If your DC'c school holds swimming lessons off-site, how do they deal with changing room issues?

[Buda]

DS's school holds swimming lessons off-site at a sports/gym complex. After a horrible incident in the boys changing room last week involving a disgruntled, unstable parent of an ex-pupil, it is apparent that there is no supervision in the changing rooms.

How do other schools deal with this issue?

Our school is weak on security anyway which is being addressed. Allegedly.

This incident has been dealt with but parents are now asking about the level of supervision. Apparently there is none. They will now use a separate changing room to general public but apparently the teachers don't feel overly comfortable about being in the changing rooms. Which I can understand. But how does it get dealt with.?

A female TA and a parent are with the girls to dry hair etc so I think they are ok but the boys are on their own. They are Year 5 so age 9/10 but this also involves Years 4 and 6.

The Mums with boys go in and supervise the boys and Mums with girls supervise the girls - the school staff are usually nowhere to be seen.

At my kids' school the children use group changing rooms, and staff and parent helpers stand outside the doors to the changing rooms so no-one else can go in. To chivvy them up someone just sticks their head round the door and uses a few choice phrases. It seems to work well.

Parent helpers (usually mums) go with the group and supervise on a 1 adult to 6 children ratio. As in pinkcushion's case, it's usually mums of boys (or at least, mums with boys in the school) who supervise the boys changing.

ours just have a head stuck round the door and told to hurry it along, these are yr2 boys who have a hard time getting dressed when wet with a parent to help so I do feel for them having to do it all on their own. The school does have a male teacher but his class swims in the afternoon so he doesn't go as apparently it is more acceptable to have a woman teacher hurry along boys than a male teacher with girls. When his class (yr 4) go they take a mum with them for that reason.

Thanks for replies. Looks like I am going to be helping with swimming again! I did it from Nursery to Year 3 but when they went into Year 4 was told was not needed.

At our pool one of the lifeguards (male) gets roped in. They are all CRB checked.
This yaer will be interesting - there are now 2 male teachers at the school.

Why do they need supervision? The disgruntled parent will presumably not be back - or will not be allowed through the door if he does come back. I have a year 5 boy - I would not expect him to need supervision while getting changed for swimming.

Yeah, group changing rooms are generally used with an adult outside door shouting both 'carrot' phrases (5 raffle tickets for first 2 out) and 'stick' phrases (last one out looses 2 mins play) to chivvy.

It is an issue though.

at my dd1's school they have swimming lessons off site from reception year in a ratio of 1 adult to 6 pupils so ask for parent volunteers i did this for reception and year 1, as they were so little we were expected to help some of them dress,all parents were crb checked and as this is a very small school other parent were ok with this. As dd is in year 2 i am hoping i am no longer needed

Seeker - I didn't think they did need supervision but last weeks incident has led a lot of us to question that. Disgruntled parent has indeed been banned but a couple of the boys ran to find teachers and couldn't find them. I don't think they need help but the do need a much closer eye kept on them.

No CRB checking here as we are not in uk.

I go along with another female staff member. One in the girls', one in the boys'. Old enough to dry and dress themselves, however.

I take my Y4 class swimming at the local, public swimming pool each week. The changing rooms have curtained cubicles so the children change in those. I go into the girls' changing room, a male TA goes into the boys' but all changing happens behind curtains.

When there were no males available I brought all the boys into the girls' changing room; I wasn't prepared to be responsible for 'ensuring the health and safety' of half a class in a slippery changing room, with members of the public present if I couldn't actually see/hear them. Our pool doesn't have group changing rooms, nor were they prepared to let a female member of staff enter the male changing facility. It became a battle of wills between me and the swimming pool staff with them demanding that all children aged over 8 must be in the correct gender changing room and me saying that all children I brought with me needed to be safe and that unless they would let me in/keep the public out (and dry the floors), the boys would stay with me.

Now the boys are able to use the male changing room they get to see male gym users parading around with nothing on. I'm glad that I now have a TA who can be around to keep things calm!