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.

*Exactly. We’re getting to the stage where we’re closing schools because it’s dangerous for teachers kids in anything other than perfect conditions.

How will kids be cooler at home than they are at school?*

You really don't have the imagination to think of anything that might ameliorate extreme heat conditions at home?

I wish it was 30 next week! Monday & Tuesday are predicted to be 37 & 38!

I'm keeping my kids off and wfh, which I'm lucky to have the option, I really feel for those that can't.

@ellieboolou how old are your children?

Ds had health problems which aren’t helped by the heat at all. I have never before considered keeping him off when it’s warm before but Tuesday especially I am considering it at the moment. Thankfully it’s “rewards day” which he hates anyway as it’s off timetable so if I do he won’t miss anything.

I know it’s something else for schools to do, but if classrooms don’t have blinds then improvise? Stick white paper over the windows to deflect the heat. Or a couple of sheets on a clothes line so you can move them if the sun isn’t directly on the classroom.

Yes, I totally get that blinds should already be there. And yes, it’s another thing to add to the load but if it lowers the heat and stop kids throwing up…

I think nursery is a bit different to expecting kids to be sitting at desks in crowded classrooms. Babies and toddlers will have somewhere to lie down and have a sleep so not the same thing. Did you have 30 of them in a crowded room?

So ITU is life or death, a few days at the end of the school year when they aren't doing alot isn't life or death. Can you see the difference?

Actually people did die of extreme heat and people still do. Obviously you didn't but others did.

Regarding schools around the world hitting these temps - we broke up 1 July. Our huge playground has a big shaded area and lots of trees. The classrooms are shaded. Yes the U.K. needs to adapt. We in Europe are scrambling the same. These extremes are the new norm.

According to The Olive Press in Spain there were 15 recorded deaths on Sunday and 28 on Monday from the heat so not everyone in Spain is fine.

Should the entire country shut down then?

Trains, shops, restaurants, councils, everything for 2 days? the high temperature are likely to be a regular occurrence is we continue to ignore climate change.

I think what schools should be doing is how to adapt their routine and environment to cope: fans, trips to the park/pool. Whatever it takes to make it more pleasant and safer for the kids.

The kids being at home is not going to make much difference: they will still have to cope with the same temperatures...

trips to the park/pool
😂😂😂😂

You have to get the risk assessment in one month in advance……

Or a couple of sheets on a clothes line so you can move them if the sun isn’t directly on the classroom

Again 😂😂😂😂😂

Who puts the washing lines up? Not allowed to put nails or screws or hooks into the walls. Was l supposed to do it with my totally knackered knees?

So ITU is life or death, a few days at the end of the school year when they aren't doing alot isn't life or death. Can you see the difference?

Do say that when it's your next of kin not being treated as they're all at home dealing with childcare!

It's not a matter of children not learning much etc. it's the infrastructure of school. Parents can't plan for when/if the weather is hot, windy, snowy etc.

Saris.
The last mega heatwave, my class and I survived our glasshouse because I had a collection of saris for display purposes and I used them as window screens.
But we need to invest in better building design and using outside areas effectively, along with flexible school hours, as climate change accelerates.
It needs a lot of thought and cash to achieve a suitable school environment for this century.

In Kenya, where the temperatures are high, lessons are carried out outside, under canopies and trees, maximising any breeze.

Have you visited some of the hundreds of Victorian primary schools in England?
Tarmac playgrounds, no shade, trees or grass and certainly no space to have more than a couple of classes out. Does Kenya use IWBs as standard?

I am originaly from a hot country and I can't cope with the heat here. Anything above 25 is too much for me.
My country of origin it was 28 degrees or above all year around and I was fine. The body adapts. Interesting when I was there I would be more sensitiveto any variation in temperature. So I would be freezing at 22 degrees and too hot if it was over 33. So I think it's about the amplitude of the variation too. Here I learned to cope with over 10 degrees variation in a day.
My point is you can't compare people here with those living in countries where is regularly hot

May be changing the time to be two hours in advance of the sun, as is done in Europe, so schools would start an earlier two hours to ‘sun’ time. Also several European countries start at 8.30 for primary, even for nurseries and secondary at 8am. Quelle horreur but it works.

In other news, the govt is going to start asbestos inspections of schools in September as nearly 1 in 5 aren’t managing the asbestos risk correctly.

Possibly because teachers are randomly hammering nails into walls to hang up bedsheets?

www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/schools-face-asbestos-inspections

I grew up in a country with extreme weather, very hot summers and freezing winters during the 80s in a communist regime. I remember going to school during snow blizzards and -25°. The schools were never shut and we were in the class rooms absolutely freezing as they considered that kids have to be at school regardless. Looking back I think that was madness!!

Our summer holidays however were very long, 3 months (we didn't have half terms). The schools would close on the 15th June and reopen on 15th Sept, so we didn't have to go to school in extreme heat (the hottest months are July and Aug). Also like a previous poster said our climate in Europe is much drier so 30° didn't feel so bad, whereas 25° in the UK feels a lot hotter.

It's forecast 37° in the south east for Mon and I think I'm going to keep DD off nursery. The nursery haven't been great so far at making the children drink a lot of water so I don't want to risk it.

I haven’t read the whole thread so apologies if I repeat something that another poster has suggested.

I do feel so sorry for you all as the UK isn’t used to any sun at all really, which is why the British are mocked for allegedly only talking about the weather!

In most of Africa, southern states of USA, South America, Indonesia, India, Australia etc., etc., it is very normal to have 30+ or even 40+ weather.

I don’t have aircon - I have fans and shutters. My children have coped with going to school in 40+ degree heat and the blinds are closed and the ceiling fans are on. We have winter where it’s below 10 overnight and in the low twenties in the afternoon, then the temp drops quickly when the sun goes down.

Make sure that your kids know how to apply sunscreen, especially to ears and noses and have wide brimmed hats.

Try to get them in the thinking that having a cup of water per hour is normal. A child size cup!

If at all possible, get lightweight long sleeved cotton tops for them to wear. Clothes offer* *some protection against the sun but not much, about SPF 10 but every little bit helps.

Keep curtains drawn during the day and windows closed, open at night, after dark to take some of the heat out of house, which I know is quite late as you have the long evenings but unfortunately you’ll have too, just to relieve the heat inside.

Keep meals plain and simple, tuna mayo with salad, precooked supermarket meat with salad, beans on toast. Try not to cook as you will just heat the house up more, especially slow cookers which can act like a radiator.

Enjoy how white your whites will get after being in the sun and hang anything not white in the shade so it doesn’t lose it’s colour.

Be creative with hairstyles, now is not the time for hairdryers, curling tongs or straighteners.

Try not to use appliances that give out heat such as vacuum cleaners, except either early in the morning when it’s cooler or late at night as it’s cooling down.

Definitely use the oven, iron or anything else. People who live in hot countries or places soon realise that if you wash clothes, shake them out and hang them up to dry, they don’t really need ironing!

Do not let your children out between 10.30 and 4.30 as the heat soon builds up. I know it’s tempting to get a paddling pool and stick them in it, but unless they are wearing SPF50 wetsuits, they can and will burn and also get sick with either heatstroke or something equally awful. I’m not sure if you can buy SPF clothing in the UK, can you?

And remember, for you lot in the UK, it’s just days or a few weeks of heat. Some people have it for months and don’t have aircon or can’t afford to run their aircon and they manage!

Can I ask why don't schools put in controls ? Tape black bin bags to the windows to keep the heat out? have all the windows opened from 6am to 9am to let all the hot air out, then shut and covered. Fans in the room to circulate air and reduce Real Feel . 100% non uniform as kids should only be in very light cotton or linen clothes.
Kids be just as hot and cranky at home there isn't air conditioning anywhere.

Clothes offer some protection against the sun but not much, about SPF 10 but every little bit helps.

Is this right? I’ve never managed to get sunburn through a t shirt but will burn very easily if my skin is exposed and I don’t have sun cream on!

Blinds down blocks the open windows so that’s a trade-off but regardless of ‘controls’, schools are still hot.

God, do people seriously think that schools haven’t thought of opening the windows or pulling down blinds?

I was thinking about this. I always think of neighbours and home and away - their school uniforms compared to what girls in our secondary schools are expected to wear all year round.
On the other side, my primary school has winter and summer uniform. The girls have flimsy dresses but next week have been told to come in pe kit - surely the dresses are cooler?!