Do children not get changed for P.E anymore?

[Cottonbud25]

My daughter starts school in September and I noticed one of their uniform policy’s is that children must come to school in their P.E kit and remain in their P.E kit all day until they go home? I’m just wondering is this standard practice in schools nowadays? As I remember the days we all used to get changed for P.E in the classroom and then you’d change back into your uniform after P.E? It just seems abit odd to stay in your P.E kit all day?

She won't need two hoodies!

This is how it is in DS's school still since COVID (he's in Y3). However, as he has PE three days a week and another day does a sports club before school, he now only wears school uniform 1 day per week!

My youngest's school has done this since covid. And their PE uniform is a white t shirt which means that it gets covered in gravy and pizza sauce and looks awful after a few weeks. I wish they'd just let them get changed again!

That does make sense, and also less chance of them loosing clothes or getting them muddled up with another child's!

@NellWilsonsWhiteHair No not my spin; I’m a governor at the school and the pros and cons of changing were discussed at a recent meeting. School is in a demographically very mixed area and a significant number of pupils have regressed with basic life skills since Covid (using cutlery and toileting were also raised at the same meeting). It was decided that the school needed to promote skills like getting changed, dressing appropriately for different contexts etc as significant numbers of parents were unwilling/unable to do this (not just 4 year olds either - increasing numbers of KS2 pupils were also struggling to dress themselves).

However the decision to change wasn’t expressed to the parents in this way and they weren’t ‘told off’.

What?! Surely it must stink if it's only being changed every half term

One of the things I loved when we moved to Aus was the fact that kids go to school in sports uniform on PE/sport day. So much easier.

My kids school have just this term started asking for children to bring in their pe kits again instead of wearing it. Some parents like it, some hate it. My children actually don't seem to care either way.

It would make more sense for at least primary school children to have a uniform based around PE kit, so shorts and T shirt with joggers or a track suit.

What?! Surely it must stink if it's only being changed every half term

They stink and you have no idea that they have grown out of them either.

Also means u have to buy 2 sets if trainers one of which is barely worn.

i don’t find it stinks - they are prepubescent kids, not stinky! Ours don’t do PE on grass which prob makes a difference too - they don’t get grass stains and mud on them. Though as a PP said, it’s annoying to have a pair of trainers at school all the time and you don’t know when they have outgrown stuff. Our primary insists on plain black trainers with non marking soles which are quite hard to find. They all end up with identical decathlon ones. Our secondary is much stricter on school shoes but doesn’t care about PE trainers!

Our school have been doing it for a number of years (I think it started when dc1 was y2), from y1-y6. Rec still get changed. I really like it, much less faff for the children & teachers. Dc1(12) misses being able to just go in in her pe kit now she's in y7 & getting her to remember to bring it home for washing is a right pain.

A covid thing? Fed up hearing these stupid 'covid measures!' Excuses more like!
This is teaching kids terrible personal hygiene practice! It is not ok to stay in your smelly workout clothes all day. Can't imagine it has any impact on the spreading of covid! I understand they're probably not sweaty as such when they're only little but if it goes on until they're at 'big school,' the classroom will be absolutely stinking! Awful.

They are primary age. They race round a warm playground 3x breaks a day then sit in their uniform. Sitting in tshirt and joggers all day is no worse.

Ours also wear their pe kits all day, I do think it's better, as you don't have to worry about them losing anything (their hoodies have their initials on so they don't get taken home by the wrong kid) They also have to wear their pe kits all day if they have after school club like gymnastics or football. Our PE day is midweek too, so if he's got both his jumpers dirty already, it gives me a day to get them washed and dried.

Any school that doesn’t have adequate changing facilities for year 5/6 kids really shouldn’t be requiring children to change at school (dd goes in in PE kit and this is one of the reasons the school kept it that way).

Girls wearing training bras and period pants really don’t want to be getting undressed in front of boys.

In Australia it's hot and humid (often around 37 to 39 deg cel in summer plus humid at the same time) and primary school kids don't stink! High Schoolers wear deodorant anyway. I think dirtying two sets of clothes is irresponsible and a waste of clothes and washing resources. If we changed clothes each time we got sweaty here, we'd be doing that around 12 times a day. A bit of sweat never hurt anybody, and if you are showering daily you should smell that bad. FFS adults don't change clothes during the day, it's good practice for children to wear one set of clothes for a day.

I can't believe some of you are so soft and so afraid of getting a bit sweaty you want kids to change immediately they sweat a little. Never heard anything so ridiculous.

We used to have PE kit sent home every half term. Can't imagine it's hygiene to keep sweaty clothes in a bag and wear them again and again for more than a month.

It definitely is good for them to have to change at school, and organise themselves. My dc have gotten so much faster at dressing and undressing thanks to having to change for PE. Much as I'm sure it's a hassle for teachers.

As above a covid thing but one I hope doesn't go. Much handier and my dc likes an excuse to wear her more casual clothes to school

Ds started reception in September 2020, so not sure if it's a covid thing at his school or normal, but he's always worn his pe kit for 2 days a week, all day. They don't have changing rooms at his school, they don't really get very sweaty, and there's no way I'd expect his teacher to have the will or the time to supervise the dressing and undressing of a class full of 4/5yos 😂

You already bought shoes needed for September? How do you know what size she'll be then? Better not to by them til mid August

I would have loved this at school. I still remember last year of primary when a few girls had bras and periods and we still had to change in the classroom with all of the boys making comments. Awful.

My kids school they change at school, I actually prefer your schools way as I don’t think 10 year olds should be changing in front of each other but they make them do that at my kids school (not allowed at school in PE clothes)