Secondary Teachers, what do you think about going back to school for the last term with social distancing?

[sunshineanddaffodils]

My year 8 and year 10 dc are in the best possible situation at this point. Both have their own computer, space to work, pretty good home learning from school and both are cooperating. However, I am so worried about the impact being off school until September will have on them socially, on their mental well-being let alone the academic side of things. When I think about dc who are less fortunate than mine I feel so anxious and concerned. I’d be so happy to see some sort of phased return to school as soon as possible really. Looking at the stats I’m not concerned about the health any of the dc or staff at the school although obviously wouldn’t expect anyone in the vulnerable categories or dc of the vulnerable to be expected to return (there’s only one teacher at at their school who is shielding because he’s diabetic). I think school should reopen and the vulnerable remain isolated so the virus cannot be passed on to them if dc fo pick it up at school.

It isn’t just about the severity that children are affected though. According to last night’s briefing, our current policy involves reducing the spread between households. How do you do that with schools open normally?

I'm a teacher and was in school for 2 days last week with only 4 children. It was so hard to social distance. This is infants school though, it might be easier at secondary.

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=amp.abc.net.au/article/12185582&ved=2ahUKEwjwnouW7oXpAhUyTRUIHR4lDJQQFjAGegQIBhAL&usg=AOvVaw0SEKYN0sLy7Ta3Kc2ZQ2S5&ampcf=1

@cardibach They made the decisions in Australia based on concluding students are not high risk of infecting teachers.

It is impossible to do social distancing in a school

Everylife I’m a teacher and I don’t think social distancing can work in schools. However, I also think they can’t stay shut indefinitely. It’s a proper conundrum, but they do need to be more open than they are now (they aren’t closed) for mental health reasons as much as economic ones.
I hope someone has some clever ideas...

Theres going to be one term left before summer break. I can't see how appropriate measures can be put into place for the points made above. Better to keep the kids safe and flatten the curve.

You again Op? !

How would the children staying in one room and the teachers moving round work for Computer Science / art / chemistry etc

I think Australia's plan seems the most sensible. PPE or social distancing wont work in primary anyway. So the best option is to have smaller groups mixing. Packed lunches in class rooms and no parents allowed on site.
However numbers are much lower in Australia we are not ready yet.

@lazylinguist Absolutely - on the last day before we shut I had to deal with pupils refusing to move away from one another, deliberately coughing on each other and one who swore at me and walked out of class because I told him not to share his bottle of water with his friend.

Lots of state schools are not providing the level of teaching my school and other private ones are, many are doing nothing live

You don't have to be doing live lessons in order to provide decent work. Imo the reason private schools are doing live lessons is that they are desperate to look like they are still earning the fees. I work for a private school as well as several state schools, dh is head of my dc's state school and BIL teaches in a private school. Only the private ones are teaching live, but I am very happy with my dc's non-live provision, and they are very relieved not to be doing live lessons.

many are doing nothing live and simply using the gov lessons for example.

That’s what they’re there for

@ChinnyReckon123 then we’re into deciding how high a risk of transmission we are prepared to accept. As I’ve said in other posts, I can see schools can’t stay closed for ever - I don’t even want them to be. We do need to accept social distancing won’t happen, even with small numbers (I go into a hub school and even with 7 children it doesn’t happen) and think about where the risks lie. Testing, contact tracing and antibody tests will be vital. I think I’ve had it - with a reliable antibody test I could find out if my antibody count is high enough to protect me and then there’d be no issue at all.

To me, the live lessons could actually widen the attainment gap as pupils can’t pick them up when they’re able to. We have pupils who have to share devices with parents/siblings, ones who are young carers and can’t be online at set times, etc. If I provide all the resources for pupils to work through at their own pace and at a time when they can access them, it’s much better for them.

Would it be impossible for the adults to socially distance from each other?

Not really no, schools aren't big enough for starters...we have three staff in my classroom for us to stay 2 metres away from each we'd pretty much have to stand in three different corners of the room

Also I work in SEN and we sometimes have to restrain children this can take 2 or more staff so we couldn't social distance in that situation either

We've 1000 kids in a school that was probably built for around 700. Most come by public transport. Totally impossible to socially distance

Andrew Marr asked Dominic Raab a similar question today. Raab's answer, obviously not being able to go anywhere specific, amounted to they're going to have to think of ways to keep social distancing in place. Because, as he said, the issue isn't with the children - who may be very unlikely to get Covid 19 badly (according to the science at the moment).

The problem is that little Jane's dad has asymptomatic Covid, she sits next to little John who picks it up from her and takes it home to his mum - who is a key worker or to gran who he lives with.

I work in a secondary school which is a hub for key workers at the moment. We have 100 pupils from primary and secondary combined in the school at present. To socially distance we've had to have no more than 10 in each class, parents have to provide a packed lunch which the kids eat in situ.

I was saying to DH that a rough estimate for pupil places, if we kept to social distancing would be about a third in at any one time.

So normally we have 2000 pupils in our school. Divide that by an average of 25 pupils per class (allowing for some being 32 pupils, some SEN classes being just 18) and you get 80 classes taking place each day. Multiply that by 10 children per class for social distancing and you have 800 pupils in at any one time. Which means either split days or 1 week in x number in school.

And that would also help solve the issue of secondary children who travel - I wouldn't want to be the driver of a bus rammed with kids on two journeys a day, five days a week.

But if, as Raab is hinting, social distancing measures are needed in schools, you won't have 2000 kids all back at the same time.

The alternative is using different venues, like town halls, church halls, leisure centres, to take overspill classes from the 800 in our case. But you'd have to find accommodation for 1200 per week to enable us to socially distance AND have every child in school every day, every week.

I don't see how you can social distance in schools.

I think you could mandate wearing of masks and send home at lunch time.

I also think there is a potential mental health time bomb for our teens which long term could be more devastating for that age group than the virus.

The alternative is using different venues, like town halls, church halls, leisure centres, to take overspill classes from the 800 in our case. But you'd have to find accommodation for 1200 per week to enable us to socially distance AND have every child in school every day, every week.

But how would you staff it?

People have to be safe . Everybody

It’s about more than safety. It is about all children getting the education they deserve. Too many parents of children with conditions such as asthma and type 1 diabetes will potentially be forced into making a decision between not putting their higher risk child in a dangerous set up and them not having an education or giving them the education and risking serious illness or death. These are people with conditions who will go on to live productive and long lives. They don’t deserve to be disadvantaged in this way.

Moreover, many teachers will feel they can’t be in school because of their own underlying conditions or those of their family members. It cannot be seen as some kind of collateral damage that either teachers resign en masse or they and their families die en masse. If we are nervous about restrictions on life going forwards, the technology required to keep tabs on our movements, we should also be nervous about potential new....laws? Which allow people ‘at risk’ to be removed from their jobs. We are so on the edge of that ‘brave new world’ that those of us who are less than perfect risk being seen as expendable. In every possible way.

Same amy65 I’m in SEN too. In our Primary and EYFS classes this involves personal care and changing nappies. How on earth can you do that from 2m away?

@CheriLittlebottom - As I posted I thought 'now that's a daft thing to type because you won't have enough staff' - so strike that idea!

I’m not concerned about the health any of the dc or staff at the school

Charming
DH is a secondary teacher. I don’t really fancy him bringing corona into our house with our our vulnerable DC. MIL is diabetic and has COPD and my mum has cancer. Why are is the education of your children more important than the health of my family?

Seems there is no workable, practical solution..So we wait until, when? Next year, Spring? Sept too early?

I can see how difficult social distancing would be so maybe sending them all back would be the best approach considering how those under 20 seem to be very low risk. Maybe concerned staff could use some sort of PPE?

I haven't read beyond this point, children maybe low risk but about vulnerable people they have to come home to? (I dont mean shielding but those who are still not at full health/have underlying conditions)? How are they to be protected?