School kids eating outside

[SistemaAddict]

Parents livid after schoolchildren made to eat outside in the rain www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/theyre-treating-kids-like-animals-18871993

Not my dcs' school but I raised the issue in the summer of where mine would eat if it was bad weather. I was told they didn't know! Year 7 has priority to eat inside if it rains but otherwise they all have to eat outside. Bloody ridiculous. I don't have solutions as the day isn't long enough to have 5 years groups of over 300 each eating in 2 canteens.

Seeing as there's no social distancing anywhere in school it seems a bit pointless anyway to be making them uncomfortable outside in this weeks wind and rain. Imagine January and eating outside? Ffs

Some schools are doing hot food in bags eg burgers, hot dogs. Not sure how you would do something like stew, but I suppose you could put it in containers like Indian takeaways use, but I assume that would put the cost up.

This was in the news before. Nothing new. You have to make compromises if sending your kids.

Some of our local schools have split sites, so hall and kitchen on one side of a road and classrooms on the other. Would be interesting to see a line of children carrying their food tray across the road, especially in the wind and rain!

Sounds grim. I have a family member who's been told she'll have to eat her lunch in the workplace carpark. I predict a load of people running their cars in the winter to keep warm

My sons school has never had enough space for the children to all eat lunch inside in a proper room. They just sit on the floor in the corridors if the weather is bad.

Why can’t they eat in a specific classroom per form class or something

Because they need to be supervised.
Yes it’s shite kids shouldn’t have to eat in the rain.

My son's school they eat it in the classroom. Why can't they just do that.

@ineedaholidaynow

How do they get the hot food to the classroom?

Our lunchtime assistants bring it.

Probably easier because it's SS so 8/9 per class and not all are hot dinners.

But you can put food on a trolley.

Some primaries are doing packed lunches only and those with FSM get theirs brought to classroom so it's smaller amount. Some are doing hot FSM and some are doing packed lunch version.

I don't think any solution is better than another but what works for your school and the layout. Numbers of pupils and numbers of lunch staff etc.

Although there does have to be a better solution than eating in the pissing rain!

My DC's secondary are doing staggered lunches. 8+10 together, 9+11 together and yr 7 alone. My only concern (and I don't have a year 7) is that the yr 7 is halfway through a period, which seems a bit disruptive.

Seems my school is a bit more "can do."

I don’t think it’s whinging. I wouldn’t like to eat outside in the cold and rain. I don’t understand why they can’t eat in their form rooms. They would all go there for afternoon registration presumably after it anyway

I wouldn't have any problem at all with eating outside, unless it's really pouring down or snowing.

My school has brought in huge coverings for the tennis courts. Obviously most teachers will be outside during lunch supervising for SD too.

Also, teachers have been given a list of rooms that are free every period to mark and plan, but they are VERY limited, so we have been told to mark and plan outside on picnic benches ..... 😕

Parents want SD, that's what needs to happen. We dont have space inside to SD 2000 students. Or you dont want SD? Schools cant seem to make parents happy either way.

@Bercows

Surely over the summer they could have built shelters or something. But then there's no money is there. It feels impossible. What are other countries doing?

With what money?

The government said that they wouldn't give money to schools.

This is what you get when you push for things to happen with no money.

Lunches in my dc schools are staggered just now for distancing. Classrooms aren't lying empty there can be another class happening in them. Staff are unpaid for lunch and if given a group to supervise that counts as a class. Staggered lunches do free up a bit more indoor space in canteen etc.

I can see dc going down with bronchial pneumonia rather than covid by mid winter

Lunch was carnage today. Lots of queueing, hand gel and rush eating. We cant open up forms rooms as there would need to be supervision and we don't have enough staff to sit in form rooms supervising, to manage queues, toilets, playgrounds etc. As well as allowing the staff a lunch break as well.

Our school also has coverings over the tennis courts to act as a lunch hall extension. It is okay now but will be effing freezing from November to Feb.

My year 7 has her ‘lunch break’ from 10.30-11 due to the staggered breaks.
They have another 15 minutes at 12.45 but there’s hardly any time to eat then once they’ve been to the loo etc.
It’s a bit mental but hey ho.

I think my son's primary have said if the weather is nice they can eat their sandwiches outside otherwise will eat in their classroom (he doesn't return till Monday)

Just asked my teenage son and he said they ate in the cafeteria but it was just his year - however today it was only his year and year 7 - so I think they are splitting them

@SomewhereEast

I'd no idea schools were doing this? For real? I have primary-aged DC and had no idea this was a thing.

And yet, teachers on MN have been pointing out all summer some of the less-than-ideal arrangements that might have to be made in order for schools to re-open yet have been vilified for "doom-mongering."

@CeeJay81

My son's school they eat it in the classroom. Why can't they just do that.

Because staffing issues may mean that their teacher gets absolutely no break all day then, and that is illegal and totally unsustainable. For example I've just done my first full day and I didn't go to the toilet (or wash my hands) between 8:00 (briefing, then duty, then form, then lessons, then break duty, then lessons) and 12:55 when it was my time for lunch. If I didn't get lunch I would have had to walk out of the room to stop me pissing myself.

My DD's school have a separate eating area for each year group with a scaled down menu. Yesterday she said everybody in her group had a packed lunch even the FSM students.

During June and July, when we opened to all year groups in KS1 and 2, everyone had packed lunches, so we ate in classrooms (starting lunch 15 mins early so staff didn't use up too much of their own lunch hour supervising).
But now, hot dinners are back on and the dining room/hall back in use.
It was carnage today - bubbles bursting all over the shop.

Because staffing issues may mean that their teacher gets absolutely no break all day then, and that is illegal and totally unsustainable. For example I've just done my first full day and I didn't go to the toilet (or wash my hands) between 8:00 (briefing, then duty, then form, then lessons, then break duty, then lessons) and 12:55 when it was my time for lunch. If I didn't get lunch I would have had to walk out of the room to stop me pissing myself.

That sounds like a nightmare. I'm not sure how it works at his school that way but it is a very small high school, so don't know if that makes a difference.

I always used to eat my lunch in the classroom at school 16 odd years ago. Why can’t they do that?! Maybe not ideal in normal times but needs must!