Are you happy with the NEU advice not to engage?

[IntolerableCruelty]

It seems to me that whatever measures are put in place to reopen schools and whenever that happens, plans will need to be tailored to the individual circumstances of schools and the specific limitations of school buildings.

Until today, our staff were welcoming being involved in those discussions and reassured that leadership are listening to their concerns and planning with staff welfare very much at the fore.

Now the staff are being advised not to participate in those discussions. How does that help the staff?

[Whitestick]

Who are the leadership doing the planning? You mean school management? But that is so down to individual school. We need to know the government is planning with staff welfare at the fore.

[IntolerableCruelty]

Yes school leadership, who will need to interpret and tailor any government advice to their school, as we do in every other situation. Isn't it best for staff if they are involved in that discussion?

[doesthissoundok]

I'm very happy with the advice. This is exactly what I want a union to do - send a strong message using a collective voice. It takes away pressure on individuals who may feel obliged to go along with unsafe decisions because they don't feel they have a choice.

[IntolerableCruelty]

So you don't want staff to have input into the plans?

[IntolerableCruelty]

I completely agree unions need to be satisfied that conditions are right for staff to return but that's going to be so dependant on the individual set ups in schools, both in terms of the issues of the buildings themselves present and the quality of the planning by leadership, that you'd think they'd want some input.

[MrsHerculePoirot]

SLT at our school are following unions advice and waiting until further guidance is released to them.

[IntolerableCruelty]

But how can government give specific detailed advice to each individual school? There will need to be lots of arrangements that are specific to "this school", not "schools".

[Whitestick]

It's right for staff to be involved in the minutiae once there is an acceptable overall framework. Do you think that is what we have so far OP? Guidance that tells us to give up on social distancing and has not been properly assessed even by the people who wrote it.

[CarrieBlue]

NAHT are part of the group of unions giving this advice so a fair proportion of slt shouldn’t be engaging either.

[ProseccoBubbleFantasies]

Its 100% right that unions stand up for their members. What else do you pay subs for???

I was expecting the announcement on sunday to put all of the onus of responsibility on individual schools and trusts.

Instead it was very precise regarding yeargroup.

The DofE guidelines basically throw staff to the dogs and break all advice.
Damn right I'm with the unions calling "stop!"