
Schools ban children from playing outside during heatwaves
Teachers are keeping pupils inside for 'hot play' breaks when their playgrounds are deemed to be 'too hot to use safely'.
The move is designed to keep children away from outdoor surfaces that can become very hot to touch in the sun.
But the concept has been branded 'absolute nonsense' by critics, who warned that it risked raising a generation of 'wimps' taught to ' hide from warm weather '.
'Hot play'
Schools routinely hold 'wet play' sessions when it rains, where children play indoors between lessons instead of going outside.
But 'hot play', which is the equivalent for heatwaves, appears to be a relatively new idea.
The practice has been highlighted by the WWF, the environmental group, which is calling for schools to use more natural surfaces, as opposed to artificial ones, to 'mitigate the effects of extreme weather'.
Chris McGovern, a former head teacher and chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, warned that keeping pupils indoors during hot weather was the 'worst thing' for them.
He said: 'I taught for 35 years. Any teacher knows that the worst thing you can do on a hot day is to keep children confined into the classroom. It's about the worst thing you can do.
'Of course, there can be situations where a particular child needs to stay indoors, and of course there should be areas of shade within the playground. But using common sense, it's the worst possible way forward for helping these children.
'Just as in cold weather, they should be out running around. So we're making them into wimps. We don't want to make children into wimps. We want to toughen them up a little bit.'
He also warned that constraints on children's freedom risked damaging their mental health in the long term.
'Absolute nonsense'
He added: 'It's an awful childhood we're inflicting on children. And, of course, it encourages them to use their iPads and mobile phones if they're confined.
'The worst thing they can be doing is staying indoors, playing on their mobile phones, and this is sort of encouraging them to do that. So yeah, it's the opposite of what we want.'
Greg Smith, the Tory MP for Mid Buckinghamshire, said it was 'absolute nonsense' to attempt to 'wrap children in bubble wrap and away from anything that might be a bit uncomfortable'.
'The correct answer is to take precautions in heat – hats, sun cream, light clothing – not hide from warm weather,' he said.
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former Tory Cabinet minister, added: 'I am surprised that the World Wildlife Fund [WWF] thinks children count as wildlife, I am not sure the children of England are that feral.
'Letting children enjoy the sunshine is only natural and I fear these woke charities have too much time and money on their hands.'
More green space needed
The WWF claimed that in many schools, natural features such as grass and trees have been replaced with heat-retaining materials such as tarmac, which can 'exacerbate the impact of high temperatures'.
The charity is urging the Government to update its 'outdated' school premises regulations, which it said have remained largely unchanged since the 1950s, to ensure pupils have access to natural surfaces such as grass, soil and sand.
At the moment, there is no specific requirement for schools to provide green space for physical education and play.
In addition to becoming very hot, the WWF warned that artificial surfaces can leave playgrounds vulnerable to flooding, which is becoming a mounting concern due to climate change.
Rosalind Mist, the charity's director of campaigns, education and youth, said: 'We can all see that we're facing more and more extreme weather due to climate change, from heatwaves to intense downpours.
'The current regulations are leading to schools being particularly vulnerable to risks of overheating and flooding.
'Luckily, there is an easy and reasonably cheap solution – adding more nature and more natural surfaces to school grounds. Not only does this help mitigate the effects of extreme weather, it also has a wide range of benefits for pupils, from increasing resilience and concentration to better mental health.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Guardian
17 hours ago
- The Guardian
Two more killed amid raging wildfires in Cyprus and Turkey
Two people have been killed in a huge blaze in Cyprus, bringing the death toll from a series of wildfires on the eastern Mediterranean island and in neighbouring Turkey to 12 amid a brutal heatwave that has pushed temperatures to more than 44C. Police said two charred bodies were found on Thursday in a burnt-out car caught up in the Cyprus blaze, which erupted outside Limassol on Wednesday and, fanned by strong winds, rapidly engulfed a string of mountain villages north of the city. The fires, described as the worst on the island in more than half a century, devastated large tracts of southern Cyprus, injuring dozens of people and displacing hundreds. An estimated 250 firefighters battled to contain blazes raging on multiple fronts. The government spokesperson, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, said the state 'expresses its deep sorrow … over the unjust loss of two of our fellow citizens', adding that what was happening on the island was unprecedented. After appeals for help from the Nicosia government, Greece, Egypt, Israel and the UK, which has an RAF base on the island, said on Thursday they would be weighing in with air support and firefighters, while the EU was sending in water-bombing planes. By midday, nearly 24 hours after it broke out, the infernos had consumed more than 40 square miles of territory, decimating prime agricultural land and dozens of homes in village communities outside Limassol on the Troodos range. Charalambos Theopemptou, the Green MP who chairs the Cypriot parliament's environmental committee, spoke of a 'tragic situation' with blazes fuelled by extreme high temperatures, gale-force winds and a severe drought. Temperatures nudging 44C were forecast to rise further on Friday as a week-long heatwave intensified across southern Europe. 'We haven't seen such devastating fires since the Turkish invasion in 1974,' Theopemptou told the Guardian. 'It's tragic, people have died, 72 houses and 91 cars have been burned, it's absolute chaos.' He said part of the reason for the destruction was that preventive measures had not been taken, including the implementation of a public warning system that an EU directive voted into law in 2022. 'Illegal waste dumps haven't been cleared, [inflammable] vegetation hasn't been removed, basic infrastructure like big cement water tanks and hose pipe points aren't in place, all of which has helped the fires spread,' he added. At least six separate wildfires were burning across Turkey, the Turkish agriculture and forestry minister, İbrahim Yumakli, said on Thursday, warning that strong winds and scorching heat were creating 'extremely dangerous' conditions across the country. Ten firefighters were killed on Wednesday battling a fire in the western Eskişehir province, with 14 others injured. The fire subsequently spread to Afyonkarahisar, another central province, where several towns and villages were evacuated. The victims were caught when the flames suddenly changed direction, causing them to be 'burned alive', a local MP said. Turkey has been sweltering since Sunday in temperatures ranging between 6C and 12C above the seasonal norms. In the northwestern province of Bilecik, fires raged for a fourth consecutive day, as firefighters struggled to contain them. 'They couldn't intervene. There is no decent road, forests are thick and it's rocky,' Cemil Karadag, a local resident, said. Karadag told Reuters the fire had 'engulfed our village from two or three sides … The firefighters couldn't intervene … It spread very quickly with the effect of the wind, but, thank God, the centre of our village wasn't damaged that much'. A wildfire erupted in the Black Sea province of Sakarya, forcing the closure of a key motorway and the evacuation of several villages and small towns, and others in Karabuk, home of the Unesco World Heritage City of Safranbolu, and Manisa. Scientists have long warned that burning fossil fuels is making extreme weather events such as heatwaves more likely and more intense.


BBC News
18 hours ago
- BBC News
New steps to prevent future flooding in Rotherham
A new team of volunteer flood wardens are being trained and flood prevention kits have been handed out in parts of than 250 homes were flooded in Catcliffe and Treeton in October 2023, when Storm Babet wreaked havoc across have been described as the "the eyes and ears of the community" during bad weather, while the Aqua Packs are said to provide an easy-to-store alternative to traditional packs were handed out during a drop-in session at the Chapel Walk Neighbourhood Centre, where 73 homes, along with the local café, shop, and hairdressers, received supplies. With the backing of Rotherham Council and the Environment Agency, residents have also been are developing a formal community flood plan and learning how to act quickly and support others in sessions, held at Catcliffe Memorial Hall, have equipped volunteers with key knowledge about flood risks and response strategies, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. "Flood Wardens play a crucial role in keeping people safe," said a member of the training team. "They're a friendly and reassuring presence, helping to share information and offer support when it's most needed." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North


Daily Mail
18 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Health officials urge Americans not to drink alcohol in 18 states: 'Could lead to permanent disability'
Health officials urge Americans not to drink alcohol in 18 states: 'Could lead to permanent disability' Health officials have warned people living in the south and Midwest to steer clear of alcohol this week due to 'extremely dangerous heat conditions.' The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a statement this week about severe heatwaves in 18 states, where temperatures could reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) in the coming days. The temperatures are part of a 'heat dome' enveloping the US, which occurs when the atmosphere traps hot air over certain areas like a lid on a pot. The NWS warned alcoholic beverages act as diuretics, meaning they tell the body to produce and pass more urine. Increased urination causes the body to lose fluids, and if those fluids can't be replaced, the body becomes dehydrated. Without enough fluids, blood volume in the body diminishes, damaging the kidneys, heart, brain and other vital organs. High temperatures mixed with dehydration can lead to heat stroke, which the CDC warns could cause 'permanent disability.' Coffee and sodas have the same mechanism, so health authorities recommend opting for water or sports drinks instead. NWS also suggested limiting outdoor activities, opting for water instead of alcohol or sodas and wearing light clothing. The National Weather Service warned not to drink alcohol in extreme heat (stock image) The warning comes as heat-related deaths in the US have doubled in the past 25 years and could even triple in the next 50 due to gradually increasing temperatures. Around 1,200 Americans die from heat-related causes every year, though officials note the actual number could be 10-fold higher due to underreporting. As of Monday, extreme heat warnings, which the NWS issues when 'extremely dangerous heat conditions are expected or occurring,' were put in place for parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Illinois. The agency said heat index values, which measure how hot it feels to the human body when taking both temperature and humidity into account, were expected to surpass 100 degrees in these areas. Parts of Mississippi were even expected 115-degree heat. Less severe 'heat advisories' were issued this week for South Dakota, Nebraska, Texas, Iowa, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Diuretic drinks like alcohol tell the kidneys to release more water and produce more urine, which helps the body get rid of excess fluid. But in hot temperatures, the body is already losing fluid due to sweating, so diuretics could drain the body of fluids faster than they can be replaced. In response, blood volume decreases, which means not enough of it can flow to vital organs. This makes sweating, which cools the body down, less effective and makes the body's internal temperature increase. This leads to heat stroke, which causes nausea, vomiting, a rapid pulse, loss of consciousness and organ failure. NWS said on X: 'Dangerous heat in the southeast on Saturday will begin to build into the mid-Mississippi Valley and Midwest by early in the upcoming workweek. 'Major and Extreme HeatRisk are designated for conditions not only to vulnerable populations but also anyone without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration.' The agency has also warned earlier this summer against eating meals high in protein during a heat advisory. Compared to carbohydrates and fats, protein takes more energy to digest into amino acid, meaning the body burns more calories. This generates heat. Body temperature increases as a result, a process called diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT). This could explain why eating protein-rich foods might cause 'meat sweats.' NWS suggested skipping chicken and steak and instead opting for foods with high water content like watermelon, berries, melons and cucumbers.