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Primary education

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Original poster

My son is burnt, I am fuming, is the school in the wrong?

151 replies

bigmouthstrikesagain · 30/06/2009 16:35

Ds is 4 and in reception today was his sport day. We weren't permitted to watch due to numbers.

He had suncream applied this am (factor 50), but we have been asked not to sendccream into school.

He has come home today with severe sunburn large angry red raised patches all the way up his legs and forearms.

His hat was lost so he prob wasn't wearing that either.

I am very with the school especially as if we had been there I could have applied more suncream!

Am I overeacting?

OP posts:
piscesmoon · 01/07/2009 12:00

I don't see how you have the time, MarmadukeS, unless you start getting ready for lunch 10 mins before the normal time.

I hug a DC if they need it because I am not prepared to teach if I can't, and would lay my job and reputation on the line for it. If a 5 yr old is unhappy I sit them on my knee, as I would my own DC.
I am not prepared to lay my job on the line for putting on sun cream or a plaster, so I do as I am told.
I think they can fairly easily do it themselves-most of the body is already covered.
To the person who said why nursery and not school I would say that is different-nurseries have younger DCs who can't do it themselves and are already changing nappies, getting them dressed etc. I expect them to go to the toilet unaided, in school, and only do ties,top buttons and shoe laces-if they can't cope.
There are all sorts of rules these days-when I was a Beaver leader I had to be very careful e.g.when I gave my neighbour's DS a lift to the meeting I had to make it very clear that I was doing it as a friend and not as the Beaver leader. If a Beaver was being sick in the toilets 2 leaders had to help him-not one. You can't just use common sense and take the attitude 'I'm a mum myself and perfectly OK'.

Greensleeves · 01/07/2009 12:03

I think you have every right to be upset about this .

Your sun is under their care while he is at school and it is their responsibility to ensure that no injury befalls him. Sunburn is dangerous and painful.

If they 'don't have the time' to ensure that the children are properly protected then they shouldn't be taking them out in the sun for long enough to get burnt.

piscesmoon · 01/07/2009 12:14

Then you have the position on another thread, Greensleeves, where a parent is fuming because the DCs are not allowed out!!
It isn't the time-teachers are not allowed to apply it. They are not allowed to apply it because parent's have put schools in a defensive position.

piscesmoon · 01/07/2009 12:16

sorry about the apostrophe-I get carried away!

MarmadukeScarlet · 01/07/2009 13:14

piscesmoon, I think you have misread my post. I do not feel Teachers/TAs should be putting it on which is why I wrote 'Teacher's and TAs have to fit enough into the schoolday without creaming up 30 children'. I'd rather my DC were having 10 minutes education, or fun, than waiting for a TA to apply suncream before going out to lunch.

I do not think must 4/5/6 yr olds can competently apply sunscreen in a fashion that gives them the proper protection - lets face it most adults do not apply enough either.

Kazzi79 · 01/07/2009 13:18

In response to the person who asked why nurseries are allowed to apply suncream but schools aren't, private nurseries have their own policies and in these they recognise that young children are unable to apply suncream to themselves, what nurseries usually do is ask a parent to apply suncream to their child before coming to nursery then the staff will put more cream on if needed....provided that a parent has signed the relevant consent forms.
Schools follow their Local Education Authority's policies, so if their LEA doesn't allow it the school has to abide by that, lets be honest the majority of primary school aged children can easily apply suncream to themselves anyway, the only ones who would struggle are the youngest children and children with special needs, a younger child with an older sibling in school can ask for their sibling to apply the cream if it is needed, for the others it should be sufficient to squirt the cream into their hands for them to apply themselves, children with a special need severe enough for them to not be able to apply their own cream would more than likely have a one to one support worker therefore the support worker and childs parents should come to an agreement over this.

surprisenumber3 · 01/07/2009 13:40

At my son's soon they have given all reception aged children a bag to hand on their peg. In it there is a sunhat which covers their neck and a roll on suncream. They had to bring these home for us to write their names on and teach our children how to apply the suncream then send them back in.

It is a pilot scheme and hopefully more schools will join in soon

Kazzi79 · 01/07/2009 13:52

surprisenumber3, thats a brilliant idea I'd love to see that catch on

piscesmoon · 01/07/2009 14:04

I didn't misread it Marmaduke-I was just pointing out that time is a 'red herring'-the issue is child protection.

beetlebabe · 01/07/2009 14:09

This is a tricky issue as many teachers are advised not to apply suncream as part of a touch issue and if they were to apply it poorly and miss a bit etc and the child burns then they are held negligent. Applying suncream safely to a whole class is a major undertaking. As a teacher in a Special School we get written permission from parents to apply suncream as the pupils are physically unable etc to apply it but it really worries me as a responsibility in case I miss a bit - don't reapply often enough etc.However I do feel you should talk to the Head and show the extent of the sunburn and ask them for a reasonable way of protecting children from sunburn.

hellywobs · 01/07/2009 14:26

Does anyone know what the policy is at primary-level schools in Australia? Given how strong the sun is there they surely can't rely on the parents applying it at home. Whatever they do we should do on hot days.

JulesJules · 01/07/2009 14:29

We used to be allowed to send in suncream and the teachers could apply it if we had signed a permission slip. This year the policy seems to have changed - we have been told that the teachers are not allowed to apply suncream, and we should use "all day cream, available from Boots" before we bring the children to school. I checked in Boots and the "all day" cream lasts for 6 hours - so if you apply it at 8 am it would last until 2. Sun protection would run out before home time at 3.15, and they spend a lot of time outside - 50% of teaching is now outside, apparently.

I agree, they haven't thought this through!

Why are they no longer allowed to apply the cream with a permission slip from the parents? I can't see how this is worse than letting the children burn? What do schools do in Australia?

JulesJules · 01/07/2009 14:30

xposts Helly!

hellywobs · 01/07/2009 14:31

Julesjules, great minds think alike.

Anyway I don't want to apply an all day cream because (a) I don't believe they work for very long and (b) I don't like chemical sunscreens. A hat is very important, but they really need to reapply it at lunchtime. And why can't the kids use a roll-on/stick sunscreen themselves? You can't ban it because of allergies, you're asking the kids to put it on at home and so if they touch a child with allergies you'll have a problem anyway!

abraid · 01/07/2009 15:07

My ten-year-old did an athletics championship on Sunday in high temperatures: she is very fair-skinned. I just kept her sunscreened, in the shade, in between races, and gave lots of fluid. It would be a shame if even more curtailing of sports activities took place.

BTW, P20 isn't recommended because it doesn't block out all the rays: just one particuarly kind. Which is a shame because we used to use it all summer.

bloss · 01/07/2009 15:21

Message withdrawn

katiek123 · 01/07/2009 15:44

in australia where we lived recently for a year, the kids (as other have said) never played outside without a hat, and lined up at playtime to take turns at applying their own sunscreen from shared big vats of the stuff supplied (from memory) by the school. the teachers helped the younger kids as appropriate. no big deal, and a routine part of the day.

Hangingbellyofbabylon · 01/07/2009 16:50

I can't bear this - it's my dd's sports day next week - 1-3pm. Which just seems ridiculous. We will have put sunscreen on in the morning but it's not going to last. Also Friday this week is her school trip and again sunscreen will be an issue. She's only 4. I'm so vigilant at home and then she goes to school and it's like it doesn't matter anymore.

katiestar · 01/07/2009 17:02

We had our sports day this week.The kids wee expected to sit on their team mat all afternoon in full sun,Because of my DDs recent health problems and my complaints they did find a place for her in the shade.

katiestar · 01/07/2009 17:03

Op I would have taken my DS to the doctor that evening so that itb was documented on hios medical notes

SusieDerkins · 01/07/2009 17:05

Dress them in lightweight cotton long sleeve tops and long trousers. If the school have an issue with it tell them that it's that or non attendance because they cannot guarantee that your child won't get sunburnt.

aniseed · 01/07/2009 17:11

I am a teacher and there are very strict guidelines about suncream application. I do, however, remind the children everytime they go out about suncream / hats and we 'oversee' its application. For PE I make sure they have suncream and hats and we say out for a max of 30 mins in the shade. The prob with this is that many parents don't send hats and cream to school. We are not allowed to provide it and they are not allowed to share.
There are lots of things that you are not supposed to do - hug a child frontways, put a sticker on a child's chest, ruffle their hair, be alone with a child, etc, etc. All the things that go against natural instincts - particularly for mothers.
I wouldn't say the school were particularly at fault but a child can't be blamed either. I wouldn't be happy about sports day in this weather and I think headteachers should use their common sense.

hellywobs · 01/07/2009 17:31

The teachers in my son's school do hug the kids and they do ruffle their hair. Normal state school.

I realise a teacher can't apply sunscreen to 30 kids but I fail to see why the kids can't apply their own from a stick/roll-on which won't make a horrid mess. Of course they'll miss a bit but it's a lot better than none at all. But our school doesn't ask parents to send it in, although they do ask for it to be applied in the morning.

My son has a sports day on Friday so I may ask the school tomorrow to ensure the kids are in the shade when they are not in a race/activity. Especially as he has a party after school so even more reason not to be suffering from heat-or sunstroke!!

Interesting about the Australian school. So no worries about allergies or "inappropriate" contact between kids/teachers. How refreshing.

buy1get1free · 01/07/2009 17:50

Too hot for sports day with little ones - it should have been postponed or cancelled.

frasersmummy · 01/07/2009 18:41

I love the way the australian teachers.. help out the youngsters.. no big deal...

but here its a nightmare scenario..

ever think we in the uk are living in the nanny state...?????

If you have 30 kids lined up with 2 teachers and a TA how is in appropriate touching going to happen??? Its not like the kids are in swimsuits .. presumably you are only putting suntan lotion on the lower half of the legs, the lower half of the arms and the face and neck area .. and there are 32 witnesses right beside you

honestly .. we cant live our lives in fear.