Dear Kingfisher families,
The Met Office and Government have issued an Amber Weather Warning from now until 8 pm 23 June and then a Red Weather Warning until 11 pm 25 June. Temperatures are expected to rise early to mid-30 degrees.
I am writing to inform you of the steps that we are putting in place to ensure children are kept safe during the heat and following DfE guidance.
We are extremely fortunate that all of our classrooms have air-conditioning and this can be turned on at any point during the day. Therefore, classrooms do not exceed a high temperature.
All children are encouraged to wear hats and sun cream to school. They should also all bring a water bottle and children can fill these up as many times as they would like during the school day. Staff will also be encouraging children to drink and keep hydrated. Children may also bring in their own sun cream but they will need to be able to apply it themselves. Please ensure sun cream has a high sun protection factor, recommended 50.
When the outside temperature is high, children will spend break times and lunch times in their airconditioned classrooms. They may have short periods of time outside but this will be fully supervised with children wearing hats and sitting in the shade. At lunch times, children will eat in
the hall and then return to their classrooms when they have finished eating.
If the outside temperature is too high, timetable adjustments will be made so that PE can be done on a cooler day. We have also taken the decision to not attend the Mini Youth Games Cricket competition this week.
We also encourage children to wear relaxed uniform which consists of loose, light-coloured clothing that is still appropriate for school. We would suggest a t-shirt and shorts. Please ensure that t-shirts cover their body fully including shoulders (no short tops) or no short shorts are to be worn. Children must wear sensible footwear that covers their feet- no sandals or Crocs. During this time Year 6 children do not need to wear blazers and ties or shirts. The relaxed uniform will be enforced from Tuesday 23 to Friday 26 June. Normal summer school uniform should be worn from Monday 29 June when it is assumed that temperatures will significantly drop.
The DfE do not advise schools to close even in extreme heat and expect schools to manage the hot weather safely. For Kingfisher, having the air-conditioned classrooms is a huge factor for us to know we can reasonably keep all children safe.
I hope that this helps to alleviate any concerns during this week and please keep yourselves safe.
Wish very best wishes
Ms F Armstrong
Head of School
