Aussie Childcare Network Forum

Good morning everyone,

Just had a question about temperatures in OOSH settings. I have a staff member that feels the cold to point of extreme. We have a new air conditioner/heater in our room, I walked in this morning and there were 30 children in the room and the temperature was set on 30!! It was stifling.

I am in the process of creating a specific policy about the heating, cooling in the room and would like to make a set temperature that the room should be and would like everyone's opinions on a good temperature for an OOSH setting. Should it be the same as early childhood, being as how they don't have rest times?

This is a new problem for us as the air conditioner is very new so we have not had this problem before. I understand and sympathize with her about feeling the cold I HATE being cold, however it's not healthy for the other staff and the children, I have also received some complaints about the temperature of the room.

Thank you so much in advance.

Hi,
The other person needs to put on a singlet and a jumper because 30 is insane.....that is a hot summer day temp and when there is so many little hot bodies in the room it is a recipe for irritability.
Linsaa fdc

I really feel the cold, and really feel the heat (Heat is much more of a problem for me) so I can sympathize with wanting the room warmer/cooler... But 30 is insane.
Temperature should be reasonable for the whole group, not just one staff member.
(I would be much more understanding of the room being kept on the cold side, as you can't dress to keep cool if you struggle with the heat. But there's thermal undies and down lined coats to keep you warm if you feel the cold so badly...)

At my old service, we ran the AC at 25 in summer (Except on extreme days, then it got put on maximum), and the heater at 19 in winter... Although seeing as the room heated up with so many bodies in it during the session, we'd often deliberately leave the heater off as the room got very stuffy very quickly.

Hi there. In the interest of saving the planet and sustainability practices, I would suggest contacting Energex, or your local energy provider to ask their opinion on what would be the optimum winter temperature setting for your part of the country, for your size indoor space, and the size of air con unit you have. You can then use this advice to inform your policy.
Cheers
Cynthia Thomas