Very cold classrooms

[ZolaGrey]

My 10 year older daughter just got in the car after school and she is frozen, her lips are chapped and her fingers are freezing.

It turns out that the school have decided not to heat the classrooms and that all doors and windows have to be open all the time, it's been around 3-6° all day here. She's had her coat on all day.

I've said that she could take a hoodie or similar in tomorrow but she said they're not allowed as it's not uniform, they have however been told they can wear hats, scarves and fingerless gloves in the classroom

I would imagine that if I kept my house unheated, with all the doors and windows open all the time that I would be accused of some kind of neglect.

Am I right to be unhappy about the set up? I'm a bit over stressed at the minute so I'm not sure how reasoned my reactions are to things currently!

How are everybody else's school approaching this? Has anybody had any logics information to back up this approach?

It’s a small price to pay to prevent transmission of the virus, although the children don’t get ill they will bring it home..
A breezy classroom is hugely safer. Just wrap them up
These are not normal times.

I’m wearing long sleeved tops under dresses and big cardigans, thermal tights or leggings. My classroom has blown air heating, so that is turned off. I’m encouraging layers on the children- but watching them charge off without coats at playtime!

All of the children on one of the buses going to DS’s school are currently isolating after a positive case this week. I’d want all the windows open on those right now.

3 degrees here tomorrow morning, first thing.
DS complains most about his feet being very cold.

The heating is off in most rooms. But it is off in my house too, until a few hours in the evening. I just don't think it's that cold yet. I am SW though, maybe it's much colder further north. I don't feel the cold as much as some people, but it really isn't as cold as it's going to be.

I'm in uni one day a week. It's freezing. Windows are open all day. No cafeteria open. I take in a flask and have been wearing lots of layers but will have to wear my coat going forwards.

@DipSwimSwoosh

The heating is off in most rooms. But it is off in my house too, until a few hours in the evening. I just don't think it's that cold yet. I am SW though, maybe it's much colder further north. I don't feel the cold as much as some people, but it really isn't as cold as it's going to be.

It was 2 degrees here yesterday and this morning . Frost on car windows,grass etc.

Also, I'm probably biased as unlike you,I do get cold easily, I can't shake it off and a lot of the time various things start to hurt/ache.

Soap and open windows are my only protection against an airborne virus as a pregnant teacher. The windows in my classroom will be staying open as long as I have to be crammed in that room with 32 other human beings. The children and parents have been told that additional layers are very welcome to be worn by the class.

Yes we get frost in the morning too. But not every morning. That was just a couple of days this week, followed by bright sunshine. By 9am it wasn't cold and by 3pm it was warm. Most kids were in tshirts at pick up.

Our school heating is so warm we have the windows open usually all winter anyway so I don't think anyone has noticed the difference!

3-6 degrees and her lips were chapped? Give over. Wear a coat.

Just stick thermal long sleeve top under her polo and thermal tights or leggings. Fingerless gloves and a woolly hat

If this is the case surely uniforms should be done away with for warmer clothes .

The schools are only open so the people who chose to have a kid can be out working, not because it’s in any way safe for the poor staff, or the kids, schools can’t be prissy over their shitty uniforms, these are unprecedented times, they can keep up, and adjust, same as every other industry.
Also, at buses having no windows open-major public health risk.

I teach abroad, so this seems a bit bonkers. Why do they have the windows open in UK schools all day? Ours are open 5 minutes, closed for 20, open for 5, closed for 20, etc. Our heating is also on full blast, so it heats up again very quickly.
We have school uniform but the kids are allowed to wear things underneath. One of our school uniform items is a hoodie. I've also asked parents to send in clothes for outdoor learning. If it's cold anyway, we might as well make the best of it and take lessons outside as much as possible.
Ours can wear thermals. They are also allowed to bring in blankets to cuddle up in. Would that be an option?

I do think the "you can't wear a hoodie etc" because it's not uniform is pretty dense though, they can't have Baltic classrooms AND be sticklers for uniform policies...surely!

Please advocate for your dd and the other children.

I remember this from school, they turned the heating off over the Xmas holiday and the pipes burst so we had 2 weeks in school with no heating, we were allowed hats and scarves but no other 'extra' layer, and skirts were compulsory, so hat, scarf, uniform, coat then bare legs!

Yes there is a legal minimum temperature for employees but I think it's one of those things.

Back to your dd, she needs to be able to wear layers, uniform or not. Ask if the school can introduce hot drinks at break time, I know teens don't do much tea and coffee but maybe hot chocolate or cup-a-soup, if not send her in with a flask (cordial is surprisingly drinkable when made with hot water).

If she can fit leggings under her uniform or thick tights it will make a difference.

The heating is off in most rooms. But it is off in my house too, until a few hours in the evening.

Are your doors and windows open? Are you sitting trying to read / write?

You could see this coming and the temp will fall further and it will get worse. Schools are their bloody uniform fetishising - you’d never have thought they’d take it this far where they put uniform rules before a child staying warm. I think the Gov will need to provide more guidance to schools to counteract the vanity of HTs - who put appearances above the comfort of a child. Write to your MP.

I really feel for all the school staff and pupils. Stick a thermal on isn’t going to cut it for many! I really feel the cold when camping - and that’s sitting outside in a summer’s evening with a fire lit - several thermal layers both top and bottom.

Too cold in classrooms issue has been raised repeatedly on MN since September. Lots threads when those of us who saw the hyper-ventilation as increasingly problematic (too damn cold) being labeled as snowflakes. Schizo MN as usual! And that's without pointing out that the firedoors are wide open. Does anyone know a reason why firedoors exist at all?

At least your daughter can wear her coat. All the windows open at daughter's secondary school (understandable) but it's very hit and miss about if they can wear coats or not. Some teachers allow it and some don't.
My children wear t-shirt under their school uniform to try and keep warm,
I can't imagine the children learn much as it's so cold and feel sorry for the teachers but think it's terrible that some teachers insist on them removing their coats. I hope they don't do that as the winter gies on.

We have got the heating on and have also been told to rotate the seating so that if a kid was by the window in the previous lesson, they're not sitting by one all day. We have also relaxed our uniform code and started taking the students out for a brisk walk at lunchtime (a lot actually come!) Hoodies are definitely the way to go. I have been trying to get my sixth form up and exercising or at least standing up. I keep telling them standing up will get their hearts working harder. I am never cold teaching although I often am when sitting.

@OwlBeThere

3-6 degrees and her lips were chapped? Give over. Wear a coat.

She was wearing a coat. Thanks for your pointless contribution.

@Peppafrig

If this is the case surely uniforms should be done away with for warmer clothes .

I think this is my point. I understand why they're doing it, but something needs to give and it needs to be the uniform.

@lljkk

Too cold in classrooms issue has been raised repeatedly on MN since September. Lots threads when those of us who saw the hyper-ventilation as increasingly problematic (too damn cold) being labeled as snowflakes. Schizo MN as usual! And that's without pointing out that the firedoors are wide open. Does anyone know a reason why firedoors exist at all?

I think I had assumed her school were taking a different approach as we hadn't had any contact, she hadn't said anything up until yesterday and because she's year 6 she goes in by herself so I'm nowhere near the classroom and didn't know.

I'm a cold person and it makes me a bit at all these "it's not even cold, just put a vest on" types. We don't all feel the cold the same, the same way some of us tolerate heat better than others.

I feel for the teachers, my partner is one - but in FE - and I appreciate they're doing what they can to stay as safe as possible in a crap situation.

For us the heating is on if you want it. I taught six hours yesterday in a huge lab that Is cold at the best of times. I open 2 windows and the door but not all my windows because I found students stopped concentrating and the lesson became pointless- to warm up they start asking to go to the toilet or they fidget. My hands stopped working- despite fingerless gloves and I struggled to write clearly on the board. I’m not allowed to move round my classroom- they painted a line in the floor that I shouldn’t cross so standing still for 6 hours in a room that is 12 degrees is grim. Try it. Sit in an office for 6 hours solid with it at 12 degrees and try to concentrate and work well.

So today I’ve got the heating on to take the edge off.

It's not going to help with colds and viruses. The more they spread the worst the situation with hospitals.