Sun Safety Policy

This policy was approved by the Governing Body:

Review Date:

Rationale

Too much exposure to ultraviolet light (UV) radiation from the sun causes sunburn, skin damage and increases the risk of skin cancer. Sun exposure in the first 15 years of life contributes significantly to the lifetime risk of skin cancer. There is enormous potential for schools to prevent skin cancer in future generations.

Schools are central to protecting children’s skin. This is because:

• Children are at school five out of seven days a week at times when UV rays are high.
• Most damage due to sun exposure occurs during school years.
• Schools can play a significant role in changing behaviours through role modelling and education.
• Students and teachers are at risk of sunburn within 10-15 minutes of being exposed to strong sunlight.
• Students spend an average of 1.5 hours outside per day, more if involved in sports or outdoor activities.
• Skin cancer is largely preventable through behaviour modification and sun protection during early years.

At Co-op Academy Medlock, we want staff and pupils to enjoy the sun safely. We will work with staff, pupils and parents to achieve this by raising pupil and parent awareness of sun safety.

Implementation

We will achieve this by implementing the following measures;

Curriculum Links

• Links with sun safety (Unintentional Injury) to be included in the curriculum through PSHE sessions, school assemblies and other wider curriculum opportunities.
• Regular reminders to children, staff and parents about sun safety through Class Dojo, Twitter/Facebook, newsletters, posters, parents meetings, and activities for pupils.
• Shade - children will be encouraged to sit in the shade in the playground and outdoor areas.
• The availability of shade is considered when planning and risk-assessing excursions and all outdoor activities, particularly during hot weather spells.
• Physical education lessons should be carefully planned to avoid sun exposure, unnecessary exertion and dehydration. In extreme weather, outdoor PE lessons should not last for more than 30 minutes when children should be brought indoors, given time to rest and drink water.

Clothing 

• Children should bring sun hats to school to wear at playtimes and in outdoor lessons during warm weather.
• Children may bring sunglasses with plastic lenses to school to be worn outdoors on bright days.
• Children should wear T-shirts which cover their shoulders for all PE lessons.
• All teachers, teaching assistants and lunchtime supervisors will be encouraged to wear hats and/or sunglasses when on playground duty and during sports lessons, when necessary to protect themselves and role-model for others.

Sun Cream

• Children are expected to bring their own sun cream (SPF 30 or above) and apply it themselves under appropriate adult supervision.
• Parents/carers should provide their child with their own sun cream which will remain at school during periods of hot weather (a small supply will be available to purchase at the school office in the summer term)
• Children who bring their own sun cream to school may only use their sun cream. There will be no sharing of sun cream between children.
• Parents are asked to teach their children how to sensibly use and apply these creams independently.
• Teachers will not apply sun cream to any children. They will monitor the child to apply their own sun cream independently. With our EYFS pupils, this may need some support (refer to the intimate care policy if additional help is needed with administering suncream).

Trips

• Sun cream use will be encouraged on school trips and for outdoor lessons.
• All children will be required to wear a sun hat to attend trips during hot weather.
• During exceptionally hot weather conditions, an assessment of the quantity of shade on the trip and length of time in the sun will be taken into consideration before a trip goes ahead.

Fluids

• Teachers should encourage pupils to drink water and ensure there are regular breaks for them to do so.
• Children should bring a water bottle to school (preferably named) filled with water only. These are always readily available in the child’s classroom throughout the year. Where children have forgotten their water bottles they will be allowed access to the water fountains on each corridor at set times, but in the warmer months we place greater emphasis on the children having a regular fluid intake, as young children can dehydrate very quickly and so access to the water fountain would be increased.

EYFS

The welfare requirements within the Early Years Foundation Stage state that, wherever possible, there should be access to an outdoor play area, and this is the expected norm for providers. We encourage the children to access our well-resourced outdoor areas as much as possible, but during the summer months we are aware of the need to protect the children from the harmful rays of the sun.

In exceptionally hot weather conditions we encourage the children to access the outdoor area more in the cooler times of the day when the sun’s rays are less powerful, i.e. before 11am. During these times we organise more outdoor activities and around the lunchtime period and afternoon session we will arrange more activities indoors.

We always respond to the latest advice and guidance published by the DfE during periods of extreme heat. See the following document for details: Looking after children and those in early years settings before and during hot weather: teachers and other educational professionals - GOV.UK 

Collaboration

The school will aim to work with parents, Governors and the wider community to reinforce awareness about sun safety and promote a healthy school. This policy has been developed using the Cancer Research UK SunSmart Guidelines for Primary Schools.

Review

The staff and governors will monitor and review the policy every two years.