Changing for PE

[Flymetothezoom]

My 7 year old son used to wear his PE kit to school on PE days. Now the school has said they want children to change in the classroom again. Parents have complained that their kids don’t want to do this. The head has sent a letter saying that:

”I understand that some parents and children are a little worried about changing into their PE kits in front of their peers. As this is something that we regularly did prior to Covid, we would like to bring back this process as part of a normal school activity.”

Why should children have to get used to changing in front of each other and their teachers? This isn’t a life skill. It is archaic and weird. As an adult I have never had to change with 26 men and women, in a room with many uncovered windows. Would I be wrong to write to the head and complain about this?

YABU: kids should change in front of each other and the teacher
YANBU: it is odd that it was ever allowed even before covid.

Priests diddling quoir boys was normal as was borstal kids being sold to sex gangs and teen moms being forcibly sent away for abortions and adoptions and Jimmy Saville was allowed around kids just because it happened in your lifetime does NOT make it ok.

Children are allowed privacy as much as adults and there is zero reason a 7 year old needs to publicly strip.

Our school has always done this, even during Covid kids have never been allowed to wear PE kit to school. They are expected to change in class

Showing my age, but when I was in infant school girls did indoor PE in just navy knickers (no top), can't remember what the boys wore. Obviously am not am not suggesting we should go back to this!

No they don’t kids still change for pe in our school in class even in year 6 by that age they just make boys and girls change on separate sides of the room

I would continue to send my children in PE clothes on PE days. Our school hasn’t said anything yet. We had lots of children losing clothes prior to COVID and masses of lost property.
it must waste a lot of teacher time too.
some things work so well during COVid and should be kept imo. The staggered starts was another thing which our school stoped doing and school is so crowded at pick up and drop offs not to mention the car traffic on the roads.

My 7 year old is a lot smaller than her peers and very skinny and extremely self conscious about it. She has some scars too due to medical treatment and does not want people to see her in her pants. She has been told so often in and out of school about the pants rule and pants are private. Why should she be made to feel self conscious and uncomfortable just because some adults have the opinion that they should all change together. Sod that. Even kids are entitled to their dignity and privacy. I wont back down on this and she will wear her pe kit to school

Mine just wears what he wears to school it’s primary school pe not athletics he has a spare T shirt but that’s it!

Lordy. I've just asked if year 6 can reinstate changing in school as it will help prepare them for secondary, where they have to change for pe independently. I have a dc who will struggle without the extra practice. Even at home she struggles.

It is for safeguarding that they do this! Children have slipped through the net from physical abuse

It's a waste of time, and I really fail to understand why primary uniform isn't just designed to be suitable for sports or class, including just trainers or shoes with trainers swapped at parent discretion. It would be cheaper and easier for everyone.

The person commenting about coats; DS did his coat beautifully back in March. Now it's September he can dress himself apart from sock struggles, but he's having to relearn how to do his coat and doesn't want to try because it's too hot still, so he argues that he'd rather pull on a thin jumper. The reason is the summer break from coats, not that parents don't think kids should put their clothes on!!

Try again

I would question it further as the only reason you have been given is “it used to be like this”. So what?! Our school switched to kids wearing PE kit on PE days, no changing in school, and they have stuck with it. Several advantages. Fewer items getting lost, less time spent changing and more time doing PE, cheaper for parents as we only need to buy school uniform for three days instead of five… perhaps point all these things out as well as your concerns and see what they say.

All the people saying kids need to learn to get changed themselves, well they are still dressing and undressing at home aren’t they?! My seven year old can dress herself no problem and manages buttons, zips and laces. And she’s never once got changed in a classroom.

My DS1 is in Y3 has just gone back to leaving his PE kit in school after 2 years of going in his kit. Now I have DS2 starting school too, this makes it much easier for me not having to remember what they need to wear each day and they can just go in their uniform every day. Plus trainers don't last as long as school shoes so it worked out more expensive.

DS1 is also self conscious so I was apprehensive about how he'd react to this, but boys and girls get changed separately. DS1 still wasn't comfortable with this so he changed in the toilets. It doesn't take him long to change so he's happy with this. A Y3 class is much quicker to get changed than YR, at 9.10 on Tuesday I saw DS1's class all go into the hall all ready for PE, so assuming all the class got there for 9 then it didn't waste much time.

My 6 year old won't change in front of anyone but me!. It's had its day the changing for PE thing, no longer acceptable IMO. I'd be complaining 100%

do you swim in your underwear?
They are two completely different things.

Don't understand the 'they need to learn to get changed quickly' argument - surely they get changed at least twice, most kids thrice a day at home anyway? How much practice do they need? Even if they don't learn to be fast, a NT 11 year old will soon pick it up the first time they're still in their pants when the bell goes, the rest of their class leave and the giant year 11s come in.

Has the head given any reason why they want to bring it back? If they've acknowledged there's a reason why kids don't want to do it, they should have a better reason for why the school insists on it anyway, other than just 'because we used to it this way,' which is no reason at all.

@latetothefisting The head has given no other reason, apart from they used to do
it.

Well we used to do a lot of things. Silly head.

In my school we had a few cases where kids had bruises on arms and legs which were covered by socks/tights/trousers and jumpers. As staff we have to ask the child how they go their bruise/injury and pass to the Safeguard Leads if they could not explain, or were vague (abused children can be warned not to say anything, or outright lie). It can and does uncover abuse. (Those kids don't tend to wear shorts/t-shirt, but hoodies and trackies to again hide the marks.)

So whilst it does save time with changing, which is great, there is a downside regarding safeguarding.

Kids feeling self conscious in their underwear at age 7 because of the NSPCC PANTS rule have missed the message. Perhaps if it's causing kids to feel negative about their body or their underwear, the delivery and use of PANTS needs to be reviewed.

I changed in classrooms when I was at primary in the early-mid 2000s. In year 6 girls and boys were separated. I don’t remember caring. Until early 2020, pupils changed in the classroom (girls in Y5 and 6 changed elsewhere because many had started going through puberty). No need to over sexualise Y2 and Y3 pupils by drawing attention to one another’s bodies (that are covered in underwear). Many don’t really notice or care.

I've only read half of the thread but all those saying they surely have pants and vests on, do school aged children wear vests??? Neither of mine do and I have a boy and a girl, it's miles easier to send in kit, both mine sufficiently dress themselves 7 days a week at home surely getting yourself dressed is taught at home and it stops me needing to re-buy name tagged PE kit because its lost or gone home with someone else by accident.

That’s horrendous!

I was thinking that. DD rarely wears a vest (I do buy them in case she wants to). All her classrooms have been boiling.

I'm so surprised to see this is still a thing! In all of our local primary schools in Ireland kids wear their tracksuits in for PE days and they can wear them full time if they wish. It's so handy as the kids don't have to worry about carrying extra bags, losing clothes, or getting changed in front of one another.

I would definitely be taking my kid's lead on this - we can't tell them their privacy and dignity are crucial on the one hand and then force them to undress against their will on the other.

Total non issue for that age. They don’t get naked, underwear is kept on. For older kids I understand but at 7 years old they’re tiny kids still.

My child wears a vest. On PE days my daughter wears a vest and shorts underneath her school skirt. She's 7 and they are made to change in front of the other children and teachers. Was so much easier during covid when they wore their PE kit to school.