Any other cold school staff out there?

[Flatwhite32]

First world problem, but I'm a primary teacher and my god school is freezing with all the windows open (which I know is necessary) and no heating. I'm wearing lots of layers, but I just feel so so cold during the day, and I've got a 30 weeks old baby inside me for some internal warmth! Anyone feeling the same?! Brrrrr.

My school is usually insanely hot. I am secretly rather relishing having to wear a cardigan instead of a thin cotton top.

I'm a primary teacher but I'm on maternity. I feel so sorry for you all. My external classroom door always got left open over lunch time for toilet access and I used to dread returning after lunch because my room would be soooo cold, and no way could I work in there over lunch time. I cant imagine having to teach in cold like that all day. If the heating is anything like in my school its worse than useless. We have those awful blow heaters that blow out a blast of warm air once in a blue moon!

I'm only ever cold when the little ones go home and my rooms been empty a while . When there's 20 little bodies milling about (especially when they cuddle up against me or share my chair) I'm roasting in the class . We do outdoor learning for most of the afternoons. Staff meetings in the gym hall and the awful window seat in the staffroom are a different matter! And im dreading parent consultations because the temp will have properly dropped by 9pm!

Lots of schools especially at secondary, don't allow pupils to wear decent footwear like DM's or even boots.

I suppose schools are reluctant to ease the uniform policy because once it goes, it will be harder for them to convince us all it is an essential part of education,

My kids high school classrooms are freezing cold too. I fully support the whole ventilation thing but currently nobody is allowed to wear a coat or any outdoor wear ... not sure how sustainable this is for teachers or pupils over winter. So so hard for schools to know what to do but I think uniform and teacher attire rules must be relaxed during a covid winter

Yes, and I'm based in a room with a single sash window that doesn't open more than three inches, so I don't know how people in proper classrooms are managing. I've been knitting jumpers of varying baggyness so I can layer them on top of one another in January

I’ve been home for four hours and my wrists still ache and my fingers are still cold. I’ve got my home heating set to 26 degrees as well.

I’m so, so cold in school despite wearing thermals and layers.

The cold makes me miserable. My hands are so cold I can’t type, so am not getting much work done. It also makes me sleepy and the cold has penetrated my back and gone into my neck I swear. I feel ill.

The kids beg me to close the windows. They have their coats on and are sat on their hands. They can’t write well either and are as unproductive as I am. I am too cold to motivate myself let alone them.

And I’m so miserable I can’t care. They have exams and coursework approaching and I can’t care. I’m feeling too tired of this; too ill and achy; too cold and just want the day to pass.

As soon as the bell goes for home time I’m off. I am not even thinking about spending extra time with exam classes as I can’t bear one more second sat in the cold. I just need to get home to some warm. It’s all I can think about.

I’d love to take a thermometer in and see how cold it is. I was on break duty today outside and it was warmer on the yard than inside the building.

We are taking the view that windows only need to be opened a crack to get air circulating, after temperatures dropped to a ridiculous level at the start of the week.

It's still chilly but nowhere near as bad as it was.

In the plus side it encourages handwashing because it's bliss to run your hands under warm water

In between hot flushes I am freezing

@DBML

Can relate. Are you allowed one of those cheap desk heater fans that cost a tenner? I have colleagues who have just went ahead and plugged them in without officially being tested. One has one under her desk that can’t really be seen unless you go fishing for it.

[quote Rabbitholebonkers]@DBML

Can relate. Are you allowed one of those cheap desk heater fans that cost a tenner? I have colleagues who have just went ahead and plugged them in without officially being tested. One has one under her desk that can’t really be seen unless you go fishing for it.[/quote]
Having spent the last few days dealing with the fallout from a fire in a school and the nightmare of what might have been, this is terrifying.

@Rabbitholebonkers

Sadly we aren’t allowed personal heaters. A few staff have been caught and have gotten into trouble. So I daren’t. 😔

Yes, it is definitely warmer outside of the sun appears than it is inside!

And im dreading parent consultations because the temp will have properly dropped by 9pm!

Not in lockdown though, surely these are planned to be virtual.

Confused by why the windows are open all day, I thought they just needed to be open a crack of for a few minutes every hour to let air refresh. Does the guidance say leave them open all the time?

This thread is horrific. My eldest is only a toddler but I think this is outrageous. And counterproductive. How is this not abuse, of teachers and children? If someone wrote here that their neighbours’ kids wore coats but only thin shoes all day, had freezing hands, couldn’t write their homework because of the cold, domestic windows and doors always open so the house was 12-13 degrees... they’d be told to report to the NSPCC!

Ive just emailed my sons school to ask their policy because the windows never seem to be open at drop off or pick up, but we had an email sent saying to make sure children wear layers because its getting chilly in school. My son sits by the window and says they arent open but he is 5 with suspected asd and spd so not a reliable source.

Ive just ordered him thermal vests and socks but dont want to overheat him if they arent opening them and im also happy to buy fingerless gloves and anything else he may need.

I cant see how teachers can be expected to work all winter in freezing temperatures never mind children surely it will reach a point where windows will have to be shut (taking away the only defence against covid teachers have) or schools will have to close.

@Brown76

Confused by why the windows are open all day, I thought they just needed to be open a crack of for a few minutes every hour to let air refresh. Does the guidance say leave them open all the time?

Yes, as always some schools are going OTT. This is what the guidance actually says:

"natural ventilation – opening windows (in cooler weather windows should be opened just enough to provide constant background ventilation, and opened more fully during breaks to purge the air in the space). Opening internal doors can also assist with creating a throughput of air
natural ventilation – if necessary external opening doors may also be used (as long as they are not fire doors and where safe to do so)"

I’m got my heaters on, but windows and door are open and it’s absolutely freezing. I let the kids wear their coats today in the classroom if they wanted to. I can’t stand the thought of this all winter. It’s only going to get worse.

Are none of you challenging this with leadership?. The guidance does not require you to have windows and doors wide open all day.

The exact quotation you've posted says "open enough". It doesn't say you close them except for once an hour.

Windows open just a few inches still let out all the heat in the room. And doors have to be open too or it's not a flow of fresh air, is it?

Uniqlo heat tech tops and their fleece lined work trousers is what you need to stock up on, I've not felt chilly yet. Have had to run after my visor on playground duty when it was windy earlier this week though!

It is FREEZING. For those saying why are windows wide open - our windows are only open ajar, but that is all windows and every one of our internal doors, mixed together it basically means everywhere is freezing (I'm SLT and this includes us, we're doing the same and I teach in every room now as we move rather than kids)

It makes a big difference, as I said up thread, we have switched from wide open to open a crack this week and it is indeed still chilly but it's not the 11 degrees it was in my office at the start of the week.

DD is in year 11 so not moving around much sitting down writing unlike early primary. She has been doing mock mocks this week and is absolutely freezing (northern england). The kids are still in jumpers they can wear a tshirt or thermal vest underneath uniform if they are cold, but no scarves or coats etc. School have said they are ‘...not allowed to wear coats as it will detract from learning’ yet the teachers come in to class in big coats, hats, and scarves and move around inside their boxes to keep warm.