AIBU that kids should be allowed to come in in PE kit on PE days rather than get changed

[PEpandemonium]

Interested to know how other schools are doing this. Our school has now decided to bring back the practice of kids having to get changed for PE as opposed to wearing PE kit on PE days. The rationale is that it is better for safeguarding, as staff can clock any bruises or marks.

The school is mixed sex and has no changing facilities so this means below year 5 girls and boys all getting changed together in a classroom which to my mind introduces a safeguarding risk. Like me, my daughter is an early developer, and in yr 4 has boobs and pubes. I don't think it is fair or safe for her to be changing with boys. I have horrible memories of being gawped at and having my towel grabbed off me when I was the only girl in class with boobs.

This has gone down like a sack of shit on all the WhatsApp threads.

How are other schools handling this? Have any schools relented?

At secondary school changing makes sense. PE done properly requires sport specific kit, and some activities/sports done/played properly make you sweat.
so wearing sweaty gym/cross country running/cricket whites/football knee socks all day would be grim, but 30 sweaty kids in a room would be rank

At my son's secondary school, they wear their PE kit all day. This last yr (they've broken up for summer now), he had two consecutive days of PE a week so I had to buy an extra PE sports top as I wouldn't have had time to wash and dry it in one night.

I think the top with the schools name and logo on looks quite smart actually. 😊

Totally agree with this

Our school has the kids come in wearing their PE kit, much better.

If uniform was a polo shirt and joggers or cotton/polycotton shorts with trainers then there would be no need for separate uniform and PE kit in the first place.

Can the boys get changed in the corridor or a space that isn’t in the classroom. Girls need the privacy to get changed at that age. They shouldn’t be made to change in the loos. Let the boys be found a changing area instead.

i would not be comfortable with this at all, and as a side note do the want 1 hour of pe or 2 mins with the rest of the time pointlessly getting changed

Pe kit seems much more comfortable and practical especially for girls. They can run about, sit how they want.

Our school has a logo t shirt and logo jumper for PE - it looks just as smart as the normal uniform.

I think much better for kids to keep their clothes on in school - less chance to lose things. They can practice getting dressed at home - this shouldn't be school's responsibility. As for teachers staring at them to look for bruises...grim.

My DC have just changed school. Old school they kept pe kit in school and got changed. My year 2 child takes ages to get dressed so I pity the teacher trying to herd 30 kids to get dressed quickly. So much wasted time. The pro was that I didn't need to remember when pe was; kit was already in school.
New school they go in in their pe kit. No real complaints, but I find that the school as a whole looks scruffy; some are in uniform, others in a random combination of sports wear.
I love the idea of primary having one sporty uniform. Far more functional and cohesive.

The safeguarding reason sounds strange, and even stranger to be shared with parents.

We have just been told from County that children should come in uniform and change to PE kits in school because they have noticed a decrease in children's ability to dress themselves. Because, you know, teaching children to get dressed and tie shoe laces is the job of the teacher... not the parents

Di the school actually say safeguarding so they can look for bruises? KS2

Has your daughter been diagnosed with precocious puberty? She may need counselling as she’s developing very young unlike her peers.

They can't make your child do this. Just send her in wearing PE kit on her PE days.

Doing this for safeguarding is weird.

I could understand them doing it because they want everyone in the same uniform to look smarter. Or to promote independence.

Our primary school still go in in PE kit on PE days and it’s great as saves on washing but it does mean the uniform is more expensive (they need to have quite expensive jackets).

I don't think this needs to be a big issue really. Most of the girls in my class pull shorts or leggings up under their skirts and then have cropped tops or vest t shirts under their shirts. I think children under 8 should be safe changing together with a teacher supervising. Children with medical need - including early puberty - are able to change separately at parental request.

Take it home weekly. I'm sure it'll survive two wears.

Most teachers will have experience of uncovering abuse because they saw marks or bruises while a child was changing. The school may have had a safeguarding issue that prompted this change.

DD’s school doesn’t have “PE days” they do PE as and when, so some weeks they might do it loads of days and then other weeks just twice. PE kits live at school. It’s a very small school though and they have 3 mixed age classes (Reception and Y1, Y2-4 and Y5&6). If they decide the kids need a bit more energy burning off they just whisk them outside impromptu, or if the weather is crap they switch up what they planned.

I think it’s a good life skill to learn how to get dressed and undressed so not keen on changing it here, it’s also a bit scruffy.

No changing for PE here post COVID.

If they do clubs after school on non PE days they get changed but separately (and it's a one form school). My DD uses a separate classroom - Year 4. There are a lot of girls in crop top type bras for privacy. Never used to be but my DD asked and said she was uncomfortable changing with boys and they changed the policy for all.

It is ludicrous that they’re saying teachers would be actively watching the children to look for bruises.

I really hated getting changed for PE, first in the class with all the boys and then from about age 8 just with the girls because other girls also stared at my boobs and pubes as @PEpandemonium put it.

Only one class at a time ever did PE, the hall wasn’t very big (and was often being used for rehearsals of some description).

Children deserve dignity and the simplest solution is to wear PE kit to school on those days. Or better still as some have said wear clothes suitable for PE every day and get them in the habit of moving and exercising.

Edited to add I don’t mind communal changing rooms now but at that age on the cusp of puberty it made me very uncomfortable.

Our school stuck with wear pe kit on pe days - so much simpler in so many ways. Annoying having to try and clean the white t-shirts but still easier overall!
Think checks on children being the reason is nonsense - can harder look over all the children at once. Plenty of other indicators...

We are still in kit all day on PE days but are discussing reintroducing changing for PE lessons (as we did before Covid times). I think they should change just for PE - it’s a good habit and improves independence and organisation.

Ours is PE kit for the day. Much better practise the kids aren’t wasting time getting changed

DS1 found it a shock having to lug PE kit around and change for PE when he transitioned to secondary after a couple of years of wearing it all day. (He has executive function issues)

The school have returned to changing this year. DS2 is sporty so was wearing kit more often than uniform which was annoying as he had more uniform than kit. He's now also more used to the practice which is one less thing to adapt to at secondary.

I never did understand how not changing kit saved schools from Covid when the kids were all together all day anyway

You can request that she has a discrete place to change as an individual need. She should have relevant body parts covered by underwear at all times anyway, and even when changing is seperated by sex, it is usually communal due to facilities and practicality of supervision.

I am in Ireland we don’t have this practice. Children wear pe gear on set days. I fail to see how having children lose their privacy from peers and their teacher benefits over the worrying possible safeguarding breaches.

Our school used to do this then for practical reason after COVID decided for kids to come in already dressed for PE and it's much better

1. They don't lose as much uniform getting changed

1. Get more time doing PE instead of everyone getting changed twice

1. The kit gets washed every week instead of only in school holidays (which is just horrid)