AIBU - to not want sports day

[Lollywillowes]

Sports day is scheduled for next week. An all day event at a local athletics track. There are stands for shelter but most students and teachers will be rotating round activities on the track and not in the stands for the majority of the day.

This heatwave is unbearable at the best of times but the prospect of sports day in it has filled me with dread.

There is one point in the toilets to fill up your water bottle; kids often come with no hats, suncream or water.

AIBU to want it to be cancelled on the grounds of safety? Not just students but also teachers. We had the same situation last year and I had heat stroke by the end of the day despite wearing a hat, drinking, suncream etc.

No YANBU at all.

My teen dd will not be attending hers. I will call her in absent in the morning.

Yanbu.

Thanks.

I'm a teacher so am expected to be there...

Oh gosh thats even worse 🥵.

Can you make noises now about kids health and safety!?

If not ensure gazebos for some shade/paddling pool full of ice /sprinkler/something!?

Our primary has confirmed ours will go ahead tomorrow.

Don't even know where to start I'm so furious at the sheer negligence they're displaying as it's clear this is going ahead purely to help their stats/Ofsted ratings whatever.
Totally senseless .

My son isn't doing anythjng on sports day so he will be absent too

last year he ran one race spent the rest of the time hanging around

Our infant school cancelled today's one this afternoon (London) due to no shade. The children did some of the events in the hall in year groups in the morning but no parents attended. It's a shame as it was cancelled the last 2 years, but I stood in the full sun for 10 minutes at pick up and felt they had made the right decision. They had no option to do it earlier in the day as they were using another venue.

Much, much too hot. Ours was last week, I like to think we’d cancel if it was this week.

Shade and water, they're not going to melt. Yes it's hot but it's hot every summer.

Hmmm lots of children and adults struggle in hot weather and/or direct sun . No one said they would "melt" but those that feel the heat can be dizzy, get headaches/migraines and feel quite unwell. I cant do more than about 10mins in direct sun.

We do exactly the same at our school. But the stands are covered for shade and those of us out on the field have gazebos. Can you talk to whoever is organising it and get some gazebos?

It’s down to the students and their parents to ensure suncream, hats etc though

My teenagers' sports day tomorrow has been cancelled because of the level 3(?) heat-health alert and advice to avoid physical exertion. We are in London and the sports field where it was due to be held has no shade whatsoever so it's probably a sensible move.

Did you report your heat stroke to SLT last year? Given the predicted extreme heat at the start of next week, it would be completely reasonable for you to ask about the risk assessment and how it's been adjusted in light of the UKHSA alert.

My DS won’t be going to his tomorrow. He has been sick this evening which happens when he gets too hot. I will ring in for him in the morning.

Exactly - it's unbearable. I feel anxious and full of dread about it - it's silly. The athletics stadium is basically a heat bowl and yes we are in London too.

I think the word "gazebos" has been floated around but I doubt anything will really be done about it.
There's an expectation because it's a secondary school that the children are more robust than primary but it's meant to be a fun day not something out of SAS who dares wins.

I emailed the union rep and mentioned it to the HOD of PE but nothing concrete has come from it. Some murmurs of agreement. I'm wondering if not coming in is a ridiculous nimby thing to do.

@Lollywillowes

We’re secondary and I would absolutely say that our PE dept have made sure it is very well-planned and prepped. We as staff are provided with free food and drink, snacks, gazebos. Plenty of staff in the stands with students, all shaded. We make it fun with welly throwing and egg and spoon, so it’s not just the serious athletics. It’s a great day.

Isn't there a risk assessment?

Have you asked to see it?

I have just had a discussion with our head about the same issue, I suggested maybe July was a stupid time to do it nowadays. The concession they have made is some shade.

What a bloody waste of time.

I actually hate PE teachers these days. They make school shit.

Have you requested sight of the risk assessment? At my DCs' secondary school, some staff were due to stay at school to support with post-18 applications or supervise sixth form study rooms. Is there something similar you could offer to do inside the school?

Lol! So true!

I'm not in the UK, and it's a long time since I was at school, but when I was there I'm pretty sure sports day was held in the first month of autumn. Surely holding it in mid-summer is not ideal?

Depends on the age/stage of the DC

Athletics is traditionally a summer term sport. And I think it's so locked in to the fixture timetabling (for all sports, year round) that it would be hard to change. So for secondary schools i think it needs to stay put - also so that pupils can have had a chance to have a little training in some of the disciplines they might not have come across before

Probably greater flexibility in primary. Though I'm not sure about having it early in the autumn because the new intake would barely have settled in. But perhaps just before/after Easter is a timing that would work?

Had ours yesterday. Totally ridiculous.
Really feel though majority of kids enjoyed it that the risk far outweighed the wisdom of going ahead.
Furious at the lack of attention to refilling water bottles and sun cream etc, Am hour and a half in the blazing sun for primary aged children is a massively ridiculous thing to do in my view, just no idea what the desperate need to do these things at any cost is?
Roll on end of term I'm
Frazzled

My teen will not be going to school if sports day goes ahead. There is no shade, and they are due to be outside all day from 10-3, including eating lunch outside.

There's an extreme heat weather warning. It's due to be 32 degrees in the shade.
It is not a day to be outside in the sun all day.