Here at Banana Moon Kingsbury, we do as much as we possibly can to keep the children safe during the heatwaves, without missing out on the learning opportunities. We aim to get outside before 10am (with lots of sun cream) to ensure we have had outdoor learning / play and when it gets too hot to be outside in our garden, we make sure to do lots of calming but fun activities indoors to ensure the children do not get too hot. 

We encourage and offer the children to drink lots of fluids during the day and even suggest for the children to bring their own water bottle as this encourages them to drink more. Lighter clothing is also encouraged ad this helps the children stay cool. 

We provide a nursery sun cream that we ask parents to sign permission for so we can keep the children safe and ask parents to bring in their own if ours is not suitable. 

Our building also has air con installed so we can monitor the room temperature to help the staff and children keep cool when inside. We keep windows and external doors closed and reduce the use of lights during the day to keep the building temperature nutural. 

Heat exhaustion is the body’s response to an excessive loss of water and salt, usually through excessive sweating.

Signs & Symptoms
Headache
Nausea
Dizziness
Weakness
Thirst 
Heavy Sweating
Elevated Body Temperature
Decreased Urine Output. 

Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness. It occurs when the body can no longer control its temperature: the body’s temperature rises rapidly, the sweating mechanism fails, and the body is unable to cool down.

Signs and Symptoms
Confusion
Loss of Consciousness
Hot, Dry Skim
Seizures
Very High Body Temperature

The links below have some useful information on how to stay safe and advice for sun cream!
More info here:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/heat-exhaustion-heatstroke/ 
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/sunscreen-and-sun-safety/