Sun Safety Tips for Early Years and Schools

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Sun Safety Tips for Early Years and Schools

With summer just around the corner (hopefully!) we shall hopefully see a bit more of the sun, and I’m sure a lot of us can’t wait to see it. However it is always important to remember to be safe in the sun – something that many people forget in their excitement to get outside and enjoy the warmth. It is particularly important to ensure young children are suitably protected from the sun as research shows that over exposure to sun at an early age can increase the risk of skin cancer in later life (read more about this on Cancer Research’s website here).

In the UK UV radiation is at its strongest in the summer from 11am to 3 pm and it is advisable to seek shade between these times – a good way to work out the sun’s strength is by your shadow – when your shadow is shorter than your height, you are more likely to burn.

Here are some tips to help children in your care understand and follow sun safety:

Incorporate sun-protection instruction in teaching plans.
Adopt sun-safety guidelines for all outdoor activities.
Provide more shade cover (trees and structures).
Staff modeling of sun-safety behaviour.
Educate and encourage parents to support student sun-safety behaviour.
Post signage that reminds teachers and students to practice sun safety.

If you currently have little or no shade in your outside play areas it can make these areas difficult to use at the height of summer, as the area may get too hot or bright for children to play out for very long. A sun canopy is a cost effective solution to this problem – creating a cool shaded area which provides UV protection whilst also letting light through to create a bright airy space.

All Able Canopies shade structures offer upwards of 96% UV protection, helping to keep children safe in the sun and by following your staff’s example the habit of seeking shade being 11am and 3pm can be instilled into the child’s mind to help children to continue to follow this advice as they get older. By installing a playground or play area canopy, your outside area can also be used in any wet weather – providing you with a versatile all-weather outside area which can be used all year round.

To view our range of canopies download our product brochure (below).

Able Canopies Ltd. design, manufacture and install canopies and shade structures
at schools, nurseries and educational settings to enable year-round
Free Flow Outdoor Play and Outdoor Learning.
For more information please contact us

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Sun Safety Tips for Early Years and Schools

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