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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Original poster

sun cream at school

31 replies

Hther · 03/06/2009 16:55

at nursery, the booklet said please apply suncream before you leave and send hat and cream and if you don't send cream please be aware we will apply some of our high factor cream before they play outside. another nursery "moaned" at parents who didn't send cream or hats.

Now, I am worried about ingredients in a lot of the creams but have been sending some cream every day, told teacher it was in her bag and found out yesterday from DD that its not being put in, yet every day she has played outside. I spoke to school today about it and said I'm sure my DD got it wrong but they said no they have not been using it, they have to have it in writing from the parents if they want it to be used, as some contain nuts and some children are allergic. I was absoltely horrified, especially as I had not been told before.

Is this normal in schools?

OP posts:
hobbgoblin · 03/06/2009 16:57

They should have been clearer. Not understanding 'horrified' though. She isn't sunburnt is she?

Dandi · 03/06/2009 17:00

policy at our primary school a couple of years ago (haven't asked recently!) is that they wouldn't apply suncream as too many kids, basically. Now we just put one of the long lasting kinds on just before they leave home. I guess for older kids you could get them to put their own on, but not the little ones. They don't seem to bother about them wearing their sunhats either (though we send them)

Original poster
Hther · 03/06/2009 17:01

No, but it has been so hot and sunny and she has been out at the hottest part of the day (lunch break). She keeps having different teachers as teacher is often off with morning sickness and so i keep saying her suncream is in her bag. The first time there was a differnt teacher, I realised aftrewards i hadnt mentioned it so rang the school and they said at this age we dont put iton them, we only do that in nursery we encourage them to put it on themselves. I said thats fine as long as you do that and she does have some on. They sai ok we weill ring the unit and tell them where to find the cream. And then today was told they havent been doing it

OP posts:
Itsjustafleshwound · 03/06/2009 17:04

The policy at DD's school is to ask the parents to apply sunscreen at the beg of day and ensure the children have the school sunhat in their bookbags to wear when they venture outdoors ...

Somehow, with all the other things the teachers have to do, I expect my child to be sensible and go indoors/in shade if they are too hot and not expect the teachers to add sun marshall to an already busy time ...

Hulababy · 03/06/2009 19:17

I have always used the once a day cream. DD applies it in a morning when getting dressed and then it lasts all day. She takes a hat for playtime when hot. They also have a couple of shaded areas on the playground too.

Hulababy · 03/06/2009 19:18

At school I work at staff are not allowed to apply suncream to children at all.

Nappyzoneisabeetrootrunner · 03/06/2009 19:23

i applied to dd on monday before school and sent with a sun hat - i put soem roll on stuff in her bag (yr1) and said to apply at lunchtime as out for an hr and half. She came home with it that night and was told along with another child who had also bought osme in not to bring in anymroe as it just causes mess which royally pissed me off. I asked if she had been messing about with it and she said no she just got caught taking it out of her bag before lunch.

sarah293 · 03/06/2009 19:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
Hther · 03/06/2009 20:42

dd is in reception, they say they dont apply it for them but encourage them to put it on themselves. Then today i was told you have to give them a letter saying its ok for them to use them; well i wouldnt send it if it wasn'ty ok!

OP posts:
Takver · 03/06/2009 20:59

T'other way round at our school - the first sunny day dd had to stay in the shade all lunchtime as she hadn't brought suncream to put on (she'd put on long lasting stuff in the morning, she had a sun hat and elbow length sleeves on her dress . . .). Not that I think she minded that much being in the cool given that their school is an oven in this weather!

Ivykaty44 · 03/06/2009 21:03

Put the cream on before the dc leave home - then it will be fine as most factour 30+ will last for 300 minutes of in sun use, so 5 hours will do the 15 minute morning break and hour lunch time

Original poster
Hther · 04/06/2009 07:50

waht do you use, all the kinds i have say reapply regularly? she has just told me they don't wear hats too

OP posts:
MollieO · 04/06/2009 08:44

Ds in reception. I apply before he goes to school. School have bottles of suncream for every reception child (sent in by parents at school's request) and teachers apply during the day. Same at nursery.

supagirl · 04/06/2009 09:53

DS is in reception. We apply in the morning before he goes in and then the children reapply themselves before playtime. If they don't have suncream and a hat they are not allowed outside and tbh I agree with this as my ds has very fair skin and burns easily (like me :O( ). The teacher's don't apply the cream but the children are supervised applying it themselves in small groups and will be assisted if necessary - they are trying to help them become independent by year 1, which again is something I agree with. There odd exceptions as some children do have problems which mean they would struggle to apply the cream themselves.

SG

sharedplanet · 04/06/2009 10:01

Can anyone actually recall being sunburnt at school? I seem to remember we even used to have outdoor lessons! I doubt if you could muster one parent who has been burnt at school or who has had a child burnt at school.

SoupDragon · 04/06/2009 10:06

Well, I know of at least one MNer whose child was sunburnt at school so that's a cr8p argument. Also, the ozone layer was thicker when I was a child so that doesn't really count either.

Buy some Soltan Once and apply at the start of the day. It will last the whole school day. It's expensive but often on BOGOF.

You can't expect the staff to put suncream on 30 children.

psychomum5 · 04/06/2009 10:11

I cream all my children before they get dressed in the morning. it covers them for the playtime and lunchbreak, and then I reapply when they come home for them to play out in the garden.

supagirl · 04/06/2009 10:18

I can recall being burnt as a child at school, yes. I have pale skin and burn easily. I also have a friend whose dd is at another school who has got sun burn as the school do not allow them to take sun cream in.

A close member of DP's family has had skin cancer so not being sun safe is not a risk I am prepared to take with my kids. Damage can be done BEFORE the skin is burnt anyway, that is just a sign of severe sun damage. No sun burn doesn't mean no sun damage.

SG

Madsometimes · 04/06/2009 10:52

School policy is sun cream on before school. Children cannot bring cream into school to apply themselves, and school does not keep cream in stock. Also the playground has very little natural shade.

What annoys me most, is that there is a very nice shaded garden area which is rarely used. When I asked why, I was told that there are not enough supervisors to cover the playground and garden .

dd2 did come back from school on Tuesday with a red face. In fact, she also had a headache and was wetting herself. I even took her to the GP the next day, concerned that she had a UTI, because she was not herself.

When dd1 was in reception, another girl in her class spent a night in hospital suffering from the effects of the sun after a day at school. That was summer 05.

I am generally very happy with the dd's school, but I do think that they are inadequate when it comes to dealing with hot weather. They have not had to worry about the heat for the past few summers, and I think they forget what to do.

sharedplanet · 04/06/2009 11:18

Right that's me told then

sharedplanet · 04/06/2009 11:18

Right that's me told then

Madsometimes · 04/06/2009 11:35

It is not just sun burn, it is dehydration and heat exhaustion that schools need to worry about. All children are at risk from the sun, not just pale ones.

Of course we could have another terrible summer this year. My dd's went to school with their coats on today!

Original poster
Hther · 04/06/2009 16:56

fetched her today and she said she had no suncream on, didnt wear her hat then said she was thirsty and opend up her lunch bag. Her water bottle was still full, she said she had been nable to open it and asked for help but they wouldn't help her. They had previously said, because of a condition she had, which means she needs to drink a certain amount that they would encourage her to drink plenty.

OP posts:
Mspontipine · 04/06/2009 21:54

There are few things at our children's school that can prove fatal. Sunshine sadly can and after 2 years of primary school I still cannot understand the schools' attitudes towards sunscreen.

Yes it can take a bit of time, it's a pain and can be a bit messy but it saves lives. Schools should be promting its use not banning it.

Supagirl's school seems to be the only one yet again with a sensible safe policy. I would love this to be standard procedure in all schools.

Ds is such a whitey. I send him with a roll-on and ask him to use it. Most days I apply the 6 hr stuff in the morning - but not always - the cloudy rainy overcast etc.

He came home with it saying he'd been told not to bring it. I discussed it with the ta (usually happy with school rules etc) and was told the problem is if he does then others will want to..... Isn't that a good thing?? Also they're not out in it for long .... doesn't take long at all for ds to get a red neck - he does have a legionaire cap but he still has to remember to wear it etc.. They agreed he was allowed to have it. Honestly!! What do they have against this lifesaver??!

notsoteenagemum · 04/06/2009 22:13

The only cream I have found that ds isn't allergic to is boots soltan baby factor 50.
The downside is it is really thick and difficult to rub in, it does say it lasts 8 hours and prob does on arms and legs but I don't beleive that on ds's sweaty face.

I spoke to the Head and she was brilliant, said although it was policy for children to apply their own cream she would happily help ds to rub it onto his face as long as arms etc were done at home.