heatwave... do schools ever send pupils home?

[SlartyBartFast]

ds seems to think at 35 degrees, not likely i think to reach that

My dcs had their sports day yesterday and I was surprised it went ahead. They came home beetroot red, but had had a fantastic day. Agree about the humidity, we have just returned from holiday where the temps were the same as here but you could walk around without sweating at all whereas here everything is sticky and it is hard to breath.

My DS (14) has been told if it gets above I think 32 tomorrow they'll be sent home.

My classroom althougb stunning to view is in effect a greenhouse and although I have a sky light and windows that open if there is no breeze outside it makes little difference. I have found it incredibly hard to keep teaching today and the kids found it even harder to kepp on task. I am coming home every night felling quite ill.

aye bigchris. teachers know. but the regs are made with the teachers and the children in mind?

it was hot in my room this pm. as the sun had moved round. yep. v little teaching can happen esp when the boys had spent the whole of lunch chasing a football despite the heat.

Flatcap - I have ed at your skylight before and now I am doing it again!

V surprised to hear that Ourlady - tis not the usual thing.

Must remember to take a big bottle of water tomorrow - I forgot today.

Flatcap - I have ed at your skylight before and now I am doing it again!

V surprised to hear that Ourlady - tis not the usual thing.

Must remember to take a big bottle of water tomorrow - I forgot today.

yes schools do send pupils home, when working as a teacher in Guildford, Surrey in the very hot summer 2006 the school shut 3 days early at the end of summer term as both the staff and kids were melting.

It helped that the school was voluntary aided and had more freedom to do these things. School shave a legal obligation to be open a set number of days a year and cannot just shut and send kids home. I'm not even sure that local authorities can overrule this.

But as has been said there is no upper limit on workplace temperature (which seems daft as there is a lower one and you can kill someone by overheating them as surly as freezing them).

It would be very silly to send schools home during hot weather and would open up a whole can of worms.

First of all, it is unlikely that it is any cooler at home and parents would then need to take time off work to look after younger children.

Loads of other places manage without mega whinging. For example, when we lived in the USA, the children returned to school mid-August when the temperature was around 100F, with 90+% humidity. The schools did not have air conditioning. They managed with fans.

Really, if a school manages its fans and blinds properly, they can keep the temperatures well below 30C. When we lived in a hot place without AC, we knew when to pull down the blinds, and when to start up the fans, and where to place the fans for optimum efficiency.

Good think none of you are at school in Australia - or India, or parts of Africa!

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They took the blinds down in my room when they put new windows in, and they're currently in a heap on the floor under my IWB. With 20 computers in a very small room, it gets really hot; two fans and a portable AC unit don't make a dent. It's just about bearable until the class comes in, then it gets ridiculous and we all swelter. The windows open about two inches as well, which is just stupid (the opening bit is high off the ground, so safety isn't an issue there).

NUT say 26 degrees is max working temp and we should all have fans etc to keep cool- yeah right!

one of mine got sent home today because she just got too hot (she has v thick hair - it's like a carpet on her head!) and her classroom is very hot (glass wall on one side)

My dd vomited from the heat on Monday & the school excluded her for 48 hours!

She was thrilled to have time off and pronounced that she had "never felt better". She has spent the time camping in my mum's garden and going swimming!

If she becomes bullimic it will be the school's fault.

Children don't melt in the heat, you know!

They don't dissolve in the rain, or freeze solid in the snow either, but I'll save those remarks for the appropriate season!

My office, fortunately, is pleasantly cool. But some of the classrooms get very hot in this weather.

The only thing I find tricky is I need to go to the loo more often when I'm drinking so much, and that's tricky if you've got lessons back-to-back!

Ok - I am now jealous of Flatcap's skylight and Rosin's office! They took my office away and turned it into another room.

I have very hot classroom and when I asked I was told a classroom has to be at 34 degrees or 10 days in a row to be classed as unsuitable to teach in and for children to work in.
This is to be found somewhere in some legal buildings bumf! However I tuned out as it was clear we are not going to get 10 days and therefore nothing was going to be done!
We just let the kids drink loads and have fans on (although they are not a solution). The children on the whole know it is beyond our (the teachers) control and are really great.
Roll on winter!! ( or the summer holidays)

DD's school has had the school play this week!
150 kids & hundreds of parents all crammed into the tiny school holiday for 3 consecutive days of performances
It doesn't helf that no drinks or toilet breaks are allowed! I really think they should have cancelled!

Oops, I mean help not helf! Must be the heat!

put a sports bottle full of water in the freezer tonight and viola! icy cold water to sip all day long tomorrow. Well at least a few hrs.

My son felt poorly this afternoon and I am sure it is due to the heat and quite possibly him not drinking enough water.

Not sure how I can get him to drink more when I am not there.