Our children have the right to an education.

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So many posts about whether schools will be safe when they reopen but I’m not seeing this point made. Lots of discussion around the childcare that schools provide and the importance on children socially.

My 11 year old has lost all interest and I can’t get him to do anything significant. We’ve had one zoom social with his teacher and classmates. So pretty much zero learning going on.

We know children are less susceptible and there is some discussion around whether they’re transmitting less. The children of key workers (i.e. the ones more likely to catch and spread it) have been at school the whole time and as far as I know there haven’t been massive outbreaks in schools.

So I think I just want to loudly shout: our children have the right to an education.

fandajji
And, no offence to parents, but I would never consider them to be an adequate replacement as an educator.

As a parent I wholeheartedly agree with you!!

Teachers have the right to work in a safe environment. I know many teachers, they're all keen to get back, they find being away from the children and teaching remotely frustrating, and know that not everyone is accessing the work (not through anyone's fault). They would love to be back. The issue is the guidance given to 'keep them safe' is a load of rubbish. The reasonable parts such as smaller class sizes aren't achievable in every school. If you spread them out over classrooms a) there aren't enough rooms, b) there aren't enough staff. Would you be happy if your child was being taught by someone unqualified, while next door the other half of their class had a qualified teacher? They are expected to buy additional sinks out of their budgets, it doesn't normally stretch to buying classroom essentials, so not every school can. The rest of the advice is just to throw tissues away and not wear any PPE. The real issue is that there needs to be fair and achievable guidance before they open, rather than a debate about when. In my opinion if something was put in place today they should go back tomorrow.

@conniedoodle. The TUC affiliate unions have specifically erm told not to engage with discussion about a June reopen until they have decided their approach. Source; their websites. HTH.

Read Section 44 of Employment Rights Act.

I will always put my child’s health and emotional wellbeing before their education.

As will I, and I firmly believe that a return to school ASAP is best for both my children's mental health and emotional wellbeing.

All children throughout the world deserve an education. Globally though there are and have been periods where people, even kids, don't get what they deserve. It's really unfortunate.

Kids will not be going back to education as normal come June. The FE college I work at is preparing for students to be on a part time rota until possibly January. Maybe each student in college for 1/3 of the time and remote learning the rest. Im in Wales so my ds won't be in school before September most likely, and I don't expect it to look 'normal' for awhile. This is all less than ideal, obviously, but it's not the teacher's fault.

Also - what might be different in September is that the R Number might be low enough for long enough that we are actually able to trace and quarantine individual cases and pockets. We are doing so spectacularly badly at managing this virus. Sorry but your child's right to anything right now just isn't the top concern.

With the benefits, on balance, outweighing the minimal risk to their physical health

To note... My BIL is a teacher who is outraged at the prospect of going back to school. He is currently on full pay whilst doing 0 teaching and not having to prep anything for students..

Then report him to his school, he shouldn't be doing nothing, and the vast vast majority are doing plenty.

Totally agree with you OP.

Yes, your child has a right to an education. Due to the current circumstances you are the educator.

When I’m not trained to do so and have to do my full time job on top of that? Yes, obviously that will go well.

Then report him to his school, he shouldn't be doing nothing

There’ll be no consequences though. Plenty of teachers are doing nothing on full pay.

Everyone's right are limited at the moment, for the greater good.

Connie for my subject I offer 3 live teaching hours a week and all students tune into at least one of these. Thinking about it, I wouldn't call then lessons, more like workshops. I offer a casual drop in hour for questions, queries, extra work requests etc, a lesson on the subject that they are learning, this is also sent electronically with my recorded voice over the PowerPoint to all students, and then we do a weekly assessment together, again, this is sent to all electronically. I have a mixture of ability and backgrounds, probably an average representation.

Most have smartphones, tablet or laptop, the ones that don't use their parents phone.
1 very disadvantaged child is in school and uses the school computer. We make sure students have access before anything new is rolled out.

I understand that all schools have different students, but we are doing what we can for ours. And I guess this is where we will see the widened gap at GCSEs. Which is why I want all children in school asap!

Agree totally. As a country we are hugely letting down our children and young people over this. It is absolutely appalling. The risk to children from Covid - even if they have asthma etc is basically zero. The ‘excess deaths’ from the ONS has less children dying at the height of the pandemic than normally expected. That is children are thankfully not vulnerable to this disease. It is serious for the under 70s but not for the under 45s.

twitter.com/victimofmaths/status/1260129619354824704?s=21

But the impact on children’s economic and social development is absolutely huge. For teens, these are their formative years. They need to be out meeting friends, having life-changing experiences and all that is denied because the government consider that it is too ‘socially divisive’ to allow young people to lead their normal lives of older people cannot.

I really worry that teachers will also refuse to return in September even if there is next to no spread of the virus.

and the lack of uproar I see on them for supermarket workers
Thats my point.
Why haven't you made an uproar?
Why do teachers have to make an uproar about every other job? Why can’t you? Why can’t they?

Hospital porters and cleaners do have ppe.

1 very disadvantaged child is in school

And you of course understand how very unusual that it? And not your average school at all.

I agree OP

Education needs to be put at the centre and head teachers/ unions need to put forward solutions as to how this will best be managed. I would envisage a blended model come September would be most sensible. But instead a minority of teachers are anti-zoom and anti-everything. Point that out and they post daffodils.

And the children are the losers sadly. If it is realistic to completely teach remotely I’m open to that but the children need educating.

I’m a primary school teacher and am dismayed at the idea we can’t return until September - I think returning in June is possible but the government need to consider more what that would look like as what they’ve released so far is vague and unclear. I think it’s good the unions are fighting it - they’re not fighting the June return but the lack of thought for the many adults working with children. We are definitely not included in the planning.
We can’t do online teaching as lots of our children have no or little access to the internet so are offering what we can via a learning platform and sending out paper sheets to those we know have nothing.
Also remember that teaching isn’t all about actually delivering lessons believe it or not - we have loads of admin surrounding school responsibilities that has to get done, phone calls to make as part of our duty of care, reports to prepare for summer etc just because you don’t see it, it doesn’t mean your child’s teacher is doing nothing and is sitting at home having a great time.

Not sure what they think will be different in September the virus will still be about, buildings and class numbers won’t be any different
Do they intend to stay off until there is a vaccine?

I do think some feel like this and forget there may never be one Parents are not a substitute for a teacher which is why we have them! And many of us are WFH full time and educating our children at the same time so can't give them the same teaching they need, i have to actually work for my wage

It doesn't matter that the risk to young people is low. The risk to adults is clearly very very high! Kids can spread the disease merrily amongst to each other with, apparently, little consequence. The problem is they are also then spreading it to teaching staff, parents and grandparents and we're right back at exponential growth!

That's why most children are not in school. I really think that everyone hoping for a June return should manage your and your children's expectations too. It might not happen the way you want.

I think all children are entitled to an education obviously.At the same time though ,surely Teachers have a right to be working in a safe enviroment as well?Many young children like to hold hands with their friends, and Teachers ,and close contact is inevitable with supervision of school work in classes really .

I am a teacher (in a secondary setting) and to be brutally honest, I think schools should reopen (goes against everything my union is saying but . . .).
I am not in a high risk category personally and neither are children as a whole - we can go back. Now obviously anyone with an underlying condition should remain off (but that is true of any industry). The mental anguish the children are being put through is torture to witness and I feel it would be more detrimental to keep that going.
You have to remember what it was like to be 14-16 . . . Now take away your ability to see friends or get out of your house. You now have your parents nagging at you to do schoolwork . . . You cannot escape. I'm sorry that I'm in the minority of my profession but I am 100% for them opening.
As for expecting PPE - I can make/ buy my own mask if needed, that's not an issue.
I believe more deaths will be caused by mental health issues than Covid if we aren't careful, so all these parents (and yes I am a parent to a y1 child!) Need to seriously consider how much their child has changed in the last 7+ weeks! My little one has had to learn that she couldn't see her grandparents on her birthday, and cannot hug her friend (saw them by chance on a walk).
P. Schools will not be able to realistically social distance - but we cannot expect them to in all honesty. What we can expect is for them to experience some semblance of normality for roughly 20 days, then it is the summer hols anyway. Those 20 ish days will be the saviour to a lot of children.

Bovary I refer you to Alok Sharma at yesterdays press conference when he suggested that employees who were not happy with the measures put in place re: social distancing etc by their employers contact the HSE.

And stop being so goady.

I've reported this thread as yet another Teacher Bashing thread.

@MNHQ any thoughts other than the complete absence of "Peace and Love" again

But the impact on children’s economic and social development is absolutely huge. For teens, these are their formative years

That's an interesting point. One notable feature of this is that the proponents of maintaining lockdown seem determined to ignore the *costs of lockdown. Anders Tegnell says this:

Mr Tegnell said it would take one to two years to know whose strategy had worked best and at what cost to society. He stressed that Sweden's approach was to look at the 'wide public health matter' in which an important consideration was that 'people should be able to keep a reasonably normal life'

Connie very possible. This is my concern, schools are doing what they can for their students, but for some this seems to be very little. How will this be rectified for national testing? To be fair that's probably a concern that I shouldn't worry about yet, but seeing the educational input from my son's school compared to what's expected at mine, I have major concerns.

Children need to be in school. Teachers need to be alive to teach them. Schools need to be fully staffed without constant illnesses. It's difficult. As a teacher I have had to go in many times whilst feeling at the point of death, it's what was expected. I'm guessing that expectation will go, meaning many teachers might actually take time off for being sick! But then who educated the children.

Such a horrid situation, I just want to be in my classroom with my students. But I am a healthy, young teacher with no family in the at risk group.

The risk to adults is not very, very high. Unions frothing at the mouth is not helpful. Children need to go back and Sweden have the right idea.