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

@Thechaseison71 Exactly who do you think makes the decision to "punish" you for taking your children on holiday? Genuine question.

Water play, I can guarantee my year 10 kid wouldn't have been doing that they would be in a hit unbearable classroom. Yes schools can fine parents for holidays, that's completely different to closing for health and safety concerns . Yes this stuff does add up if you think about it rationally.

Schools are primarily and solely there for education. Not childcare. If a school is forced to close, which is extreme, it is for a good reason, and you now take responsibility for your children. Blame work inflexibility, blame the fact two parents have to work to make ends meet, but don’t blame the teachers, or a ‘snowflake society.’

We should have closed today, but we didn’t, and it was dangerous. We are now closed tomorrow.

I agree, that those that can keep their children at home should, leaving those that have to use school (for childcare) can with less children in, able to move elsewhere etc.

I am so sick of seeing comments about lazy teachers just wanting a day off, that it’s just summer, and it was worse in 1976, but they managed.

once again, media will pit parents vs teachers, but really we need to look to the government and school budgets. We can’t afford glue sticks let alone possible air conditioning. Don’t be distracted.

@Poppinpoppinpopcorn The schools don't fine parents for holidays - that's down to local councils. The schools simply have a duty to record and report attendance.

I’m amazed people on here can’t understand how having 31 bodies in a classroom all day increases the temperature and humidity of the room and is very different to other workplaces.
The human body produces about 100 watts of heat per hour at rest - children is a bit less (unless they are being active). Add all the perspiration adding to humidity and a classroom becomes too hot quite quickly.
There are usually restrictors on classroom windows so nowhere for all that hot damp air being generated to go.
I have never worked anywhere where we were packed in like that! And even so, why are some posters on here so keen to compare children to working adults? I thought we had left those ideas behind with the Victorians…

Lastly, and for the ones at the back not listening, children do not cope with heat like adults. They cannot sweat as much to reduce their body temperature, they aren’t as good at regulating their own temperature, drinking enough water, knowing when they are too hot.

My daughter got what I suspect was heatstroke from a school sports day. Vomiting, headache etc. Not nice. I arrived at it halfway through (due to work, could only get the afternoon off) and she was sat in the sun with no hat on, hadn’t drank her water. She was ill for 2 days after.

i dont understand why they finish at lunch time?
surely its cooler at 3 ?

It's really not. Peak heat time !!! Temp builds during the day. Currently 31 and 65% humidity in my room. We go again, with trying to keep thousands of teens from killing each other in the heat. Hoping many don't come in today as yesterday was hell.

Enjoy.

I think every adult should be made to go spend a few hours in a school today, just so they can at least experience it. They'll still teacher bash but that's a sport these days. Apparently we personally shut schools (or not), fine them all, are lazy batards who rock up at 8.15 and hit the pub the minute the kids leave.

Nope. Here it's 21 now, will be 28 by lunch, 30 at 3 and 32 at 6 pm. It no longer gets cooler by the afternoon

Yeah, I think children should suffer more tbh. We didn't bring them into the world to spend time with them, for God's sake. We depend on schools to take them off our hands every day! Why on Earth should we consider their wellbeing when we need to be AT WORK EARNING MONEY which is much more important.

actually my local college closed early as the buses would be too hot, i dont know the timing of the closure

looking at the council website many schools are closing at lunch time, or parents are being given the option of picking up

thank you

Teachers where I am are taking children on visits. Coach loads.

Reports of a missing teenager whose class closed and he went swimming in a lake.

I agree. The thing is they are no better here than at school. It's just as warm, if not warmer in the house. As soon as kids get wind of 'going home' the pressure is on! Some kids are able to go home but what are working parents meant to do?

I find the people.comparing working conditions to kids at school bizarre.

At work the adult keeps themselves safe. It might be awful conditions and very unpleasant, but the adult can do what is necessary to keep themselves safe. Drinking water etc.

At school one teacher with maybe a TA to help them if they are lucky needs to keep 30 small people.safe. These children are young and don't always drink unless told to. Will run about making themselves hotter, lie on each other cuddle each other making themselves hotter, refuse to eat or drink, attempt to stick their fingers in the one fan school has managed to rustle up, keep putting their sunhats on inside, argue about removing a jumper. So it hot, getting hotter and you are constantly telling kids not to do things to keep safe and as cool as possible. Children don't help.themsevles stay cool! It's nothing like work with adults.

At our school most of the kids are going home at lunch time. The remaining kids are spending the afternoon in a darkened room, being made to colour quietly or watch TV. No work just baby sitting them until their parents can collect them. And it's a easier to keep ten just about cool.enough than 200. And all the teachers are using the time to work..no one has gone home. They are catching up on marking, planning and reports.

@Brickiscool
Why are teachers not writing reports in their own time; you know, like they usually do?!!
It's mostly because - let's face it - lots of people dislike teachers. The disrespect filters down to their kids too, unfortunately.
If only they knew what the average teacher gives of themselves day in, day out.
I'm glad I'm now a tutor!

I think it varied - my kids went through schools in the 80’s and the schools had a school nurse.

She’d look after them in the sick bay.

They only contacted parents if the child was really poorly. I suppose because it was before mobile phones etc, it was more of a palaver to contact parents than it is now.

I was never once phoned to pick up my children, and nor were their grandparents. .👍

People love to trot out that "school isn't childcare" line when it suits them, don't they?
School is childcare when you're on UC and they decide the hours you must work/look for work because your child is now of school age, or your benefits stop because you'd child is in school now.
School was childcare during COVID when they decided to only let the children of keyworkers into school so their parents could work.
But when you have to go and work in a swelteringly hot, high pressured environment, and the teachers decide they can't handle their swelteringly hot high pressure environment so need a paid day off - school's not childcare! You're on your own.
And the parents, the ones that have to rush around finding childcare, or take the financial hit, are in no way entitled to moan, apparently.
And this is why so many leave teaching.....we're expected to solve everyone else's problems.

I mean it is important if you want to keep a roof over their heads and feed them too.
It's nice that some people have the means to spend all of their time with their children but some of us need to earn a living in order to support them.

Nope, just to do your jobs.

Like we all have to

@Suchevilforebodings
I think teachers should do exactly that - their jobs. Literally just their directed paid hours and no more. No more giving up their lunch hours, no running clubs, no preparation, planning or reporting writing outside of those directed hours. No more funding the students from their own pockets with the basic resources such as glue sticks and pencils.
Let's see what that looks like.
They are their own worst enemy for being martyrs and need to put their feet firmly down!
I was a primary teacher for 22 years and left two years ago - enough is enough. My only regret is I didn't walk sooner.

I completely agree!!

Risk assessment and safeguarding of children is our jobs.

You do know schools are not closing because teachers are refusing to do their jobs.

Schools need permission from local authority to close. The head and the site manager have to decide if the site can be kept safe and then consult health and safety advice from local authority. Teachers have nothing to do with the decision.

And teachers do their jobs by teaching. The clues in the name. They are not there for child care. They are qualified teachers not glorified childminders