To think schools should shut in 30' heat

[dragonflyglaze]

I'm a TA in an Infant School in the South East, we break up next Thurs. This week has been tough, the little ones can't cope in the heat and as much as we try and keep them indoors, hydrated etc some of them are just not coping. Never mind the staff who are doing their best to support the children whilst slowly melting.
Next week we are forecast to hit 30' and there's an extreme weather warning. We have to close if its too cold e.g. heating not working, or too windy. I can't understand why there's no rule for extreme heat.

Thank god. One normal person on this thread!

Given the amount of students we had to send home with heatstroke in the senior school I work in, and the sunburn some of them have been acquiring while in the yard at lunch/break times, I'm inclined to agree. 30 degrees may not be seen as that hot, but humidity should be taken into account as well. The atmosphere was that heavy I literally felt like I was wading through treacle yesterday.

Like snow days, schools should maybe be given the chance to make a judgement call. Especially with claims that temperatures could reach 40 this week.

I dispute the humidity in the UK is above everywhere else it’s hot? I’m in Sydney, hot and humid. Not all schools in Australia have air con. Private schools do. Some public schools do if the state education departments have deemed them to be in areas with certain criteria. Sydney would never meet this as even over 40 here and there in summer with over 35 for long stretches normal doesn’t meet the criteria. So schools in Sydney with air con have been funded historically via P&C not the Dept educational. Some schools also made the P&C commit ongoing payments for increased electricity when agreeing they could be put in. This has led to ‘better areas’ having air con in public schools and many lower socioeconomic areas not having it here. Those kids cope fine, just as we all did ages ago here before there was air con available, any slip slip slap rules (later skin cancer aside as I mentioned earlier) or rules about drinking or playing in the shade.

Possibly - one of my DC was taught in a classroom with an entire wall of south facing windows and no blinds - and even though it wasn't a heatwave she still had a faint when made to stand singing in front of sunny windows for a while.

Long term I think many school building will need looking at - though I doubt much will happen.

Yes, but they have centuries of experience dealing with high temperatures. That collective experience is not present in the UK, in fact many of us raised in hot countries find it difficult to understand how terribly misinformed people are here, actually we even find it shocking when they visit our hot countries!

In very hot countries the school day starts earlier e.g. 6am and finishes at midday, maybe we should operate that model here...?🤔

How do you think the rest of the world manages to function? In many countries the temperatures get much higher. This UK hysteria about 30 degrees is ridiculous.

Schools closing means no childcare, so you’d have other things closing too. I suppose you’re ok with nurses, ambulance drivers etc staying at home looking after these kids?

YABU.

Nrtft but of course not.
Lots of countries are this hot through most of the year and don't have air con - in lots of them children have to walk miles in the heat to get to school too.
If you shut schools in the heat, I assume you're happy with hospital/GP appointments and operations etc being cancelled so that parents can look after their kids at home.
Also shops shutting so the workers can look after their children.
Ridiculous idea.

There's no need to shut down but the kids (and staff) should be appropriately dressed and get rid of any stupid tie/blazer requirements (in my view they should be got rid of full stop, but certainly after May half term in England and Wales).

It does depend how hot it actually gets, though. 30 is probably ok. If it really does start getting towards 40, it might be a different story.

Only weirdos think 30 degrees is ‘lovely’ but either way the forecast in London is now for 35 and 36 on Monday and Tuesday respectively which definitely counts as extreme heat.?

Of course schools shouldn't be shut.

There should be appropriate measures in place. In an ideal world, mandatory hats and water bottles taken in. Sun tan lotion at school for a top up, dc taught how to apply it themselves. Possibly shorter outside play time. Drinks every half hour at least.

Can't see what good closing would do though. Dc can be sweaty in school or at home - it just as well be at school.

Just going to add that kids in hotter countries are acclimatised too it. In UK, where we sometimes only get a few of weeks of 30+ humid weather a year, the kids are not so therefore they don't cope as well. In the same way, some people from hotter countries can't handle the cold. My friend from Australia will be wearing three jumpers in the UK and wanting to put the heating on, whereas I will be walking around in shorts and t-shirt.

Why don't you contact your union about this and see if a campaign can be started to get the upper limit brought in?

Clearly @dragonflyglaze you are one of the snowflake generation.❄
How old are you?

I remember1976, one of the hottest years on record then. No one even thought of closing schools.

Later, as a teacher, I taught in schools in very hot weather. We just got on with it.

You are being slightly ridiculous. Yes, it's not pleasant, but closing schools when many parents have to go to work, is an insane idea.

@HoppingPavlova do the children at school in Sydney have to wear long trousers, shirt and tie and Blazer or do the uniforms tend to be designed with hot weather in mind ?

They do in NZ at some schools. It was 36C before school relented and allowed students to commute without blazers

What is somewhat ironic is that airports are full of people trying to escape the UK for somewhere nice and hot!

Ok, you could argue that sitting on a beach is not the same as sitting in a classroom. But sitting in 30C outside is not pleasant anyway IMO.

But how many posters here clamouring for school closures can honestly say they have never taken their kids abroad for hols and not given a fig about 30C?

yes wrap them up in cotton wool
That will really help when they are adults in the real hard world

@SunniestSunshine

I can see the arguments for both sides. The importance of keeping schools open - I'm an adult, I can deal with working in the heat. But then I'm taking care of several kids a day who are crying with sunburn or feeling sick and faint with heatstroke. And I can also see the arguments for closing during very hot, humid weather.

Eye rolling so hard at this. This is every summer now. How do other countries cope? What do working parents do? May as well just shut the country down. When did we become so pathetic?

This kind of heatwave is just the kind we used to have in the 70s. Schools didn't shut and people just got on with it. People seem to be incapable of just getting on with it nowadays (not just hot weather - cold weather, Covid, wind; you name it, someone will try to use it as a reason not to crack on with life).

Why? They do go to school in the tropics and they certainly don't have air con. Uniform should be flexible (I've spent a lot of time in Sri Lanka and they wear cotton dresses or shorts and shirt) but otherwise why?

150,000 people died of covid. That’s a really shitty example for a “let’s just get on with it” argument.

I hate it when people say that school isn't childcare! Certainly DWP think it is and are clear that benefit claimants have no excuse not to work if children are at school.

And this arrogant 'parents will have to manage' really pisses me off. What about all those struggling families who can't afford not to work - where's the concern for them?

Heads should determine that PE kit is worn, drop the learning expectations and teach outside if possible. PTA should be asked to fund lollies and other equipment to provide shade/breeze (ours did this regularly). But no, schools shouldn't close. Kids have had far too much disruption over the past 2 years.

The ignorance on this thread is really disappointing. Clearly people who haven't worked in a school. I think the bigger issue here is primary, as younger children find it much harder to regulate their temperature. Most schools have no aircon .... Carpets. I think immediately comparing to other countries with a hot climate is not helpful as we do not at present have things in place everywhere to make the hot weather more comfortable. The classrooms are generally small and quite full of tables and resources too not big wide open spaces where air can flow through etc.

I'm not sure if I think the answer is schools closing, I can't make my mind up but it is going to hit 36'C in my area next week and it is worrying. DD goes to preschool and they won't be allowed outside as outdoor space has no cover. They have portable aircon units but it will be a bit sweaty mess there. If at home my DD can go in paddling pool under shelter and chill inside.