To think closing schools or making them "optional" during the heatwave is putting pressure on working parents and is just a bit silly?

[Suchevilforebodings]

This doesn't actually effect me directly as neither of my children's schools have closed.
But some of the schools iny area are either closing or are making school optional IE: it won't be marked as absence.
I mean.... Really? Do kids actually need tome off because it's hot?
And is it fair on working parents to send out an email the day before to say school is closed? This heatwave was forecast last week.
Even making it "optional" puts the pressure on as the kids will want to stay off and many of their friends will be.
I just think it's bullshit tbh

Why is it ok for humans to live in hot homes attend hot schools and travel on hot public transport at temperatures it is illegal to transport cattle under!!!
THERES your benchmark!

Optional is ideal. No one is going to learn much anyway when they’re all overheating.

Optional means that the 1/2 of the kids who go in can be put in the cooler rooms (downstairs, not south facing etc) and do some reading/have films/worksheets depending on age on so supervision of them is covered.

If everyone is in then a fair chunk of them will have to be in the warmer rooms, which in the weather will be dangerously hot.

Yes, some will complain about having to go in when their friends aren’t, but it’s the least worst choice to have those who can’t be supervised at home in.

The primary function of schools is to give children an education, yes.

But it absolutely cannot be denied that society is set up in such a way that parents rely on school for childcare while they work.

The government knows and accepts that parents rely on school for childcare. That's why benefit entitlement drastically changes when a child reaches school age, and more pressure is put on parents by the DWP to work more hours. They expect parents to work because their child is in school.

We all know full well it functionally, day-to-day serves as the main form of childcare for working parents with school age children, whether that is the primary function of not. The government knows it. Schools know it.

With that in mind, is it honestly reasonable to only be given notice of a school closure at 6:50pm the night before?

And if schools have the children's best interests at heart, is it really reasonable to take away childcare and their parents' means to provide for them? We literally need to work. We have to feed them and keep a roof over their heads. Not all of us have workplaces that grant a days annual leave with less than 24hrs notice, and give out generous paid days off for parental leave. (School staff are being paid though!)

. "Not all of us have workplaces that grant a days annual leave with less than 24hrs notice"

No but the minute a SH tenant gets 24 hours notice of a visit from the HA and has to take time off work with no notice and complains about it on here they get told they are entitled and should be grateful for a property below "market rate"

Lots of people's work is hotter than the temperatures you're allowed to transport cattle under.

But school staff are the only ones getting paid time off.

My kids schools (one primary x 2 kids one secondary x 1 kid) haven’t said they are closing - YET

however we have had some requests from staff this week about working from home and for carers leave.

we try to be as flexible as possible on stuff and thankfully only about 20% of our immediate team have school age kids so it would be manageable - just but if they all had kids all at local schools that were all closing then that could be difficult to keep things running.

Are they?

If the school is making the afternoon optional the teachers are going to be in supervising the pupils that are left.

And even if the school closes to the pupils, its very likely that the teachers will still have to stay.

"a paid day off"
In the unlikely event of teachers being allowed to go home themselves even if pupils did, this would become a day of working from home.
Something I'm sure many posters on this thread can do as a matter of course.

What a load of absolute rubbish

Insightful

No insight required. Obviously total nonsense which has been pointed out to you. Have a good day

Because you say so?

Are you absolutely sure that staff aren't still going in?

A few years ago I worked at a school that had no heating or hot water for 2 days (winter).

It closed to pupils but all staff were still in. We wrapped up warm and got lots of planning, admin, clearing out of cupboards, resource making, etc done.

We are talking about children.
Do people on here really want to see children suffer?

I'm a sahm in zone 2 london (red area) and i agree it's still just about ok. All curtains closed. Dark but still only 26c inside.

THIS. Of course school also acts as childcare.

It was 29 degrees in my classroom yesterday. Very uncomfortable but just about manageable. I’m in the north though. Any hotter would have been unbearable for the students and myself. So location is everything. It’s a lot hotter in the red warning area.

Our school have been in the woods outside in the shade. Outdoor classrooms, a lesson plan switch to science and art outside.. Hats and water. There's a stream so they can bring wellies. Once the field is in shade they went up there for play with water. Kids had a blast.

Sports Day has been cancelled obviously.

Not all schools are the same so there shouldn't be a general rule.

It's 29.5 degrees and 55% humidity in the office this morning, this is with 2 staff. Classrooms, once full of kids, will be much much higher. As the day goes on we will easily top 40 again.

Enjoy those of you at home.

Schools are absolutely not childcare even if you view them as such ,they’re not. Either way childcare settings would need to do the same safeguarding. If their buildings are too hot then they shouldn’t be putting children at risk by admitting them either. Maybe plan ahead when you choose schools and ask re building suitability for extreme weathers if you really are incapable or sorting anything for illness or days they need to close.I think you’ll find many are shite.

The idea that making them optional isn’t good enough either as it puts pressure on parents is ridiculous. Some people
are never satisfied and will make a mountain out of a molehill with everything.

Stop teacher bashing.
its the Deoartment of Education who have advised schools to close if necessary.
And everyone I know who goes out to work in an office, is allowed to work from home.
In fact it would seem most MNs work from home anyway.
This is not about teachers, it’s about students.
As soon as the first student died from heat stroke, everyone on here would be saying ‘ if it was that hot at school, why did they not close?’

Yep it's 26 here already. Children go to school because children are legally entitled to an education. That's the reason. If conditions are deemed unsafe then hey have every right to close early or whatever. Yes it now works as childcare. But that's not the schools' problem.

"Paid time off" if school is optionally open, staff will be in school.

If the school is closed and staff go home, I guarantee they'll be working from home. It's report writing season. When I was a teacher this was a lot of extra (unpaid) work. I mean, I was given half a day out of class, but it took me far longer to write 30 reports.

Or they might catch up on marking or planning.
Teachers do a lot of unpaid overtime all term and work through holidays too.

The DFE have not advised schools to close early.

Yeah it was only 6 short years ago the government were very clear that schools were also childcare and needed to keep our economy going.

I find the teaching profession and schools as employers quite fascinating. It is SO strange compared to other workplaces.

Teachers consider themselves essential front line staff yet reject actually being essential like one. Police officers putting on 10lbs suffocating uniform, midwives working in boiling wards, binmen hauling wheelie bins across streets etc… they aren’t making threads on mumsnet about how their work must pause.

and as for the above example of staying to work in a building with no running water or heating… when you have an aggressive union your employer recognises - it’s giving martyr.

sometimes I think schools are such shite employers there is some Stockholm syndrome going on