Sexism in primary schools

[Andyrichards]

Thoughts?
When leading a school, I drafted a letter which included a request for consent for staff to reapply sun screen to those children unable to do so without support.
Letter came back from executive head insisting inclusion of 'where nececessary, cream will only be applied by female members of staff'

Perhaps she knows who will say it's not in their contract to apply sun cream

Absolutely ridiculous. Was it parents who said only female members of staff or did the head make that decision alone?

Without knowing the whole story it is difficult to tell. For all you know the male teachers may have requested not to be put in that position... And in the current climate who could blame them.

My point, asking for an explanation as to the rationale behind such a suggestion, was that the exec head would hopefully see straightaway that there IS no justifiable explanation.

I'm certainly not excusing their stance. In fact, I don't see many posters on here doing that either.

Normally it's not school/teachers/ta/staff. It's small number of parents who have problem with it. Most of us parents have no problem at all. But even one parent raise a complain, then school have a big issue.

Teachers / TAs didn't apply sun cream at our primary, they asked for parents to apply thoroughly in morning.

At nursery they topped up suncream for them, but they have a much higher adult / child ratio there.

So OP, what are you actually doing? Just getting angry on internet won't change anything.

Our school said at lunchtime half of the play ground is for the boys to play football. The other half is for the younger children to play. So I said where do the girls play and they looked blank at me. One of the TAs said the girls just chat
I was appalled.

It’s funny they put their sexism in writing but it doesn’t surprise me. At our primary school mothers regularly go in to help read with children with no checks performed. When a father volunteered to do the same they insisted he had a DBS check (the new CRB).

My thoughts are that the OP is stirring. No school leader would be stupid enough to post information on a public forum and leave themselves open to legal action from staff.

Perhaps buy a thesaurus and find an alternative to shocking.

Sorry for using 'shocking' so much.
I am not 'stirring', it is completely true.
The statement was even inserted in bold and underlined.

Must admit to being SHOCKED by some of the responses on here. Pretty unpleasant and snide..
One user is trolling.

Regret posting now.

Schools I know say it is parental responsibility and children should apply their own lotion. However we also promote long sleeves, sun hats and we have lots of shade and water available. This is such a non issue for most children. They are not sun bathing are they?

The few children that need help, the parents can be consulted as to who applies lotion if needed. It’s not a men vs women issue in most schools. They really have more to think about! I would get over being shocked op! It’s not a massive deal for you. You will probably get promotion quicker than the women. That’s the norm for primary male teachers isn’t it?

I do agree with the need for careful language being used in class though. However boys are praised for maths! Girls get overlooked for science praise. “Those boys are sooo gifted”. The best schools praise all where it is due.

In the end it is women who are “strident” whereas men are “confident and assured”. It is women who are “bossy” whilst men are “assertive”. Those boys soon learn the language of getting to the top and staying on top!

I don’t know why you are supris d or shocked by this.

Yes it is bollocks, and yes it is wrong. But there are huge amounts of idiotic parents who still believe than an man in a role with you children is possibly a pervert.

The head is just covering her arse.

You're right. The presumption should be that either any member of staff can apply sun lotion, or none of them. If a parent feels strongly about a male member of staff not applying the sun lotion, the answer should be that they come into school and do it, not that we get a woman to do it.

Schools love to tie themselves in knots over anything ending with 'ism', usually to everyone's loss. So many schools fall over themselves to be inclusive, only for their 'Staff' webpage to be only white, middle-aged women.

Quite why people can't just be fair, impartial and leave their prejudices at home I don't know.

Shersby
super responses. not just because I agree. I mean morally.

As a man, working in a primary setting, some of the comments have been very reassuring- I genuinely didn't understand why the addition to the letter was insisted upon. (some contributions have been, I must admit, needlessly aggressive and disturbing....deliberately inflammatory....intending to anger or provoke). There are differences between men and women, boys and girls, but they should never be pre-judged or written in stone. Diversity is a huge driver for educating young children.. What's the phrase? There's more that unites than divides us? all the more pertinent in education of young children.

"I am not 'stirring', it is completely true." Then you are aware that posting it on a public forum you risk dismissal

Blatant sexism.

I'm a TA and first aider in a primary school. Anything that involved touching a child to help them out of clothes due to soiling accidents or applying plasters in any other place other than arms and lower legs, would involve me asking another member of staff to be present. Just common sense and is part of our code of conduct. I don't see why the same wouldn't apply to applying suncream no matter which gender you happen to be, I wonder how that Head would feel about a transgender teacher applying cream?

Our school is incredibly sexist. All the time.

Are there likely to be children who there could be a religious reason for cream only being applied by a woman? Some Muslims? That is the only sensible reason I can think of for that addendum.

That's ridiculous.

I'm a TA, how exactly would me applying sun cream be any different to a male colleague doing so? It will more than likely happen in a full classroom anyway because calling children out individually would take forever. Also from a purely selfish point of view, the other TA I work with is male, I'm not doing his share of applying sun cream just because he has a penis, if parents don't like it then they come in and do it themselves

Does your school send all men out the room while children change too? I mean if they can't be trusted with sun cream how on earth do they cope with small children wandering round in their pants asking for various items of clothing to be turned the right way in or looking for their trousers that they failed to put in their PE bags the 50 000 times I told them to.

Its February and it might snow this week - is this a recent school announcement or even relevant yet?