I have always thought that since lockdown began, secondary school children wearing their PE kits on the day of PE was a great and practical idea.

There are so many children who at this age, are finding their sexuality, eg. lesbian, gay, bi-sexual...(its becoming widely accepted and talked about) and body changes too, would it really be fair to go back to how it was?  Admittedly they must have managed before lockdown, but since lockdown, my children, as well as other children (I am sure many of you agree) have always been uncomfortable dressing/undressing infront of other children (takes us parents back to the times where we had to change infront of our peers and even shower together, the place of nightmares!) but it's affected our children evenmoreso since lockdown. Why change something that really worked out for the best? 

Mental health has affected a lot of us throughout the last 2 years. Body matters and body shaming sadly still happens, social media has not helped, and lockdown has changed so many of us and not always for the better.

I can't help but feel invaluable time must be lost through pupils getting changed for PE, lets face it, some of our children aren't the speediest in getting changed. Also risk of children being late for next lesson adds pressure to them. My son has Autism and is classed as vulnerable and is one of those who are not the quickest at getting changed, also special requirements would need to be in place for safeguarding reasons.

One of the downside to keeping PE kits to be worn on PE days is that kits sometimes get dirty and/or smelly, to which the individual should be allowed to change/freshen up if needed, but I feel at the very least that there should be cubicles added, (sadly this would lead to extra cost to schools) which comes back round to the the idea that children wearing PE kits on the day of PE is the most practical.

Times have changed, we need to move on and look after our children and their mental health and make them feel as comfortable as possible without putting them in awkward situations.

Why change something that has worked out so well?