Four out of 10 children have suffered sunburn at school, warn skin cancer experts

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated:

Cancer experts say children must be taught about sun safety in lessons, after a study found almost 40 per cent of pupils have suffered sunburn while at school.

Close on half of parents questioned in a survey recalled their children arriving home from school burned from too much sun exposure.

The same proportion said teachers should make sure children wear sun lotion at school.

Sunny day: Sunburn as a child doubles the risk of developing skin cancer later in life, say dermatologists

Sunny day: Sunburn as a child doubles the risk of developing skin cancer later in life, say dermatologists

Children are extra sensitive to the sun's rays, making them vulnerable to skin cancer in later life.

The report from the charity alliance Skin Cancer UK (SCUK) urged both the Government and teachers to step up efforts to protect children from harmful levels of sun.

Richard Clifford, a leading member of SCUK and trustee of the Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Charity, said: 'Children who are over-exposed to the sun are storing up problems for the future.

'It is therefore imperative to encourage the use of sunscreens and sun protection to minimise their risk.

'Together with a shady area to play in and the wearing of hats, we would like to see provision made for teachers to take a role in the 'common sense' application and availability of sunscreens and protection.'

The SCUK report was commissioned by MPs on the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Skin.

It said: 'Lives can be saved in the future with relatively little additional funding.

'School classrooms throughout the length and breadth of the country must become the source of behavioural change - in the short-term, with the backing of governors and head teachers, and in the long-term, as a mandatory part of the school curriculum.'

Schools should be obliged to have an "enforcable policy" on sun safety based on national guidelines, the report added.

A survey backing the report was conducted among more than 1,000 adults across the UK, over half of whom were parents of children under 18.

Although almost half of those questioned rated skin cancer as 'extremely serious, even life threatening', 45 per cent said they did not worry about getting the disease.

Malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, kills more than 2,000 people each year.

In 2008, 11,767 new cases of malignant melanoma were diagnosed in the UK.

Campaign supporter Dr Andrew Wright, consultant dermatologist at St Luke's Hospital, Bradford, said: 'The evidence shows that sunburn as a child, when the skin is most sensitive, doubles the risk of developing skin cancer later in life.

'It's one of the most damaging things that can happen to skin, so it's worrying to learn that so many of our children are getting burned at school.

'While I don't advocate avoiding the sun altogether, young children must be protected from the heat of the sun, particularly in the middle of the day during summer months.'

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