Do your children have the opportunity to wash or shower after PE at school?

[roisin]

At the boys' school lessons are just 50 mins long and in yr7 and yr8 they only have single lessons of PE, so I can understand that time is very short; they have to get changed super-quick at either end, and there is certainly no time to shower.

(I lived in a house with no central heating and hot water was rationed, so I used to adore having hot showers at school! They couldn't get me out.)

But atm ds2 is doing rugby at school; his PE lessons are at the start of the day - P1 on Monday. He's come home later (after a drama club after school) and is absolutely caked in mud from his thighs to his ankles. He's been sitting in this for 7 hours. It's pretty grim, isn't it? (It's been this way twice a week for the past 3 weeks. At least he's throwing himself into it.)

I can't see there's any alternative, but it really isn't great.

Just wondered what happens elsewhere.

Grammar school - no if's no buts - showers! I well remember it - OMG! Nightmares or what! Put me off PE for life!! We had a letch of a PE teacher too to make matters worse!! Would still kill her if I got the chance.........

We had to shower even if we were on our cycle!! PE teacher told us which product to use too - tampons!! Like aged 12! Parents went BALLISTIC!! Can you imagine it now?? Teacher would probably end up in court!!

We had to have showers after PE unless we were having a period in which case you had to take in a note to say. Some girls were having the longest periods known . You had to throw your towel over a wall round the showers and stay in until you were told to get out. It was not pleasant in any way at all (but at least we didn't do rugby I suppose).

We avoided showers at all costs partly due to teachers staring (which was probably just watching to make sure you showered) and partly to it being such a rush to shower and dry and dress and cold changing rooms in winter.

Now own children do not have opportunity to shower, they are there but they are not given time so go with a towel to rough dry legs if time for that after muddy/wet sports, having said that it's only been used a few times. Same goes for swimming only time to dash under water and rush to dry and dress and I mean just dash not even a quick rinse.

Don't get me started, when my son started school I did ask about washing the teacher looked very embarrassed I wouldn't mind but my sons spe department is in a working gym which the 6 formers doing business a levels and physical education help run gurrrrr

Apparently the showers are for the paying customers I was quite cross I think it instills bad hygiene and some of the kids stink as it is according to son .

The way they have got ton round this is all pe lessons are at the end of school

Thank god I kmow son would hate to sit in his own sweat for the whole day

I think this is a awful trend that is developing

We were made to have showers after PE at school - no way of getting out of it. Think girls had to take in a note from home if they were having their periods. It was non-negotiable and they were communal ones!

My son wears tracky bottoms to do Rugby at secondary school...no-one bats an eyelid. why would they? And although they have lovely facilities, including showers, there is just no time to take one ,unless you want to be late for the next lesson.This is at a School Sports College.

My kids are at different schools (their choice). At my daughter's state school, much like my state school showers after games are expected. At my son's private school none of them bother. My son said there wasn't time to shower so I complained to the school and got the reply that there was time to shower but the pupils chose not to (there are showers there) and it is school policy not to force them. It does seem strange that they choose to smell, mind you I hated school showers.

Similar story here. At my comp in the 70s showers were compulsory and we had to line up, wet in towels, to get our names ticked off. It was the worst thing about the whole of my school days, those poor early developers, then the poor late developers and the poor fat kids.

My 2 DSs have never taken a shower at school (another comp) so I've stopped packing a towel. Can't say I blame them, school showers were pretty traumatising.

yes, my dses take showers after rugby. What I find a bit is that in my older DS (15) school they are told they must wear their pants in the shower.
We are going to end up with a very warped generation of young men methinks.

They do have showers at DS1's secondary school, but I've never heard of anyone using them. Luckily he has rugby at the end of the day, so he just changes his rugby boots for school shoes, puts his blazer on over his rugby kit (as they've been told they must always wear blazer travelling to and from school) and then walks home like that.

I can't see that muddy legs for a day is going to do him any harm.

I can just imagine the teasing if he got out the wet wipes!

The question is, how many people from this thread have received a PM from a certain new member who has only ever posted about communal shower experiences?

H

My ds aged 12 recently during the heatwave after pe decided that he wanted a shower to get the sweat and dust off so he just undressed and jumped into the showers in the boys changing room however the teacher decided to give him a detention as showers are against child protection i was furious and complained to the school however after they backed there teacher i complained too the LEA and after explaining that i belived the school was or could bé deemed in failing in its duty off care under loco parentis they backed me and told the school too allow children too use washing facilities after pe if they wished. Has the world gone mad the 90s showering the pupils choice nowadays schools hide behind childprotection i feel sorry for teachers a class of 30 plus covered in lynx and sweat doesnt sound nice to me, what ever happened to common sense If a child wants a shower after pe the school should allow it

Have other parents had any experinces with schools not allowing there children the choice or chance too shower surely the school should encourage this as a part of PSHE (personal social "health education")

No.