School closures in the heat
My daughter just finished her GCSEs and I'm on leave from work so it doesn't really apply to me, but I wondered what everyone thinks about all these schools closing due to the heat?
I'm so torn, because it's going to be hot wherever the children are. In fact school is probably cooler than a lot of children's homes (and for many children, safer too) then there's the fact parents have work commitments and things, they can't just not go in because it's hot.
My daughter's school emailed this morning saying they were going to close for the rest of the week and any children turning up today will be sent home and that work would be emailed to students to complete at home. It's such short notice and had my daughter not already finished I would be completely stuck, especially if she were younger like some of the year 7s.
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My daughter's nursery is closing at 3pm each day this week, but luckily my mother in law is able to have her until we finish work. It's frustrating because we pay such a lot for nursery fees, but we also understand that they have to think about the health of the children, especially with how young they are. It'd be good if they could invest in better air conditioning but then is the expense worth if for a couple of weeks a year? So basically I see both sides!
My son just finished his GCSEs too and it's his prom tonight. Is your daughter going to her prom?
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Most AC also does heating (and cheaper than traditional heating) so they've be able to use it all year round. Also after 3pm it starts to cool down a little so it seems a silly time for them to decide to finish! I would be annoyed especially if they're not returning a portion of the fees for not delivering the service.
Yes prom is Friday, she's very excited although she's a bit of a tom boy (if that's the correct term now), she's going for a jumpsuit and trainers rather than the dress and things. I'm a little sad as I'd been so excited for the big fuss but she doesn't want any of the make up or usual stuff. I love how individual she is though and it seems more and more common for girls now, I'm just happy when she's happy!
Good luck to your boy at prom! Is he going full suit even in this heat?
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In this kind of case I'm glad I finished compulsory full time education 30 odd years ago.
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Yeah 3pm is a rather random time isn't it! No, there's no offering of partial refunds. It would be greatly appreciated though!
Her outfit sounds cool! It's great not to follow the crowd and be an individual. I hope she has an amazing time. Yeah he's all suited up. He's always in big jeans even in this heat so I don't think the suit bothers him. I'm hoping they have air con 😂
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Are you feeling emotional over it? I am, it feels like a big milestone, leaving school and prom etc
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I haven’t a clue why they’ve closed them. It was over 35c in the 1976 heatwave and they still went to school. That heatwave lasted for over two weeks at over 35c and we still went into work. It’s such an inconvenience for people.
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Tomasz Schafernaker was on the BBC, explaining the increased frequency of these heatwaves, due to climate change.
These experts, what do they know? I reckon we should listen to some guy on Truth Social or down the pub. 😁
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They just can't make their minds up, every year when it snows in Winter, the schools end up being closed as well, which causes headaches for the Parents as they have to book work off to look after the kids.
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Yeah, in my day we sang a song "At half past 3 we go home to tea or maybe at a quarter to 4" sorry it was so long ago I can't remember the rest of the song.
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I agree.
When I was at school we went regardless of the weather.
We had to walk waist high in snow and we loved it and never complained.
Our school was an old building and during the hot weather it got really hot but it was what we were used to and we happily got on with school and our education.
During breaks we loved running around the playground doing hop scotch, hiding seek and swinging off the climbing bars.
We had a water fountain in the play ground.
Our summers seemed endless and we spent hours outdoors playing.
No fancy gadgets or lifts to and from school.
It was great.
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I think the reason its changed is more understanding of health and safety, and what is a risk and what isn't. There's also survivorship bias about the 70s, in 1976 heatwave there were around 20% excess deaths believed to be related to the extreme heat.
Just because in the past it was done different doesn't mean it should be now…
For example back in the day doctors wouldn't wash their hands before performing surgery, they'd use smoking as a health treatment for things like asthma and children didn't have seat belts
I think short notice closures are a nuisance and not appropriate but not sure I think it's entirely bad for them to close if there are practical and safety reasons to do so
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Yes @Anhedonia2 I'm really emotional about it. Luckily I've managed to hold it together in front of him! I think it'll be emotional when they start college too and get their gcse results. Is your daughter ready for college?
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We survived very nicely before health and safety became an issue,not just at school but in many aspects of our lives.
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The thing is, the teaching staff will be union members, they will expect the same rights as any office worker, with regards to safe working temperatures.
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To quote Ricky Tomlinson as Jim Royle "Them 'ealth an' safety! Soon you won't be able to go for a **** in peace!"
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I would say it was brought in because many people didn't survive and smart people tried to figure out why and prevent it
Definitely areas where it goes too far in the name of safety though, which is probably linked with corporate greed and living in a capitalist society
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Yes we did, we're health safety mad now. Tv ads telling us 2 in 5 people will die of this that and the other. When did the ads on tv get so serious and frightening, I mute em till they've gone off, it spoils my viewing. If I were in charge I'd ban anything to with health adverts on tv.
Also get rid of Miliband and all his green projects that's costing us a fortune and not helping us at all. If they stop cutting all trees down, then the carbon would disappear. Now it's "Oh lets turn everything red" so it scares people to death. Up our way, they've put signs out saying road closed, access only. It turned out they'd dug an hole 3ft by 3ft and put all these signs round it, but no one was doing anything…Health and Safety's gone mad in this country, they'll be declaring critical incidents in hospitals next lol
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Fun fact - Ricky Tomlinson spent time in prison after being arrested as part of a workers strike campaigning for more health and safety in the building industry. 🙂
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To be fair it was the 70s/80s, everyone and his cat was on strike back then,
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I get the school closures for Infants and Primary … but High School not so much. Young adults are better equipped to deal with it in most instances
As for the HSE … pfff. i lost a tooth because of one ( apparently I wasn't twisting a tree down the right way … did it his way and the Breaker Bar popped out and smacked me in the mouth)
The other fined me £1000 for wearing headphones inside my helmet muffs … unsafe practice because I wouldn't hear a warning if a tree was heading my way. As someone who's been hit by a falling tree … there is no warning. Only gravity, darkness and pain 🤣
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