Children out in the rain

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For the past 2 days my children have been out in the rain at break and lunchtime. They have spent the last 2 days wet. The heating has been turned down. The staff are cold.

AIBU to think school should be keeping my children warm and dry?

Proper waterproof coat with a hood (not short jacket) and waterproof boots. Put spare socks & trousers in bag if necessary.

How do you know the heating has been turned down and that the staff are cold?

Lordy, we used to go to school when we where snowed in the village, 6ft drifts in places, No heating apart from a pot belly stove. One year they pushed me in through the hall window as I was the smallest and oldest to open the door as they couldn't get to it because of all the snow. We lived.

I judge parents who don't provide adequate clothing and footwear. My primary school kids have wellies and waterproof tops, at the very least.

I would not be happy if the school was keeping my kids indoors all day because it's raining outside! And I would feel very sorry for the poor teachers.

Switching off the heating is another issue, I am in greater London, it's slightly less cold, but not warm enough to switch the heating off. That I would raise with the school. Kids are expected to seat down in class, so it's unnecessary to let them get cold.

Haven't they send you reminders to send your kids to school with appropriate clothing?

The alternative is to provide the rugby clothing/shoes.

Cue for a right mess at the start and the end of break time as children take wellies off and out shoes back on.
Waterproof coats dripping with water everywhere.
Some parents complaining because they can’t afford to buy another coat that is more waterproof. Are their children supposed to get cold and wet then?
Some children still coming back wet through (my dcs for example).

Cue for more time spent dealing with children who are getting changed into their PE kit so they are dry rather than wet.

I’m not sure what the solution is. I agree that been wet all day isn’t great (hence the changing in PE kit). I agree that been inside all day isn’t helping either.
But the solution i have seen on this thread (waterproof coat/wellies) isn’t working ime.

Invest in longer water proof coats and wellies. DS was in the garden when I picked him up at nursery today despite the bucketing rain and 50km wind. It's only water!

You need better coats (not expensive, just waterproof).

I would be annoyed if my children were kept inside because of rain. But a waterproof coat and trousers. As a family we still go on long walks, even if it’s raining, we just wear suitable clothing.

I judge parents who don't provide adequate clothing and footwear

Are you judging parents for being poor?,!?
I’ll reminding you that 1 in 5 people in the uk live under the poverty line. That’s a lot of people who won’t be able to afford luxuries such as a proper waterproof coat or wellies

After 45min out in the rain most coats, trousers/skirts are soaked. Shoes aren't 100% waterproof. The majority of the school are wearing wet clothing all day.

They need waterproof overtrousers, a proper waterproof coat and wellies. Proper waterproofs don’t have a time limit and keep the wearer dry.

You’d hate my children’s Forest School!

But the solution i have seen on this thread (waterproof coat/wellies) isn’t working ime

works perfectly well in my local schools, even if play time is shorten by 5 minutes to accommodate for wellies removal.

You can't punish an entire school and lock it indoors because some parents refuse to provide adequate clothing. Presumably the children will get exposed to the rain on their way to school in the morning anyway, so parents must provide adequate clothing at some point!

You need better coats (not expensive, just waterproof).
I’ve yet to find a coat at Asda or Tesco that is waterproof and not showerproof..
Wellies can be bought quite cheaply, except that for them to be worn about 10 times, some families cannot justify to spend those £10 on wellies when they are needed for food.

As I said, I agree on paper.
My experience is that, with waterproof coats etc... they still come back wet at some point.
And that there was a lot of people at my dcs school who couldn’t have afforded that.

YANBU. It was always declared "wet playtime" in the 1980s when it was raining a lot, i.e. we stayed in and did indoor activities. We were in Manchester, so it happened fairly often, and we practically have webbed feet anyway.

I used to work at an animal shelter and spent a lot of time out in all weathers. I rarely had a days illness. As long as they are wearing appropriate clothing (waterproof jacket and sturdy shoes, socks etc) they will be fine. Fresh air is always a good thing.

Are you judging parents for being poor?,!?

Are you serious? I bought school wellies for £2 for my kids in the sales, and could have got them even cheaper or even free second hand!

Same for waterproof clothes!

What exactly are these children wearing to go to school in the morning? If you buy a coat, you might as well buy it waterproof, why on earth wouldn't you if you can only afford to buy one!

If the costs are letting water in after 45 mins they are shower proof not waterproof.
A waterproof cost should ladt you a full day on the hills in bad weather without getting wet. Playing in the playground shouldn't be an issue.

if it is primary our DD school do the daily mile, we were told in all weathers except hail, storm force winds and torrential rain, they all should have outdoor shoes they wear pumps/ plimsolls inside and a waterproof coat we are on the west coast of scotland and get approx 2500mm of rain a year (the average for UK is about 800mm) 2 out of 3 days it rains if they weren't out in rain they would never be out

however there are also no daft rules about no boots or wellies they expect kids to have them; also being Scotland there are no rules about colours of coat hat or gloves etc

A waterproof coat should be waterproof Primary school kids need to be outside to let off steam there is plenty of evidence that outdoor activity and exercise improve academic performance

there are a very few medical conditions which may make this unwise but for the average child playing in the rain is fine

Kids are meant to be outside. A bit of rain ain't gonna hurt them!

You’d hate my children’s Forest School!

When DD2 does Forest School they get completely changed out of uniform into own clothes, coats, wellies etc and then back into dry uniform for the rest of the day.

Brits are pretty bad at dressign for the weather.
This is a generalisation and no ones fault!

At our primary school they wouldn't have wellies there, most of them. The girls shoes are not at all waterproof.
Most will have a coat with a hood and scarf gloves etc more warm stuff than waterproof.

I think the schools probably need to go with what they actually have rather than what a scandinavian child will have.

If none have wellies or hoods and it's chucking down then sticking them outside is not going to be great as they'll be sopping all afternoon.

If it's just drizzling and not freezing cold then well whatever I would go with won't melt.

Depends on the circs surely.

It would work out cheaper to buy from charity shop or your local selling groups, but just saying...

£0.99 wellies

At DD2's school they sent an email out saying that ankle boots are not to be worn. So if they were playing out in the rain, all the girls in particular would be sitting all day afterwards with wet feet.

So they have "wet playtime" and stay in when it's pouring, as we did in the 1980s.

Just get them waterproof overalls Fleece lined ones if you're worried about them getting cold. And wellies. Sorted.

I would rather they were outside in the rain rather than crammed indoors in the hall or classroom, it’s important they get some fresh air and run around. Just buy them better coats and a pair of wellies.

Brits are pretty bad at dressign for the weather.

I think we're pretty good at dressing for the weather. British weather.