Headteacher has posted this to facebook

[NameChangeAgain111]

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

I agree that it is irresponsible and unprofessional. No doubt there are logistical problems to resolve. The appropriate professional place to discuss and resolve these is with the governors and the education authority. Not posting wildly hysterical misinformation about doom and disaster on social media. Every time children wake up they face some degree of risk. Parents cannot and do not even consider wrapping them up in cotton wool to avoid every possible risk. The risk of this disease is minimal for children, and there are scarier things in your house.

I am sure they can do alternate days, look to the rest of Europe to see what they are doing?

Well there’s a bloke who was desperately hoping to be off till September...

And yet he isn't off as most every school has been open to look after the kids of key workers...
What stupid thing to say.

Why is it that when someone posts truths or information that inconveniences a person, the first response from some is "report him immediately it's unprofessional".

He's providing information that might help some parents make a judgement.

If you're desperately waiting for a school to open so you can fling your "DCs" back into the arms of someone else, then I guess his post is irritating.

For the rest of us, I just read it as advice from an experienced professional. It's still up to me to process that and make the right decision for my children.

Why anyone would want to get someone sacked for helping you think is just depressing.

600 deaths did not occur yesterday. They were counted yesterday

Heads like this are the reason vulnerable children are not being sent to school as the parents are too scared. Vulnerable children are coming to real harm in this country right now because of lockdown

No, the reason why vulnerable children are not being sent to schools is because the government has said that if they can be safely looked at after at home, they should be, In addition, at the moment, social workers cannot legally compel parents to send their children to school.

We are recording pupils who are expected to be in school but are staying at home through the LA’s online tracker. Children who are staying at home have been risk assessed by children’s services. We have some of our vulnerable children in school, but not all.

If you have evidence that any child is coming to “real harm”, you need to contact your LA children’s Services and report your concerns.

@Moondust001

How is his post "wildly hysterical" ....?

That word is way overused on here, and tends to be used when people don't like what someone's saying and try and paint them out as unhinged.

He's actually posted the facts of how he has to administer education using the facilities he has.

People don't like the facts and what it forces them to contemplate about their child's safety, hence we get all these posts about "he should be sacked" etc

Personally I don't think disliking someone's opinion should be grounds for getting them the sack.

I think the head teacher is right. How on earth are schools supposed to create new classrooms to accommodate all children if class sizes are supposed to be no more than 15.

Though why I’m surprised I don’t know.

Unless he's a public health expert then he has no business deciding whether schools open or not. Unfortunately dementors exist in the teaching profession too - in high numbers apparently.

And you'd think he'd be able to spell "trolley".

Keeping children away from school until appropriate measures are in place to prevent them from infecting other children is for the protection of all of us.

Considering the vaccine could be a year away, how do you propose a decent education is given to children??

The risk of the disease is minimal in children, but there are adults in schools, and every child goes home to a family of adults etc etc etc. Why does this even have to be explained? A school is not a self contained bubble.

The issue is that the guidelines are ill thought out. There was a great push for 'something; to happen and be sorted and so the government rushed into it. Again.

Where’s the ‘common sense’ we’re all supposed to use now?

Most unprofessional thing I've seen on Facebook.

Not expected 1st June. If safe on 1st June. If numbers havd dropped further. If R is down. Lots of ifs.

They haven't given no notice. They've given 3 weeks. For individual schools to work out how this might work for them. Based on their kids, building and staff.

There will never be 100% certainty that it is safe. That's life. Assess, plan and work it out. Don't throw your toys out of the pram on social media.

Or actually what GinDaddy said. Every word.

@tilder

How is it "the most unprofessional thing you've seen"...? That seems a bit hyperbolic if you don't mind me saying?

We hear from health experts all the time. Some NHS senior medics have publicly shared major concerns about PPE and handling cases during the crisis. Their concerns should help inform rational decision making.

I think in short there are a lot of people who don't want to think about how a school will provision for this and what it might mean for their DC's health.

They just want their children back into school, asap. No questions asked.

Anyone who gets in the way of that is "fearmongering" no matter how credible the argument or how deep their experience runs in the profession.

Well there’s a bloke who was desperately hoping to be off till September....

Are you on glue? He's not been off work, the last few weeks will have been the hardest of his career.

he should be fired for gross misconduct?

I've asked several times for one of the people who wants this man sacked to quote the teaching standards he's broken sufficiently to warrant immediate dismissal.

Our head has been at school everyday since this started.

They just want their children back into school, asap. No questions asked.

This seems to be a common theme with people on here. I just can't help but wonder why they're so keen to get their kids back.
They say kids.mental health, education etc. I fear it's basically money they care about and having to care for their own child has caused then to lose a bit of cash.

It will surely be safer to go back now and send everyone back in september, for the sake of the NHS being able to cope.

go back now not wait til September is what I am trying to say

@GinDaddyRedux

At no point did I say he should be sacked. You see, even your response is wildly hysterical! His actions in posting what is unprofessional. Any professional knows that that there are appropriate ways to manage matters of concern. Likening school to allowing your children to run around a supermarket?

Besides which, he has an entirely fascinating online presence. He's an "expert" on schools - probably wants the rest of the year off to spend his time promoting his other job as a highly paid educational consultant who, amongst other things, will probably be advising people on how they should reopen their schools!

The headteacher has behaved unprofessionally IMHO.

He may well feel he cannot make his school safe for teachers and pupils- and if so, that is what he should say in a calm and measured way.

Though I think many people don’t seem to understand the risks. The issue is not the children going back- especially primary aged- because the data we have shows us that if they do get the virus, children tend to either have no symptoms or a mild illness (unless they have an underlying health problem or are very young). They also appear not to spread in anything like the way adults do- presumably to do with viral load but may well be other factors to do with precisely how the virus works. So, you’re children are actually reasonably safe at school (provided they have no underlying health problems). The issue is the safety of teachers who they may pass it onto (though lower risk than if the teachers were working with adults) and yet adults who they may pass it on to at home.

Personally, I would be happy to send my child to school in terms of their safety. I think it is going to be challenging, though not impossible, for schools to find a way to make schools safe for teachers.

‘Good job nurses have not done the same’

But teachers aren’t nurses. The two are nothing alike.

I am in awe of nursing and other medical professionals but their job involves dealing with sick people and the potential risks that come with that. Same with the police, fire service and other blue light careers.

Teachers don’t go into teaching with the understanding they may be putting their lives at risk, and it’s completely unreasonable for anyone to expect them to do so in this sort of situation.

That’s an ignorant view. What about the train drivers and bus drivers that get people to work. Supermarket workers and so on.

It’s a poor excuse nobody wants a pandemic anymore than you do.

Is it unprofessional or is he whistleblowing?

Sounds to me like he tells the truth. Realistically kids are not going to social distance at at school. The risk of them getting it, spreading it, bringing it home, causing an explosion in the local population is pretty high.