School holding whole-school assembly

[Cabbageandpeas]

Are your schools holding assemblies at the moment? School have removed all covid protocols. First day back, and all 600 kids were squeezed into the (unventilated) school hall. Seems unnecessarily risky.

I’m pleased the kids are back at school, but why the need for an assembly? (Boring at the best of times! Seems pretty foolhardy at the moment, rates in our area are high)

Are your schools holding assemblies and carrying on as if everything is back to normal?

Yes everything back to normal in my school as if covid had never happened.

Assemblies are fun. Organ music soaring and school song sung with gusto.

DfE guidance being followed.

Our (primary) school - no ‘bubbles’ but KS1 & KS2 still separate indoors. Full school assembly outdoors at the moment until the weather turns,

I don’t know - it’s fine to say as an adult that full school assemblies are ‘boring’ and useless but you forget- school is a community. Having everyone together is very valuable as repetition of events and expectations and rituals is beneficial to all. Your wriggly Reception will one day be the beautifully spoken Year 6 giving a leavers speech…

I think there’s a balance to be struck but this is the worst time, obviously- maximum leeway, minimum guidance, 50% for greater measures, 50%!against. I am lucky my immediate family is not especially vulnerable, and I feel greatly for those who are. I just hope we can all extend some grace where needed.

@MoiraNotRuby

Assemblies are not fun! Why not save the riskier moments for things less dull than frigging assemblies. The most boring part of school.

What “riskier things” are you saving it for, though? Seriously?

A child who was in Reception in 2020 is now entering final year of juniors. They do need some normality, structure and practise at all this. It’s the groundwork for public speaking, confidence in front of a crowd, teamwork in presentation- all sorts. Choral singing! I mean, you can scoff and say it’s not worth it but you can watch their development from the shy kids who can’t get out the line to the ones who have comic timing - it’s valuable.

A child who was in Reception in 2020 is now entering final year of juniors.

Next year! They’ll be juniors next year, so to my mind this year giving them a ‘normal’ experience is vital.

Mine aren’t that stage, I’ve no vested interest - but I feel they’ve missed out so much.

Organ music soaring and school song sung with gusto.

Er, you what now? Don't you mean 'kids shuffle in for a powerpoint about racism'?

@noblegiraffe yep absolutely , not all schools are the joyless places you apparently know.

Well we don’t have the money for an organ and we don’t have a school song so that does make the whole school experience rather grey.

Yes back to whole school assemblies. All covid special measures are now gone, so no playground segregation, no staggered starts, all school clubs back up and running. I'm pleased although wary. My DD is so happy things are back to normal, she has literally bounced to school and come home grinning from ear to ear. So lovely to connect with friends in other classes again.

@amillionmenonmars

I am happy you are happy that assemblies are back. Hope you are all happy when lots of kids, and more importantly teachers have covid. Assemblies are not important . Being in class is. When teachers are ill they need supply cover. This is in very short supply and it is expensive. But, nevermind - let assemblies commence.

Get a grip

There are still requirements in place and the latest Risk Assessment and a contingency plan should be on your school website.

We don't have whole school worship, it is still online, some bubbles are still in place. Only one parent for drops offs and social distancing in place.

This phrase is "continued caution" under School operational guidance from July. Check out the school RA.

No whole school assemblies at DS's primary and no visitors on site allowed yet.

@Payproblems

Re learning to live with it, in personally happy to do but does that then mean learning to live with out hospital cover for everything?

No, it means the government should spend our tax money correctly and put more of it into the NHS instead of chronically underfunding it and then expecting the general public to restrict their lives to make up for their incompetence.

@Evesgarden again you talk about population risk. I'm talking about individual. A child with a heart condition. With cancer. Or kidney failure. They are the invisible population of individuals at risk. Over an above the whole scale population of

My dd's school did yesterday. She was so excited.

I think you need to stick to the Covid topic. I don't have a problem with school assemblies.

Have assemblies changed a lot since I was at school or is this a mark of just how dismal life has become? A cancelled assembly was fantastic news when I was a child

[quote paradyning]@Evesgarden again you talk about population risk. I'm talking about individual. A child with a heart condition. With cancer. Or kidney failure. They are the invisible population of individuals at risk. Over an above the whole scale population of

@Cabbageandpeas

How dare your husband deliberately put children, teachers and their families at risk like this.

How dare you demand that your individual risk tolerance dictate the actions of a thousand other people who aren't you? Those who don't want their children to do those things shouldn't send them to that school. You get to make those decisions for your own children. You don't get to make them for everyone else's. The level of entitlement here is beyond belief. The world has stopped molding itself to your feelings because a critical mass has finally caught on that your feelings are no more important than theirs.

@amillionmenonmars

I am happy you are happy that assemblies are back. Hope you are all happy when lots of kids, and more importantly teachers have covid. Assemblies are not important . Being in class is. When teachers are ill they need supply cover. This is in very short supply and it is expensive. But, nevermind - let assemblies commence.

It's just a way to let it rip through the kids and staff now, in the hopes that they won't get it again for a while. Bugger the ones that have vulnerable family members! Hey, maybe killing them off will reduce this social care tax that they want to bring in.

[quote paradyning]And sacrificing the unvaccinated (as they cannot be not due to antivax) such as

I still don't think people understand the consequences of having covid spreading through a school. If several teachers are off sick with it in many areas there is neither the money, or indeed the availability, to provide supply cover. Classes will be sent home.

If not having whole school school assemblies lowers the risk then don't have them. They really are not that important. Keeping schools open, keeping face to face teaching going - that should be the priority. No child is missing out if they can't be in whole school assembly.

Isn't the "risk" here not so much that people will be seriously ill but that staff will end up away from work for 10 days at a time making it very difficult to run a school?

Even if staff don't get Covid, they'll still end up with additional colds and have to isolate pending test results, but maybe that's inevitable anyway.

Mine have had whole school assemblies and I think it’s lovely . Youngest has never had them before as she was in reception when they went into lockdown and eldest is year 6 so thrilled she gets to sit on the benches at the back.

Year group assemblies only. They don't have a big enough room for the whole school so never have whole school assemblies.

My DC's primary are back to whole school assemblies, but there's only like 120 kids in the whole school and they have all the windows open in the hall.