To think it’s about time @MNHQ stepped up and did something about the teacher bashing.

[SachaStark]

This evening has been AWFUL here on the AIBU board.

@MNHQ, at what point do you actually plan to intervene and do something about the sheer number of teacher bashing threads, and individual posts? Should we expect any kind of moderation?

Or, is this in fact, “all in the spirit of Mumsnet”? Because at the moment, you’re making it look a darn sight like you agree by proxy.

I think that's what schools and unions are hoping by going back to them. That guidelines change to make it possible in a safe way.

Unfortunately though the media just publish that unions and schools, and therefore teachers, just don't want to return.

And it's not true.
Every teacher and TA i know want to be back doing their proper job.

But we want - need - it to be done safely.

Our government were given many suggestions. Most suggested that the youngest years were the worst to return first.
Part time rotas were suggested and guidelines changed to say it should be full time.

What's happening in other countries seems an awful lot safer and better thought out than what our Government has told us to do so far.

But as you say - the guidelines seem to change daily so who knows what the next ones will say.

Goadiest threads, I meant. Not posts. The goadiest posts are atrocious.

And define "safe"

● Temporary partition walls
● Portable washing facilities

These are what my child's primary are doing.

Partition each classroom in half = double the number of classrooms spaces. Social distancing not expected in primaries so no need for huge spaces.

Portable washing facilities can be moved from room to room (washed between) on a Rota by cleaning staff.

Porta loos if needed

Cleaning staff employed all day long.

Well, safer than just putting everyone together and seeing what happens - whilst monitoring the R.

Anyone with any sense knows that the youngest year groups were going to be the hardest to manage in this.

But the government wants people back at work and its those with the youngest children who will struggle with this.

Hence why they're the ones returning.

I would just like the guidelines to be vaguely achievable!

All I've seen covered in the media is that teachers and unions don't want schools opened at all. I would hope there could be broad-based support for part-time, especially if it's working in other countries

The unions are rightly concerned about their members. We don’t want a situation where teachers start dying. It wouldn’t be good for anyone. There is going to be a risk to all staff in schools but it needs to be minimised. Part time will help that. A discussion about PPE would help that and making it available for staff who want it anyway. Ensuring vulnerable and shielding staff are not bullied into school is important. Making sure we are safe will ensure children are safe will ensure wider communities are safe will keep the R down. There is huge potential for this to go wrong. Listening to teachers rather than accusing us of not wanting to,open would help enormously. We want to open but we want to do it with obvious risks minimised.

fate all sounds very sensible and reasonable!

Fate - how big are your classrooms?
That sounds like a fairly reasonable solution for places with big enough rooms.
I really don't think that would work for ours. They're too small for 30 really as it is.

If you partition the class in half, how are the children getting in- unless you have two doors to every classroom?

That’s every school in the country. Right now. Even the private ones.

Except it’s not. DON’T GENERALISE.

I am in the SE. My kids primary academy have been really proactive, efficient, community minded and working massively hard. They started planning for reopen a couple of weeks ago, before any guidelines, trying out different scenarios and setups. They are now ready and waiting for reopen on 1st June.

They used to be a double intake school but last year switched to single intake after years of being undersubscribed. This means they have spare space they can utilise as classrooms. They also have a front and back field, front and back playground and two halls. They also don’t seem to have had any significant staffing shortfall (both me and DH are keyworkers so my kids have been in school at least part of the week since lockdown).

Yes they are doubtless the exception to the rule and in an extremely fortunate position not shared by many or even most schools.

But on a thread that’s heavy on accusations of generalising to excess - please don’t fall into the same trap yourself!

Partition each classroom in half = double the number of classrooms spaces. Social distancing not expected in primaries so no need for huge spaces

There need to be some distancing, otherwise what did we just lock down for?!

Average sized classrooms I would say Aragog. I don't know the square footage but KS2 classrooms house about 32 normally and KS1 about 28.

They are all being halved with partition walls. Plus various other spaces that can be used in school so that certain groups (EYFS, who will naturally be more mobile in their learning) can have larger classrooms.

Schools need to plan for further than just this term. The same measures will be in place for Autumn term as well, possibly (probably) longer.

Guidelines so far suggest the children are full time, not part time. Do schools have to find their can-do attitude to make it work. They can't just bury heads in sand.

After MNHQ have quite rightly sorted out teacher bashing, could they then please deal with the elderly bashing on here. No other 'ism' like racism or sexism is tolerated so why ageism?

The whole daffodil thing makes me cringe so hard I nearly turn inside out. People leaving them seem to think it is a witty retort that puts the poster firmly back in their place. It really doesn’t, it’s childish and silly.

That's the plan - we are looking at solutions.
Unfortunately classroom partitioning wouldn't be feasible in any of our classrooms. The old Victorian classes are high but fairly small.
I don't envy my SLT's job right now that's for sure.

@Rainycloudyday, I would invite you over to the Staffroom to have a look at where the daffodils come from but you clearly aren’t open to other people seeing things differently to you. It is childish and silly to suggest that just because you don’t understand something, it shouldn’t happen. And lots of teachers didn’t like the daffodil thing either but interestingly enough, we are not insulting each other.

I don't think you can stop threads talking about teachers. Not every thread you deem to be teacher bashing actually is. My children don't go to school anymore however during their school years I met some excellent teachers, some incredibly shit teachers but most were somewhere in between the two.

In light of the current situation and what the Government are asking teachers what to do wrt to returning to work I wouldn't do it right now. My son is an A&E nurse. It was weeks before he got the correct PPE, some shifts even now it's a case of making do. We've seen how they've expected carers in care homes and social care to just crack on, not moan and do what the can regardless of the fact that they're caring for elderly people with Covid symptoms. DS1 is a soldier just about to take over the testing of potential Covid patients, they're given a plastic pinny, a face mask and a pair of gloves.

The Govt are very good at sending lambs to the slaughter while they feather their own nests and put money before safety. I hope the teachers put themselves, and the children, first and stand firm on this one.

There need to be some distancing, otherwise what did we just lock down for?!

I am sick and tired of explaining how this works. We need to keep the R below 1. So schools opening might raise the R to say 0.9. But we keep it under 1 by say secondary schools social distancing and still distancing in the community and people wfh if they can. It's a set of measures which you contract and release in order to control the R.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing. There may not need to be distancing in primary schools In order to keep the spread under control. Especially when you consider other measures when cases occur.

What bemuses me about this site is if teachers are such a bunch of useless, feckless, workshy twats, why are so many people so desperate to offload their dc into their care 5 days a week?

"We're working from home and home schooling" cry the masses. Yup, so are 90% of the bloody teachers I know too 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

@TrustTheGeneGenie

Yes, I get it. Secomdary schools are not going to socially distance any more than primary.

There need to be some distancing, otherwise what did we just lock down for?!

Without wishing to take discussion away from schools, but to answer your question we locked down to protect the elderly and medically vulnerable.

COVID-19 is a disease of the elderly:
● More than 99% of deaths are in people over 40.
● More than 90% in people over 60.
● Only 0.05% of deaths are children.
Source (total deaths by age tab)

If you take the school population as a whole group - including all pupils, parents, teachers and other school staff - a massive proportion of the school population are at a very (very!) low risk of death. In primaries lots of staff will be under 40, most under 60. Likewise parents are of younger children are likely to be a high proportion under 40, all under 60. Children are obviously under 19. There are exceptions of course, but the age-related data is unequivocal and repeated in countries all around the globe - mostly the people at risk are old - elderly level old.

We lock down to protect the elderly and medically vulnerable. As long as the elderly and medically vulnerable stay locked down and strictly socially distanced, they will remain protected from their (very real and very frightening) risk of death from COVID-19

After MNHQ have quite rightly sorted out teacher bashing, could they then please deal with the elderly bashing on here

😂

Then they can sort out the cyclist bashing, male bashing, the Boris bashing, the landlord bashing, the NHS bashing, the entitled parent bashing, the dog walker/owner bashing, the stepparent bashing and the benefit bashing. And any other “bashing” that offends anyone.

Or maybe the Thought Police should just close down the site.

I'd hazard a guess that many of the teacher bashing threads come from a place of fear.

Like thousands of other parents, I'm trying to work f/t from home with DH working out of the house, whilst entertaining a 3yo and homeschooling an 8yo. I'm broken.

My eldest's school has been great, with plenty of work set and interaction with the parents. But that still requires assistance from me that I barely have time to give.

I'm frankly just as terrified that there will be no school or childcare until at least September, because the mental health of everyone in my family is going to suffer dramatically, or I'm going to end up losing my job because I have a breakdown or something.

So sometimes messages from teaching unions come across as difficult to stomach, and can sound "can't" rather than "let's try". On the one hand I completed understand why teachers are so concerned about going back to school. On the other hand, every message that childcare or school isn't possible for another four months literally makes me feel sick, when we're broken enough doing this for two months.

I'm sorry teachers feel demonised on MN and I'm sorry they feel criticised. But we could all do well to try and remember the other side of the story too, and maybe see there is a reason for some of the opinions and fear other posters are sharing.

@Howaboutanewname you don't get it if you're asking questions like that. Even if that's the case it only matters that the R is below one.

Unfortunately classroom partitioning wouldn't be feasible in any of our classrooms. The old Victorian classes are high but fairly small.
I don't envy my SLT's job right now that's for sure

I also don't envy SLT. Partitial walls is the only feasible longish term solution I can think of. We have 315 pupils across 14 classrooms normally - so will need 21 classrooms (at least) ready for next school year. Halls could be partitioned into 6 or 8 rooms if not used. Likewise libraries and computer rooms.

Our school is 1950s built. Rooms are very tight for KS2 but when I think about it, they will be removing all unnecessary furnature from classrooms and this will create extra space when the rooms are partitioned. No need for craft cupboards, painting drying racks could go. Most classrooms have tray cupboards all around the wall edges - removing these would create quite a bit of extra floor space for the children to use.

There will be other people thinking outside off the box for other solutions, but partition walls seems sensible to me.