What will school be like with social distancing?

[Chochito]

I'm imagining what my school will be like if we re-open but have to or choose to bring in some social distancing measures.

1. Change the timetable so different classes are let out at different times.

1. Stop using lockers or have a locker rota so not all of the students are crowded at them at the same time.

1. Change lunchtimes so that fewer students are in the dining room at once, and have them sit on alternate chairs, and queue intermittently.

1. Get changed for P.E. in shifts to reduce the crowding in the changing room.

1. Ask parents to keep students at home (it's a secondary school) if they are unwell.

1. Take students' and staff temperatures on arrival in the morning (I've seen this done in other schools as a matter of course during annual 'flu season).

1. Hand washing built into the timetable and routinely encouraged.

But how would we ensure social distancing in the classroom and on the buses (most of our students arrive on private buses) ?

[monkeysox]

It would be impossible tbh. Even in small classes you couldn't always have 2m between.
34 kids per class in some secondary classes.
Corridors are packed.
School won't be back until Sept is my guess

[FrippEnos]

With any form of social distances medium to large schooling would be impossible.

[CallmeAngelina]

Agree - virtually impossible, but just waiting for everyone to blame us for just wanting even longer "holidays" and being "negative" about it all (as per other threads).

[Wolfiefan]

It’s impossible. There is no way schools can reopen for the foreseeable. The lockdown may be relaxed somewhat but there is no way to have hundreds of kids in a school and maintain any kind of social distancing.

[Chochito]

Ah OK. I'm abroad. The government is looking to open schools next month, all things being well (enough). I'm just imagining how we might take precautions.

[DrMadelineMaxwell]

I'd manage to fit 3 pupils in my classroom if they each stood in a square that gave them each 1m clearance around them to ensure the 2m gap.
There's not enough room in the cloakroom for more than one at a time based on that requirement and the corridors aren't wide enough for anyone to pass someone else.

[Dancer12345]

Where are you @Chochito?

[Appuskidu]

Where do you live, @Chochito?

I can’t imagine what social distancing will look like at school. I teach in EYFS-it just won’t happen. Keeping the children apart with things like free flow, carpet inputs, corridors, playtime, lunchtime, PE etc will be impossible, but what about the 500 parents that congregate in massive crowds in the playground twice a day to take/collect their children.

I think the government need to be pretty sure things are safer before schools can be opened.

[absea]

Have kids in one day a week each? Possibly alphabetically by surname, so that siblings all attend at same time. 200 kid primary, has 40 kids a day, from 20 different families. Each year group has 4 or 5 kids who get some intensive teacher input and set work for the rest of the week.

[Chochito]

That's a great idea, absea; hadn't thought of that.

[Redwinestillfine]

I think at that stage schools wouldn't be open.

[cauliflowersqueeze]

Depends on staffing available.
My feeling is that we won’t be back till September. I also think they should take this opportunity to rearrange the school year so that they remain in the same year group till December then move up to the next year in January.

[Chochito]

cauliflowersqueeze But wouldn't that then leave infant schools with 2 reception classes (the old ones and the new intake) and secondary schools without a new Y7 or any Y13? Difficult for staffing.

Not saying it's not a good idea, however.

For students transitioning between different KS I think it will be tricky and need to be addressed, certainly, maybe via your suggested method.

[pinkblanchmange]

I'm in a high school with over 1000 pupils, social distancing would be utterly impossible, in the classrooms, corridors, canteen, on the buses etc etc, just impossible.

[Concerned12345]

Impossible

[Aragog]

For the children in school now at my schools is pretty much like that.

Desks are 1 tablet per pupil. Same desk every day. Own equipment etc in desk with wipes to clean down at the end of the day.
Desks are 2m apart. Can fit 8 pupils in the classroom where we normally have 30. iPads are named and being used by just one individual.

Own PE mat which is wiped down after use. All names.

Temperature taken on arrival.

Hand washing before and after pretty much everything.

No hugs, no touching, no contact between pupils and between staff and children. Big change when you teach at an infant school.

Everything in the classroom and all equipment is wiped and cleaned before and after every day.

It's time consuming and just feels very unnatural. It's quite impersonal but the teaching staff in school are trying really hard to still make it welcoming for the 4-7 year olds going in.

I can't see how it's possible for schools to return whilst social distancing is still required.

[delilabell]

I work in a special need school. There is no way we can social distance. Even thiugh the classes are small 1:1 (and in come cases 2:1) plus personal care and students not understanding social/personal distance means it's just not possible.

[Tiggering]

I work in a school in Sweden and we’re still open except it’s Easter holiday this week. There’s no way to implement social distancing in schools. We’re trying but it simply doesn’t work.