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).

Every workplace which isn't centrally air conditioned will be Hellish in this weather- the money is not going to be found to give all schools air conditioning, so ways to keep working have to be found- currently these sorts of temperatures are only a dozen or so days a year, so we all just have to get on with it.

I'll buy some sort of breathing tube off Amazon.

Well yes, school could start and finish earlier, or the school year could be rearranged.

Expecting children to 'just get on with it' is not a reasonable solution to the problem.

You can buy mini AC units off the shelf in Dunelm for £40 . . . I think Superdrug are even selling the same one too at the moment

Brilliant. Are you buying them for us ? We probably need 4/5. And I'm not paying. School currently have no money for glue sticks or to fix the hole in the roof.

Bit harsh, I'm only trying to help.

If the school refuse to pay for emergency safety measures when there's a high risk of fire then there's no hope.

Edited to add: but staff will happily buy rounds of icecreams and sleep in the school overnight rather than club together and lend the school £120 till they can reimburse?

They aren't refusing - there is no money. Unfortunately we don't own a magic money tree.

Sorry if was bit sharp. I've been here since 7am, I'm hot, I've been stuffed in sweaty rooms with 30 kids every hour with no ventilation. And I'm a bit cranky.

Only upside ? The nice fire person is lovely (both inside and out).

The fireman bought the ice creams. And I'm sleeping here as I won't leave until after 9pm, I've an hours commute home via train and tube and I'm due back at 7am. And I'm old. So sleeping on DofE bed roll is not my idea of fun.

Oh and we can't use AC units until PAT tested so couldn't use new ones even if I ran out to one of those shops (I have no car and an in a non shoppy part of London). And used my own money (that I'd never get back). No thanks.

Omg @mumsneedwine!

I have no words.

Chin up (and let the sweat drip off).

Our school ( Secondary) has just decided they are closing at 12.30pm. Temperature is predicted to be 30°c but feel like 33°c.
The Infant school is apparently staying open, even the after school club. There's an air conditioned room for this.
Would I be cynical to suggest that school is sometimes childcare and not education?

You really believe that being at home in a hot house where there’s perhaps 4 people who can go in and out freely/move room to room, and set up fans, have cool showers, and rest when needed is more of uncomfortable than being stuck in one hot room with up to 30 other kids and a teacher and possibly an assistant? Your kids must go to some really amazing school for you think it’s so imperative they can’t miss one day.

Well the alternatives are finding a huge amount of money to retrofit a/c to schools,which can't and won't happen ,close schools and put a huge burden on working parents ,and the children still have to endure similar temperatures at home,or find adjustments and get on with it.
Unless you have a time machine and can go back and slow climate change- it's the world we live in,we all have to get on with it,there is no choice.

Why are you ignoring the suggestions to change the timings of the school day or to move the timing of the summer holiday?

The infant and primary school opposite me is open all day Wednesday and Thursday. Quite surprised at this

The guidelines from Head of Education in Cornwall are that schools stay open even
with extreme weather alerts. The local Infant and Junior schools are staying open , whilst the Secondary is closing at 12.30pm.

I always let my students refill water bottles, I'm not getting the blame for a student fainting. I know if I did that the fact I denied them water would be mentioned. Its odd that they aren't allowed to refill them.

Wonder what children and schools do in super hot countries like India, Vietnam, Thailand, African countries do…

Build schools for the conditions and adjust school times accordingly

The catchment for our secondary is huge. The biggest issue for adjusting times is transport.

for primaries adjusting opening times will cause childcare issues, and no government is going to want to handle that one.

But this problem isn’t going away is it

That didn’t actually answer my pondering though.

I think African school children go to school 7:30am to 2pm.

I do think schools should have air conditioning now.

All our local schools are closed and most of the cafes in town.

our schools weren’t built with this heat in mind, theirs were and are.

Ours weren’t even built to last over 10 years. Look at the raac issue.

if we adjust school times it’s going to play havoc with people’s working hours. As much as it shouldn’t be classed as childcare, ultimately it is.

We've reached 108 Fahrenheit. Still going up. Outside the sun is reflecting off the concrete so hot that I've just fried some eggs on it.

But hey, let's just keep open and 'teaching'. Actually no child is learning anything as they are so sweaty they can't grip a pen.

Everyone is fighting over the IT rooms as they have air con. Yes, the computers are more important than the humans 😂. Although I think any robots would malfunction in this as the white boards can't cope.