School not re opening

[Onone]

Just that really,just had an email from my daughter’s school to say that they won’t be opening on 1st June, don’t know when it will either,Thanks to the mayor of our town,I’m quite upset for my daughter,Hardly any cases in my town

[FlamingoAndJohn]

@lockdownlethargy

Thanks I get it now I think. So what happens in September when/if all children go back? Are we saying that only 15 kids per class can only be in at any one time? What happens to the other children? Will they prioritise learning in the classroom or online at home?

Who knows. I’m sure our amazing government will have a wonderful plan which will be communicated to schools ahead of telling the entire country. /sarcasm/.

[PickUpAPickUpAPenguin]

This is a genuine question - When they say they don't have enough staff what exactly does this mean?

Maybe the teachers have children not in reception, y1, y6? Maybe the teachers with kids that age can't cover the days that their reception, y1 and y6 aren't at school because of the rule that some councils have about not using more than one childcare setting?

[Onone]

I just don’t see what’s going to change from now till September?,the school was all set to open but someone stuck their nose in,at the start we had weekly phone call from school but nothing for 5 weeks now

[Aragog]

Why do so many teachers have health conditions that mean they can’t work? Surely working in close proximity with kids isn’t a good idea in normal times if you have severe health issues ?


My health condition and medication (it's the medication that affects my immunity and makes me more likely to be ill from
Cv if I got it) doesn't normally affect the way I work. Most parents wouldn't know I had it unless they'd seen me during a flare up. I take a lot of medication daily to reduce the way it affects me day to day. But that medication is what may cause a potential issue.

Lots of teachers and TAs have asthma which again doesn't necessarily affect their normal day to day life.

Or should I have handed my notice in the day I was diagnosed?

[AddedHiccup]

My children’s school has already sent a letter home to say that if some classes do go back then we won’t be getting the same online learning at home as they won’t have the staff to do both.

[Sazzle7510]

Three of my colleagues are diabetic. It's a secondary - but still, that's 90 children they can teach in three classes of 30. I know two staff are pregnant. That's 60 more children. So 150 children without five teachers, now you need ten to teach them. I'll be going back, but I live with my father who is 75. His health means he doesn't need shielding, but I'm just telling you this because behind each teacher is a network of stories. We leave the classroom and have lives and health issues beyond it, however every day.

[PickUpAPickUpAPenguin]

Aren't pregnant women told to stay at home?

[Mummyoflittledragon]

The government isn’t coordinating this by the sound of it. I can’t remember which country was on the news but they had opened overflow classes up in suitable buildings such as village halls. Idk why this isn’t being proposed in the U.K.

[Aragog]

When they say they don't have enough staff what exactly does this mean? They did on March 20th


Half the class size means double the number of staff and double the number of classrooms.

On the 20th March it was class sizes of 30.

[ChilliCheese123]

Aragog where did I say that you shouldn’t be doing the job?

Literally where ?

[AddedHiccup]

And on March 20th you didn't have to have two adults. Just one.

I haven't seen any data on how "teaching has a higher proportion of people with underlying or chronic illnesses" but it seems unlikely.

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

Schools do not operate with a surplus of teachers. 99.9% will be working a full timetable with a few PPA sessions scattered throughout the week.

I really don’t understand given all the debate we have about how tight school budgets are that some posters think that the staff room is full of spare teachers/TAs/cover supervisors drinking coffee.

Therefore as schools operate on the minimum number of teachers possible it only takes a few no shows for chaos to descend.

Supply staff will be now be able to pick and choose for a while. They have had slim pickings since secondaries started to recruit cover supervisors.

[Aragog]

Your comment seemed to suggest that you didn't think people with health conditions dictions should teach normally, that it might not be a good idea.

[Mummyoflittledragon]

@nonwonderwoman

My DS school have said the same. He’s in YR in an infant school and once they have small classes for the few nursery kids, key worker and vulnerable kids there no roommates for any other children. I live in Surrey and I’m hearing there are many many school who have made the same choices. I think it’s outrageous that children won’t be provided with an education for over 6 months.

Tbh I’m not outraged children in YR aren’t getting an education. These children will catch up. As we know many countries don’t start formal education until around 7.

I’m outraged years 10 and 12 weren’t the first to go back. I’m also surprised some other countries were able to get children to take their exams remotely and we were not. And I don’t have a dc in that age category.

All of these measures to me should be governmental decisions rather than local.

[Saladmakesmesad]

They’re halving classes and creating two from each but don’t have double the number of teachers.

Whoever could have predicted this would be a problem?!

[GrandAltogetherSo]

Our Primary school won’t be opening until September (Ireland) and depending on what measures are in place, we might not send DS even then and continue home schooling instead.
Hopefully, by August, things will be clearer.

[Whattodo121]

I teach in a large state secondary. We have I think 120 members of staff-we are so tightly scheduled that there is very little flex in the timetable - if 5 people are off on the same day it causes real timetabling headaches.

I have asthma which is managed well, I very very rarely have time off. Normally my immune system is cast iron-not caught a sickness bug in 15 years of teaching, normally get one cold/bug per year.

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

@Mummyoflittledragon - think it was Denmark.

We need

• to be able to book/pay for building
  
• get risk assessment approval
  
• need aporop

[middleager]

Our MAT secondaries are currently assessing part time provision only for Sept.

Mine will be y10 with early GCSEs, but there's nothing any of us can do about this - we are all impacted and I'll manage my expectations accordingly.

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

Need appropriate number of staff
Etc

[luckylavender]

Lots of teachers shielding or vulnerable, living with or caring for people shielding or vulnerable.

[PickUpAPickUpAPenguin]

With regards to the staff issue, bubbles are allowed to be headed by a TA in June but it's not clear if that will be legal in September. Parents will obviously prefer a teacher over a TA in September

[lockdownlethargy]

Again a genuine question - so if teachers can't come in how long do they not come in for? They can't be off forever?

[spanieleyes]

We can't even just halve our classes, we have 40 per year group and classrooms which can only fit 8-10 at a pinch with anything even remotely approaching distancing.

[AIMD]

Why is your school not opening? Is it because they can’t adhere to the guidance given or lack staff etc. If that’s the case then I think it’s a reasonable decision.

As for September I assume the guidance will be changed by, because there unlikely many schools could manage with all their children and following the current guidance .