AIBU to be cross about this (P.E. at school)

[UndertheCedartree]

Like many areas we are experiencing heavy down pours. And like many schools the DC wear their P.E kit to school and don't change.

On Friday there had been heavy rain the night before and rain showers on and off all day. My DD's class were expected to go for a run over muddy and slippery ground and play basketball in the pouring rain. The running club was cancelled but this went ahead. Considering they then had to wear their kit for the last hour of school, there was then a information meeting so they sat in wet kit for another 45 minutes and then however long their journey home is, would you think this reasonable? I personally, don't.

However, my DD has Long Covid which has all been documented in an Education plan. She has only just been able to start coming to school full time again and missed so much last year. And they got her soaked through (due to weak muscles she slipped multiple times in the mud as well as the pouring rain). She's had a respiratory illness all weekend and soldiered into school this morning for her Mock 11+ and then got sent home. I'm really cross. Where's the common sense? I emailed the school regarding this.

When I went to pick my DD up the P.E teacher had passed on a message asking me to detail all the reasons she can't do P.E in the rain (it was all in the email plus all previous meetings/correspondence re Long Covid) and wondering if she had a coat. Well, yes of course she does, but they obviously don't take them to P.E! It hardly answers why they were getting a child with Long Covid to get soaked through with no opportunity to change. I honestly feel like I have no trust in this teacher to do the right thing for the welfare of the children and especially my own DC. I'm so upset that she's missing school again due to this incident.

My immediate reaction is to email the principal and say my DD is not doing P.E. until this is properly resolved. Meaning I know everything is documented properly about her condition and what would happen in any given situation as it seems I can't rely on the P.E. teacher's common sense.

What would you do?

I would escalate to the head. PE teachers are, unfortunately, statistically more likely to be dickheads than all other types of teacher and the only way to get anywhere is to go round them.

I have had a stupid argument with a PE teacher at the end of last term. Escalated to the head, resolved in half a day.

Doing PE outside in the rain and then not being able to change is stupid where a child is healthy let alone with a long term illness!

Not to mention it would make the classrooms muddy...

Sorry to hear she's had a cold over the weekend, but you don't catch a cold by getting wet.

If you're concerned that Long Covid means your daughter can't cope with PE at all, then I think you need to consult her doctor about that and see what they advise.

But if she can do PE with Long Covid, then she can do PE with Long Covid in the rain. Sitting in damp clothes is mildly uncomfortable, but it's not harmful and if they called off PE every time it rained they'd barely do any PE at all in winter.

Lots of kids walk to school rain or shine and then spend the whole day in the clothes they got drenched in. It's a pain, but that's life. I get that you're particularly concerned because your daughter's had health issues lately, but I think you're perhaps being a little bit precious here.

When we first had rainy weather after the switch to going to school in PE kit, our school sent a message asking that pupils keep a second set of kit at school so that if they did get drenched, they could change (presumably taking the risk of the crowded changing rooms and covid in the interests of being dry). In practice, mine said she couldn't be bothered, as they hadn't sorted out the lockers when they zoned the school for different year groups. However if your school does have lockers, then it might be something you could suggest as a solution - ideally with some leniency about the exact nature of the spare kit to reduce expense (eg plain tracksuit, no worries about logos).

I agree with the above, how thick do you have to be!

It wouldn't particularly bother me, but then DS spends his entire autumn/winter either doing cross country or playing rugby - where they are expected to suck it up if it's wet/muddy.

However, given your DD's health issues, maybe a chat with her GP to see if she should be avoiding PE for the time being.

Honestly, that's just the feeling I got. He just sounds like an idiot!

I know! I can just imagine all the mud that has been traipsed through the whole school - bet the cleaners weren't best pleased!

When you have Long Covid you have a weaker immune system, when you get cold from being soaked through you further impair your immune system therefore making you more susceptible to respiratory illness. I guess the P.E. teacher doesn't know this either! So no, she can't do P.E. in the rain. And P.E. can be moved indoors rather than missing P.E. for the class as a whole.

She is under the paediatrician and she was allowed to start P.E. again on the proviso she could stop if she needed to. I don't think either of us felt we needed to give specific instruction regarding the recent weather.

We walk to school rain or shine. But we wear waterproofs/wellies and walk carefully so no falling over in puddles. So no not sitting soaked through all day. On Friday they had to stay in due to the weather at break and lunch. When they'd be in their coats - but P.E fine with no coats? Running club cancelled due to weather? How does this make sense?

I will see if I can get hold of her paediatrician but I think when we discussed it some while ago we assumed the P.E. staff would have some common sense!

@10HailMarys are you a pe teacher?

@carefullycourageous Where on earth are you pulling this "fact" from? I'm a Head of PE and often find the PE teachers have brilliant relationships with a huge volume of children. I think tarring them all with the same brush because you've come across an adult you didn't like seems uncalled for.

OP- our pupils wore kit to school the last 2 years on PE days due to us being unable to social distance our changing rooms. I made it clear to my teaching team (around 8 PE staff) that no pupils should do PE in rain (except maybe a light drizzle of they had coats with them) and no muddy field use as they wear these clothes all day and it's unfair. I also relaxed the rules so children could wear any coat to PE as long as it wasn't a health and safety/hygiene risk i.e. no leather jackets but a puffer jacket was fine.

I agree the children at the school really shouldn't have to wear muddy, damp kit. Don't pull her out of PE lessons but request a meeting with the PE teacher to discuss the health of your DC.

PE teachers are a special kind of sadistic.

Sounds like it doesn't it! No common sense or duty of care!

Can't she just bring a change of clothes for the days that look like they are going to be wet? PE is important to children (although many parents clearly think not), and it's something lots of children try to avoid, so I think schools tend to be a little extra strict on missing it.

It’s ridiculous that the children had to sit in wet clothes.

you would wear full waterproofs if walking in the rain so that you were dry when finishes, it should be perfectly obvious that it’s not healthy to sit around in wet clothes.

Thank you for that from a P.E teacher. The response really got my back up - like surely they had made some kind of risk assessment for her last term when she was well enough to try P.E. for the last couple of weeks. What happened to that? Was one even made? Just makes them seem incompetent as well as uncaring and lacking any common sense. I will request a meeting but I don't want to take the risk of her doing P.E. until then, but hopefully can get a meeting before Friday as they only do P.E. one day a week as still swimming on the other day.

How did you get your daughter diagnosed with long Covid ? My doctor said there was no test for it I'd really be grateful to know

yabu
you knew the weather forecast
you could have provided your child with a change of clothes.

it's still warm for the time of year. dc are not made from sugar.
being outside is good for us.

If you are a Head of PE, I can only urge you to reflect not on how you feel about PE, but on why vast numbers of young people who are still put off sport for life by the awful teaching of sport that goes on in schools.

I was being tongue in cheek and of course not all are the same but I basically stand by what I said.

YANBU at all. Would all these adults like to sit in wet kit and make the journey home in it? I doubt it.

Not really my experience. PE teachers were the most detached teachers in our school. They only had time for their favourite students.

Sorry, should have added too @SproutsAtChristmas it is not one PE teacher I was basing my remark on, it was a surprising number over many years of parenting. The example I cited was just the latest, in a long period of sending kids to secondary.

She would still get cold being soaking for an hour. For a healthy DC, yes changing would be fine, except there is no facility for that anymore.

I appreciate P.E. is important but so are other lessons and now my DD is off school because of that P.E. lesson and this may extend to more time off. My DD has had to have so much time off school, off her sports club, off other clubs, missing her friends, being in pain, unwell, exhausted, depressed and anxious, believe me the novelty of 'getting off' something has well and truly worn off. And if this P.E. teacher is really unable to understand the difference between that and a DC wanting to avoid P.E. then honestly, I don't want him anywhere near my DC. But actually you've made me realise exactly why his response got my back up - because it was this attitude! Despite my DC never missing P.E before Covid, her doing Sport in after school clubs at school and outside of school. That she's had a hell of a time with Covid/Long Covid - had to miss so much school. Has just been able to go back full time and he wants to make out she's just trying to avoid P.E. even though I explained clearly the (common sense) issue. We have worked so hard to get to this point and she has missed out on so much and this teacher's not bothered that his decisions are now making her miss more school - I am so frustrated!!!

You would think!