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).

Gosh yes im sure i wont get the cats bum face on here if i admit to filling my bath a few times a day.

Exactly, you’d get parents wanting to keep their children home because they found one sensationalist weather app showing high predictions!

It’ll be hot, sticky and possibly a bit uncomfortable, but as long as everyone keeps drinking water and stays out of direct sunlight, it will likely all be fine.

Schools without blinds or windows that don’t open properly should be able to apply for LA grants to make those classrooms better, IMO, but as so many schools are academies now, the cost is all down to them.

Wouldn't you just leave the water in? If the kids are just playing in it rather than washing?

Who said we were being dramatic then? It was very hot indeed that day, and we certainly noticed it, in our robes. But nobody would dream of cancelling it. My point is that nowadays, MN would be full of “AIBU to think they should cancel the ceremony, in case my DD or an elderly academic drops dead in the heat? AIBU that graduates should not have to be robed to attend the ceremony? My DD’s safety is more important than this once-in-a-lifetime rite of passage”.

I only get 20mins for working 7.5 hours. Then again when I was at school water bottles weren't a thing. There was just a fountain in the playground and we managed. People seem to carry them around with them all the time now.

The windows don't open properly to stop the kids jumping out of them. It's a safety thing.

Yes they will.

It still does not justify the sweeping judgmental comments towards working parents which you are refusing to own. But I can see you are dodging that, so I will leave it there.

I havent got kids Its one of the reasons im only entitled to a bath. And as constipation piles and the shits has been caused by the shithole sauna i live in i certainly wont be washing in the same water. i will be using fresh water again before bed. Thems the breaks.

When it reached 40c in London a few years ago, we relaxed attendance for the afternoon. If anyone wanted to collect their child at lunchtime they could, without an unauthorised absence. About a third of my classroom stayed. Having 13 children spread out in a classroom is far better than everyone squeezed in.
We got our learning done in the morning to the whole class, we babysat in the afternoon for those that needed to stay.
Schools can’t win in these situations, sometimes it is about a compromise.

exactly the same as my flat

When I taught in secondary in recent heatwaves I just bought fans from home( didn’t tell premises ) , spent my own money on ice , I would freeze a few normal cheapo 1 litre water bottles over night usually and bring them in . Most of it was pretty solid until midday I would have a couple of 5 litre water bottles and I always had paper cups / tissues / wet wipes in the desk . Once students were settled after lunch one student would top people’s bottles for any one desperate or out of water Most only needed a few sips - only dafter kids would have been racing around would want to chug water down after lunch . I also used just blue tack green paper to the windows where there were no blinds and kept the room as dark and cool as possible . Even the naughtiest class would appreciate it ! The outlay out my own pocket was worth the peace and the classroom management . 30 hot bothered or preteens teens is not fun !

Whatever happens schools can’t win. Some parents will complain that we are open and others will complain if we shut. I’d like 8 am start and finish at 1pm. But that won’t happen.

This, this, this. Exactly the same here from someone whose ancestors came from the northern climes. When it gets hot, like 28-plus, I feel like I can't breathe, I can't think, I can't do anything. I'm very uncomfortable at 23. Eighteen is the ideal outdoor temp for me.

I remember being in the 2003 heatwave in London. My right eye started producing thick mucus as a response to the heat, and I got diarrhoea. And it was "only" about 28-29.

Our school in Queensland didn't have air con, but it was built on stilts, had ceiling fans everywhere with high ceilings, and was entirely of wood, with large verandas to prevent sunlight pounding straight into the window. And it had a pool. Our uniform was shorts and a t shirt. So it seems silly to compare UK schools to schools in hot countries - they are not the same.

We’ve just had a message that our kids can go in PE kit tomorrow, hopefully others will do the same

Oh dear, teacher trying to get even more time off again! We all swealter through both heat and cold at work (and when I was at school were NEVER sent home for this) , what makes you so special?

Exactly.
I can't imagine working parents insisting on their kids staying at school at 39C. 35 kids in a tiny classroom without windows in our case. It's insane.
But I need the school to close to justify taking days off on such a short notice. Though in terms of comfort I'd much prefer to stay at my fully AC workplace in heatwave.

You'd at least hope that parents would think that their kids are special.

Can I ask do you live in the north of the uk? Because in the south it’s frequently 25c plus in the summer so I’m genuinely wondering how you cope working/going out/just general due to day life? That’s not even considered a heatwave temp.

I do agree we should just get more air con. It’s so annoying when people say ‘it’s only for a day or two each year.’ It’s really not!

When I had my first child the hospital was so warm I couldn’t sleep at all. Some of the mums were bringing fans in from home it was ridiculous as the ward was running out.

I think above 32 degrees secondary schools should send students home (worst case they can sit in the shade of a tree till the bus home comes!). I think primary schools should hold on to their students and adjust their timetable…go into shade outside to read etc as parents can’t necessarily leave work to mind them.

So i live in a different european country. Here if the temp is above 30 for three days each lesson is 15 min less and they finish earlier. I cant belive people wouldnt want this for their kids.
Also hotter countries start summer holidays earlier to aviod the heat. We start next week and are off until sep....i think this is quite standard in hotter countires.

Happy to have helped 😆

I'm afraid here in the UK smth really bad should happen for them to consider changes.

It's not a judgement on parents, it's a judgement on employers who won't release them.

Oh then you are very ignorant. My current (private) school has a lovely 70 minute lunch break, but I once taught in a really rough state school that gave 20 mins for lunch. It was because behaviour was so terrible things would kick off if they had any longer! So don't make claims if you don't know what you're talking about 🙈