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).

Same penalties as for any truancy.

A day in isolation. So when they say they couldn't get online... then what?
And what about safeguarding?

Exactly.

There are quite a few angry parents on the class whatsapp. A few angry at the school for not closing (or even announcing the kids don't have to wear blazers yet) but most angry at the government for not setting a legal upper temp or allowing schools to close.

This is pointless for learning and possibly quite dangerous for students and teachers.

I am not looking forward to the threatening letters re attendance, but the responsibility for my childrens health and safety is ultimately mine, so I will be keeping them off Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Our school (primary) are considering cancelling a residential that is meant to happen this week because a couple of parents have messaged the school Facebook page to ask if it’s still going ahead.
The children will be so upset and I doubt we will get a refund at this late stage.
Can’t imagine being stuck in a hot, sweaty classroom with miserable children will be a better option, surely?

To be fair, those children have grown up in the climate so have adapted. Our children get maybe 2-3 weeks of hot days a year. Having said that, I don’t think they should skip school every time we have a mini heatwave. Keep the blinds closed, make sure they drink regularly and they should be fine.

Just to give you an idea of the heat - it's 18⁰ outside at the moment, but having just got to work, despite leaving the blinds down for the weekend to reduce the heat, it is 27⁰ in my classroom at 6.45am. I've opened the windows the 10cm they go, in the hope it'll bring down the temp a bit but it's hardly likely to make a significant difference.

Sure (though I disagree on 27) - but I was responding to PP's claim that they had graduated in "record-breaking" heat with equivalence to what we're expecting this week.

32 is hot, but not exceptionally so for this country.

If you are not talking about UK schools, you definitely have not read the thread. I have read, maybe 5 pages (when this thread was started) and so many people posted from hot countries.

This heatwave is a week. They could do their isolation day when back. Not sure what you mean about safeguarding. About saying they couldn't get online, did you have a lot of that in Covid? There's no perfect solution, and the ones who couldn't get online should be expected to make up the work.

Schools managed online schooling during Covid, so I don't see why they couldn't do it for a few days here and there during heatwaves. Someone on this thread said that during heatwaves, school in their country goes to online classes. None of this is ideal, but surely online school must be better than making children sit in glasshouse classrooms in boiling hot temperatures, risking their health and the teachers' health.

Remember, this is for secondary school kids, whose parents don't need to be off work if they're not at school. Primary is more difficult.

Are you talking about the UK when you say "this country"? Because 32 is very hot for the UK. It rarely reaches that temp.

It never got higher than 35.9 in the hot summer of 1976.

And 1989 where I distinctly remember lessons outside and ice pops never got higher than 34.2.

Yes we had a lot of that during covid. Don't you remember the 'laptops and dongles for the disadvantaged kids' scheme - even the Daily Mail was outraged enough with government inaction to sort to to raise money to get kids the equipment they needed - and this was months after lockdown started.

And that was a school cohort ago. Those laptops are gone. We are back to square one on that front.

Schools didn't manage online learning during covid. It was largely a failure.

Just got into work. 31 already in my classroom! Here’s hoping I can keep my pupils safe and engaged.

Having taught online from Covid day one, I know very well what it was like.

It didn't work then and it wouldn't work now.

Yes, there was lots of that during Covid.

In KS1, the government didn’t think issuing laptops was necessary at all so loads didn’t have online access except on their mum’s phone-not great for one child, let alone more.

It might not have worked for you but proper online schools can work brilliantly. My son went to online school for a while and it was excellent. And he's continued to do various bits of online learning ever since.
It's a different skill set and it probably only works with engaged children, but it can be brilliant

My son reckons he went from just being the best in his year group to bring miles ahead of everyone as a result of doing (private ) online schooling during the pandemic.

That said, I am not sure it would work in this instance as some children may have homes as uncomfortably hot as the school.

I'd prefer to see a switch to a hot weather timetable where they start early and finish early . Or even just a reduced timetable

Solidarity.

That's awful!

If the class whatsapp is reliable then most of the year is going to be 'unwell' midweek.

The attendance figures are going to be pretty bad. But hopefully that relieves some of the pressure/heat build up for the teachers and children that have to go in.

There's a significant difference between "proper online school" and moving a whole school online though.

Thinking of all the teachers and students.

If the heat does make you start to feel unwell please go home before you feel worse.

I expect schools will start to pay attention once they have a big staffing and attendance issue!

FFS I did my O levels in 1976, it got up to 35 degrees. That was followed by the winter of 76/77 where we had the worse winter with a foot of snow in the SW. did schools close? Nope. Did colleges close? Nope.

if this is now the ‘norm’ we need to get bloody used to it.

slow. hand. clap.

OK boomer

Anytime anyone complains about anything, a boomer pops up and tells them to stop... because they experienced this so much worse and coped so much better.