Kids actually prefer learning in huts...

[noblegiraffe]

...says the Minister for Collapsing School Buildings Gillian Keegan

She was saying this to try to make the claim that the huts are really very good indeed, but we all know what a hut is like and really this is a damning indictment of the state of the school buildings that the kids were forced to learn in previously.

As we head into the winter it's going from 'the kids are too hot to learn anything properly' to 'the kids are too cold to learn anything properly' season in my classroom. If anyone calculated the amount of learning lost due to unsuitable school buildings, and not just the ones that have been forced to close because they are actively dangerous, then we might start wondering whether this was the best way to produce a future workforce.

Incidentally, anyone still wondering why schools were closed on 31st August right before they were due to re-open, the advice to close schools was actually given to Gillian Keegan on 21st August....who then went on holiday.

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/gillian-keegan-raac-crisis-temporary-classrooms

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/raac-8-things-we-learned-from-baroness-barran/

As a teacher, I would rather be in a 'hut' than an open plan classroom.

Would you rather be in an open plan classroom (awful) or a school that might fall on your head?

I don't think there are many classrooms that wouldn't be an improvement on one that might fall on your head.

But that's not really something that the government should be claiming as a win.

I think it is important to remember that the government are not responsible for schools in this country, that is the responsibility of Headteachers.

The government is though responsible for pot plants.

We had huts when I was in school due to asbestos. No option for remote learning then, we just sucked it up and got on with it.

Quite worrying now I'm older to think that we were being taught in that building when authorities knew about the risk to us.

This latest scandal isn't the first and won't be the last no matter who's in charge.

We had huts when I was in school due to asbestos.

Over 80% of school buildings still have asbestos. There are serious concerns about the risk, particularly as buildings are crumbling.

They did, in fact, do this in the 2020-21 school year. As their guidance said that all windows needed to be open, and no ‘bubbles’ could mix, children did indeed wear thermals for all lessons and waterproofs to eat their meals outside.

Teaching in a classroom at a maximum temperature of 9 degrees is inefficient. Especially when the wind blowing in affects the functioning of the whiteboard, creating a regular random page turning effect, as well as further chilling both teacher and pupils.

Of course, air purifiers existed. But freezing young children and their teachers was seen as preferable.

Did some of you lot miss the memo that we're supposed to want better for future generations than we had ourselves?

"I put up with it so they should too" is such a bitter, sad attitude.

It’s not a ‘I put up with it so they should too’ attitude. But more of a it’s not just this government that’s been the problem - all governments for decades have ignored the problems. All of them kick the can down the road and it’s not just with education either. I think some of us were surprised people think this is a new phenomena of huts being used.
It’s bloody depressing, to be expected, nothing new and I for one don’t think anything will change. And change it should , for the better and not as it has been - getting steadily worse for generations.

Loved the huts in my primary school. They were modern, comfortable and warm and this was in the 1970s!

I swear there are so many parents/people in denial about the state of education in the UK.

As long as their kids are out of the house from 9-3 in a building called a school, it doesn't actually matter if their kids are having a pleasant time, or learning anything...

I mean, who needs qualified teachers, or actual classrooms?

Pleased to see the push back against Noble in this thread. This stuff gets very tiresome and does tend to clutter up the forum, I don't think the chat section should be for political soapboxes all the time, especially when it's dominated by one prolific poster who always starts these threads.

I thought this was going to be some sort of forest school, den building hut-making scenario. My son would 100% prefer to attend a hut in the woods. Failing that, a normal and safe classroom is my preference

The temporary classrooms we hired in during the last phase of a building project were amazing. Mind you, it was summer and we didn't need to try out the heaters.

Is "hut" commonly used instead of "portacabin" in the UK? Or is it just for added drama?

Is this like "9 out of 10 cats prefer whiskas to being kicked in the head"?

Yep. This thread is pretty shocking. So many posters saying 'well at least they're not being taught online'.

Really, is the bar for our children's education really set that low?

Yes. In schools they have been referred to as huts for my entire 40 year teaching career. So no, this isn't dramatic language.

Is it really a political statement to want children to have the opportunity to be safe and educated at school?

I’ve never heard the phrase ‘hut’ in a school situation. (I’m in Norfolk)

We had temporary classrooms like the one I screenshot. We called them the Mobile. Is it the same thing?

Yes, we always called them huts in the 80s and 90s. Possible regional I guess but the standard name for them in Kent and Midlands where I was.

Apart from the one we did Latin GCSE in which was called The Temple of Apollo. Should have been a Roman god of course but someone was having a stab in the dark.

Bloody loved the hut when I was at school. I was most annoyed we found ourselves back in the main building when we moved up a year.

Thanks for asking. No, it's not for added drama. Actually the Portakabin company are very protective of their trademarked name and send long legal letters to headteachers who do things like refer to other-brand temporary classrooms as 'portakabins' in communication with parents.

So headteachers tend to use other words to refer to "temporary classrooms". Hut is fairly common.

Gillian used Portakabin, I'm wondering if a letter is now winging its way to her.

The audacity of people wanting their kids educated in a fit for purpose classroom inside an actual building, sheer fucking entitlement.

Creased at people blaming Noble instead of the fucking government who have been overseeing this utter shit show and doing fuck all to prevent it.

Absolutely @echt

It's just such brazen "Everything's fine, better than normal in fact, the Tory party knows best - even when it means depriving citizens of basic services and accoutrements of a civilised and well off society❤️"

(No idea how the ❤️ got there!)