About schools, temperatures and coats?

[FlumpyLump]

My 11 year old son is currently wrapped up in blankets with the heating on full blast and he is still shivering and can’t get warm. He has come home from school like this.
He is in year 7 (also asthmatic) and they have a no coat policy. They aren’t allowed to wear it on the premises and it has to be locked away during school hours. They are only allowed to wear their school uniform around school.
It has been minus 3 where we live today and full of snow. They have the windows wide open in the classrooms as well due to covid. He said he sits near a window and it’s always cold. Apparently, a child was close to tears today because they were shivering that badly and couldn’t concentrate.
During dinner breaks, they are kicked outside with no coats allowed. They also weren’t allowed to run around in the snow so they were standing around freezing.
I bought him a plain black scarf to help keep the cold off his chest and he was told to remove that as well.
I’m worried about covid obviously, but my son also suffers with his asthma in cold temperatures and he gets very poorly this time of year with it. They know this.
It’s madness.

That's ridiculous! You can't freeze children fgs. Have you called school??

That is madness. It’s pretty cold in schools
Right now but ours are allowed to wear their coats in lessons and definitely outside. I have also brought them thermal long sleeved tops which they wear under their uniform which helps a bit.

This is my life
I'm a teacher with the windows flung open and freezing temperatures. It's horrible.

Why weren’t they allowed coats during dinner break? We are allowing students to wrap up in lessons because I’m not closing doors and windows, and I’m trying to be considerate to students who are sitting in a draft. Go back with a question relating to asthma to the form tutor or Head of year.

Strange. The school I work in has all the windows open, but the heating is on and students are allowed to wear layers under and over their uniform, including coats.

Absolutely disgraceful! Kick up a stink. Maybe but him thermals, get other parents to voice their concerns also. It's too cold for that. Can you refuse to send him in until the school sit up and take notice of the issue?

I honestly don’t know how kids and teachers bear it atm. I’m an absolute wuss about being cold (spent a lot of my childhood freezing my arse off and just refuse to be cold if I can avoid it now). YANBU. It’s horrible when you get the chill right to the core and can’t warm up your poor son.

I have never come across a school where children are sent outside at lunchtime without a coat. I've never come across a secondary school where they have to be outside at lunchtime in all weathers. Or a school where they lock their coats away from them.

This sounds utterly bizarre. Every school around here has children in classrooms in their coats because the windows have to be open.

I would put it in an email and ask for it to be sent to the head teacher. Ask them to explain this and how it is acceptable.

Ask to speak to the head teacher. If that fails, speak to the chair of governors.

Sometimes you have to speak up and speak up loudly!

It doesn’t surprise me. Our school has been so blinkered throughout Covid. Sticking to existing rules and applying no common sense to a new situation.

I appreciate other schools have been proactive and individual teachers have been amazing. Our school leadership has a distinct lack of creative approaches and critical thinking.

Have also had students being g told “ You’re not allowed coats on in lessons” - when the windows are (quite rightly) open for ventilation.

I’d get in touch and question why they haven’t changed previous rules on outdoor clothes and ask to see the risk assessments for ventilation.

Thermals.

Dd had a long sleeved thermal top, thermal leggings and thermal socks. The school don’t allow coats to be worn in lessons, but they do have school fleeces available to buy.

He could wear 2 jumpers?

The no coats thing outside is ridiculous. You need to seriously complain about that.

I would complain. I am sure none of the teachers were around without coats outside today.

DD came home as a freezing icicle despite wearing her coat, scarf and fingerless gloves all day.

She takes a thermos cup of hot chocolate with her for break to warm up a bit.

Can he take handwarmes or even better powerbanks which double as handwarmes to school and keep in a pocket?

I was a teacher for 25 years. The reasons kids get sent out in secondary in all but the most vile weather, is because there is no one to supervise them inside.

You can’t get dinner time staff ( and who would want that job?!) staff are meant to only do break duty and before and after school. Staff also have to eat lunch and mark books at dinner time, so there just isn’t the supervision

Of course it's madness.

But it doesn't matter that your son is freezing his bits off. Only Covid matters. And the teaching unions have decided that they want windows open, irrespective of what parents and children need or want.

And the teaching unions have decided that they want windows open, irrespective of what parents and children need or want

This was government policy, not the unions but if it was the unions, congratulations to them for protecting the health and safety of their members. What arseholes eh?

There are a few of these threads. I agree thermals tend to be very good. I dont understand why some schools are doing this. I totally understand ventilation but not why they dont relax the uniform rules. My sons school let them wear a black hoodie under the blazer and their coat and gloves if they want, plus their interpretation of ventilation is windows opened a bit and aired at break.

I thought dc weren't allowed to be out playing in the snow for H&S reasons. Sounds ridiculous and wrong to not let them have their coats

I am a teacher. I allow my students to wear coats in lessons at the moment. Gloves and plain scarves are ok. A few are wearing hats too. I'm not going to complain about them as I would rather have them as comfortable as possible than moaning about being cold.

In March, I had to teach in a room where the windows were on the east side and the door on the west. There were strong easterlies, it was bloody freezing. I sat in my thickest coat wearing gloves and was still cold but I was in a draught whereas the kids were not. It's far from ideal but at least our windows open and we're mostly well.

I get that he has had a really cold day but if he is still feeling chilled and shivering have you checked his temperature?

Contact the school. They might be able to let able and healthy children not wear coats but as your child isn't healthy, he should be allowed a coat, especially outside in snow! Get him to wear a long sleeve top under his school shirt and any other layers you can fit under it. They should keep the windows open but shouldn't let children get that cold.

That’s ridiculous. I’m a head of year in a secondary school and there’s no way we would agree for management to enforce those policies in those conditions. Min legal working temp for jobs that aren’t physically demanding is 16 degrees. I would be writing to Head and requesting they take temps in the rooms your son is in and also telling school about the condition of your son when he got home and reminding them of their duty of care to students. You can say you’re all for supporting a uniform policy but to pursue one to this extent when covid regs mean all windows and doors are open in minus 3 rather then surely those are extenuating circumstances which the school need to take into account and adjust uniform expectations accordingly. Our students have been allowed to wear coats in classrooms since September and in other cold months since covid came on scene. As a teacher I would be refusing to work in conditions that cold tbh. It isn’t on for the kids or the staff. Hope you can get your school to be reasonable.

Stop fucking blaming the unions. They have been trying to get sensible measures in schools since this started.

I've no idea what is going on at this school, and I would be complaining loudly if it was me and my child was in that state. Our school has windows open with heating on (not a great use of fuel resources) and has allowed for additional clothing to be worn.

I think before contacting the school you should ask him to tell you the actual truth. I very much suspect he has been sat in class without a coat. I very much doubt he was forced to go outside without it and he chose to for whatever reason- usually because they don't want to go to collect it and waste their break.

All the students and staff need to wear coats in freezing weather when the windows are opened. I thought Lowood was an all girls’ school, and fictional besides!

This happened to my then year 4 boy last winter. I sent him in the next day in long John's, coat, hat and with a hot water bottle and emailed the school to say please please don't take it off him. They said health and safety risk to the hot water bottle so took it off him! Next day he was very poorly and missed a week of school. When he went back it was mysteriously warmer!

I don't think all adult teachers, with warm offices and electric heaters are necessarily aware how small and skinny little kids, even year 7 and 8 kids, can be. The kids need to warm up inside at points during the day. Otherwise they may not catch covid but they will be extremely ill with other bugs, and cold related problems .