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 will definitely continue to raise this until it is sorted because as you say the damage that could be done to her education by this kind of thing is significant.

PE teachers are from another planet.

I think yanbu

Who wants to do PE in the rain, surely they could go in the gym or have facilities to change afterwards

Schools can't win though. I'm sure there was another thread this week where a parent wanted to complain about making them change for PE and how much better it is when they can just wear their pe kit all day! So whatever the school does someone isn't going to be happy.

I think it’s a good thing if they wear their PE kit all day but common sense would be to do PE indoors if it’s pouring with rain.

Are you serious? Jane Austen? Perhaps educate yourself before commenting. I have made clear it was the getting soaked through from being outside in the rain/falling over in puddles that was the issue and then staying in those wet clothes. Yes, that can affect immunity and on top of a lowered immunity from Long Covid it just adds to the chance of them becoming unwell. I had no idea they would be doing P.E in the rain especially as the before/after school sports clubs were cancelled due to the rain. The day before they had to stay in at break/lunch due to the rain. On top of all this I didn't think the school would allow a DC with Long Covid to get soaked through. This was the first week back after all. The school knew she had Long Covid and the mock exam and they were also the ones who made the decision to put the DC with Long Covid and a mock exam out in the pouring rain! Now I know I'm of course going to keep her off P.E the day before the 11+

Well, if she has to be off tomorrow, I'll be making it quite clear that the school are responsible for her absence.

Personally, I also feel it was unacceptable for all the DC. But the effect is worse for my DD. She will miss education because of it. Honestly, it makes me so sad for her.

Thank you so much.

Was there a parent of a DC with Long Covid complaining their DC had been prevented from getting soaked through? I doubt it.

If the P.E class had been moved inside, noone would have been unhappy. Class kept out in rain probably lots unhappy, if your DC has Long Covid - definitely unhappy!

Exactly!

YANBU I have Long Covid and have to be really careful not to use up extra energy unnecessarily otherwise it can really impact my health and ability to do other things in my daily life like work and care for my kids. Getting cold and wet and have to use up energy trying to keep warm is just too much when you are already unwell.

Speak to the SENCO and get them to speak to the P.E. teacher.

You are not unreasonable- it would be different if they could change after wet pe but that can’t be comfortable or healthy to sit in wet muddy clothes

I just asked my 8 yo wha they they do for wet pe and he said they divert it indoors.

I’d be feeling the same as you in this case.

@SproutsAtChristmas you found lovely and very sensible but every single PE teacher I have ever come across as a pupil and a mother of 2 teenagers has been an unmitigated arsehole. Sorry that’s just my experience.

The one who pushed me in a pool when I was 8ish and terrified to jump in (mrs Saunders o still remember you 50 years later) and the one who told my DD2 to “grow a backbone” when she was crying with humiliation after being made to run past the boys who were shouting they could “see her c**t” in her PE skirt stand out as particular highlights of arseholery. They have single handedly put both DDs off PE. I have done my best to model good habits myself by being a very regular exerciser. As for the ritual humiliation of sports day, don’t get me started. As a child I always wondered why we didn’t get all the parents in to watch less able children publically struggle with maths or English or music. But no, that delight is saved only for PE.

I wish I and they had had s PE teacher like you. But my lived experience definitely backs up the PP who says there is a very high degree of arseholery among PE teachers. Very high indeed.

This is not ok. Either do PE indoors in heavy rain or allow the children to change their wet clothes.

@UndertheCedartree this teacher sounds like a very poor role model. Bring DC to my school, she will have a much nicer experience!

I suspect they can’t just move PE inside. If it’s anything like most schools there is something else booked in the gym or another PE class.

I remember doing PE in the rain at school. Netball was the worst trying to aim for the hoop when you couldn’t see.

Most people didn’t get long covid so have absolutely no idea what it means for each individual, me included and I work in a scientific field. Perhaps the exact expectations you have should be detailed to keep everyone happy and so the PE staff know exactly what your daughter can manage.

did she raise the issues with staff? How old is she?

@BitOutOfPractice I can definitely attest that teacher training for PE has changed significantly since your swimming experience and what a horrific teacher Mrs Saunders sounds like! She'd be struck off for that nowadays and rightly so.

What I will say to defend my colleagues and profession is that a huge group of my friends are PE teachers (since I went to university and have 4 years worth of PE teacher friends as a result) and all the ones I know have a true passion for the subject and same views as me for the children to have lifelong enjoyment of PE. We share planning, resources and ideas to make sure we are doing the best. There is also a huge PE scene on twitter for this exact reason of the best quality teaching. My colleagues in the schools I've worked in, the other teachers from fixtures and trainee teachers I mentor have all been great examples of PE teachers (mixture of state and independent teachers but mostly state).

I'm not suggesting none of us make a poor decision at times with regards to clubs/weather/activities etc but I think the reason people teach PE is very important. It sounds like you have come across some who are in the profession for the wrong reasons and that is a real shame.

I feel like this is so British...suck up the misery, don't ever ask for a bit of quality of life! OP I think it is bloody dreadful. There was no excuse to run PE lessons like this.

@SproutsAtChristmas you do sound lovely. Again I’ll say I wish you had been my teacher.

but the incidents I have mentioned from my DD have happened in the last 5 years. This kind of complete lack of empathy, understanding or human kindness is still rife now. My DDs went to a very high achieving sports obsessed school and I wish with all my heart they’d gone elsewhere. It was a toxic atmosphere for non sporty kids. Music, drama, art were all pushed down the agenda on the altar of PE.

dobt get me wrong, I know how important PE is. I am an enthusiastic runner now myself. But the stats all show that PE in school is still putting girls off sport, many of them for life. So while your experience of lovely and professional PE teachers is nice, it doesn’t seem to fit the stats. They are still putting kids off sport.

Yes it has changed but those involved in ITT for PE (I have discussed this with some) acknowledge that there are issues specific to PE that are very hard to address, in part because there is a closed culture.

I do think PE is falling further and further behind all other subjects. It is not helped by the wider culture within sport which often trails the rest of society - improvements on these problems are often only surface and many sports have a culture of bullying. Lots of PE teachers have grown up with bullying in their extra curricular activities. Teacher training is a very short period compared to the entirety of a person's sports 'socialisation' prior to that.

Sorry for banging on about this but if I could change something in schools it would be to completely redraw how sport/activity is taught, it does so much harm. But PE teachers will defend it to the end, so change will be slow.

@BitOutOfPractice I think some of the very sporty schools can attract the competitive PE teachers which may not be a good thing. I have seen on job adverts that some schools only want staff that have a proven track record of high performing school teams, e.g. the school football team they coached won the county final. For some reason, there are some schools that value trophies over participation. I assume because it elevates their status and looks good on twitter/school prospectus but it's not my cup of tea at all.

@carefullycourageous I'm not sure what you mean by this bit?
"Yes it has changed but those involved in ITT for PE (I have discussed this with some) acknowledge that there are issues specific to PE that are very hard to address, in part because there is a closed culture."

What issues and what do you mean by closed culture? I'm not trying to he defensive, I'm genuinely curious.

We really push at my school to not just teach traditional sports and the children practically design their curriculum. It's all National Curriculum compliant but the children pick what clubs they want, which fixtures they want, which sports they like and don't like etc. One class who love Yoga will learn Yoga while another class may love Tchoukball so they do that (per half term for example). I don't know many other subjects that can tailor their lessons in that way to the children's interests. We have a large number of SEN at our school and they cope brilliantly in PE because it's designed around them. I'd be curious if we were doing something that is classed as an issue specific to PE just so I can try to correct it!

I wouldn't care that they had to run on muddy ground but I don't think they should be playing basketball in the 'pouring rain' - a bit of drizzle would be fine, caught in an unexpected downpour for a few minutes would be unavoidable. But actually taking them outside in heavy rain for an entire lesson is not ok and wouldn't happen at our school.

However, I am sympathetic to PE teachers because they do get shit day in, day out from precious parents wanting to excuse their children from PE lessons for the most spurious of reasons. And I think that must be annoying - child says they can't do sport unless it's a Thursday in May, light breeze, 18-22 degrees only, when in peak physical fitness. Teacher quite rightly tells them to get on with it. Parent complains.

"I think all the adults worked out they could leave home later/get home earlier by cancelling all the clubs due to rain! If anyone wants to talk about people 'trying to get out of' P.E.! But no, of course they wouldn't. I suppose this teacher gets to change so thinks 'I'm all right, Jack!'

I think they're happier about cancelling clubs because they're not a compulsory part of the curriculum.

Go over PE teacher's head to the headteacher.
I'd be getter a doctors letter too.