up and seeking shade is very important.

I think that staff should be putting suncream on the youngest ones, and encouraging the older ones to apply it themselves. I hate having to put it on them 'just in case' when sometimes it turns out to be a full on cloudy day all day, and equally if it looks to be cloudy in the morning and then changes later. (I do realise you can burn through cloud too btw).

It teaches good sun safety from an early age and makes it part of the routine. But then there's still so much ignorance surrounding skin and the sun. I know a mum who doesn't out suncream on her young children in this country because they tan rather than burn!!

P20 is great, I use the factor 50 myself. I apply it to the children if it's bright and sunny first thing, or if I've heard it's going to be. I've also stressed to the teachers and to the children that if sunny, they need to wear hats outside.

I've burnt in March many times over the years, and freckles are all out now so suncream is definitely needed!

Are people still believing that sunscreen should only go on when the weather is hot?

I mean really?

DH got burnt today, it was no hotter than 14 degrees.

My DS was on an outdoor school trip yesterday then back to school out in the playing fields. His face was bright red. All brown and freckly now. Hadn't even thought about suncream. When i went out at 7.00am I had to scrape my car!!! I'm not far from Glasgow as well

DD caught the sun a bit at school yesterday - just her freckles coming out. I don't put sun cream on her unless I absolutely have to, which probably will be 1 or 2 weeks in the summer if we're lucky.

The last time I read up on this, getting some sun on your skin was a good thing, cos of vitamin d (I think). So I tend to not use sunscreen unless it's a really hot day, and they'll be out all day in it. Dc have never burnt, or even gone red (my dc that is, everyone's obvo different). Is that wrong?

Where is this boiling weather? I'm in London and haven't taken my coat off yet.

I hope the kids listen in their science lessons better than some on here.

the sun is 93 million miles away. Air temperature is utterly irrelevant to UV strength. What matters:

latitude
altitude
time of year

peak uv in the UK is June 21, 2 months away. Yes, you can get burnt now.

It doesn't have to be boiling to burn. I wore a t-shirt and sandals today as we had some long awaited sunshine in scotland.

I'm in the SE and my 5 year old was dreadfully burnt on Wednesday. It was jackets-off whether but not warm or hot. It hadn't occurred to me it was bad enough to burn.

Are you in the uk? It's about 14 degrees where I am. No need to think about suntan lotion yet.

I hadn't given it a second thought when the DCs and I went to play in the park after school yesterday, but today I have a reddish chest and DD has patches of pink just where her dress sleeves stopped. I do think a bit of sun is a good thing but will certainly be putting some on them after a few minutes next time.

I put those mini bottles of sunscreen in their school bags, but mainly rely on slightly too large summer dresses and legionnaire style hats (which really just leaves their lower arms needing sunscreen, plus maybe a bit of neck if it's not a high-necked dress).

The school is pretty good about providing shade and making sure they wear a hat, but won't put on sunscreen above Early Years, but my kids get a rash if I use sunscreen every day so this works best for us.

No, I don't think that sunscreen should only go on when hot but if it's 14oc and the sun is out, I think that some much needed vitamin D is preferable to slathering on the sunblock. That was before I read that it was 18oc in Scotland. Anything up to about 16-17oc I wouldn't bother if it's just playtime and lunchtime, but if they're out in prolonged exposure then I would.

But I live in the tropics and I still don't put lotion on my kids every day because they play in shaded areas. Once they get to school and have playtime outside in the sun then they'll get P20'd up to the eyeballs (we use the factor 50 bottle)

If you have children in school, ask them to get in touch with this organisation:
www.skcin.org/ourWork/sunSafeSchools.htm

They have a free schools sun safety programme and offer wristbands for children which will tell you when they've been out in the sun too long. There's also a similar programme for nurseries

Get her a sunstick and teach her to put it on herself. That 24 hour or all day protection stuff is a joke. It doesn't offer that in really hot sun. It's probably ok for 14-15 degrees, but come summer i hope schools are applying cream. If not, teaching her to do it herself is the best way and sunsticks are really easy.

Strokethefurrywall I agree, I live in Brazil where school playgrounds are covered by law, so there's no need to use it everyday. My children get it if they will be out in direct sunlight. But what often happens is people build up sun immunity. So where my children and yours would be fine in 14 degrees (probably have a sweater on ) a child in Britain can easily get sunburn, They also spend far more time in the sun per day than we do in possibly a week. Sun safety in UK schools is shockingly ignorant IMO.

Repeat - peak UV in two months. They'll get their vitamin d through the suncream.

Repeat - Air temperature utterly irrelevant.