Having been raised on a diet of 1950s war films, I have always admired the virtue of resilience. I was particularly influenced by a scene from The Cruel Sea (1953) that showed British Jack Tars defiantly singing ‘Underneath the spreading chestnut tree’ to keep themselves distracted as they froze in the Atlantic in nothing but an inflatable dingy. As such, I have struggled to comprehend the recent hysteria that has swept the nation, not over the threat of invasion by a malevolent foreign power but the onset of some warm, sunny days.
I am the headteacher at a state-funded secondary school. On Monday, I arrived to an inbox filled with emails from parents and even a formal complaint to the chair of governors regarding our arrangements (or lack thereof) for the much-publicised heatwave. Another parent sent me screenshots from her social media showing a map of the country blanketed in what can only be described as ‘run-for-the-hills’ red.
We didn’t win two world wars by grumbling about a bit of sweat
Over the weekend, as the temperature was forecast to be warmer than expected, the BBC ran headlines such as ‘Four-day extreme heat warning begins as temperatures could hit 38C’ or, most unhelpfully in my context, ‘Are hot schools putting pupils and teachers at risk?’. Such headlines worry parents and place a burden of responsibility onto schools to mitigate against the warm weather. I am not arguing against the principle of taking sensible steps to ensure that children remain safe under our charge. I am, however, arguing against the hysteria that now seems to accompany every warmer than average day.
Emails to me include demands to allow PE kit to be worn during the hot weather, removing the blazer from our uniform policy, installing air conditioning into classrooms (at punishing costs to a school struggling to survive on current funding levels) or even closing the school early. Indeed, government guidance published by the Department for Education states that ‘school leaders should make sure they take any steps necessary to make sure children are safe and comfortable’. Although the guidance holds back from fully endorsing the closure of schools, it does imply that that might be an option.
So why am I getting so hot and bothered? Because such hysteria leads to schools being forced into making operational decisions that have broader and longer-lasting effects. Allowing PE kits to be worn on warm days risks setting a precedent. Will heads have to relax uniform requirements at every change in the weather? Such relaxations in standards affect the behaviour of students and the daily routines of the school day. The decision not to relax standards will inevitably lead to a social media frenzy on the town or school’s Facebook page and more angry emails and complaints. When this happens, Heads across the country will have to spend their day responding to emails, liaising with the chair of governors and dealing with formal complaints instead of focusing on improving the teaching, learning and curriculum in their schools.
In my own school’s context, a former secondary-modern in a grammar school town, we have to work particularly hard to show we have high expectations for our students, many of whom are from working-class backgrounds. By relaxing these standards, we run the risk of signalling to the community that we don’t care. Closing the school, even if it’s just an hour or two early, means lost learning for children whose only chance at improving their lot in life is to gain a good education.
I must admit my own bias to such reactions over the heat, having operated in Afghanistan with the British Army during mid-summer wearing more than 25kg of kit and carrying a rifle. Yet like most heads across the country, I have discussed the current weather with the senior leadership team, implemented mitigations and communicated these with students and parents. I am not arguing against such a practice; I am arguing against the continued media hysteria that surrounds days such as this, particularly if we are probably going to see them occurring more often.
In the meantime, I will resolutely refuse to remove my tie, keep my top button firmly done up, and remind anyone who moans to me about the weather that we didn’t win two world wars by grumbling about a bit of sweat. By the way, in contrast to their parents, the children have been incredibly calm.
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