Should schools be closed at 35°C?

[DancingThroughLife02]

Not really an AIBU but looking ahead at the forecast for next week and it’s looking like a scorcher.

I work in a secondary school in a science classroom (which seems to get extra hot during practicals) and we have no fans or AC or anything at all to keep the children cool. Open windows don’t seem to help much. The thermostat in the classroom got above 30°C in the afternoon.

The children need to have their water bottles filled at break times and lunch times only and are not allowed to fill them during lessons - which I disagree with as so many come to me saying that they didn’t get a chance to fill theirs up in the 20 minute lunch break.

Last week I had children saying they were dizzy and feeling sick, and they’re made to go outside during breaks. I’m also not sure that anything I taught them during the extra hot days actually stuck in anyway as they all seemed melted onto the desks.

I know there is a legal lower temperature limit for classrooms/workplaces but maybe with the increasing summer temperatures over the last few years we need to start considering investing in ACs as the heat in summer seems to be more prolonged than a couple hot days and in the meantime consider health and safety of the students (and teachers as even I was beginning to feel a bit dizzy).

I mean, it was weird the moment you randomly asked for the social contribution credentials of a poster who hadn't said anything relevant to the question.

But everyone needs a hobby I guess. If this is yours, then enjoy.

But they’re built and set up for the heat we are not

This is really sensible- swap the learning outcomes to things that can be achieved under a shady tree. Talk about weather, sunscreen, fabric that blocks the sun. Draw, read, write poetry…
I remember doing needlework under a big chestnut tree in the playground.

If the school has done a proper risk assessment and can provide an acceptable environment at high temperatures, then yes they should stay open. If they are going to be dicks and enforce rules not made for 35 degrees plus, then they should close - or adapt for the heat.

No. I have to go to work.in prisons. No air con there either!

The church I went to in Singapore was built without side walls. There were bamboo blinds that came up and down depending where the sun was, and big fans in the middle. High ceilings for the heat to rise.
Others had gaps at the tops of the walls and were built to make heat flow up and out of those gaps.
We build our houses to keep heat in and rain out, not let heat out.

I endured the summer of 76 in a very old school building. We all wore calf length woollen skirts. As a concession some - but by no means all - teachers allowed their pupils to remove their wool jumpers.
if we were allowed to go home when the temperature reached thirty degrees we would’ve missed almost the whole of that summer.
Contrarily if you couldn’t see the school fence because of fog at twelve noon we were let loose early.

😂

My mum used to keep me off on sports day
they wanted us all on the field in hot weather, not allowed inside and no shade
she pointed out I’m a redhead who would be burnt, faint and puking with heatstroke and they still said no going inside so that was that

Sure. If at home they live in a science lab with windows that have limited opening capacity and an inability to move to a cooler room or sit outside in the shade or get a fan then yep. They’ll be just as hot at home 👍

But it’s not a few days of year is it. And it’s become the Norm in the UK now To have recurring days over 30° and even days over 40°. It’s completely different The climate has changed

It's a nice idea, but clearly some posters haven't seen how packed the curriculum is these days.

@noblegiraffe, I assume you'll be letting your year 10s loose with needles and getting them to sew in the playground? 🤣

Mine we go in Monday and see how conditions are but if school haven’t put anything in place to help them stay call I know two out of three will be home as one will just faint and end up with an uncontrollable nose bleed still get called and the other I’ll get a phone call to collect because excessive heat is a trigger for their currently uncontrollable migraines of which we are under consultant for.

So far only one school has made contact and the only thing they are doing is stopping blazers being mandatory. All have huge windows that barely open, no air con and no shade as they chopped all the trees outside.

I’ll be freezing water bottles this evening and Charging the hand held fans.

In the South east the temperatures will be a lot higher than 30c. My classroom broke 30c on Thursday and Friday last week - unpleasant, but bearable. It will be significantly hotter next week.

But schools have changed since then.

I went to school in the 80s and 90s. We always had an hour for lunch. At my daughter’s state secondary, the longest they ever get is 40 mins. On Mondays they have 30 mins. Lessons often finish a little late for whatever reason, and if they’re on school lunches they then have to queue, with hundreds of others, to get food. So I can well believe that kids might not have time to fill up water bottles at lunch.

Exactly at home mine can sit in front of the fan, use the ice maker, get fridge water, have the slushie maker on, get ice poles and ice cream, go in the pool or just sit in a Shaded part of the garden. Just relax and try to stay cool.

They are not sat with 29 other students with no fan, no air con, no outside shade with windows that barely open and warm water and also expected to learn something.

Monday - 30
Tuesday - 36
Wednesday and Thursday - 37
Friday - 31

^^ Yes, this is what it will be where I am. And I work in a concrete jungle with no fans and incomplete blinds. South facing windows. Kids were already starting to get nose bleeds last week.

Oh yawn at your frothing. It's not "nice weather" at 38 degrees, no breeze and 70% humidity unless perhaps you're sat by a pool.

You're obviously not reading the same news as me either saying it's not going to be as hot, there's apparently going to be record breaking temps this week.

Of course they shouldn't be closed, it's not that hot! 🤨

Is there a temperature at which you think they should close? 36/37 degrees over three days seems quite high to me and is above the guidance at which they would take action in Australia.

e.g.
https://education.qld.gov.au/students/student-health-safety-wellbeing/student-health/managing-excessive-heat-schools

Many areas are expecting temperatures of 37° or higher

I'm curious to know what temperatures you would consider hot enough.

DC at secondary has air con (inner city school) and allows them to wear PE kit all week (shorts and cotton top).

DC at primary, no aircon or shade in playground but they will hopefully be sensible enough to give them lots of water, fans and breaks. Their classroom gets the sun and will be unbearably hot.

@PrizedPickledPopcornwas that in the 1950s? 😂

And the South Africans say: Climate change can result in health impacts which can occur on isolated days of extreme heat (maximum temperature >35°C) or during heat waves, defined as 3 consecutive days when the maximum temperature is 5°C above the mean maximum for the hottest month in that area.

https://www.health.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/National-Heat-Health-Action-Guidelines.pdf

To be fair it was trying to highlight different times as I dont even think there was a national curriculum in the 80s when I was at school. Im basically saying we went and it was was hot but we didnt do school as such, whereas these days it hotter and actual school is expected. Very different..