Schools reopening before May half term?

[Manchestertimes]

What's everyone's opinion on when the schools will reopen? I think they will reopen a few weeks after Easter.

As a teacher I am happy to work part of the summer but I cannot work all the way through from the February break to October. I am still working, in school for key workers and online. I’m in Scotland so we close late June and restart in mid August. I’d love nothing more than to have kids back for even a few weeks, even if that means working through part of July. However, I am going to need some time off and to get into school and set up for the coming academic year. Schools have been left with everything in place from the day we closed. The pencils pots are still on the tables. That takes quite a bit of sorting.
I’d love to have my class back and to start rebuilding but only if it’s safe to do so. We had half our staff off due to the 12 week isolation period before we closed. It was bloody hard to keep going at those staffing levels. We need everyone back safely before we can reopen.

Teachers need to stop justifying why we want time off. If these lot had their way we would be looking after their kids 24/7.

I am hoping schools will go back by June/July. We are assuming our private secondary will start autumn term in August and get them moving quickly with content.

Ours are getting almost normal schedules via zoom and teams. Both knackered though from coping with the change in schedules.

All the posters saying 'cancel the summer holidays and get them back to school in August'...you do realise, don't you, that for us teachers, this isn't a holiday? We are actually working MORE HOURS NOW than before...and 'before' we worked more hours than you could even comprehend! On average, in a week, BC (Before Coronavirus!) I worked in excess of 70 hours a week! Now 'AC' (After Coronavirus), I'm working many more hours than this...so please, think before you make such presumptions! We ARE NOT 'on holiday'! We are still working very, very long hours in incredibly difficult, ever changing circumstances, and we have no idea from hour to hour how the directives from our heads and management teams are going to change how we plan and work. We absolutely appreciate how difficult and frustrating it is for parents (many of us are also parents!!) but it's also difficult and frustrating for us too...we will need our holiday! Remember...we will be working right through now without our Easter or May half term break...it's going to be back breaking for everyone.

Schools ultimately closed because the vulnerable staff were advised to self isolate, meaning there was no longer enough staff to run the schools effectively and safely.

So I think it's very possible that they won't reopen until these vulnerable staff have been vaccinated, so at least a year from now.

Alternatively they may employ a lot of unqualified temporary teachers to fill the gaps from September. This is obviously less than ideal too.

Nope. We are at the start of this.

parents working full time and home educating are working 18 hours days. once schools are back on, it will be 12 hour days with maybe a week of holiday for the rest of the year.
yes, teachers should get a break, maybe 2-3 weeks. but 9 weeks when everybody else is getting none?

myself2020 agreed

People are saying they're struggling with home learning, but want teachers about to forgo Easter holidays to look after key worker children to give up their entire summer holiday as well? Can't you see the irony in that? Teaching is mentally gruelling, as we're all finding out. It can't be done in half measures, as though trying to juggle it with their own work are discovering. Therefore you cannot possibly expect teachers to work every week from their last break, half term just gone in February, until October. What about their mental health???

Thankfully though the unions won't allow it.

I thought this virus was going to come in 'waves'. The first wave is hitting now and there will be two or three more.

It could be that schools don't go back until September or even later.

I think we are waiting for a vaccine. They wanted to go the herd immunity route but were pressurised into abandoning that.

Not that I know anything about these things! I really do hope this isn't the case. I really miss my DGC and I have only held my new born grandson a handful of times. He could be walking before I hold him again. We can all see each other on the portal but it's not the same.

@myself2020 you do realise teachers have families too?? It's not a competition. We don't actually get paid for the holidays, our pay is spread out across the year.

Tell you what, why don’t some of you who want longer holidays do a PGCE?

There’s a teacher crisis after all so you will be welcomed with open arms.

Oh I forgot, some of you can’t even cope looking after your own kids for even a few days

Exactly @Bulb1976

@mintandcoral of course teachers have families. so i expect them to do what everybody else does.

and of course teachers should be paid for it!

Myself has your holiday allowance changed? To fewer weeks

We are actually working MORE HOURS NOW than before...and 'before' we worked more hours than you could even comprehend! On average, in a week, BC (Before Coronavirus!) I worked in excess of 70 hours a week! Now 'AC' (After Coronavirus), I'm working many more hours than this...so please, think before you make such presumptions!

@HaveAtEm I respect teachers, have taught abroad and couldn't do it for life - but these kind of hours are not beyond the comprehension of everyone except teachers. I'm a lawyer and frequently do that kind of time. What's gotten backs up is that most workers will not be taking much of their holidays this year. If you can, great, you should. But please bear in mind that you may be the minority.

I think a lot of people are forgetting that teachers might have their own kids too. I am trying to set work for my secondary school classes, home educate my 6 year old and occupy 3 year old twins. Dh is working from home and has to do conference calls etc throughout the day. Teaching lessons via zoom etc is virtually impossible for me. I am spending my evenings trying to put my normal lesson resources online for students in a way they can follow without me there to help them. At the moment my school is being very sensible about this and saying we can upload stuff to the school website or homework app. I don't know what I shall do if they expect us to teach live lessons online.

@MarshaBradyo My entitlement hasn't changed. My ability to take it absolutely has, because we're running at a lower capacity as it is (due to sickness, parents having to juggle childcare and work etc). Nobody is being granted holiday requests at the moment and I don't expect that to change any time soon.

Screamed why are you not taking your holiday days?

@MarshaBradyo i won‘t be able to take ANY holidays until christmas. my holiday allowance will stay the same, but i won’t be able to take more than about 5-7 days. the rest will just be void.

Screamed Oh right it might change. I know some who have been encouraged to take it now due to lower demand.

Marsha Pretty sure the post you just replied to explains why not. Holiday requests aren't being granted because we're already covering staff shortage and that's anticipated to get worse.

@MarshaBradyo you can’t just take holidays in any normal business. well, you can, but then your position will be made redundant in weeks.

No it’s being encouraged now due to less work. Otherwise it might be redundancy. It’s the opposite problem to yours too many workers.