Outdoors | Sun Smart
It always pays to be sun safe Even with the onset of winter, it’s never a bad time for principals and teachers to review their school’s sun protection policy.
atmosphere (the open sky). In an open field approximately 50 percent of UVR would come from each source. High protective shade must use an excellent UVR barrier shading material and be placed to shade the users as the sun-path moves across the sky. The view of the open sky should also be restricted. This can be done by keeping the edges low. Adjacent landscape, buildings, fences, trees and planting can be used to further reduce this ‘sky view’.
Schools play an important part in sun protection for kids, as New Zealand has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world and excessive exposure to UV radiation in childhood and adolescence increases the risk of skin cancer. Shade is one of the key components of being sun smart and decreasing the risk of getting skin cancer. In the ‘slip, slop, slap, wrap’ message it is suggested you ‘slip’ into shade as much as possible to protect from high summer ultraviolet radiation (UVR) levels. This is especially important when the ultraviolet index (UVI) is ‘very high’ at eight or above. This tends to be during Terms 4 and 1 at the very time school students are lunching, or enjoying outdoor activities such as sport and outdoor classroom activities. Maximum protection from solar UVR can be achieved through a combination of personal and environmental strategies. The most effective personal protection strategy
Design shade for its expected use is to minimise sun exposure between 11am to 4pm (daylight saving time) during summer. When people are outdoors it is important that they protect themselves from the sun by wearing protective clothing, sunhats, sunscreen and sunglasses, as well as using available shade.
Why shade is needed? Research confirms that clothing, hats and sunscreen are not 100 percent effective because of inadequacies in the shading of hats and clothing,
30 | Term 2, 2022 www.principalstoday.co.nz
and in applying sunscreen. Shade can compensate and can also make more comfortable environments in creating shelter, reducing glare and/ or providing relief from the heat of the sun.
How much shade is needed and works The Cancer Society of NZ recommends a minimum of 2.5sqm per student. While outdoors, we receive direct UVR from sunshine and diffuse UVR which is reflected from the
It is important to consider the duration of expected use and also whether users are likely to be wearing hats and sunscreen. As sun smart students will be wearing hats and sunscreen for lunch-time play, shade over play equipment is providing extra protection and therefore a lower protection factor may be acceptable. Conversely, hats and sunscreen are unlikely to be applied before an hourlong art class on a classroom veranda. In this case, the veranda should be carefully designed to give more protection e.g. shield the diffuse UVR from the open sky.
