Winter has settled in with a vengeance in the Northern Hemisphere, heralded by the recent “Polar Vortex.” While the temperatures have slowly risen back to seasonal averages, the question of how to handle outdoor recess in the face of extreme cold has been raised on our Lower School Head/Division Head e-List. There are no national regulations beyond the common-sense meter, but when you’re bracing for wind chills that make the world feel colder than Mars, you know it’s time to set some ground rules for future arctic blasts.
Recess is critically important to children’s mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Whenever possible, kids should be playing outside for recess as a break from their indoor studies, and teachers’ worries concerning personal discomfort should not determine policy.
But, there are times when the outside conditions are clearly unsuitable for outside play. Not only is hypothermia a danger to all students in extremely cold weather, but some with asthma may find their condition aggravated by the severe chill.
That safety-conscious attitude should guide cold weather policies, say our ISM Consultants, considering that the Canadian Pediatric Society advises keeping children inside once temperatures drop below -25° C (-13° F)—but keeping in mind the general seasonal expectations for your school’s location.
For example, let’s say your school is located in Ottawa, Ontario where the temperature reaches an average high of 21.6°F (-5.8°C) in January. A similar school in Tallahassee, Florida typically experiences a daytime high of 64°F (18°C) during the same time.
One day, the thermometer reads 32°F (0°C) at recess in both Ottawa and Tallahassee. In Canada, students will already be used to such temperatures and will be appropriately attired for such cold—in fact, they’ll probably embrace the unseasonal warmth! Meanwhile, the students in Florida will be shivering in their light windbreakers.
Should both schools have the same winter-recess policy? Of course not! This example illustrates that it’s not only the temperature and wind chill, but also the students’ and teachers’ preparedness for the freezing cold that should drive your school’s outdoor winter-recess policy.
Teachers and students alike should also be taught the signs of frostbite and hypothermia. Just because the weather seems suitable “on paper” does not mean that students should be kept outside when suffering.
Ultimately, you should implement a common-sense winter-recess policy that works for your unique situation and not merely copy another school’s with the rationale that if it works for their students, it will work for yours, too. The key is consideration of your personal environmental factors and consistent application by your staff.
Additional ISM resources:
ISM Monthly Update for Risk Managers Vol. 2 No. 5 Winter Hazards
Additional ISM resources for Gold Consortium members:
I&P Vol. 34 No. 11 Recess May Be More Than You Think
