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.

Right?!?!?!

So start earlier 🤷🏻‍♀️

But DON'T CLOSE SCHOOLS AGAIN! !

@JasmineVioletRose childcare for 6/7 weeks summer holiday is nightmare/expensive enough without anymore days 😂

My kid is still experiencing stress caused by being out of school then having to readjust to going back after the bloody lockdown experience. We absolutely can't ever do that to them again. No.

And who would you like to work in the hospitals if we all need to stay home with dc? We’re likely to go into a major incident if schools close as we’re holding on by a thread right now. How about schools run a big water fight?

This is absolutely disgusting!!!! The way we treat teachers in this country is so so wrong, when they do one of the most important jobs there is!

The heat isn’t exclusive to schools. Who’s going to look after the kids if schools shut?

Those saying put paper up at the windows acting as blinds....is that not a fire hazard?

I’ve never known a school in the U.K. with aircon!

I’m currently enjoying the air con in the post office queue before I return to the school office which was 32 degrees when I left. Computers really push the heat up but can’t do my job without them 😞

Adjusting hours will be a minefield for those of us who create rotas for staff

Mums already hog the 9-2 hours. Colleagues won't be impressed , will probably refuse to change, if they suddenly want to change it all about so they can start earlier.

We've lived in lots of hot countries. Where I am now, it's going to be over 35 today, but kids broke up in the middle of June. And we have a/c. In the Middle East the playgrounds were all shaded and the schools all had a/c. They are also designed so that the sun doesn't hit the windows, and the buildings are painted white to reflect the sun.

DC was at school in a European country. School only went till 12 pm, so small kids were not stuck in a hot classroom in the afternoon when temperatures are at their highest.

Silly idea.

cancel sports day - yes
close school - no

It is 24 degrees where I am today.

People are ignoring the issue that someone needs to look after the kids if at home. Not everyone's employers are going to be happy about people taking a day off work to look after kids in this weather. Although I do agree it is too hot. Partner and I are both flat out with work too, so it's not as simple as just leave the kids home.

Really schools and nurseries should be prepared for hot weather like any other workplace. Offices, retailers etc have air con. This is the issue.

Yep this seems sensible. We're up north, my DD is at secondary and we've just had an email to say uniform will be significant relaxed early next week to take account of the predicted temps.

I can’t manage normal activities with anything above 28. Outside is even worse if it’s hot- why is that any better?
Yes, you as an individual might be able to cope and say it’s not extreme. Well maybe not nowadays but it was extreme and rare in past and when many schools and other buildings were built that people have to work in

im not saying send kids home. But just cos it doesn’t bother you doesn’t mean other folks amd kids don’t find it extremely dibilatating. Above 28 I get brain fog, piercing headaches and heat rashes. I can’t do my job properly in that heat. I sure many kids can’t focus on school work in that, and many teachers, especially as they need to move around class, will simply not be able to think clearly enough. So there is an argument

maybe the solution is a Spanish style siesta during extreme heat warnings. But that’s depend on companies following suit to let parents do this. Start school at 8-11:30 and then again at 3-5 . But it won’t happen because this government won’t think outside the box.

30 is not extreme heat. Does the school have outside space? Ask the children to get their hats wet, that will keep them cool

Can really see your average 15 year old who’s faffed with their hair this morning embracing this🙄especially as secondaries aren’t allowed to wear hats anyway.

Take your climate change denial somewhere Google doesn’t exist.

@CavernousScream Did you not read the bit where I said climate HAS changed in some aspects - I’m not denying that at all. Yes, we didn’t have the number of bushfires we have now. Yes, we didn’t have the flooding in areas that now flood that never did. We do have different rain and water patterns for sure. Yes, there IS climate change. Absolutely, and without doubt. BUT, our minimum and maximum temperatures and temps we experience as normal here have not changed for the several decades I have been alive. She, do fuck off with your claims that I actually agree with.

My children's primary school have installed air conditioning. It's bloody amazing. I honestly think it should be the law as our summers are becoming very very hot. I don't think it should come out of a schools budget but the government should provide a grant to schools to have it installed. When I think of the money they've stolen and wasted I think this is something we should be investing in.

Oh and to add I work in a school with no air conditioning and windows that only open an inch and I'm taking more time off with heat related migraines every year.

I can’t manage normal activities with anything above 28.

????? That’s a personal aberration. I worked in the UK for several years and encountered the odd (for Uk) ‘hot period’. I didn’t have any colleagues who couldn’t do their jobs due to 28 temps.

@IGotItInTheSales exactly and changing the school hours to accommodate a period off when it’s hot in the afternoons won’t work for those of us on 12 hour shifts in hospitals when working an early you don’t finish till 3 not sure how the hospitals or families cope in European countries with siestas? More grandparent help I suspect but that just is never going to happen here

I think that in those countries people will have acclimatised to these sort of normal temperatures over hundreds of years. If is those living in southern Mediterranean regions have generally darker skin tones and darker hair for instance.
i am not of a Mediterranean descent. I have pale skin that goes red and burns and I get heat rashes. I am not acclimated to 26 degrees at night, and a few days every couple of years will not make that happen . Maybe if global warming continues to make this more common place we will acclimatise.

please stop comparing the uk, which seldom sees thes3 sorts of temperatures until the last very few years, to places which have these temperatures as expected summer temperatures. We do not live there. It is just macho bragging.

Offices, retailers etc have air con. This is the issue.

plenty

plenty of offices don't have air con