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.

For the person who said the heat doesn't really impact on children, try telling both my kids that who have both vomited/had headaches from the extreme heat.
People are different. Some can sit outside saying how lovely it is, others struggle because of chronic illnesses, disability or just a general intolerance to the heat.
My best friend has lived and travelled in hot countries over the years and said that the heat over here is particularly oppressive and unbearable so other posters making that point are not wrong.

BBC saying 39 degrees in London on tuesday, which would be a record for the city. You do have to wonder how bad it has to get before they really do advice schools/workers not to go in.

If schools and workers are told not to go in due to the heat, will hospitals close, supermarkets, electricity suppliers, emergency services……

Why would supermarkets need to close? They have air con.

The previous posters referred to workers not going into school and work. If schools close, who will look after the children of working parents who work in supermarkets, hospitals, emergency services etc?

Let's not pretend that, for a day or two, schools and offices are as essential as hospitals and energy suppliers.

I'm not expecting anything to change next week but the question is worth asking anyway. 40 degree+ days are now a normal possibilty and in a society lived in buildings designed to retain heat something has to change.

If schools close, who will look after the children of working parents who work in supermarkets, hospitals, emergency services etc?

I don't think the entire adult working population have no emergency childcare and children who would need emergency childcare.

To frame its as something that would cause the entire country to grind to a halt is rather overstating the impact.

I'm not say that there wouldn't be an impact but to handwring about supermarkets having to close when they could probably fill slots on the rota with sixth formers freed up by school closures is probably a bit OTT

@noblegiraffe then the parents aren't earning - already in a cost of living crisis. Having an extra week off won't help those that are already struggling

Don't vote Tory, folks.

It seems the argument that people are making is that they need childcare. Not that their kids need an education, that seems to be in the bin in the heat.

Which could be fair enough. Re-designate the schools as 'childcare for those who need it' for the day, bin the timetable and attendance records and just try to keep them safe and occupied.

And as I said, what then about secondaries?

Which is a serious question. My Y10s have been asking me all week 'it's going to be so hot on Monday that we're not going to learn anything, why on earth do we have to come in?'.

And I look at their faces, which are sweaty despite it being 10 degrees cooler than the forecast, and I can't come up with anything.

@JasmineVioletRose Yes start earlier is an option. But back home children get 3 months summer holidays because it's too hot. Having lived in UAE and Pakistan and now in UK, I find the heat is UK to be similar to those countries even though the temperatures are relatively lower. The building here are not designed for hot weathers and not are the working hours. In UAE we used to be home by 2pm and ready for a nap. The shopping centres used to be mostly empty during the day and people only used to go out at night and back home and in UAE they have air conditioning and fans, none of which is common here.

I’m sure they can manage enough learning to make it worthwhile. Ok they may not be firing on all cylinders but as I said, it’s 6 hours out of 24. They can focus for a bit.

@onlythreenow No they don't. We had many kids faint during summers and one even died of a heart attack due to heat.

Are you a teacher in a hot classroom?

Me?

Yes, I'm wondering where your assertion is coming from that enough learning will go on in extreme heat to make them coming into school worthwhile.

In all honesty it is pointless getting into a fight over what should be done next week.
Clearly each local authority should be able to advice their schools as to what to do just as they do in other weather events.

Realistically though those saying parents and children need to get on with it are burying their head in the sand. Whether or not you agree this heat is ‘extreme’, whether or not you personally had to put up and shut up as a child, whether or not your children will cope is, to a great extent, irrelevant. Schools and parents should be working together to ask for reasonable, permanent adjustments to the school day and/or term in order to ensure that these uncharacteristically hot days don’t cause us to grind to a halt. Summers like this are going to become more commonplace with climate change and that needs to be acknowledged be that by bringing the summer holidays forward in future years to reflect the hottest days or bringing the school day forward as in some other countries to reflect the hottest time of day.
Those are just two feasible solutions that would be relatively easy to put in place for future years without the cost (both financial and environmental) that things like air con will bring.

I don't think schools should shut. That doesn't mean it's not going to be brutal, or that anyone moaning/worrying is a snowflake.

I do think schools should relax their uniform rules/allow PE kits. Have an easy workload day. If parents can and wish to keep kids home,they should be allowed to.

Long term , funding should be given to improve conditions when it is really hot, because this is not going away or getting any better.

My children's secondary school does not have a summer uniform. Blazers, shirts and ties and heavy trousers/skirts all year round here. At least they have cancelled sports day now the forecast is 37C and they can wear PE kit for the two days it is that hot.

I've got two,one primary and one secondary.

Neither has been doing any learning at all anyway?

the local state primary has air con so would rather be in a class there than at home. So many missed lessons thanks to Covid would be appalling to close schools again due to some hot days. If it got to 38C I would agree they should close but is is pretty perfect in the south right now

Dc's school will be doing remote learning during the heatwave next week.

The problem is access to amenities.

If I was a teacher next week I would be extremely worried about medical issues happening to the students.

In some ways primary might be easier because you can tell them what to do but trying to encourage teens to drink water, stay out of the sun 🌞 at breaks etc will be a nightmare.

Esp poor girls on periods with body temp raised anyway!

What is a teacher going to do with faints and medical issues when the school is over run no access to medical assistance?

It's not just the school environment it's also getting them there?
Train's? Cars...

Walking
...

I'm definitely going to be looking into air con units for next year!

Also a TA in primary school. I completely agree. Children have really struggled with late 20s to early 30s. Let alone 36! They're uncomfortable and fed up, classrooms are so hot and they're all sweaty and just want to go home. Break up a week early I say

Thinking,

Where are you?

No teaching has been done this week!