Posted By Kirsty Bryson The school my child attends will not apply sunscreen but ask that parents apply it to children in the morning before they go to school - the teachers are not allowed to apply the sunscreen.

Posted By Ian Bruce Chris, Don't want to get bogged down with too much detail, believe me, school safety is a very murky pool! However, the HASAWA does apply, as does all the other legislation that you would normally expect to see applied within industry. There is lots of pertinent other stuff, refer to Jay Joshi's response to the drinking water posting, for an example! Regarding the sunscreen - dear me, another complicated thread dropping out of this one, I feel! Teachers have a responsibility to look after the kids in their care as any reasonable parent would, applying sunscreen would be the response of a reasonable parent, but just think of the implications of allergic reactions, accidental ingestion by the child, contamination of eyes, irritation etc, etc. Surely, most of the time, the kids are indoors doing silly things like learning or getting stressed with SATS! I think the advice I would give as an LEA safety adviser would be to develop a "sunny day policy", limiting exposure outdoors to times taken up with breaks, interspersed with "recovery" times indoors - lessons. Try and recommend the wearing of hats, might be an option. Obviously, this needs further thought, might sound daft, but I hadn't thought of this one - the problems on educational visits spring to mind! I'll be very interested to see how this thread develops myself. Cheers.

Posted By Hilary Charlton The following publication is exactly what you are looking for - what's more, they have written it in plain English which helps. http://www.galaxy-h.gov....A-Sunscreens-leaflet.pdf This recommends self application where other forms of protection are not available. Both schools my kids have been to have baseball caps with neck protectors as part of the school uniform for those that want. My daughter is a red head and burns very easily but I have found this to be adequate protection most of the time for the short periods they are outside at school. Hilary

Posted By Dave Garioch Agree about the need for a policy on the use of sunscreen. Hilary thanks for the useful web link, I have asked for it to be put on the Education SG news webpage, that way it should not get lost in the archive. Not only should there be sunscreen, schools should develop shaded areas in the playground and educate the children about the risks of skin cancer, teach the wearing of appropriate clothing ... (read HEA guidance) For school trips at my LEA, we always recommend that a spray sunscreen is taken by the group leader, because it is foreseeable that a parent/carer may forget to pack it for their child and the risk of sunburn is significantly greater than the risk of an allergic reaction. The spray method enables the sunscreen to be administered onto the pupil and allow the pupil to rub it in and thus ensure high levels of hygiene. Regards Dave Garioch Chair EdSG

Posted By Chris Turner Sean, an interesting, but sad point.

Posted By John Webster I do sometimes wonder how the rest of us managed to survive our schooldays relatively unscathed, AND educated (and with no knee protection due to wearing shorts!!) Must be time to bring back the school cap.