Secondary schools - teachers what is the right way forward?

[treeeeemendous]

I have two secondary age dc. I want them in school but at the same time I want them kept safe. Just wondering what teachers think that the right way forward for the government would be?

Compulsory masks all day?
Mass testing?
Online learning?
Only key workers and vulnerable children in?

My dd is due to sit her GCSEs next summer. It's been a rocky road for her.

There are countless threads that cover this question - nobelgiraffe (or under her Christmas namechange, noelgiraffe) has posted numerous suggestions over the last few months, although some posters are determined to interpret this as her wishing for schools to close.

And no one has (or will) taken a blind bit of notice, anyway.

I've looked at some of those threads but haven't actually seen a list where teachers have said we want x, y and z

I actually don’t know what I want or what should happen. I’m in the SE and have tried to be relaxed and pragmatic about the whole thing, but it’s such a mess now, I don’t know what to think.
I really want the kids to go back in Jan, but my gut feeling is that we should be doing everything remotely for a while after Christmas. Awful for all, but the chaos of kids in and out of school isolating has an effect on their engagement and motivation too. Plus this new strain is quite evidently spreading much quicker and easier.
If we are in school, ECV teachers should be working from home.
We should be doing all the small things all the time, I think. So, much as I don’t like the thought of it, masks should be worn all the time by everyone in school. Money for deep cleans etc
I have no idea what to think about the testing in school thing because it all sounds so garbled, I can’t help but think it will be a massively expensive failure.

But, more than ANYTHING, we need clear instructions and accountability from the DfE, with as much notice as possible.

Here you go

Different teachers will want different things as their schools are in different areas, have a different catchment / journeys to school, are laid out differently, different % of disadvantaged kids etc.

though they probably all want a) to feel reasonably safe and b) for all children to be getting an education.

@CallmeAngelGabriel

Here you go

Yep-Noble’s thread covers everything, I think.

My main new ‘want’ is for schools to not replace the need to self isolate close contacts/family members of positive cases for 10 days, with a dodgy lateral flow test that is about 50% accurate.

As a teacher, would you want me teaching your child every day with no mask, if my DC or DH was home sick with covid? That’s just what’ll happen under this plan. I’ll pitch up every day-travelling in on the train-and stand in a hall with everyone else who’s friends/family members have tested positive each day, do an ineffective test and if after half an hour of standing in that hall, that that says I’m negative (we could just roll a dice really) then I’ll pop off to class to teach your children and then back home to my positive DC/DH at night and rinse and repeat for 7 more days.

Good plan?

My issue with the mass testing is I don't understand

a) where my kids school will get the staff from.
B) where the kids will go whilst all of this is being done. I assume it would be done in the morning (outside?!) and then they wait 30 minutes? If they are just going back to sit in a classroom it seems a bit pointless as surely they would then need to isolate all of those around the positive child. And does this mean they all need to get to school early. DSs school has 2000 pupils. It will take forever.

I just can't see how it will work

Exactly. It won't work, yet we teachers/schools will no doubt get accused of lacking a "can-do" attitude when we point this out.

surely they would then need to isolate all of those around the positive child.

Well, no. That’s what many of us are objecting to. They don’t plan to isolate contacts of any positive child/staff members in schools any more.