AIBU to think school should have called me?

[tootiredtoadult]

So, I will take my error in all this but I feel school should have called me or kept DD age 8 inside or out at least shaded the kids.

To cut a long story short,y DD school have had. A sports week this week, but due to the rather British wet weather it has been cancelled, and all activities off, we received an email to say that they would be doing sports today.

In the usual morning rush and remembering pe kit at the last minute I packed her off to school.

She has come home sunburnt to hell. I asked "have you been outside ALL day" she confirmed they had, I asked "did they ask if you had sun cream on"? She confirmed "they asked and I said No, they offered me some but I told them I'm allergic to that one"
(well done for realising that DD)

The school clearly knew the kids needed sun screen as they were offering it out, I feel at this point they should have called me for my views on what they should do (I would have taken some into school for her) I wouldn't want her to miss out but I feel they should have kept her inside or at very least, put the kids in the shade where possible.

I appreciate I should have put cream on her this morning but I wasn't aware they were going to be out in baking sun all day doing sports.

Should I approach the school about this? WWYD?

Yabu. It was sportdays yesterday in our school too. Children were told to wear suncream. Most did but our sportsday is not held at our school. We could not possibly have rang every parent who did not bother to put cream on and ask permission. That is the parents fault not ours. My children had sun cream on.

I think that while it's ultimately your responsibility to make sure she's wearing sun cream, it's a shame they couldn't call you and ask you to bring some in when they realised she wasn't wearing any and is allergic to the brand they had. I do understand how busy they must have been and that they can't just leave to make phone calls but perhaps send a child to the office with a note asking a receptionist to call you?

I can see why they didn't just keep her inside, many parents wouldn't be happy with that.

As a side issue, just read a Unison report about school admin workers complaining about their ever increasing workloads.

When I was at school duty of care meant making sure kids were not run over, etc. Not covering up parental inadequacies.

As a side issue, just read a Unison report about school admin workers complaining about their ever increasing workloads.

Well, indeed. This could be twenty or thirty students, all turning up without suncream applied.

I know what you mean, @jennymanara but I wouldn't want to go back to those days, when the Headteacher was allowed to use a cane on misbehaving children and class teachers regularly smacked them. No, I wouldn't harken back to the past with overly rose-tinted specs.

But also, back in my school days, it was the child who was often blamed for forgetting things, not the parents. As long as they brought their children in and picked them up, parents weren't blamed for anything.

*One episode of sunburn at 8yo is not going to lead to skin cancer or premature

I should add to that, neither does it make the OP a bad parent! Things happen, that’s all. It’s nothing to worry over.

@JacquesHammer I don’t imagine the teacher would have done anything frantically, when it was a question of suncream! And yes I suppose “harm” was done to the child. A paper cut is harm, so are grazed knees, cuts and bruises, chipped teeth, hating everything on offer at lunch and going the whole day without eating, sprained ankles, broken fingers etc etc. I just don’t see this as a big enough deal for anyone - parent, teacher, school, child - to be deemed unreasonable or reasonable over.

Lots of DC in my school today managed to turn up with sum block already applied and hats in their bag just in case. No sports day planned just for outside break and lunch. It is your responsibility OP.

Sorry (not sorry) but, if you know your child is allergic to some suncream surely to either a) put some on your child before leaving the house or b) make sure they have some sun cream to apply in their school bag as and when needed? My girl is 6 and the policy at their school is parents provide suncream and a hat in their bag straight after the Easter hols. If it's not in their, sun cream won't be applied. If it is in there, staff will make sure those children (6 out of 30!!!) have extra cream on at lunchtime. The onus is on the parents, as if teachers don't have enough to do, or have hectic mornings and children of their own to sort out.

To add a different perspective, I work in a school and many staff are absolutely fed up with effectively being parents to the children we are supposed to be teaching. We already potty train nursery aged children and help elsewhere by providing things like fruit and toast in the morning for those deprived kids who arrive not having had any breakfast, often out of our own pockets.

The bottom line is that as a parent it is your responsibility to send your child into school with the appropriate clothing and sunscreen too if necessary.

Schools are so underfunded and understaffed at the moment to ring every parent who forgot to send in sunscreen.

YABU.

@lizzie no one is talking about kids being hit. No rose tinted spectacles here. But things have went to far the other way. And yes by the time kids get to a certain age, it is reasonable that it is their responsibility to remember to bring things to school.

It's not an excuse, but, as I understood the OP, the sports events that week hadn't happened because of bad weather. Then on Friday, she received an email from the school informing all the parents that they would be doing sports that day after all. So it was a last minute rush to get the PE kit ready, and it's easy to make mistakes in those circumstances.

It's also clear that other children didn't have suncream, hence there being suncream available (something I've never seen at school). The unfortunate thing was the OP's DD being allergic to it.

It does not mean that other kids did not have suncream.
The school may be a safe sun school which means as well as reminding kids to put on suncream, you have some in the school so kids who do not have any can apply it. That is seen as best practice. Even the best practice does not say phone parents if the child has no suncream and can not wear what is provided.

I know no one is talking about that. I just get tired of posters on a lot of threads going on about how much better things were in the past before health and safety became a thing. On the whole, I prefer how things are now.

Although I do still think children should be taught to take more responsibility for what they need to take to school with them.

She says they were offering suncream out, which indicates to me that others had forgotten too. I find it very hard to believe that no other parent had forgotten on a day when they were told at the last minute that the sports event was taking place after all.

Why assume that the OP was necessarily the only one who forgot??

The past had some negatives and some positives. Not everything is better now.

If this is a problem, its not hard to have a spare bottle of sunscreen and a hat permanently in her bag. but at the same time the teacher asked the question and knew the child didn't have any and was at risk of burning and then just left it. She could have asked the other children to share some that DD wasn't allergic to.
Sunscreen doesn't last all day. My children were very very fair and had to apply frequently and would still come home red. (yes i know there are all day ones.. but they stung so we had to use the others) If they are all outside on a hot day, for a school sports day - it should be part of the preparations to make sure shade and water are provided. I bet this is standard in countries with normally hotter climates.
I know this may not seem like a teaching duty but that is a sports day preparation surely to make sure they don't get dehydrated and burn. Our school asked the parents who were watching to help out with things like this and they did.

You're lucky the school offered sun cream don't think my children's school do!

I wouldn't expect the school to ring you though - they could've been ringing every parent!

It's one of those things you chalk down to experience. You won't do it again!
Perhaps have some you can keep in DD bag if she's in that situation again.

All the kids in my class whose parents care about sunscreen, come to school slathered in the stuff every day in summer, regardless of the forecast, and regardless of what's on the timetable. They've covered for playtimes and lunch outside.

This one's on you. You said yours was "human error." Why is it any different for the school staff?

When I worked in a Nursery ,children were completely covered in suncream and not allowed out in the sun between 11 and 4!.I think the school is very remiss here tbh

Its just like when they are in primary school the rules should be the same surely?

Not allowed out between 11 and 4?!
Blimey, what are we doing to our kids?

U2 you are missing my point. I'll explain to u slowly. Please read carefully.

Whether a child is 6 or 8 matters not. They should not be excluded. They have duty to care in terms of health and education. They shouldn't be sitting under a tree while everyone takes part? Can't you see how upsetting that would be?

The school tried to support the child by providing sun cream that the parent had failed to on a week when they would be outside. The child is allergic so they couldn't use it. This is not the schools fault.

The teacher could have contacted the parent, but didn't. They should have. I was explaining why it is harder to do this than a parent with only a couple of children.

A parent on sports week and with a child allergic to sun cream should have applied it. It is not fair for the child to miss out.

The op should contact the school and explain what's happened. They should ensure they send sun cream in the future.

I hope you've understood my meaning now.

You’re her mum, you provide the sun screen.