Nursery closing on Monday due to heat

[MumofSpud]

GDC’s nursery is closed on Monday due- reason being the heat. They will be open on Tuesday til 12 (instead of 3).
This was emailed to parents on Friday.
My AIBU is - the nursery is in a hall (trees all around and in a park so outside space and shady outside areas if needed. So why does it need to close!

You want the news to warn the whole country that some nurseries might close

No authority is going into individual nurseries to risk assess. Nursery managers have to do it themselves as they have ultimate responsibility.

Other nurseries or other countries managing is really irrelevant, the manager has to consider the building they have.

Yeah, we are suffering from this as well. Flat hasn't got below 28 degrees for several days now.

But surely the operative word there is emergency? I.e. not usual.

We need to school holidays in England to move in line with the Scottish ones, as that’s when the hot days usually are these days - late June/ early July. It’s cooled by mid August usually.

Now that doesn’t help with nurseries but we as a country need to better understand better when it’s hot and how to deal with it. Nurseries could probably do with air con more than anywhere else.

What shouldn’t be happening is for care for small children on very hot days to be put on to grandparents.

Yeah then you see meterorologists on the TV saying that the heatwave is coming back For those of us in flats it never went away

These houses have small windows and usually curtains or blinds and a cool side, through draught , usually. Schools can be walls of glass with windows that do not open no blinds or curtains/( broken) and thirty plus hot sweaty bodies raising the temperature. Often dark flat roofs too. They can be hotter than hell.

I worked in a nursery through a heatwave and it was hell on earth. We couldn’t keep the children cool no matter what we did. We had fans, water out for them to drink, ice lollies, cloths to sponge them down but it was futile. We had a huge garden but we couldn’t use it because it was in full sun, the area that had a purpose built shaded area was still too hot so we were stuck indoors.

The nursery has obviously done a risk assessment and deemed it not safe for the children to come in under the current weather conditions, which I think is fair. However, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to ask what measures they’re putting in place to prevent closures during further heat waves.

I would definitely request a refund! It’s clearly a health and safety concern, but at the cost of us working parents. Hopefully it works out.

I’d ask them what their business plan is for global warming.

I can’t bear weather hysteria. If it’s really hot, invest in loads of fans, open the windows, get some water play going. I mean how do kids in hot countries survive? Aircon is only for the rich in so many hot countries. Same with very cold/wet weather. Get dressed warm, move around a lot and eat well. Bloody hell, this shit drives me nuts.

I think that sounds ridiculous and like they're just unwilling to make adaptations to their routine.

Lots of people have said it won't be safe for them to open. But I haven't seen one other reply saying 'oh yes, our nursery is closed too.' So if all/most nurseries are open then why can't this one? Even the ones who have said it was hell to be there through a heatwave didn't say they therefore closed.

If only it were that easy! It’s not, with all their bullshit attendance targets

Sounds like my son's first nursery, which was closed because hot weather, heavy rain, strong winds, etc. They even refused to refund us!

You're right homes will be hot but when children are at home they're not the nurseries liability if anything happens to them because of the heat.

Put 15-20 children and staff into a hall and see how you manage it yourself. Extra care needed for each child with the heat can quickly become unmanageable.

who cares if it’s for staff benefit too? I work with children and struggle in heat. If I’m too hot and become fatigued I cannot do my job properly if I’m suffering. Staff cant keep themselves cool enough if they’re attending to other children constantly.

Its time for the UK to face the facts and stop treating air con as a dirty phrase

I am not surprised. Some buildings are just not built for heat. Ironically it’s our new build part (about 10-15 years old) that is unbearable. Hence the name. I have had to tarp my roof 😭

I’m another one who had a child in nursery and one in infants when it hit 40 degrees a few years ago. Nursery got the paddling pool and lots of ice play while keeping blinds shut all day etc. the garden has plenty of shade and it sounded manageable. School was slightly trickier from what I remember but they scrapped uniform and didn’t do pe.

From the OPs description, it doesn’t sound like a private all day nursery so may not have the range of facilities to keep open comfortably but I’m still surprised given everything mainly stayed open a few years ago when it really was unusually hot .

thaniks god someone speaks sense about air con

everyone who comes from other countries say ours is unverable in the summer-guess why- we dont have aircon-and if we do its like it spitting it out rather than a blast

The recommended indoor temperature for early years settings like nurseries and childminding environments is generally between 16°C and 22°C. It is recommended to try and keep the temperature below 26°C. Indoors temperature above that can pose a risk to young children, especially if under 5, because their ability to regulate body heat is limited, and heat exhaustion can come on quickly.
Most parents don’t know this. As a early years provider myself, my duty is to care and safeguard and keep the children safe, and my staff.
even if you put all the measures in place, the setting is still hot, especially early till
late afternoon. Think about the nap times, children will be stressed and won’t rest well due to the heath. Irritability is at all times high for young children and babies. Yes, water is good, but not enough. Uk buildings are designed to trap the heath. Sometimes I believe that parents should also be sensible in understanding that we are working with not just one child, but way more. The safety of children and staff comes first. I definitely believe that children are better at home where they can easily walk around with just their nappies and relax, something that will be a bit hard in a setting. Hope this gives more clarity.

They just wanted a day off

People keep forgetting that we have strict guidelines too.
Also, let’s assume we do what all parents suggest, paddling pool, plenty of water play outside, aren’t the kids going to be under the sun anyway? The water play will keep them cool but not safe from heath exhaustion and heath stroke. Remember children’s body are not like adults’s. Would you keep your child outside in the garden all the time under the sun with water? Just because it’s hot? At some point you would need to bring them in. Would you stay under the sun few hours? Playing with water?
Some settings don’t have much shade until is late afternoon.
I understand the frustration but unfortunately these are some measures that has been put in place for the safety of everyone in our care. I know most parents don’t really care about the staff etc.
Also, remember, with heath the children might find it difficult to sleep at night too.
What if your child’s gets heath exhaustion or stroke, who would you blame?

The nursery I worked in shut that day. There was no way the indoor temperature could have been kept to a safe level in that building.

I come from Italy, for us there is different. Air con is a must in most houses, also we have plenty of lido’s,swimming pools and acqua parks. Italy and souther European countries are used to the heath. It’s normal for us. Uk is not.

pathetic!!! excuse for a day off!!