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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Getting changed for PE or after school sports??

16 replies

PoppetUK · 30/04/2011 20:45

Hi all,

Can you tell me what is the norm for getting dressed / undressed at school. DD is year 2 and gets dressed for pe in the class room. I am ok with this at this age (just about). DD has just told me that they get undressed in front of everyone at the sports clubs. A bit of silly behaviour / comments with some older children going on and obviously she doesn't now like getting changed in front of everyone but still does. What's everyone else's take on this?

Thanks.

Poppet

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LawrieMarlow · 30/04/2011 20:50

DS is year 2. They get changed in the classroom which I am fine with. When he did gym club after school I think they got changed in the hall. Was only with other year 2s - not sure when it is for older ones (each year group gets 5 weeks a year) whether they get changed somewhere else.

Is it a club run by teachers or an external one to the school?

chocaholic73 · 30/04/2011 20:52

It does vary school to school but the norm seems to be that all children get changed in the classroom altogether. There are some that will take either the girls or the boys out to the cloakrooms so they change separately but it doesn't seem to be usual. I think it is totally wrong. Girls in the upper juniors are often getting very conscious of their bodies and some are developing or even starting their periods.

BoattoBolivia · 30/04/2011 20:57

Most schools nowadays will try to let y5 and 6 change separately, but it does become a logistical nightmare. If you let girls or boys change in the toilets, they are effectively unsupervised, get noisy and silly, take twice as long or disturb other classes. It you only have the one member of staff for the class, it is a really difficult issue.

spanieleyes · 30/04/2011 20:57

Our year 5's and 6's get changed in seperate rooms, the boys in the classroom, the girls in the adjoining but seperate library. The years 3 and 4 get changed in the same classroom but at different ends, the girls at one end, the boys at the other, back to back. Not something the teacher arranges, they just do! The younger children get changed all together in the same room and don't seem bothered at all!

Original poster

PoppetUK · 30/04/2011 20:58

Thanks for the quick replies. That gives me some idea about it all. I have to say I'm not very keen now mainly because DD is expressing herself and saying she doesn't like it. Her knickers have come down a few times or vest up and boys and girls have been a little silly. I was hoping that it changed with a different key stage... I also don't want to be too PFB with it all.

OP posts:

nailak · 30/04/2011 21:08

i dont think you are bein pfb, i think that in this time when children are more aware of sexualised issues and are bein tauht about these issues earlier and also experiencin puberty as youn as 9 which could potentially be in yr 4? that it is unacceptable to have mixed chanin.

Panzee · 30/04/2011 21:14

I am a teacher. In the class PE lessons, children up to year 3 in our school get changed all in the same room. If I heard silly comments (haven't yet) I would come down hard on them, but not feel that it was so much of an issue that they would need to get changed separately.

When it's an afterschool club they go into separate rooms, but they are older (ks2 only at these clubs) and there are fewer of them so there is less need for significant supervision IMO (but obviously it depends on who is attending!! :o)

montymum · 30/04/2011 22:25

At our school KS1 change in the classroom altogether (my class seem to have no issue with this, they are year 2) and KS2 use seperate boy and girl changing rooms. We are lucky though because our school used to be a secondary school so lots of spare rooms. I know lots of schools wouldn't have this extra space.

meditrina · 30/04/2011 22:29

Mine changed together in classrooms up to and including year 3.

Wish they'd kept doing it for a bit longer as you won't believe the amount of stuff they lose when they start in changing rooms!

But despite that, I think it'd be prudent to start separating them out by start of year 5. It's noticeable that the girls are really beginning to shoot up by then.

hogsback · 30/04/2011 22:44

I might be a bit out of touch here but don't they have changing rooms in school gyms anymore???

hogsback · 30/04/2011 22:45

I might be a bit out of touch here but don't they have changing rooms in school gyms anymore???

LawrieMarlow · 30/04/2011 22:50

DC's primary school has a hall. No gym

nailak · 01/05/2011 00:27

not in primary, they dont even have yms

spanieleyes · 01/05/2011 08:41

Some primarys don't even have a hall!

Goblinchild · 01/05/2011 08:58

Lack of space, lack of supervision and the need for help with some items of clothing. Our Y5/6 change separately, one lot in the classroom.
Everyone else changes in the class together. Underwear stays on, silly comments are dealt with firmly.

EllenMP · 07/06/2011 18:38

The pupils at my kids' school all change in the classroom together right through year 6, which I think is much too late. I am sure it makes the girls very self-conscious -- I would certsinly have felt that way at that age. Even my generally oblivious year five son insisted on boxer shorts for school this year. He says they are more comfortable, but he doesn't mind wearing briefs at the weekend, so I feel sure he wanted them so he feels less naked changing at school. And beyond the puberty issues, it doesn't seem kind to our many overweight children to make them strip in public.

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