Why don't they let the kids play out in the rain?

[mumnosbest]

I teach F1 and 2 and we have to provide outdoor activities whatever the weather. The kids all bring wellies and waterproofs and love playing out in the puddles (even though sometimes us teachers don't).
DS is in Y2 further up school and on rainy days comes out hyper after being kept in all day, jumps in every puddle on the way home and goes straight out to play in the garden.
If we have to allow our younger more delicate little darlings to play in the rain/snow/wind, then why can't the older kids. I'd happily provide waterproofs, Y2s can dress much more quickly than F! and 2s. Are the KS1&2 teachers just nesh? (ducks and hides)

At DD's school the breaktimes were too short to allow for time to change in and out of wet clothes. I don't like being outside in the rain so why should I make children do the same.

It annoys me how many parents do not provide even a basic coat, never mind appropriate shoes. Waterproof trousers are apparently unheard of.

My KS2 class walk to their weekly swimming lesson. It takes about 30 mins. We went this week as normal, despite that fact that it was pouring with rain.

Two boys had no waterproof coat at all, just fleece hoodies. They were leant spares and given a warning that next week we'll leave them with another class.

Most of the girls had open-topped shoes or suede fashionable boots: they got very wet feet.

Everyone got wet trousers and spent the afternoon in their PE stuff.

We had four complaints from parents about how wet their little angels got. One mum in particular was adamant that we should have cancelled the swimming lesson.

They have all had a letter restating the need to dress adequately for the weather and that it is the parents' responsibility to do this.

I agree. I suspect that those with inadequate outer clothes are children who come to school in the car.

EcoLady you could try getting them changed into swimming gear before you set off on rainy days

I'd love to send the dds off to school properly dressed for the weather (secondary) but there is nowhere there for them to hang their coats or put their wellies. Also it seems to be a point of honour with 13 year olds to wear as little clothing as possible. They have agreed to take folding umbrellas in a plastic bag so they don't soak their books when they put them in their school bag at school. I think this is the best I can manage TBH.
At primary we (the PTA) bought waterproofs and collected outgrown wellies so that they could all go out in bad weather - but small school and very committed PTA.

We started going out in all weathers 4 yrs ago. Not all had waterproofs so played under the sun/rain canopy. We asked parents to donate waterproofs as children grew out of them. Now we have enough spares for at least half in each class and no one goes without.

Main problem at DDs primary is definitely space. Coats would never dry! The fug on a wet day is awful. Gloves, hats and wellies get kicked about and lost.
Coats that fall on the floor an get stood on.

You need space to store outdoor stuff in a ventilated place not mixed up with PE kit and lunch boxes. It needs a bench to sit on and no carpet. And no one must share a peg. Wet coat lining from being last in is not nice.

startail is right. At DD's primary school the logistics of storing wet stuff was horrendous. When it snowed so many clothes ended up on the floor because the pegs are too crammed together and coats got slung out of the way so that children could get to their own coats.

At DD's high school the children have to store outdoor wear in their lockers. There is simply not the room for big coats and boots and not the time at the end of the school day to change into outdoor wear before the buses leave. They are all dedicated school buses and once they have left the premises there aren't any more.

We do to an extent. Depends on how wet it is - including how wet the floor is. We have had a lot of standing water.

It is far better for teachers if the children can get out at least for a little while. The teachers don't really want the childrenn cooped up all day - by afternoon, it can make the classroom more challenging if they've not got out.

However, the reasons why we keep them in at time:

• some children come to school without adequate wet weather clothes and shoes; we have had several children last week come with no coat despite dreadful weather and reminders to parents sent out!

• some parents will complain if you have their little ones out in heavy rain, some when only light rain.

• it can also become very cold when children are very wet, and a fair few children don't like it.

• we have nowhere to dry wet coats. The children do have a peg outside the classroom but it is cramped and coats are touching and it doesn't allow them to dry out. Ditto with room for wellies.

• we have no way of drying clothes that get wet such as trousers and socks.

And, you know what - sometimes it is miserable being the staff on playground duty stood out in pouring rain wit children asking if they can go inside yet, or they are cold, and you are also wet and cold too.

Oh - and even after this long not all parents send children adequately dressed with wellies and waterproof coats.
We don't have a covered over area for children to play out in, other than in the foundation stage area.

We asked for donations of old wellies so KS1 would have a supply for snowy or wet weather. We had to send a request to stop sending them in as we had so many pairs.

We also have enough waterproof (kagoule) style rainjackets for one class (PTA bought these) to do outdoor activities, but these also come in very handy when children come to school inappropriately dressed for the weather. IME it's often the ones who are dropped off by car who don't have a waterproof coat on. Some parents seem to think that as they are being dropped off and collected they will be warm and dry indoors all day

It has to be really wet to warrant an indoor playtime at our school - though we do have a 'keep off the grass' rule in muddy weather

Think it has 2b part of a schools policy. If a child doesnt come in uniform theyre sent home. If they dont have pe kit they dont do pe. If they dont have waterproofs they dont play. Parents would soon provide them if dcs complained theyd missed play

but who is supervising the " not going to out to play children" ? At the same time as supervising the " have waterproofs and are pushing each into puddles outside children" .

mumnosbest,

Given the family backgrounds of the many of our pupils

• If they don't have uniform, we clothe them from the spares / secondhand box.
• If they don't have PE kit, we put one together from spares / contributions of outgrown clothing from ex-pupils or staff (and take it home every holiday - every week for swimming kit - to wash it).

Under those circumstances, if a child doesn't have waterproofs, we know full well that whatever the child says to the parent (and as a proportion of our pupils arrive at school pre-verbal due to lack of spoken language in the first 4 years of their lives, it may well be that they don't really speak to their parents at all), they really won't come in with one tomorrow. We have to build our procedures accordingly.