ADs skipping to school - and that's only the parents

[RealityExistsInTheHumanMind]

New thread

Link to previous thread bum tomatoes

@HeIenaDove

Oh God the editors letter in the front of this months Woman and Home is all about how we need to shop to save the economy and the normalisation of masks. Complete with a column of pics of fashionable masks.

I am not spending while we have to wear a mask. Stuff that.

Looking at saving as much as I can now for the economy shit storm heading our way.

DIL wants to do a halloween party for kids school friends because no trick or treating this year. She rang the local social club to hire the room for a class of 5 year olds to have fun, was going to decorate the room, disco lights, spooky music. The club said no way.

She said sod them she is going to make a spooky path from front garden round to the conservatory, decorate that and do a party. They are in school all day anyway

Thanks for new thread btw.

DominaShantotto
Glad your gp has some empathy and common sense and is actually acting like a Dr!

DD1 loved her singing lesson incidentally - even with the teacher having clean and used pens for signing covid forms and everything! I got quite lump in throaty at it as when she's actually concentrating properly DD has a really lovely voice (I've just heard farrrrrrr too much of it over the last 6 months!) and it might be something that she can focus on a bit away from her sister.

@DominaShantotto

DD1 loved her singing lesson incidentally - even with the teacher having clean and used pens for signing covid forms and everything! I got quite lump in throaty at it as when she's actually concentrating properly DD has a really lovely voice (I've just heard farrrrrrr too much of it over the last 6 months!) and it might be something that she can focus on a bit away from her sister.

So pleased she could have a lesson. I have watched my friends jump through hoops and read contradictory guidance on when and how they can teach but they were all desperate to do it. Singing releases endorphins which is always good. 😄

Please don’t worry if it seems overly cautious, nearly all of us are self employed so can’t afford time off as well as also performing which means we could carry things to our colleagues (well, once we are allowed to perform in greater numbers. Things are starting to happen though).

Oh I'm not worried - the teacher is actually on my uni course and I know full well why she's playing it careful.

I am going to gently take the piss out of her labelled clean and used pen pots though because that's the kind of thing we'd do anyway!

@chocolatesweets

Checking in.

Going bonkers today looking at everyone's back to school photos. We still aren't 100% our playgroup is open. The head of the playgroup wasn't 100% but she was sure it was a certain date and that she would be in contact soon. It feels like everyone in the world is getting some kind of provision now. I feel like we're still in lockdown. If playgroup is cancelled and society thinks I'm going to do this without the support of voluntary toddler and baby groups then they've got another thing coming.

Play group isn't statutory and I just think it's so vulnerable to closure. There's nothing to suggest it might but I feel like I can't trust them. I know I'm being slightly dramatic but I feel I can't depend on them.

@chocolatesweets I know and I couldn’t agree more. Our toddler group was meant to be going back with the schools in August (Scotland) but no word at all.

I’m feeling so pissed off with the Scottish govt right now. So visits to other people’s homes are now banned where I am (Glasgow) but grandparents can still provide childcare. They have not made this clear at all, if you want to find that information you need to delve right down into the govt website, it has not been publicised (though it has now by parent groups on Facebook etc). Why didn’t they make it fucking clear? Everyone was in a panic, me included as I’ve only been back working from home for a fortnight. I guess it’s only mums and young children, so not important.

Hi, place marking. DD2 skipped very happily into school yesterday. Lovely to see all the schools back.

It's so nice to hear of children going happily to school. My DC seemed happy enough coming out today.

However, as well as requiring masks in corridors etc, the school have decided that masks should be worn whenever the children are on the school site, other than in their classrooms.

Which includes when they're outside at lunchtime, or even when they are waiting in the car park after school for transport home.

Bonkers. I may have to politely query this with them

@pearlypidge

It's so nice to hear of children going happily to school. My DC seemed happy enough coming out today.

However, as well as requiring masks in corridors etc, the school have decided that masks should be worn whenever the children are on the school site, other than in their classrooms.

Which includes when they're outside at lunchtime, or even when they are waiting in the car park after school for transport home.

Bonkers. I may have to politely query this with them

I would leave it if I were you. It's easier for them to quietly drop it, not notice etc if people say nothing.

If they are still enforcing it in a couple of weeks that's when I would complain. Unless there are mass increased hospitalisations I think things will become more normal very quickly

@pearlypidge I agree with @RealityExistsInTheHumanMind that it may be best to actually keep silent at first. Perhaps the school do have every intention of quietly dropping the muzzles; but it's harder for them to do this if parents contact them, because then they have to give the "official" line. It's like when a teacher quietly ignores misbehaviour, but is then in a difficult position when a goody-two-shoes points it out; the teacher then has to do something.

The school (and many other organisations) have to put in writing that they're doing all this; it's lip service to the virus, just as the government have been doing since March. Everybody has to be seen to be doing something, 'cos Covid. Whether they actually do something is quite another matter. Even the government does this: they're making us all jump through hoops to make it appear that they're doing something, whereas if you look carefully at what they're doing, they're actually just standing back, while we're distracted and fighting among ourselves. The mask mandate was proof of this: zero investment from the government, and it's clear they had zero intention of enforcing it. The divided mob quarrelling with each other about was a useful by-product, along with the marginal protection masks might give.

In fact, I recently made the mistake of querying what an organisation intends to do about something, and wished I hadn't, when their reply showed that I had put them on the spot.

You're probably right. I'm just so annoyed because they're usually so sensible, and the first back-to-school emails we got were definitely not dementory at all. And then they introduce this stupid rule. Grr.

@pearlypidge

You're probably right. I'm just so annoyed because they're usually so sensible, and the first back-to-school emails we got were definitely not dementory at all. And then they introduce this stupid rule. Grr.

You definitely have my sympathy and I would be tempted to but I suspect Covid regs are just for show for many and enforceable in many more cases.

It should only be if deaths go up that they start really enforcing them. Cases that are mild or asymptomatic should actually be good news but not everyone sees it that way.

But deaths cases going up will mean that they have policies that can then be enforced.

unenforceable not enforceable

I hope that kind of insideous masky bollocks disappears quietly.

I dipped my toe into some schooly threads but haven't engaged. Schools clearly can not please everyone, and they're better off pleasing people like me who want business as usual as it's easier and the vast majority of the school population survives flu season in overcrowded, badly ventilated classrooms and corridors each year. I've worked long term in at least 8 secondaries, plus casual supply in umpteen more. None of them could with months of notice, deliver a full education and social distancing/ good hygiene facilities,even if you flooded then with cash which they are clearly not! Modern rebuilds are often worst as they skimp on numbers of classrooms and sizing. Older sites tend to have bigger rooms and better capacity for teachers to have their own room (Shame about the asbestos, and teaching is surprisingly high risk for mesothemiola!)

Teaching always has been high contact with other people. Minor bugs are a fact of life. I'm just surprised at this stage by the alleged numbers of clinically vulnerable teachers in mortal peril this year, that weren't in mortal peril last year. Yes there will be some, but by and large teaching is a younger profession these days due to the awful workload and pressure, and you need pretty robust health to do it (hence the numbers of long term supply stints that I did over the years )

Dd back to school tomorrow. I will try not to skip. Could have worn own clothes but so excited to be going back have all the uniform ready. Primary school, so no masks.

@BogRollBOGOF
Teaching always has been high contact with other people. Minor bugs are a fact of life. I'm just surprised at this stage by the alleged numbers of clinically vulnerable teachers in mortal peril this year, that weren't in mortal peril last year.

This it what I can't get my head round. If they are vulnerable then flu is dangerous. Even if it's half as dangerous as Covid then it is still far more dangerous than most peoples/teachers risk from Covid.

There was one with a lung transplant. Crap but she still has a 98% chance of surviving Covid and 98.5% Flu, Not brilliant but one isn't that much worse than the other for the individual.

I saw that thread and fair play to her, she had late specific advice from her consultant and the combination of immune suppressants plus lungs is a double whammy. It's not exactly a common situation. The scale of the of the whooha just hasn't matched the numbers in very specific situations.

I overheard a couple of mums mithering to each other about just sending them back in full time after so long (y6s no less). I think it is best to do a fresh start business as (near) normal. The vast majority of children don't need it dragging out. Fair enough where there have been disrupted transitions for yR and y7, or SENs. Two days this week is good for DS1 to adjust then rest. Next week will probably be tiring. If he's struggling, I'll let school know and do a duvet day if necessary, but the vast majority should be fine. Normal is a good antidote to all the disruption. (But then I was the child whose dad died on the Tuesday and was back in school on the Friday)

These poor kids.

'As always, our priority is to maintain a safe and healthy learning environment.' Absolute rubbish. I'd love to see the 'data' and 'modeling', not to mention 'risk assessment', that is informing this strategy.

vimeo.com/453422312

@BogRollBOGOF
agreed - she is pretty much a one off and shouldn't be teaching I don't think. Having said that - Her consultant is an arse if he thinks she is at risk from Covid but not from flu.

Small thing but yet another painful spot. Not acne but painful and annoying.

I cant see teenage girls putting up with acne and they will have to wear a mask for much longer and more often than i am. Can envisage lots of calls to GPs for prescription strength cream. Only one case of impetigo needs to happen too for it to spread through a school. And as its contagious it could end in more time off.

@skeptile Found this linked into Twitter.

Ideas for Helping Students with Multiple Disabilities Including Deafblindness Wear Masks and Face Coverings
Write a Comment

By Katy Ring

Surgical mask
Children with multiple disabilities or deafblindness may be resistant to wearing masks or face coverings when returning to school. These tips can help to build acceptance of masks.

Create an experience book or story box about wearing a mask.
Practice wearing the mask for short amounts of time.
Participate in highly preferred activities while wearing a mask.
Create a mask routine in the morning, after a transition or both.
Incorporate a mask into an already established routine.
Include the mask in the student/child’s calendar system.
If using pictures of staff/others in a calendar system- add pictures of them in masks.
Incorporate highly preferred textures into the mask.
Allow the student/child to decorate/ make their own mask.
Allow the student/child to choose their own mask.
Staff working with students should wear similar masks each day to help with identification.
Face shields or masks with clear windows for lip reading and facial expressions

www.pathstoliteracy.org/strategies/ideas-helping-students-multiple-disabilities-including-deafblindness-wear-masks-and-face?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Things%20Weve%20Learned%20About%20Remote%20Online%20Instruction&utm_content=Things%20Weve%20Learned%20About%20Remote%20Online%20Instruction%20CID_ab47fccc7c9cbac9fc72af0109daca69&utm_source=Paths%20to%20Literacy%20Newsletter&utm_term=Learn%20More

@HelenaDove Coercion, submission, trauma. This is ABA. Horrifying.

DS favours fluffy textures. Yeah, fluffy face mask over your airways. Safe.
That kind of insidious approach would make him entrench anyway. He's best off with a light touch give a couple of warnings and do it style. Labouring a point turns it into a big issue and gets him anxious and resistant.

I'm having enoughof a battle over orthotics at the moment, something that would actually do him good by easing the knee pain he regularly complains about.

Strangely one seems to have disappeared this morning... the one I have found turned up a bit randomly and they should be together...