Page 14 | To think the school were neglectful?

frogshead · 2025-07-12T08:21:43+00:00

Dd (8) went on a school trip yesterday in a heat wave, 40 minutes each way walking to and from a museum. I sent dd with 2 bottles of water and she didn’t drink either of them and a hat which she didn’t wear. She arrived home with a headache and has had diarrhoea since. I know this was partly down to her but she is juts a child and nobody encouraged her to wear her hat or drink anything all day. I applied sun cream before she went so at least she had that.

rainbowstardrops · 12/07/2025 21:38

Hopoitygp · 12/07/2025 21:17

As I said, you’ve clearly never worked in a school.

You have no idea what I do. Simply because I would make it a priority to make sure all the kids were drinking, not just ineffectually reminding them?

No I don’t have any idea what you do.
But I’d bloody put money on the fact that you’ve never worked in a school and have been part of a school trip!!!

Drowninginconfusion · 12/07/2025 21:38

Starlight7080 · 12/07/2025 19:41

Really if teachers plus ta plus volunteering parents can't manage to get children to drink some water on a very hot day. When the outcome is heatstroke. Then thats a even bigger worry .

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Yes it is a complete worry you’re right. It’s also the truth whether you like it or not.

MrsWeasley · 12/07/2025 21:39

Hopoitygp · 12/07/2025 21:14

Maybe she did. She still wasn't there and so couldn't have been able to make sure that was acted upon. The teachers were, they should have.

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And she doesn’t know that the teachers didn’t ask everyone to put on their hats. And she doesn’t know that the teachers didn’t keep reminding children to take drinks when needed.

TheMeasure · 12/07/2025 21:39

Lots of drama on this thread. People are forgetting that one half of the walk would have taken place probably between 9 and 10 in the morning when the temperatures wouldn’t have been very high at all.

rainbowstardrops · 12/07/2025 21:50

TheMeasure · 12/07/2025 21:39

Lots of drama on this thread. People are forgetting that one half of the walk would have taken place probably between 9 and 10 in the morning when the temperatures wouldn’t have been very high at all.

I agree. So much bloody drama.
Especially as @@frogshead hasn’t come back!
Like I said not long ago, light the touch paper and watch it burn ……

Its getting so bloody tedious on here

LyndaLaHughes · 12/07/2025 21:55

And people wonder why teachers are leaving in their droves 🙄

IButtleSir · 12/07/2025 22:00

frogshead · 12/07/2025 09:27

I wouldn’t have taken my daughter on a 40 minute each way walk in this heat yesterday so if someone else is going to I expect them to make sure she’s safe.
If I’d been with her I’d have made sure she was.

I wouldn’t have taken my daughter on a 40 minute each way walk in this heat

But you let her go, which amounts to the same thing. If you didn't think it was safe, you should have kept her at home.

Littlemisscapable · 12/07/2025 22:13

LyndaLaHughes · 12/07/2025 21:55

And people wonder why teachers are leaving in their droves 🙄

This..what a drama about nothing.. she didn't drink the water or wear the hat and now is slightly unwell which may be nothing to do with this "epic" walk. She will be fine..do not bother school with this.

rainbowstardrops · 12/07/2025 22:16

LyndaLaHughes · 12/07/2025 21:55

And people wonder why teachers are leaving in their droves 🙄

Yep!

I left the education system after 13 years because of a myriad of reasons but partly because of some of the parents and their batshit comments and deferring their poor parenting on to us.

Bournetilly · 12/07/2025 22:22

I don’t think they should have got them to walk 40 mins each way, they should have postponed the trip.

Your DD is old enough to know to drink water and wear a hat though.

CurlewKate · 12/07/2025 22:29

Does getting hot give you diarrhoea?

bumblebubble23 · 12/07/2025 22:42

Testingthetimes · 12/07/2025 09:38

if you are taking a group of kids to walk in the blazing sun you need to schedule short stops in shade for water breaks. No, of course, teachers can’t physically watch every child drink but they do have to create the expectation and the space.

peoplE say she is 8, she is old enough to remember to drink water. Adults don’t even always remember when they are distracted.

This

Livpool · 12/07/2025 22:46

It is up to your daughter to drink. My DS is 9 and needs reminding. But I don’t physically need to hold a drink and force it down

HMW19061 · 12/07/2025 22:53

frogshead · 12/07/2025 09:27

I wouldn’t have taken my daughter on a 40 minute each way walk in this heat yesterday so if someone else is going to I expect them to make sure she’s safe.
If I’d been with her I’d have made sure she was.

Presumably you had the option to remove her from the trip yesterday morning if you felt it was too hot
for her?

PithyTaupeWriter · 12/07/2025 22:55

I can’t say I’d have wanted to be out walking in that heat. Having said that, my 5 year old knows to wear her hat, drink water, and reapply sunscreen, so unless your 8 year old has special needs, I think YABU.

TheMeasure · 12/07/2025 22:55

@BournetillyPostponing the trip means it would never have happened. There’s only a week or so left of the school year. In September the kids will be on a new class and whatever the objective of the trip was will be gone.
Jesus, the over-reaction in this country to warmer temperatures is insane. The school organised a nice trip out, the weather was good and the venue close enough to walk to, making the visit affordable (something else parents complain about). With suitable clothing and water bottles on hand, all should have been fine.
Trust some Mumsnetters to flip their lids about things. One kid felt mildly unwell afterwards because they hadn’t taken in enough water. I presume they’ve now recovered and will know for next time. Complaining or “having a non-blamey word” (same thing in the eyes of the school staff) will make zero difference to things going forward as there will always be kids who don’t follow instructions.

pharmer · 12/07/2025 23:10

Hopoitygp · 12/07/2025 20:21

to be talking to your daughter about why she didn't have a drink (too busy talking, looking at things, doing activities maybe?)

Just the same as the adults need talking to about why they didn't notice.

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Priceless!
Surely the elephant in the room is this. If she felt thirsty, she would have drunk!!

Hopoitygp · 12/07/2025 23:21

Jojimoji · 12/07/2025 21:21

We're talking about a walk to a museum.
A little over half an hour.
With abundant access to water.
In the UK.

It's not a four hour trek across the savannah. There is absolutely no need for dramatic language " safety is paramount"
" absolve responsibility" " extreme situations '

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With abundant access to water.

They didn't drink it. And, crucially, no one noticed.

In the UK.

What's your point? High temps are high temps, geography is immaterial.

UsingAMansNameInAWomensWorld · 12/07/2025 23:22

8 year olds can't usually stop drinking water in my experience

And a 40 minute walk isn't really that much

Hopoitygp · 12/07/2025 23:25

MrsWeasley · 12/07/2025 21:39

And she doesn’t know that the teachers didn’t ask everyone to put on their hats. And she doesn’t know that the teachers didn’t keep reminding children to take drinks when needed.

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It doesn't matter. In fact, I don't doubt the teacher DID ask them to put their hats on - what reasonable adult wouldn't?

The teacher can ask and remind until she's blue in the face. If they didn't realise a child wasn't doing it then that's poor - how many times they asked is irrelevant.

Once again: reminding is not a substitute for paying attention to what's actually going on.

UsingAMansNameInAWomensWorld · 12/07/2025 23:32

Should have just stapled their hats to their heads
Wouldn't be an issue then
😉

RhaenysRocks · 13/07/2025 06:33

Bournetilly · 12/07/2025 22:22

I don’t think they should have got them to walk 40 mins each way, they should have postponed the trip.

Your DD is old enough to know to drink water and wear a hat though.

You do know that trips like this are booked and planned months in advance? That they'll have paid for school learning sessions at the museum? You can't just rock up with dozens of kids at no notice. As a pp said, the out kind walk would be in the morning and this is the UK bit sub Saharan Africa. I got heatstroke once on a school trip to a middle eastern country. I was 16 and old enough to know better but I didn't and was horribly ill for 24 hours. 8 is old enough to know to do as you're told with hats and water.

SweetnsourNZ · 13/07/2025 08:38

Testingthetimes · 12/07/2025 09:38

if you are taking a group of kids to walk in the blazing sun you need to schedule short stops in shade for water breaks. No, of course, teachers can’t physically watch every child drink but they do have to create the expectation and the space.

peoplE say she is 8, she is old enough to remember to drink water. Adults don’t even always remember when they are distracted.

This is true. Many people mistake thirst for hunger, and eat when they really need to drink. I live in a hotter country and we always made sure children drank on trips in heat, as they can go from not thirsty, to dehydrated very quick. Hopefully your daughter has learnt from this and will take in water regularly on hot days.

SweetnsourNZ · 13/07/2025 08:41

MrsMurphyIWish · 12/07/2025 09:42

This - and they get worse as teens! This week we our trips and the amount of teens in jeans, hoodies, long sleeved tops was unbelievable. 33 degrees at Alton Towers and they’re dressed for winter despite being told to dress appropriate to the weather!

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Typical teens. Then in winter they are in t shirts and shorts.

SweetnsourNZ · 13/07/2025 08:47

Ibelievetheworldisburningtotheground · 12/07/2025 10:00

I firmly tell my students to drink water. I remind them constantly in this heat. As do all the teachers and staff. Constantly.

We also put water stations out at lunctime for children who 'forget' to take their bottles outside.

And we ask their parents to suncream them before they come in and send hats.

You can only do so much.

Are you sure they didn't re-fill water bottles during the day? We are refilling them constantly at school and on trips. We were at a museum last week with a couple of classes and we were able to refill water bottles while we were there.

Edited

I wondered that too. Maybe the museum had a fountain that they used. Don't think the trip should have been cancelled. Would probably have been better than being stuck at school on a hot day.