Secondary School can’t afford to turn the heating on so students are told to bring blankets…

[LetMeSpeak]

AIBU to think this tweet surely can’t be true, and if it is then it it’s a disgrace! What has this country become?

Nope - there's no legal workplace minimum either.

www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/law.htm

I know two primary schools that told children they could bring oodies/blankets in when the windows were being kept open in winter '21 and '20.because even with the heating on the classrooms were freezing.

It's possible . At my school the heating won't be on until after half term,regardless of how cold it gets, and even then for a limited time. The budget just doesn't stretch enough.

Guidance isn't the same as law, though.

16 is the recommended minimum but that doesn't mean it's the legal minimum.

It is as many things are 'guidance'. Several of the classrooms that I teach in regularly drop below 13 degrees in winter.

Agreed, its deliberately misleading and emotive.
They just need to layer, which isn't the end of the world. Mine will wear a vest, shirt, jumper, blazer and jacket, then long johns under his trousers when its really cold. He is used to being outdoors anyway though.

So a tweet where the account has now been deleted

Where in the tweet it was the parent saying the child would take blankets, not the school asking for this

And in a context where students didnt have blankets wrapped round them during the covid period where windows and doors were open for ventilation even when cold

Look things are difficult and schools of course are going to struggle to have the heating on as much but exaggeration of what is being said to children isnt going to help any discussion or argument.

Extra layers, thicker socks, allowing children to have their coats on inside will be enough,, personally schools are like ovens most of the time anyway

We can’t afford to have the hearing on all’s at at our school. Will be an hour before 9am. Gov isn’t increasing our budget to pay higher bills so no choice.

*heating on all day

Ex secondary teacher having conniptions at the thought of 30 teenagers with blankets.
Particularly as one school I taught at regularly had the heating fail so we’d be in one hall with gas heaters 🔥

It's got to be fake. Last winter we had all the windows open all the time, it was freezing and no one was bringing in blankets but we did let our students wear coats.

In the original tweet they followed up to say the school didn't actually say the kids were to bring in blankets, and that it was the parent/author of the tweet themselves who suggested it.

Whilst it's definitely going to be a tough winter I don't t think them adding dramatics is helpful, can't seem to find the original now so must have been deleted.

Yeah ok. Nice story.
Name the school or it didn’t happen.

Why would people disbelieve this. A lot worse is going to happen before the year is out

Not sure. I work in a private school and even we are being very told we must leave the heating on the (low!) setting it us currently on. I was chilly today at work and know it will get worse.

Yes, I saw the original tweet earlier today and in the following tweet, she said that the school hadn’t said the children had to bring blankets, but she was suggesting taking a blanket to her daughter. So a bit of over-dramatising there!

The Twitter account now appears to have been locked, not deleted, but still no chance of getting a screenshot of both tweets.

Seems fair enough. I wear a blanket to wfh

Not unreasonable to expect kids to wear warmer clothes in colder weather.

As if!

I know it's obviously different, but a gym near me is asking people not to use the showers wherever possible since the 'join and gym and save money on running your shower hack' was announced.

I run an office building and it's terrifying to think that our business won't survive the winter.

@EllieQ
Ahh that'd explain why I can't find it again! No doubt some paper will quote just the first part tomorrow to rile up their readers.

I'm not surprised if this is true. I'd be more surprised if the blankets didn't have to be school branded.

I work in a school and I don't believe schools are asking kids to bring blankets for all the reasons stated, but I can confirm our heating is staying off this winter. We have been told that the alternative would be losing staff, and we are all spread too thin as it is. I was in school working from about 7am until 6.30pm today and never took my coat off the whole time. Kids are already complaining they feel cold. It's going to be shit.

When my previous school was in a financial mess a few years ago, they had the heating on between 8 and 12 only each day. It got quite cold by 3.30pm. Outdoor coats weren’t allowed.

🤣🤣🤣

My old school has told them the heating will only be on first thing so to bring a blanket/wrap to wear if they feel they will need it