Are the unions going to kick off about back to school in September?

[Flippetydip]

Is there going to be a big hoo ha from the unions about the "everyone back to school at full capacity" announcement from the PM today?

Any teachers on here care to give a view?

[hedgehogger1]

I don't think it's "kicking off" to ask for safe working conditions is it? We're a country where a safe work place is expected, hence the plastic screens and queue ing systems in shops and people being told to work from home if possible. Although I understand from your post your just looking to upset people so here

[bengalcat]

Not a teacher but September is a long way off

[Itisasecret]

No, the unions didn't kick off before. We were still at over 500 deaths a day, no science, no explanation, poorly thought through guidance which changed nearly 50 times. They had every right to ask for the rationale behind those economic choices, because it was not safety.

I for one am delighted he has finally made it clear, all schools, full time including wrap around care. That is pretty clear. I work in a school, so have a goady biscuit.

[Flippetydip]

Ooh my first flowery biscuit - never understood it so it's lost on me I'm afraid.

It absolutely wasn't my intention to upset people, I was asking for a view. Perhaps I shouldn't have phrased it the way I did, so apologies - it wasn't well thought out. I have very much felt that the unions have been playing a political game though given that the risks are minimal of children carrying and spreading the virus.

Does anyone have any stats of how many outbreaks there have been in schools and how many teachers have been impacted?

[slothbyday]

The issue is that the dfe guidance that schools were expected to follow directly contradicted what they could physically do.

If there isn't enough classrooms for 15 kids per room and the dfe mandate that and say you can't use other venues then you can't open. If you don't have 2 teachers per class how can you then staff it!

Many schools wanted to do a rota for all year groups but were told only y6,1,r.

School leaders had loads of suggestions for ways that would physically work but were told no you do it this way which is impossible.


It's been morphed into unions wont let kids back....the dfe did that!!

[Itisasecret]

Yeah it was the DfE and their ridiculous and impossible guidelines. Not the unions or the teachers as the Tory bots and right wing press will have you believe.

Every teacher I know is delighted that all children will be back in school, full time.

[FrippEnos]

Flippetydip

On the other teacher threads that you have been on the numbers have been quoted.

As for the unions I hope that hey continue to do their job of protecting their members.

[SayakaMurata]

You're just trying to start an argument and have a moan about teachers.

So sick of it.

How dare school staff want safe working conditions eh?

[TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince]

The unions will ‘kick off’ if it’s unsafe. It was never the unions causing the problems it was the government.

I’m a secondary teacher. Unless the cases are very low( and l know they are coming down) lm not sure how you can put 1800 kids and 200 staff, lots of whom come to school on public transport, change lessons and social groupings every hour safely.

And as for the corridors....

[flumposie]

They never kicked off in the first place. They wanted to work with the government who wouldn't work with them. So once announcements were made regarding schools they simply stated their concerns. Schools then opened to the best of their ability as I'm sure they will in September. ( regardless of the 48 plus changes thrown at them by the dfe )

[Lemons1571]

Hate to be negative but he didn’t actually say full time did he? He said full return. Could that mean all kids returning but part time? (scared)

[BluebellForest836]

Good, I’m glad all kids go back to school in September. About time.

[itsgettingweird]

The unions didn't kick off before.

They simply said why do workplaces have to be Covid secure and PPe for close contact but the same doesn't apply to teachers and school staff.

The questionnaires were very measured .

[flamingochill]

The problem with schools is not the unions.

The government should have worked with the unions (back in March) with the plan.

Schools didn't know until the general public knew what the plan was until 1st May. Many assumed it would be like continental Europe with everybody going back to school part-time but they sprung the R/Y1/Y6 plan instead and they changed the guidelines dozens of times before the 1 June.

As a parent of a y12 I assumed that y10/12 would be the most critical to get back but almost no thought or planning done for secondary!

The government needs to explain how schools can go back in September to the schools. There is guidance coming out in 2 weeks but nobody knows what this will say.

[flumposie]

@TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince agree. Our corridors are hellish in general without this.

[ElizabethMainwaring]

Anyone have any idea of what might happen with staff in the extremely clinically vulnerable group? Or staff with ecv partners and dependants?
I would say sheilding group, but that's all coming to an end now.
Unfortunately we still remain extremely clinically vulnerable.

[flamingochill]

Here's

Your OP was unnecessarily goady and smacks of Tory bot.

[flamingochill]

Elizabeth - Hancock said if your workplace is Covid secure then it's back to work on 1 August (England) but I'm not sure if schools are considered Covid secure considering that you can't use PPE

[noblegiraffe]

Where did this notion come from that the government pay attention to the teaching unions about anything?

If they did, we’d have had an actual pay rise in the last ten years...

What has happened so far is that the government has announced unworkable stuff (like ‘all primary kids back to school before the summer, but also in bubbles of 15 and no rotas’ meaning schools would need double the classrooms and teachers), schools haven’t managed to get it to work, government has blamed the unions. Fucking incompetent bunch of shysters.

[Twinklelittlestar1]

So sick of posts like this one. Workers, in all industries, have the right to safe Covid secure working conditions. Oh yeah, apart from teachers who should be bullied into accepting what they're 'told' because it suits the government unwillingness to spend money.

[Twinklelittlestar1]

Your OP was unnecessarily goady and smacks of Tory bot.

Yep.

[Flippetydip]

I'm honestly not anti-teacher at all, I'm married to one and have two very good friends who are both teachers. I'm also highly supportive of the excessive work that teachers do.

But thanks for the flowers anyway, always appreciated.

I suppose my point is that the NEU were vocal on Twitter being proud that they had managed to stop children returning to school at the last update. It just reads badly as if it's all a political game.

[DomDoesWotHeWants]

Reported.

[Flippetydip]

So I guess I have my answer. Our DC will not be going back to school because there will be too much opposition to it and doubtless strikes.

[Flippetydip]

@DomDoesWotHeWants

Reported.

What for precisely?