What is your private school doing about the hot weather?

[CuntOfTheLitter]

What’s your private school doing about the weather! We’re in the north west so not in the same situation as those down south.

In 30c heat yesterday the only adjustment was PE kit. There was no water offered, no fans anywhere and they were expected to grind through a day in school as always.

I would not go into a non air conditioned office in the sort of weather we’re expecting today so decided to keep my kids off instead.

I went to school in Brussels and we have bouts of weather like this. School didn’t close but there were fans in every classroom and plenty water etc. we got through it fine. This was 35 years ago!

Im Annoyed that our school
is so tight that it hasn’t bothered to buy fans - I’m certain the headmaster and other staff will have them in their offices. Just wondering what other private schools (ie not crippled by state under funding) are doing?

Of the private schools in my southern city:

1 - school remains open for those who need to send their kids in, but recommendation to keep them home if possible. About half went in yesterday, so as they had fewer kids there they could move those kids into the coolest rooms. Ran an adjusted timetable - no sports. Fans in some rooms, lots of water.

2 - school is closed but with zoom lessons and work assigned to do at home (like in Covid)

3, 4 and 5 - schools totally closed

Ours had them in and out of the pool on rotation then crammed them into the rooms with AC. They did lots of water/ice lollies etc.

In my DCs school it is 35+ degrees and they aren’t doing much except letting them fill up water bottles when they need and use a hand held fan if they have one. I think it would have been nice to let them wear PE kit or cooler home clothes as most of the school has no AC.

Our school (in the SE) is fully open but they have offered the option to collect children after lunch if we want to. Otherwise it’s a normal day but will quiet activities. They have bought AC units to wheel around. Children can wear PE kit or their summer dress.

Tbh, 30 degrees is fairly normal during the summer and our school usually just drops the requirement for blazers. Often teachers end up bringing in their own fans as there just isn’t the budget for extra equipment to be purchased. Schools will need to look at this moving forward given these high temps look like they’re becoming the norm now.

School I work in was rotating the prep school through the senior school AC areas plus fans and lollies and PE kit. Staff in offices were literally melting.

School DC attend cancelled all outdoor activities, allowed lunchtime collection, bought AC for all boarding houses 'shared spaces' and fans and using AC areas.

Very impressed with DC school.

Older child has AC in their building. Hats mandatory for break and doesn’t need to be the school one. Still in full uniform but no blazers and they’re all girls so it’s the summer dress for the younger ones and short sleeved shirt and skirt for the older kids.
Youngest is at the sister site, their building doesn’t have AC unfortunately but they’re in PE kit, allowed to wear sandals and seem to be rotating between water play outside and lessons in the nearby building which does have AC.
Both have been given the option of a lunchtime pick up.
This is a prep in London.

Also north west, allowing half days

My DCs small prep school have stated no blazers or ties and sun hats are compulsory. Boys are in shorts and short sleeved shirts with top button undone and girls are in summer dresses.
We can collect early if we want to but I am not aware of anyone doing so.
They have cancelled their normal run today but may go for a walk if there is enough of a breeze. They have also put up gazebos outside to provide more shade at break and lunchtime.
I was there Monday afternoon for a meeting and the classroom wasn't hot.
Water bottles have always been refilled if needed so that hasn't changed.

Nothing. They can come in PE kit. My son was playing cricket for two hours Thursday afternoon and is terribly burnt! So I didn’t send him in yesterday nor today. Daughters prep haven’t changed a thing. Apart from a paddling pool (she’s in reception).

DCs are in a central London prep. Most of the school has no air con, all rooms have fans, sports fixtures cancelled but lessons are mostly unaffected. Still doing PE but less strenuous activities and done indoors or in shaded areas.
The site has quite a lot of natural shading from buildings and trees. No uniform changes but it's summer dress anyway, we don't have a blazer. They've not allowed sandals as they say it's a H&S risk.
No option of earlier pickup, realistically most families have 2 working parents and wouldn't choose to collect early. All the kids have a personal battery fan now (bought by parents, nothing to do with school).

My nursery aged dc was pleased to report they'd been treated to rocket lollies after lunch yesterday!

open as normal. Pe kit allowed yesterday and today. No ties from Monday.

Kids are hot but fine. I know it’s record breaking heat but we’ve had periods of hot weather like this before and I don’t remember this heatwave hysteria. Yes make sure elederly, pregnant and very young are ok but for for the rest of us just wear comfy clothes, drink frozen water and make sensible adjustments. have lessons under a tree, use the pool more. Rotate in the air conditioned rooms. Don’t play cricket!

Mine has aircon, but the kids keep opening windows in the corridors, so we are constantly having to shut them …

PE kit all week, lessons outside in the shade under trees/gazebos, feet in paddling pools for younger years. Fans were already in classrooms anyway, as is constant access to water. Fixtures cancelled all week.

School open and running as usual
PE kit allowed all week
Outdoor games, sports clubs and fixtures cancelled and replaced with extra swimming sessions
Sprinkler play at break time
Ice lollies
Children allowed to bring in personal fans

But they still had the usual full on roast dinner on Wednesday!

We’re in Scotland so a) highest temperature is about 27 today, and b) our private school has been off for a week now.

I’m glad Scottish schools break when they do. The state schools are still open but will shut next week.

Good luck to everyone, I don’t know how you are all coping through it. We just never see temperatures like that up here.

Sports kit allowed.
Plenty of water breaks and iced water.

Games cancelled and they were sent home if it was their games afternoon.

DC had a teams message this morning allowing them to wear non uniform shorts and T-shirts as “a number of pupils have now been wearing the same PE kit for a number of days” 🤣 Apparently yesterday afternoon was very smelly!

PE kit, sports fixtures cancelled, sports day tomorrow cancelled. They have a couple of rooms with air con (drama studio and computer rooms) so they’re rotating the kids around those rooms to give them some respite. Otherwise it’s business as usual.

PE kit, sports fixtures and other outdoor activities cancelled. But it was only 27/28 here yesterday (also NW) so that seemed plenty of adjustment?

Ours has been great, especially as a lot of pupils don’t regulate well in heat and I can’t fault them.

Kids have the option of either staying at home or attending in PE kit/or equivalent for those who would be more comfortable with a different fibre. they can either be inside with fans or outside in shade depending or where they’re most comfortable. Lunch menu has been adapted to buffets and cookery classes cancelled.

Sadly, I have not been able to winkle mine out the house as he’s insisting everyone else is staying at home and pools are featuring heavily. Pool or no pool he’s upstairs doing his maths and complaining about the injustice of it all.

Most of the classrooms have air con

Making more use of the pool, no other PE/sports, sports day postponed

Some lessons like science practicals have been postponed

Lunch menus amended, no hot food

Prep school changed to PE kit all week and is letting kids be picked up 2hrs early. Games/PE lessons are changed to more sedentary activities and fixtures and day trips have been postponed.

Senior school changed to PE kit all week and games/PE is also changed to more sedentary activities. No early dismissal (much to my child’s annoyance!).

Both schools encouraging increased water consumption and wearing sun cream and hats.

Glad to hear that most schools are taking at least some measures to mitigate the heat but spare a thought for staff and especially people like the cleaning staff.

Most schools employ cleaning agencies and I can personally testify that these companies do not always look after the well being of their employees as they should.

Whilst schools may be closing or taking steps to safeguard their employees and students, many cleaners will have to do exactly the same job they do every day with no measures put in place to look after them. They will either bring in their own drinks or go thirsty, sweat through their regular shift in a stifling school and inevitably face complaints if the job is not performed exactly as usual.

Unfortunately this is an issue that arises when establishments out source the well being and proper management of people who work for them but I fear that is a bigger issue and I am starting to ramble - sorry :)

I'm in France and in our town the three state primaries have been closed since Monday afternoon, the private school has remained open as they have AC.
We don't have school uniform here but it does seem ridiculous to expect kids to wear formal clothing in this heat.

PE kit,
water stations outside every class room,
all windows open, with blinds to block direct sunlight.
a choice of sorbets for dessert at lunch.
factor 50 cream available to all
several gazebos set up on the top field.

Reading this makes me think ours is doing a bit much! Our London school is essentially closing at 1:30 every day this week. It is possible to stay if needed, but the comms made it sound like they expect everyone to go home unless absolutely necessary. They rotate the remaining children through cooler rooms. It has wreaked havoc with lots of rehersals that are due to be going on during and after school and the various associated events, as they have a festival style final two weeks with intensive prep for shows and events. A couple have been cancelled already. Not sure if the full weekend rehersal they are due to be at will go ahead. PE kit allowed all week and also changed the menu so staff are not getting too hot, they have been doing packed lunches or outdoor food prep.