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?

[teacherwith2kids]

No, I am saying 'Please tell the school how your daughter is feeling, as they need to understand that - and the whole issue of respect, awareness of changes, body image etc is something the school should anyway be working very hard on in Science, PHSCE etc as well as in the rules, behaviour expectations and practical arrangements for PE. However, bear in mind that there may not be a 'perfect' solution so it is something that you may need to work with the school on, discussing different options to find the one which best fits the individual case'

Crapola, what you are saying is 'The school must find a solution regardless of expense, practicality or the needs of other children and adults in the school,', which isn't terribly helpful either...

[teacherwith2kids]

Pointydog, I'm going to say it one last time...

The toilets in my school could not possibly accommodate half the children from one class (4 cubicles, small handwashing area). They are anyway the only toilets in the school, so if children from the oldest class change in there, no girls from the other, younger classes can use the toilet.

I would not want the girls in there unsupervised, because IME they are much more likely to be unkind about one another's bodies than any boy would be.

[pointydog]

Thanks for the patronising teacher voice. Nice addition.

[AbigailS]

Our toilets are only two cubicles wide with two sinks on the wall outside the cubicles, we'd never fit 15 - 20 girls (or boys) depending on the gender spread in there.
We are not saying sod the OP's child's feelings, but teachers are expressing the limits they have to work within. I've come to the conclusion no matter what we, as teachers, come up with as a compromise solution (bearing in mind all the boundaries we have to work within) we will be thought of getting it wrong by some posters.
And the "not my problem, it's the school's" is completely unhelpful and rather insulting.

[mrz]

Basically CrapolaDeVille most teachers are saying if you can come up with a workable solution we would be very grateful

[Goblinchild]

But it would have to be individually tailored to the school, due to staffing and building constrictions.

[pointydog]

Yoga, you should raise this with the school because there may well be alternatives in your school. And sometimes nothing gets improved because no one ever mentions that there's a problem.

[teacherwith2kids]

CDV,

I have given you the restrictions of my school:

• Can't use the toilets
  
• No additional staff (all TAs do 1 to 1 work except for Maths and Lit lessons)
  
• Can't use cloakroom as is open to a public corridor
  
• Can't use the library as it is a public corridor
  
• Have no other rooms.
  
• No space to store screens
  
• Hall in use 100%, only just big enough for school so no scope for partitioning
  
• Money for building is just being scraped together to create a hugely-needed 1 to 1 teaching room, none for creating changing rooms.
  

Current solution is to use desks, chairs and bookcases within classroom to give a degree of privacy, and to set very high expectations of speed of changing and behaviour.

Suggestion?

[IndigoBell]

I just asked DS (Y5) what his school does. His school sends the girls to the (downstairs) cloakroom to get their PE kit first, then they come back with their kit and start to get changed while the boys go and get their kit......

So a slightly 'staggered' changing time, rather than completely girls first boys second......

I also know the muslim girls in his class wear their PE kit under their uniform all day, so that nobody see's them getting changed....

[mrz]

We don't have cloakrooms to send them to

[CrapolaDeVille]

As teachers part of your job is to care for/nurture the emotional well being of every child.....

[CrapolaDeVille]

Do you not have head teachers? Really?

[Feenie]

Yes - ours teaches 3 days per week.

[teacherwith2kids]

Yes, CPV, so tell me how to sort it out, in my specific case...

(and bearing in mind that, despite my sympathy for the OP's daughter, the emotional wellbeing of quite a large proportion of my class is threatened by very much more pressing issues (abuse, neglect, underfeeding, parents with substance abuse problems, parents with mental health issues, acute poverty, assorted SEN to name just a few) than the possibility of an uninterested 10 year old boy catching a glompse of their underwear, through a barrage of chairs, tables and bookcases, for a couple of seconds a week, so the reasonable deplyment of scarce resources has to be considered)

[CrapolaDeVille]

Of course a child suffering abuse at home should be further exposed to public embarrassment. And if it's as bad as you say I cannot believe no 10 year old would look. Also with that many SEN you would have at least one free member of staff. Quite frankly I am how show no sign of being resourceful.

[CrapolaDeVille]

how you show.

[teacherwith2kids]

I have 9 children with SEN in my class. They do 1 to 1 work with the TA, who takes them out in turn except during maths and Literacy lessons where she works with several of them in a group. So I have no TA during PE.

I am resourceful. I arrange the class, the furniture and the expectations to create maximum privacy. I do not accept your view that I 'expose children to public embarressment', I have a class of children who love PE, race to get themselves changed and ready for it, and if any pass any kind of comment on one another (usually girl to girl) then it is dealt with appropriately including in direct teaching in PSHCE and using the school discipline and bullying procedures.

What do you mean by 'and if it's as bad as you say'? It isn't bad, it's a normal classroom, albeit rather small for the numbers of children it accommodates for part of each day. I just wished to remind you that the school does not have infinite resources to create changing areas, and the money it might have has to be directed where it will create the most good - which will be where the needs of the children are the greatest.

[mrz]

We have 36% SEN and no additional staff so I'm not sure of your logic there

[mrz]

I have 11 children with SEN plus one child who has EAL (although not SEN) in my class and no TA.

[CrapolaDeVille]

Where the hell are you teaching that this is normal? My children have no SEN children in their class.

[CrapolaDeVille]

Not that SEN isn't normal....but such a huge number with no support is ludicrous. How does anyone get an education in that circumstance?

[mrz]

Well since we have 97% SAT pass rate with over 50% achieving level 5 they are getting an education.

[Feenie]

Because of these 'decent' teachers who are 'worth their salt' that you keep mentioning.

[mrz]

It's quite usual and with big cuts to education it can only get worse

[AbigailS]

CDV - How do you know that none of your DC's classmates are not on the SEN register? It's not public knowledge.