Headteacher has posted this to facebook

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The headteacher at my DCs school has posted this to Facebook. He says that social distancing is impossible and unless we would be happy to let our DC play in a supermarket for hours to 'not even think about' bringing them to school. I have 2 expected back on June 1st. AIBU to keep them off after this?

m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10222994594279008&id=1403891361

Can someone just bloody tell me what to do with my year 6.

Send them in, don’t send them in.

@lilgreen really? You’re the headteacher of a school with a huge public point to make and you don’t proofread your little speech before hitting send?

Laughable.

I agree. It is not show in teaching unions in a good light.

Maybe it is not possible for all schools or all children. They need to look at it properly first. Find solutions. See what they can offer.

The current situation of home schooling, if it will go on for longer than 1 term, is going to need a serious overhaul. That sort of thing takes time too. If they genuinely can't reopen in June, I can't see them opening in September.

They need to sort their profession out.

It happens @Sadie doesn’t it? If that’s what you’re focusing on I despair.

If you knew a scientist that was conducting covid testing and they weren’t sending their DC back, would that influence you?

I think a lot more Headteachers will start rebelling. They haven't been consulted and in most settings it is simply not workable to get children back so soon.

It’s pure politics. No more, no less. It’s from a leftie teacher doing everything they can to obstruct the government.

The risk to children from not educating them, is greater than the risk from the virus in children in my opinion.

By all means keep your kids off, but accept the consequences of doing so.

This virus is going to be with us for a very long time. I think we are all going to have to live with the risk of death.

Vivian Fuchs - one of the early Antarctic explorers made the comment that “ Being alive entails a certain amount of risk, the more alive you are the greater the risk”.

Everyone is going to have to make their own risk assessment.

So many people seem to think schools etc are closed so that we all avoid ever catching the virus. That's never ever been the aim. For most, it is not dangerous. And those who are at risk of serious problems would still be shielding

www.tes.com/news/teacher-safety-debate-needed-says-chris-whitty

I think it’s amazing that he posted it.
He clearly cares about the school.

Good on that head teacher.

Just read the post. If it's legit, I'd be sacked on the spot for posting that on social media - even though I have a stealth profile, never mind visible to all.

I get it. I do. But there are better places for professionals to vent.

@lilgreen actually I never mentioned his spelling. But a professional headteacher should have the attention to detail and composure to check his work before “handing it in” - as you would hope he’d expect from his own pupils.

@Littlegoth no medical professional went into their role expecting to be exposed to it either. Ffs. Cancer nurses dont catch cancer. A heart surgeon doesn't catch a heart attack.

The point a PP made about it being the children of the less educated who will miss out and suffer most is very true. Most of my friends and acquaintances are doctor, lawyers, engineers, vets etc and they all want schools to reopen. Not because they want the childcare, but because they are able to understand and balance the relative risks, they understand the purpose of the lockdown and they really value education.

At the end of the article in my link above, Patrick Vallance says not all pupils are going back so that we can see the impact of some returning. But in gov guidelines to schools we are told they want whole schools back for a month before summer holidays. That means 3 weeks of safety measures of sorts then crowded schools again. How is that enough time to measure the impact?

If they only have capacity for half the children at a time, then do as they are doing in other European countries and have children attend alternate weeks.

@SpanishFly

There will be vulnerable teachers, vulnerable pupils, vulnerable people that the teachers and pupils will come home to - not extremely vulnerable so they don't quite meet the criteria for shielding but still with underlying health conditions that will cause serious complications - so not everyone at risk is able to shield (obviously I dont disagree with those at high risk shielding but it is naive to think everyone else is healthy and not high risk - there were initially 3 levels - healthy, at risk (which also included the over 70s) and the very high risk (the shielding group).

@Kleeo but they’re not planning that, they want them all in full time by 17/6.

This is because it’s driven by the economy as parents would find it hard to work alternate weeks. None of this is about our children.

Teachers will die.

Most of my friends and acquaintances are doctor, lawyers, engineers, vets etc and they all want schools to reopen. Not because they want the childcare, but because they are able to understand and balance the relative risks, they understand the purpose of the lockdown and they really value education.

Right, yeah. And everyone else is just a thicko who doesn't understand

Honestly, what a load of pish. I'm not one of your highly educated, I still understand risk and value education.

Don't look down your nose at people like me for no reason.

If they only have capacity for half the children at a time, then do as they are doing in other European countries and have children attend alternate weeks.

The government want small classes of 3 year groups for 2/3 weeks, then the rest of primary back.

@lilgreen does it say they have to be in full time?

The government clearly said only three age groups will return in June if infection rates continue to decline over the next few weeks. They’re not declining so far, in fact the death rate went back up yesterday so I doubt schools will return in June.

I’m a teacher and I’ve always said staged return will happen from September. The government were being far too ambitious saying June.