Primary 5 boys & girls have to change for gym together??

[Yogagirl17]

DD (10) just been telling me that her teacher makes them all get changed for gym together in the classroom and also that her male teacher stays in the room while they change. Now I just want to say straight out I like and trust this teach and absolutely do not suspect him of anything untoward, other than possibly being a little naive.

Anyway, DD says she is beginning to feel uncomfortable with this and doesn't understand why the boys (and the teacher) can't go to another room while they change. I can't say I blame her and frankly I'm a little surprised this is even happening - surely 10 is old enough that they should be given privacy? I definitely want to say something to the school but trying to gauge how strongly to react. I mean, should I just ask the head teacher if they can change teh current arrangement or do I make a bigger deal of it?

First not all schools have a break or an ICT suite or a library or even a whatever (and if they have the children should be supervised or in the event of an injury could be in deep water). Where do you envisage finding a spare teacher on already tight and getting tighter budgets?

People aren't being awkward they have been looking for solutions for years and tried everything they can think of.

Frankly your argument about Muslim girls isn't worth answering ... all pupils are treated equally

The male teacher is the issue. It is the system of not allowing young newly developing children their privacy. Yes, it might be difficult in some school set ups. However to simply put up eith it and to end up with very embarrassed children in not the answer either. Such situations could end up putting some children, ESP girls as they tend to develop more noticeably earlier, off pe for good.

I would expect a school to come up with a suitable solution.

I think my 9yo children need to be given their privacy if required and should also be able to behave for a few minutes unsupervised. At dd's school they are expected to that's for sure.

Sorry, that should say the male teacher is NOT he issue.

Ensure a teacher is available, this is not hard

Of course it's hard. Do you think we have spare teachers just hanging about?

Divider - okay, where will that live the rest of the time in a tiny cramped classroom?

Schedule a lesson near break - that only solves getting changed/unchanged, not both.

Loving how is must be teachers' fault for not bending over backwards, after the many sort-of solutions for an age old problem everyone has tried to offer on this thread.

The male teacher is the issue.

Why? Why isn't a female teacher an issue for boys?

We aren't allowed to leave children unsupervised, and would be directly responsible if something happened in that time.

9 or 10 yrs old is far too old to be forced to change together, i think you have done the right thing bringing it up to the teacher, hopefully they will take some notice. Personally i think they would be alright for 10 mins unsupervised while they get changed, it used to be that way in our school and was not an issue.
I really wouldn't be happy with this if it was my children. I don't think its that hard to get a solution as some people are making out, sending half of them to the toilets would atleast do, may not be the most ideal but better than nothing

Personally i think they would be alright for 10 mins unsupervised while they get changed, it used to be that way in our school and was not an issue.

Things are very different now. In Y6 our class of 11 children were regularly left unsupervised and were expected to answer the phone in the classroom and take messages. Rules are very different now. Teachers are not alllowed to leave children unsupervised, and are unlikely to risk their jobs to do so.

The discomfort of developing girls is the issue, boys development tends to be later and much more hidden. And why can't a good teacher expect reasonable behaviour from unsupervised children for five minutes? They can change in minutes, not hours.

So in the 10 mins (in which you personally think they will be OK) a child slips on a wet patch in the toilets (because there isn't a changing room) bangs their head off a wash basin resulting in concussion and stitches who is to blame?
or in the 10 mins the children mess about and flush some ones undies down the loo causing a flood and an upset child who now has no vest or pants ... who's to blame? ( this actually happened at the swimming pool with another school who had lessons before my class)

I cannot believe, even in the smallest school, that there isn't a woman on hand to supervise girls. LEAs, dinner ladies whatever.

Also on the behaviour front. Most on here carefully considered schools and picked one for their kids that was the best they could get. Being brutal - not all schools are that nice and shiny (and not all kids are that well behaved - even your own when you're not around to get on their cases sometimes). Even the nicest kids do stupid things when they act before engaging their brain sometimes (see the pants down the toilet in the above post).

There are very many classes, or indeed just combinations of kids together that could not be trusted to be supervising themselves in the toilets for 10 minutes during lesson time.

I did supply at one school quite recently where the latest game among certain kids in the school is to destroy, to the level of smearing excrement on the walls, the school toilets and this happens on a daily basis if even one or two kids are allowed out of lessons for a few moments. ALL toilet visits have to be accompanied by a TA standing outside listening for mayhem... there's no way on this planet a half-class of kids could be allowed in unsupervised there. Did a theme day (had my parents' business hat on that day) at another school with year 7 kids - was warned by the head not to let any kid leave the room without handing back in all the felt pens or else they'd be off trashing the toilets... yeah these were "rougher" schools, however even in the last school I taught in full-time (I was "blessed" with an open plan teaching area which had the loos opening off it - meaning of course the kids all regarded me as the Adult Keeper of the Bogs and came to me every time they were bunged up - oh joy!) they were regularly jammed up by various lads (it was usually the boys loos causing bother in this particular place) experimenting with the effects of a full loo roll and the flush button and how this could invoke minor floods that would have had Noah reaching for the DIY boat assembly kit.

dinner ladies leave after dinner and before dinner they are preparing meals
LEAs = Local Education Authorities?
Whatever sorry we don't have any

Dinner ladies go home after... surprising this one... dinner time.

It's a shocking state of affairs !
Can't see why they can't wait around to supervise PE!

Well if I were the mother of a developing child who was shy....I would FAR rather they lost half a lesson.

But would the parents of the other 29+ children be happy if their children don't mind getting changed ?

Perhaps we should just drop PE - maybe not as some children get no other physical activity

Why don't two classes have pe together then you could have one teacher for the boys and one for the girls? They wouldn't have to do the same activity once they were changed

Very few school halls would fit two classes in at once to do PE - 30 large Y6s is mostly the limit.

Space requirements, especially in poor weather.

Really? We must be really lucky at our school as we have two halls that would fit 60 in.

We do double up classes in the summer on the field for athletics and team games but not possible in the hall for gymnastics and dance

Most primaries have one hall that doubles for assemblies. Ours has to be empty by 11.45 so that they can get ready and set up for lunch.
My school has 14 classes, so getting enough PE slots is tricky at the best of times.

We know the situation isn't ideal, we have to face the problem two or three times a week. I'd love there to be an easy answer.

Though at my kids school they do pe outside in tracksuits unless its really pissing with rain.