Pe time children changing together in class

[user1474657726]

Im just curious.
I work in education and as a mum I find it call me old fashioned but it niggles me .

Children changing togther in class for pe. The girls stripping off to pants and so are the boys.

Our school thankfully has kept the rule since covid to come in pe kit and stay in alday as pe is only 1 hour after lunch . So its all my youngest has known.

My eldest back in 2000s was split boy n girls in different rooms. So was in in the 80s

So it just dont sit right with me having them togther. Even the teacher I work with likes the covid era rule for pe kits worn alday .

My DD started wearing crop top vests due to her development in year 2. And is self conscious of her body.

They still do mixing changing but actually she doesn't take off her polo top to put a T-shirt on, and she wears either tights in winter of cycling shorts under her skirt in summer and so puts on leggings over what ever she's wearing.

To be honest I am dreading swimming as I don't think she will be comfortable dressing in front of other girls

@AliceMcK
that’s what my stepkids primary school does ever since covid. And they are keeping it that way.
its great as there is less ironing with gym two days if the week haha.

This used to give me the rage when my now teen dd was at primary school. It wasn't until yr6 that they allowed the girls to change in the corridor cloakroom! My dd was an early developer, so I used to insist she change in the loos, but it was my hill to die on at every parents evening or meet the teacher event.

In 90s, infant school for years reception to year 2 was in vest and pants. Junior school years 3-6 was in p.e. kit. We all changed together. And the kit was kept at school all term.

We did p.e. as a year group and as 3 classes per year we could easily have changed separately.

I never had a problem with it at the time. And it never occurred to me that it would be any different now!

I suppose I assumed pe kit right from reception but didn't think changing would be different
Not like they are actually getting naked like at swimming lessons

Well you can say that as bluntly as you want but Ofsted would disagree. It's a statutory subject. Coming to school in PE kit would be a better idea.

@Bree82 its ridiculous, my DDs school have done it since we’ve been going 7 years now. To me it makes perfect sense they just wear pe kits on pe days. Our school has a tracksuit they wear it over their shorts and T-shirts, it looks smart, it’s warm, the kids are all in a uniform so look the same and it’s easy for the kids to get on and off with dignity.

Youngest DCs school change separately from Y3, it used to be from Y5 but it was changed after Covid

In the DC's old school, boys and girjs changed separately from Y3.

Completely normal from P1-P4. From P5, the girls should change elsewhere whilst the boys remain in the classroom.

My dd is y4 age 9, the whole class change together . She started puberty age 7/8 and has to wait until y4 before they split the boys and girls for changing

This is what gets me, so many girls go through puberty early. There is a girl in my DDs class who went through puberty at 7, she is very well developed at 9yo (Yr5), she should not be forced to change in front of boys. I was the same, I developed early and was so self conscious of my body, I actually stopped doing pe I’d make excuses every single time I was due to have pe, fake period pain, forgot my kit, I’d nick off school, even in primary school, basically anything to get out of anyone seeing my body, especially my breasts when doing running or other activities.

I worked in lower juniors for years.
It's fine them all getting changed together.

Upper juniors not. You get some early developers so we split girls and boys at that point.

We separate the genders from Y4 up. They have the option earlier but it’s my experience that most kids 7 and below don’t think twice about just stripping in the classroom!

You’re quite right OP. It’s an awful practice. Telling girls from a young age they have to strip off in front of boys and have no right to object - not great for teaching consent is it. It really bothers the girls and sometimes even very young boys do mock the girls bodies / fatshame. And even very young boys do sometimes get physically excited by female nudity and it isn’t fair to put boys in that situation either.

The NSPCC guidelines are that mixed sex changing for PE in schools should end by year two. www.icmec.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/NSPCC-factsheet-best-practice-for-pe-changing-rooms.pdf

Year 5 shouldn’t be changing together! Feel sorry for the kids!

Dgs2 goes to school in his PE kit twice per week. Dgs1 keeps his PE kit at school and all his class change in the classroom - he is year 5. They are learning about puberty at the moment and so far his major concern is whether or not he will need to wear deodorant in the summer because kids starting puberty may get smelly in hot weather! Changing in the classroom is just what he has always done and he doesn't think anything of it. I don't know whether or not or not there is separate changing in year 6 but I hope so!
When I was in year 6 in the late 70s (4th year juniors as it was then) our classroom was the dining room and as it had an entire wall of windows, which overlooked the driveway and was in view of the road, girls got changed unsupervised in the toilets and boys were supervised by our male teacher in the main hall. At the same school in early/mid 00s dd got changed for PE in the classroom all the way through, even in year 6, (which had a newly built classroom by then).

What is the solution? Asking those who say it shouldn't happen.

If you have no solution to the supervision problem then there is no point in criticising the school for doing their best.

Solutions:

• come in PE kit for the day
• find another class doing PE the same morning / afternoon and swap boys/girls to change between the classes
• rig up a temporary curtain using cord and sheets across the classroom
• borrow a TA or member of office staff for 10 mins to supervise changing

It isn't acceptable to say there is no solution.

Or (and I expect this will be a non-starter but still an option) get rid of uniforms completely and then let children do PE in their regular school clothes. Problem removed.

Small children don’t sweat like teens and adults do, and the UK is hardly a hot climate where they’re getting extensively gross every lesson. This approach works just fine and is considered normal in other countries (North America, for example) and the only expectation is to wear sneakers and no dresses or skirts on PE day.