Really annoyed - schools have now had to permanently ditch blended learning "plan B" due to cost

[TheLastStarfighter]

Really annoyed. In Scotland the schools and local authorities had put so much effort into coming up with workable blended learning plans (part time at school, part time at home or in a safe place), and they have now been thrown away.

I don't know what I am expecting really. Some acknowledgement of the waste maybe. Although I know a lot of replies will say blended learning wouldn't have worked.

But the local authorities and schools had put so much effort into making it work. They had employed and trained additional staff, rented and secured additional buildings to be able to support working parents, invested in technology and training. And as at this week they have had to scrap it as a plan B as they can't sustain the cost of it as a "just in case".

So that means that if any schools do have to close temporarily, or (god forbid) we end up with another full scale lock-down, the schools will be back to "learning from home" rather than a fully supported blended learning option.

But I am also so very proud of everyone who pulled out all the stops to pull together something that would have been such an innovative solution.

[peakotter]

It must be so frustrating for the staff. I really felt for them at the end of last term when the goal posts moved. But I do think it’s evidence based, in that schools don’t seem to be a big source of transmission so reducing the pupils bubbles from 30 to 10 (in my school at least) won’t actually make a big difference to transmission rates.

Currently the government are choosing other options to reduce R, and I very much hope that they will close pubs and shops before schools- it certainly seems that way from the local lockdowns.

[Keepdistance]

About 300 schools with cases already. So will soon see how many those people have infected. (Including already 1 school with 5 teachers).
Yes they should have kept up online learning as at leadt vulnerable will need it.
10% of kids havent gone back and lots are waiting for tests

[TheLastStarfighter]

“Bubble” of 1,500 here, so whether or not it would have made a difference is probably a case by case, school by school thing.

But yes, all that hard work. I know people were pulling all-nighters to do their best for the kids.

[rookiemere]

I'm not aware of any additional buildings that were being sourced to support working parents. Maybe by working it means the elite DCs of key workers entitled to an education by way of their parents occupation.

But certainly the reason blended learning caused such an outrage when proposed is because most DCs would only have been in school 2 days a week, with no mention of any other childcare, meaning that parents - mostly mothers- would have to give up their jobs.

If there was some plan for the non school hours, other than at home, that was not communicated