What is your school planning to do with the Rec, Y1 & Y6 at lunchtime

[paul2louise]

My school isn't reopening on monday. We have been delayed until 8th. We have been open throughout lockdown for keyworkers children. Roughly about 30 children and 20 cooked meals eaten in dinner hall. As far as I know the reception and year 1 children will be eating cooked dinners in the hall on a bubble rota. I will be supervising 3 bubble groups from reception eat their lunch and then continue supervision outside for the remainder of the lunchtime. Then year 1 will eat after we have left the dinner hall. Year 6 will eat lunch at desks in classroom. I don't know exactly how it will happen as I need to attend a meeting before I start work.
I have been working with keyworkers children and we haven't really been enforcing social distancing up to now. So I have no idea how this will work

What is your school doing. Thanks

@spanieleyes

Why would we? We have breaks and lunchtimes covered, all our staff will have a half hour break in the middle of the day. All classes have 2 adults , we can manage.

That's great. I think the original poster raising the issue was worried about schools with just one adult per class.

Our school bubbles will be eating in the classroom, playing in bubbles on the field. School will be making packed lunches as required, but no hot meals. We have 2 staff in each bubble, so we are covering each other for breaks as required.

@Grasspigeons

Slothbucket - whilst you are having a break from the children - planning and setting up resources is working so you arent having a break if you use your break to do that. You need an actual 20 mins uninterrupted break.

No teacher even gets a 20 minute uninterrupted break. You are either setting up, planning, marking etc. Even when you go to the staff room to eat you usual talk work or someone needs you for something. If you are extra lucky then a child in your class messes themselves and you are asked to go and clean it up.

FlamingoAndJohn - it just amused me that she basically said i need my break to do my work. It was a funny definintion of a break!

Well the very obvious and simple thing to do would be to shorten the school day slightly.

Our LEA has advised we should be offering full time classes as much as is possible, so we are going with that 4 days a week - had a day on a Friday to allow for PPA (needed particularly now as need to prep for the home learning too) and extra cleaning.

Shorter days wouldn't have gone down overly well with our parents I don't think either.

Honestly this "teachers as martyrs" thing doesn't do anyone any favours. I've worked in several schools, and even when I did my PGCE, none of them had a culture of "you can't even get a 20 minute break".

Compared to lots of jobs teachers (in primary at least) do pretty well as they usually get a morning tea break too.

@SandieCheeks I'm happy to not get breaks but I'm surprised you say primary teachers get a break. I get time to have a wee and make a cuppa then I'm back to the classroom to set up. At lunch time I'm sorting out the afternoon of running a club, the staff in my school are much the same. I'm not a martyr that's just how it is! I know next week I'll get no break at all really as we'll probably sit outside and eat with the kids then take it in turns to nip for a wee but that's what we we have to right now so it's fine.

@Justtakeatowel it's certainly a shame that some schools seem to encourage that culture, but also it seems like some teachers have poor time management skills and like to look busy. It's certainly not the norm in my experience.

They will be staying in their classes with their bubbles for lunch.

@SandieCheeks I totally agree that some teachers like to moan all the time that and I always think if they stopped moaning they could get the stuff done!

I work through lunch a lot because I don't want to do as much at home and I run clubs because I enjoy them so I won't change that. It's definitely a culture though of not expecting a break any more.

It was funny when I met a friend for lunch a few months ago (my day off) she was on her lunch break and was out for 2 hours and called it flexi- there are times I feel like leaving just to have a bit of flexibility but you know what you're getting when you join so that's how it is 🤷🏼‍♀️

Oh and when I started teaching I'd get 1 hour 30 for lunch which gave to run a club, prep and spend 30 mins in the staff room. I now get 50 mins so that's part of the problem too

Not fully sure as info from school only days as below. But they had labelled the tables in the hall with bubble names and seem to be keeping the tables out at all times as no agency etc so easier to ensure always distances and cleaned.

Nursery children do not stay for lunch.

For all other children you have indicated a packed lunch of hot lunch. If your child has a packed lunch, they will bring it into the classroom with them, take it to lunch with them and collect it off a trolley (kept outdoors) as they go home.

For a hot lunch, all families must log on as normal through ParentPay for Cypad. They need to select their meal whether they pay for it (Y3-Y6) or if they have a free meal (Reception, Y1, Y2 and children entitled to a free meal in other year groups). Keyworker children will now need to pay for meals as we resume a regular school service again. Week 1 lunch menu is:

@Beebie2 sorry, late back to the thread and just saw your question.

Our YR and Y1 pupils, normally on Universal Free Meals need to bring their own packed lunches from home. Reading this thread, I'm a bit surprised at this arrangement - clearly most other schools are providing them.

We have no pupils in Y6 who are entitled to FSM, so they would be providing their own lunch anyway, or paying for a school lunch under normal circumstances.

You don't have ANY year 6 FSM pupils! Crikey, what do you do with them all😁
We have about 20%, just under our school average.

Government guidance is to provide universal FSM from June 1st as usual.

Sorry if my questions confused. I am not a teaching staff member, I am a lunchtime assistant. I was wondering why the need for hot food that needs to be served, cleared and washed. All involving some contact. I wondered why I need to be in a dinner hall with about 45 children. (3 bubbles). I have other midday staff with me. The teachers are getting a break because we are working. I just wondered why we couldn't have packed lunches too that are eaten outside reducing the child staff contact.

It depends on your own school risks, the needs of your children, the discussion with your food suppliers etc. You should have been involved in some discussion about the provision and your part in this. Not everyone is providing a hot meal but for some this is the only meal they get.

Nothing been discussed. Just that I need to arrive 10 mins earlier than usual and that I have 3 reception bubbles to look after. I can have access to santizer if I am outside. That's all I know. I did try and ask questions but I got told to wait and see and it will all fine.