To ask you to share your ideas for how schools go back?

[FurForksSake]

I've seen lots of good ideas and creative thoughts for how to safely get the kids back.

Am I being unreasonable by asking you to share some?

Maybe schools / teachers might see something that would be helpful to how to get through this.

[Crunchymum]

You first.... as you have so many bright ideas.

[LavenderLilacTree]

Give the teachers PPE and get the children to wear masks.
Put in many more sinks and lots of extra temporary classrooms,
Make playgrounds bigger.
Employ lots of cleaners.

[FurForksSake]

1. Hire sink units from festival / events providers

1. Forest school if it is at all possible

1. Work with secondary schools and move secondary students to a hub school and use their facilities to enable kids to be spaced out

1. Adults drop off in a car pool lane if possible, year one and year six can easily let themselves out.

1. Look at getting event shelters / marquees where space allows and use those for eating in.

The thing that has got me is how there has been no joined up thinking with the home schooling. My children's school have sent us basically nothing, others are receiving work and having it marked. There is no top down guidance for how to do the homeschooling and there seems to be none for this.

Whilst every school will differ in terms of size there really should be a task force looking at practical ways to do this safely.

[ilovesooty]

Employ lots of cleaners

In an ideal world.

[Aroundtheworldin80moves]

What works at one school won't work at another. I have experienced 4 Primary schools now. First one, easy- not least because most of the class sizes were 12-15 anyway, and each class had an outdoor classroom as well. Spare classrooms for the couple of classes that would need to split. Sinks outside the building.

Second school... It would have been the buses creating the issue. They would need twice the number. Building originally had 3 classes per year, and had gradually reduced to one class per year. Loads of space.

The Victorian Junior school- I cant see how they could have space to have in more than 1 year at a time (100 children per year).

The reasonably modern primary... With half the n morning, half in afternoon, they could keep the classes seperate. All classrooms accessible from outside. Playing fields and large playground. With staggered drop offs, adults could be managed, but it would to be playground rather than classroom door. Children wouldn't be 2m apart inside though.

[ilovesooty]

I can't see very small children coping with wearing masks safely.

[OwlinaTree]

Who's paying for all that? The school?

[FurForksSake]

They definitely do need to be looking at how much cleaning is required and whether they need them in for more / different hours.

And the government should be funding this if they want to do it safely.


If we can pay the furlough scheme then we should be able to fund the safe and effective reopening schools. Not just tell schools to do it and here's a bit of guidance.

[FurForksSake]

They've said they don't want primary school kids wearing masks, masks have to be worn well and taken off appropriately. Cloth masks would need changing. So masks for primary children is pointless unfortunately.

Staff could wear them though? Should all staff who want PPE be issued it and schools not go back until that is in place?

[ilovesooty]

I have heard today about a school asking teachers to attend next week to receive training in cleaning the toilets.

[ThereWillBeAdequateFood]

The marquee / event hire tent isn’t a bad idea.
Where you get all the staff to staff the extra classrooms is more tricky.

Move secondary teachers into primary schools as secondary kids can be left alone more? I can’t imagine many secondary teachers being keen on teaching primary kids (I know I’m not).

[Whataroyalannoyance]

Schools are being told that ppe isn't needed and won't funded.
Also any necessary adaptations will need to come from the existing budget, no extra funds are being made available

[OwlinaTree]

I'm not against children returning to school. I do wonder if young children are going to be more unsettled returning to what will be a very different environment than they would be staying at home. The proposals mean some children won't be taught by their own teacher. That's going to be very hard. I wonder if it will have any benefit.

[ADreamOfGood]

secondary schools and move secondary students to a hub school and use their facilities to enable kids to be spaced out

Wtf? How are secondary students to socially distance if the primary children are using their school? Secondary pupils are returning too, you know, not just primary.

And you can always tell a stooge - they use phrases such as this: how to safely get the kids back
People that actually have children don't talk like that.

[ThereWillBeAdequateFood]

I have heard today about a school asking teachers to attend next week to receive training in cleaning the toilets.

[FurForksSake]

My youngest child is in nursery and their toilets are within the room / unit. I imagine cleaning those would be easier by staff, but if they are having to stay at all times in key worker groups they'll have to teach the kids how to do it too! I imagine that the surfaces could be fairly quickly wiped down every two hours. Kids will need to be observed washing their hands at that age so risks there aren't that high.

[mayaginger]

Parents not allowed in the playground, they wait at the gate.
Full ppe.
Year six to move up to secondary now after a week of transition activities for those with extra needs.
Year 11 move to sixth form or leave
Year 12 move to year 13, year 13s don't go in
Nurseries to be used for foundation stage
Children to wear masks
Proper funding by the government
Less children in each class achieved by having children with a stay at home parent to stay at home
Teachers split between half working at home to provide online learning or work sent home and half in school or whatever ratio the school need.

[ilovesooty]

@ThereWillBeAdequateFood I'm glad you think it's funny.

[FurForksSake]

Secondary schools aren't returning this school year. Year ten and 12 will get some "face to face time". 2% of kids are in. Secondary schools are fairly big (I work in one, I'm not clueless) so there would be space potentially.


Of course in September things won't be any safer potentially, what happens then is anyone's guess.


As for the budget issue, I think that's what the unions should be fighting for. Money and resources to do this. I hadn't seen the expectation was there already.

Also not sure you can stop a teacher / staff member acquiring and wearing PPE if they want to?

[Pipandmum]

I don't have kids in primary, but have one in Y10. I'm amazed the government did not have Y10 and 12 go back first after the nightmare of this years GCSEs and A levels.
They will need to get quickly caught up with the syllabus as so many schools are not equipped to do extensive online learning, and more hands on courses, like art, music, science, drama and PE, need to be done in school. That age group are mature enough to do social distancing and practise good hygiene.
And colleges - I have a son in one. He has to do supervised training to get his qualification and can not do that now. Likewise for apprenticeships. The long term implications for these two year groups ca not be underestimated.
I think the schools are smart enough to be able to work it out for these older kids. But I can not see how younger children can be expected to keep apart - and where the space and staff are to try and accommodate this.

[ThereWillBeAdequateFood]

ilove
ThereWillBeAdequateFood I'm glad you think it's funny

I genuinely thought that was a joke. Are you being serious? Teachers trained to clean the loos! Fucking hell.

(Also sorry I misinterpreted your post)

[FurForksSake]

I know there are serious concerns about how you continue to provide online teaching to children and teach in school at the same time. We've been using oak national a lot and that is a passable solution, a group of teachers creating online lessons to be used nationally to stop stretching staff so thin. (Yes there are issues and limitations to this, as with everything).

[NothingIsWrong]

You cannot just put temporary classrooms in. Not quickly anyway. I needed 4 in an emergency last October, we got two in 10 days and had to wait a month for the other 2. There are not thousands of empty temporary units sat around.

[ilovesooty]

No problem ThereWillBeAdequateFood .

No, it isn't a joke - it's true.

[nobodyimportant]

For reference these are the guidelines that schools have to work with:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings