Schools sun policy - am I wrong?

[Originalfoogirl]

Before I speak to the school about their sun policy, I wanted to know if others think I'm taking an unreasonable stance.

As soon as it starts getting sunny, we get a text from the school reminding us to send our children wearing sunscreen. Fair enough, a reminder is good. I also send our girl with a bottle of suncream and remind her to re apply it - as per the advice from cancer research and sunsmart. All day sunscreen is not effective. Yesterday she said she got in to trouble for asking for help to do it and was told "you're supposed to put it on before you come to school". At 7 she can kind of do it herself, but her disability does cause her some problems putting it on.

I know it can be a faff for a teacher to put sunscreen on 30 kids and there aren't enough assistants, but just as they have to help the littles get help changing for PE and for using the toilet etc, but to me, sunscreen is just as basic. I have friends who have had skin cancer.

I think the school should have a policy on this and build it in to their day. Schools in Australia seem to manage and before anyone says it, our sun is just as dangerous to children as theirs is.

I know many people just don't see the importance of it for their children and don't appreciate the risks of burning, but should I take this up with the school or not?

Do you put something like P20 on her in the mornings OP?

I can see both sides of this.
As a parent, I'd want teachers/support staff to help with little ones putting on sun-cream.

As someone who works in an infant school, it's not as simple as that.
Firstly we are not allowed to rub the cream in. We can squeeze some on to them but not rub it in.

Secondly, our morning play time is 10 minutes. All support staff are required to be on playground duty at the very beginning of play. That leaves just the teacher to apply sun cream to an endless stream of children and then by the time that's all done, it's the end of playtime!

Absolutely no-one to help with it if the teacher is on playground duty too. It just isn't practical.

Whatamithinking - yep we may have survived childhood but just look at the melanoma levels nowadays for previous generations...

earthboundmisfit

It wasn't badly burned, but was really quite red and hot in the bits she clearly couldn't reach herself.

Mrshathaway

I do agree, there needs to be a whole policy in place, not just about sunscreen. The school does none of that either. In fact they are so bad at thinking it through, last year not only did they not bother with keeping them in the shade, the kids were sitting on the playground for outside class and our girl came home with melted Tarmac on her splints. That was a real pain as they are not easily replaced! My suggestion was going to be to have a policy, similar to the example one on the cancer research page. This includes all of the things you speak of.

I'd also suggest it's not just two or three days. I don't know where you are, but we're in the middle of about a fortnight or hot weather.

I'd also suggest it's not just two or three days. I don't know where you are, but we're in the middle of about a fortnight or hot weather.

I'm in the Midlands and we certainly haven't had a fortnight of hot weather.

I suspect the club has exactly the same "safeguarding" issues as the school does.

Maybe it's not the safeguarding issue then and instead it is- as teachers on here have suggested- more to do with staffing and time constraints.

What's the adult/child ratio of the after school club?

Is it possible for all the other children to eat/play/relax whilst the adults take their time to apply sun cream on individuals in an after school club environment so they can be sure it's done properly?

I suspect that is the issue, OP.

I'd also suggest it's not just two or three days. I don't know where you are, but we're in the middle of about a fortnight or hot weather.

Just come back from SW and it hasn't been 'hot' for a fortnight either.

Lyndanotlinda

It's a factor 50 we put on in the morning.

Rainbowstardrops

Morning playtime not an issue. Ten minutes outside, not a problem. Even lunchtime playtime, not a problem, she takes so damned long to eat her lunch she is barely out there. My issue is more about the amount of time they can have the children outside, especially in the afternoons. Four out of five last week, in temperatures around 24 degrees, they were outside for at least an hour. Sports day for us today too, so that's another hour or so this afternoon.

I will look into the wipes though. The stick might not be much help but wipes would.

If your DD's face is getting burnt, could you send her with a coloured sun block, similar to what cricketers wear, so she can slick that across her cheeks? It just looks like a lipstick so is easier to apply.

Children aren't going to be able to apply cream to each other - the risk for cross contamination if one of them has a skin condition or to lend their cream to a child with an allergy is too great. I'd keep looking at styles of hat so you find one that she can keep on, with a wider brim.

LyndanotLinda - my son is a redhead. We are not talking a few freckles here. He is more freckle than kid as it is. I am also a redhead with freckles. I don't freak out at a few freckles.

Lol, for once Scotland is having better weather than the rest of the nation 😂

Doesn't matter what the temperature is! Same UV unless very thick cloud!!

Ok here is an alternative suggestion - teach your child to cover her arms and put on a hat outside! A nice, big wide brimmed one. www.sun-togs.co.uk/girls/uv-leisurewear/uv-sun-hats.html?limit=all

Putting a hat on is far easier than suncream. If she can put suncream on her arms leave it at that.

I burn so so easily, I have psoriasis so suncream can irritate. Come the summer months I put on a thin cotton cardi and a sun hat even in 25c heat. I'd rather be a bit warm than suffer the damage from sunburn.

My feeling is that if your put on factor 30 it will last for the first break and lunchtime. It will probably have worn off for the afternoon break but 15 minutes of sun is fine. It is only really a problem if they are outside for PE etc.
I think that DDs' primary schools made a conscious effort to provide shade and not do PE outside in the afternoon if it was really hot. My DDs are quite fair skinned (blonde) and never burned or tanned so it seemed to work. I don't think that extra sunscreen on top of that is really necessary.

Do those who apply a lot of sunscreen give their children vitamin D supplements?

If fact why not hassle the school to make sun hats an essential part of the school uniform so every child has one and must wear them outside?

Aren't the recent melanoma increases partly due to everyone frazzling themselves in the Med after package holidays kicked off?

The might not be. Maybe in the olden days everyone died before skin cancer developed.

Simple solution - kids pair up and put cream on each other before lunch play , and shade is also offered. Quick

I can imagine the daily cries of:

"Miss, Johnny won't give me the suncream"

"Miss, Jimmy has got some in my eye"

"Miss, I don't want Anna to do it, we're not friends any more."

That's before you get parents moaning about suncream on clothes or it being badly applied by the other child.

When my boys were younger it used to be an nightmare with them having to apply their own suncream. Their white school polo shirts were ruined and they inevitably missed bits here and there, so did end up pink by the end of the school day on several occasions. Things are so much easier now dd is at primary and they've brought out these once a day products.

The Calypso once-a-day products are 4 rated against the European standards and they state they last 8 hours. Info found in their responses to customer questions on this page. The kids version also contain no parabens.

We've used them for a couple of years now, all of us have light skin and none of us have ever burned.

I put factor 40 on dd at 8.30 am and she also wears a legionnaire's style cap when outside (all the pupils in there school have to have one). She has never burned once and goes a very slow, gradual golden colour over the summer.

We also use it on holiday and have spent whole days at the beach (UK and Ireland) without reapplying and again, none of us burned.

I don't rely/trust the school for anything health related - yesterday one of my DC was running around in the mid after noon heat around a field - crazy! Teachers don't always make great decisions ime.

I send my pale skinned/blonde DC in wearing a hat and sunscreen - not all day stuff as I'm suspicious of it - they don't have it in Australia and aussie standard sunscreen protects from UVA as well as UVB, whereas EU sunscreens are not obligated to protect from both... hence why we order aussie sunscreen or get overseas visitors to bring us a supply.

As we do packed lunches DC takes a roll on small sunscreen in the bottom of their lunchbag to top up the pre- school sunscreen on days when the UV index is high. They seem to manage this fine as it's easy to apply on their faces/arms without making a mess..

Just checked, no suncream policy here. Spanish school. Starting to hot up now.

No reason why a proper application (I know plenty of people who havnt applied enough, or gone out into sun too soon) or a quality all-dayer would not suffice for uk school hours/sunny days. And wear a hat.

Teachers shouldnt be wasting teaching time to do this for kids. Pastoral care at our school is really good, and kids get cuddles and kisses on heads at home time. I'm imagining our sons teachers would encourage them to be independen.*.. figure it out... find a buddy if they really needed to apply Certainly not refuse on a safe gaurding issue?
Different attitude/approach all round really.
Cream up, hat on, stay in the shade. Easy really.
*disabilities aside.

Marynary I only apply the once a day high-factor on school days and days when we are going to be in the sun for prolonged periods. On less sun-intense days and when they're only going to be in the sun for 10-15 minutes I prefer them to get some Vitamin D (which isn't easy with teenager boys that prefer to be cave bedroom dwellers most of the time).

They do all have a supplement as well though.

Haven't read the full thread but have any Aussies or New Zealanders surfaced to tell us how it is managed there?

Some posters are saying 'Aussies do it' as if Australian teachers are slathering 20 children in suncream every time they go outside and I just don't believe that. In the same way UK teachers do not dress 30 children for PE. They facilitate them dressing themselves.

My cousins went to school in aus briefly and were not allowed out for break without a hat (one of those ones with a back that covers the neck ad well). But beyond that I wouldn't be surprised if the rules are the same as here.

it is not that much of a faff in the uk if you give a damn about the effects of the sun. Reception children can put on cream themselves with a bit of supervision from teacher. I used to line them up and let them put it on then tell them which bits they needed to rub in. that was in the days of more than 30 in the class and no TAs.
wanders off to find zimmer frame

It is my experience of preschools and primary school in Australia (NSW) that the preschool teachers will put sunscreen on children if it is required, but we parents are required to send them already sun-screened on sunny days. Primary school, the children are expected to be sent in with sunscreen already applied, and if they need more will need to do it themselves - afaik, teachers don't do it.

However, the hat rule is absolute. No hat, no outside play unless you stay under the shelters. Schools and preschools have spare hats for those children who have lost theirs, or been sent without (usually by accident).

Our school hats have evolved from the ones with the backflap to being deep bucket hats, as shown before on the thread - but the flap ones are allowed if students have an old one. The preschool hats are slightly less strict but e.g. a simple baseball hat just won't cut it.

We are advised by the school/preschool when the sunscreen season is starting - they don't expect us to do it in winter. But most people here are pretty clued in when to sunscreen.

Ds has white blond hair so catches the sun easily but hasn't only ever burned once on the back of his neck. Even when he's in my care, the only time I reapply suncream during the day is if he's in and out of a swimming pool. The worst weather related things that has happened to him was heatstroke when he was a pretty schooler, despite him drinking water it just wasn't enough and he's not the type of child you can get to sit quietly in the shade for a while. The risk to him of heat stroke is far worse than the risk of sunburn.