To think this school's plan won't work

[Poppi89]

I work in a secondary school ( not as a teacher) and we have been kept up to date by email and zoom staff meetings.

There has been a lot of talk of when we will re-open and what will happen as like most schools it was very stressful closing the school and not being prepared so they are trying to put plans in place and keep one step ahead.

Due to a lot of parents in the area wanting the school to re-open and for life to go back to 'normal' they think the government might re-open schools sooner rather than later maybe before May half term, so the school has put in place an outline of what will happen:

• School will re-open but will continue sticking to the guidelines of social distancing - as this is not possible in a school with full capacity students will be split into halves or thirds to ensure they are spaced far enough away from each other. This means that the kids will only be in 1/2 days a week.

• Due to adults spreading the virus more than children (it seems) they don't think all staff should be in each day. So will be depending on parents to do a rota system - so one qualified member of staff to 2 parents to supervise.

Does anybody else think the school would be better to remain closed if this is the case?
It seems they won't be learning much and the risk of getting the virus will still be high.

I do get that this is the best plan they have come up with to keep everyone happy. My DD is missing her friends and wouldn't mind going back to school a couple of days a week and I guess it will be easier for parents to get back to work but I would rather wait until June/July at the earliest as surely the NHS is still overwhelmed.

What do you guys think?
AIBU - thinking this isn't a good plan

@BlessYourCottonSocks - so many threads on here are talking about what schools have said so I don't know why mine would be any different. I was asking for advice as I don't agree and wanted to see what other people thought about this potentially going ahead before I said anything at work.

you can be easily identified by the fact that your head teacher is the only professional in education who doesn't know anything about safeguarding and seems to think he can get random people without an enhanced DBS check into school to supervise his students.

I have worked in a few schools without a DBS or up to date DBS check - I am not allowed on my own with the pupils until it comes through.

At my DDs brownies group all parents need to help supervise - I don't think many of them are DBS checked but they aren't alone.

If you think I am lying then please feel free to remove yourself from the tread and not listen.

If the children are only in for 1 or 2 days a week then what is the point?
It’s not really education because 1 day a week is close to pointless. Parents can’t really go back to work with 1 day a week.

Have they seen how secondary kids behave? They can't not touch each other. The idea of impeccably behaved kids sitting at desks 2m apart is cloud cuckoo land. Plus, do schools have the space?

Poppi89

Parents are working at home. I am one, my job can be done fully at home.

But if my job couldn’t be done at home for me to be able to work - schools would have to schedule my children to be in school on the same days so I could go to work? Primary and secondary. And the same for every parent despite having multiple children of different ages. As if.

I think education is not really the point as I can't see them getting much - it's more to get them to go back to 'normal', have some interaction with other people, let their parents have a day or 2 at work instead of none.

@puffinandkoala - I am wondering if they have heard this and that is why they are rushing to put something in place. As before today it seemed like it would be end of May/June.

How will that work? What about parents who work? What about parents who are shielding or vulnerable? What about parents who have caring responsibilities?
The parents can't teach so what's the point of them being in?

And these teachers who are back teaching full time, they are also creating online learning for the lessons they are doing in school? Because if not the curriculum is being halved and the kids have nothing to do on their non-school days.

Parents doing a rota system? Yeah right.

@RedHelenB - all the staff say this all the time. The boys, in particular, don't stop touching each other all day!! It is not going to be possible to efficiently social distance in school that's why a lot of the staff wanted the schools to close in the first place.

OP, I've reread the thread but can't see where you've answered this -

@OneMomentInHistory *
I don't understand the parent supervisor bit. If they're social distancing in a classroom, how are they going to have enough kids in that room that it takes more than one adult to supervise? Unless you're going to have one teacher teaching a huge hall or something*

Because I can't see the logic of parent helpers either. With half the kids in to maintain SD and a staff member required to oversee them, why do you need extra adults?

As I've said I don't think the schools will be re-opening for educational purposes but for childcare purposes or to get some normality back. At the moment they are not open for educational purposes, they are a childcare setting to supervise only.

I don’t see the point in going for 1/2 days

They do know many parents have more than 1 child so their children will end up going on different days?

Volunteer parents??? Can't imagine you'd get many for this.
And it's not ok for volunteers to take a risk that paid teachers don't want to.

I don't think schools should be setting their own plans. The curriculum is set, dfe should have been using this time to develop full and effective learning resources for each part of the curriculum that all schools could have free access to.

Teachers can then support that learning/provide feedback/support children that just don't get it. It would have been a great leveller as everyone would have access to the same resources.

Same for the decision at school. Government should be protecting working parents for the duration (working from home protected so people can continue to provide childcare without being penalised).
Then year 7 and 8 remain at home for the duration until scientists are satisfied its safe/public reassured.

Year 9 go in one day a week split classes to do maths/English/science, then work online at home for rest. Year 10, 2 days a week with online lessons the rest of the time and year 12 two days a week.

But I don't work in schools so no idea if that would actually work

This thread feels like a poorly disguised info grab of factors required to produce potential models for school return.

I have worked in a few schools without a DBS or up to date DBS check - I am not allowed on my own with the pupils until it comes through.

Why would I need a parent in my classroom to help me?

If the teacher is in - and we are going for social distancing - then an extra adult, without a DBS check, is simply an extra germ carrier and of no use whatsoever in that room.

I cannot fathom what these parents are supposed to be doing? If the teacher is in the classroom then they don't need a parent volunteer. If the teacher is not in the room then they CAN'T use a parent volunteer.

@Craiglang - I have not put this plan in place so I do not know the ins and outs of it - the school barely knows themselves as the government guidance changes all the time. What I know is what I said. Apart from there has been evidence that masks are efficient and so the school is hoping the government will provide masks for schools.

Many of the staff will not be able to come in due to shielding. If only half the pupils were in it would mean ratio-wise all able staff would need to come in. If all available (not shielding) staff were to come in at the same time there is a higher risk they would get sick at the same time and not be able to go into work - therefore there would be too many kids per adult. - does that make sense?

I think it stems from the last 2 weeks of school lots of staff were off ill/shielding - meaning classes had to be doubled (not good for social distancing) but the teacher of the double class was not only at a high risk of the virus but also stress which can also end up meaning they need time off.

Why is it better to have parents in than teachers?

And these are parents who already don’t volunteer or supervise 🙄

In the paper, published in the British journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, the researchers said: 'Notably, the rate of infection in children younger than 10 years (7.4 per cent) was similar to the population average (6.6 per cent).

Although several German states have said that children under the age of 7 do not need to wear face masks.

@2ndStar - it basically is that.
I do not agree with this idea being put forward which is why I wanted advice as I don't know an alternative plan so I don't want to share my feelings to them if I was being unreasonable. Some people have said their schools are doing similar/different things which are good to know and bring forward to the staff meeting.

Parents instead of teachers. Really?

Better get working on those dbs checks then.

That is because they are children, no other reason. They don't have to in many places because they are likely to tug at them etc. and this defeats the purpose. It' not an epidemiological reason.

You are also not recommended to wear them if you have asthma.

It is not better to have parents over teachers but if there are not enough teachers they would need other adults.

Many support staff are used to being around pupils but not in sole charge of them so other adults in the room are better to help supervise.