To think the idea that schools won’t be back full time by September is an absolute disgrace?

[LovingLivingInLockdown]

The government and teaching unions need to pull their fingers out. There should be no excuses.

The effects of 6 months out of school is going to be damaging enough, both educationally and mentally for hundreds of thousands of children. Not to mention the unnoticed abuse and neglect.

Teachers should be wearing PPE with spit screens if they are vulnerable and this should be being organised now. Temporary classrooms should be being built in playgrounds and school fields. Random testing routines in all schools should be being devised as well as guidelines regarding children’s contact with others outside of school and home. Whatever it takes, it must be done.

Our society expects parents to work while their DC are at school and if they want to get the economy moving again, schools being back by September should be non negotiable surely?

You are getting a load of stick, but actually this roughly describes how many (most?) countries organize their curricula. Some counties even have standardized textbooks (Finland included. Yes, really!).

This might all be great (and would especially be useful now) but to be fair to those of us explaining the current situation:
(1) this is not a teacher or even headteacher's choice, it is a government one
(2) it does not exist now and wishing it did does not help out teachers right now

I think a clearer national framework and guidance in many subjects would be helpful. I mentioned further back in the thread that I am currently (in amongst everything else) working on our school geography plan. Now, I can see the advantage of some local tailoring in geography - if you have canals / farms / rivers / mountains, or whatever, you will want to incorporate that. But it is undoubtedly bonkers that I am spending time defining climate zone and biome and choosing which ones with which names to teach across the school e.g. will we say alpine, mountains or highlands. In fact, nationalising some of that would also help children who move between schools as well as saving time.

All that said, teachers coping with the pandemic now can only cope from the position we are currently in. If people want this to change, they need to lobby government and not blame us.

No non staff in schools at the moment.

I think every teacher on here has said they want life just to go back to normal

This. And every teacher I know in RL, and all the teachers whose non-teaching partners I've met. Every one.

echt I have actually, on more than one occasion.

@pigeon999

It is okay for all of the rest of us to be 'at risk' all the way through the whole pandemic. Police officers, fire officers, healthcare professionals, the judiciary, food production and distribution. Many, many sectors at real risk of infection working day in and day out throughout.

And yet for some strange reason teachers think they are above everyone else, they are a special case, that even FIVE MONTHS after the peak they STILL can't manage to work or open properly.

You simply could not make it up.

But they still expect to be cared for by doctors, have food in the cupboards, police officers to respond and everyone else to carry on regardless, just not them????

So you are simply hostile to teachers full stop. It might have been less of a waste of time if you'd said so honestly from the outset.

??????

OK, once last try!

PIGEON-teachers can't open schools normally because they aren't allowed to. Do you not understand that?

@pigeon999 come on now, even the majority of Mumsnet now know teachers are back working as fast as the government allows and it's the restrictions from government that are the problem. Those kinds of posts don't work any more - the dog whistle has broken!

Well please everyone write to your MP (super easy, you can just email) and ask them to stop the nonsense regarding bubbles and social distancing to get the children back

I'm slowly becoming galvanised into doing the opposite and emailing mhy MP to suggest that it would be a real risk to the elderly in her constituency to have hordes of virus-ridden asymptomatic children ior teachers loose in the area, and that I hope she will do her utmost to make sure that schools stay shut until they are able to meet strict social distancing criteria.

She's an ex-nurse, so should be able to grasp the issues, and a Tory so relies heavily on the oldies and boomers to keep her marginal seat.

All the RL teachers I know are as sad about this current state of affairs as we are, it is only on threads like this you see the other side.

I rather think that pigeon999's recent appearance on MN has made the shit blood rush to their head.

We looked at getting portacabins, £50,000 per room plus installation. Funding rejected for that too. We have been told we can't claim for all the money we have spent on additional cleaning and supplies because we have a small surplus budget ( which was going to be used this summer for desperately needed repairs but is now having to be spent on disinfectant and handtowels and such like!)
Careful talking about the funding issues or the challenges facing schools. Don't you know everyone knows that's just teachers not wanting to go back to work.

All the teachers I know want schools to get back to normal. They miss their students. They want to be delivering their normal lessons. They are finding online teaching just isn't the same as the engaging lessons they love doing. They also want schools to be safe for students and staff.

Sadly on Mumsnet some posters think this translates to 'lazy teachers don't want to work, should use positive thinking to magically finding space to teach everyone when the school is currently full above the capacity the building was designed for, and failure to do the above proves how they're a bunch of snowflakes who should have their pay stopped'.

I've not seen anyone who isn't a teacher complaining on here that in 2012 Gove cut required school building sizes to save money, or that schools with rooms for 28/30 students can easily have 33/34 plus TAs. I've only seen a handful of posters complaining about funding issues in schools as well. It doesn't suit their 'teachers think they're special' rants.

Pigeon

You’re just being rude and inflammatory. That’s fine. We can file you away under “teacher bashing nonsense”.

@LolaSmiles not to mention the land that's been sold over the years. Where were the parents complaining when that happened?

All the teachers on here share your frustration that we are working like this, @pigeon999 - We're parents too and we want to get back to normal. I don't know how I can make it clearer?

Not sure what you want us to do? I read on here the other day that one workplace was opening an illegal crèche. Maybe I could fit a few children in my spare bedroom during the day.

The government have kept many primaries in tiny Victorian buildings with very little outside space on which to build temporary classrooms.

This is certainly true. One school I worked in had a playground so small that they couldn't meet for fire drills there and had to walk down the road to the nearest small side street. I don't imagine the residents of that side street would like a pop up classroom there!

It is okay for all of the rest of us to be 'at risk' all the way through the whole pandemic. Police officers, fire officers, healthcare professionals, the judiciary, food production and distribution. Many, many sectors at real risk of infection working day in and day out throughout.

So have teachers. And much like restaurants won’t be able to open to full capacity and some treatments can’t happen in hospitals and court cases are being held by Zoom or with distancing for jurors etc, schools will also have to make changes to keep everyone safe. As so many families have children, the infection rate in schools could potentially have a large impact on the community and all the other services you mention. Unfortunately it’s very hard to adapt overcrowded classrooms and too few staff to a situation that needs more space and more staff.

It’s actually not complicated to see the problem so your hostility just looks like a massive chip on your shoulder rather than a reasonable concern.

My school is open.

Every classroom is in use, and every member of staff fully utilised (the vast majority in school, a small number at home keeping home learning going).

However, due to government guidelines that prioritise Keyworker children, and mandate no more than 15 children per room (this obviously does not allow for full social distancing, but it does allow a metre or so when everyone is sitting down), we only have in the keyworkers and the year groups allowed to return in the first phase.

If the keyworker / vulnerable numbers continue to grow (c. 50% of the school's pupils have at least 1 keyworker parent or are vulnerable) we may be in a position where we have to close to non-keyworkers altogether (or make their access very part time), and just run keyworker groups.

Alternatively, we could give every child [except the very small number shielding] 2 days in school every week from tomorrow without any need for more staff or more spaces IF - and only if - the Government changed the priority given to keyworker children.

@GuyFawkesDay, please don't tar us all with the same brush. I've campaigned against cuts in public services, especially health and education, since approx 1980.

And I absolutely support the notion that no-one should be forced back to the workplace until it's as safe as it can possibly be.

I suggest we simply wait and see. I have confidence that the crisis is waning, infections are going down, so hopefully this will all come to an end and our children will be back in school. Our school is very keen to reopen fully, I am sure others are too.

PS for what it is worth I think most teachers are great, I don't think this forum or thread is reflective of teaching generally.

Alternatively, we could give every child [except the very small number shielding] 2 days in school every week from tomorrow without any need for more staff or more spaces IF - and only if - the Government changed the priority given to keyworker children

And that is a brilliant idea cant as most keyworkers no longer need to take priority. Hospitals here are empty.

PS for what it is worth I think most teachers are great, I don't think this forum or thread is reflective of teaching generally

So why the goady posts?

But we can't do that until the government changes the rules, can we!

laurie there are people on this thread that will fight tooth and nail to keep the schools shut indefinitely.

That just isn't true. When you resort to lies you lose the argument.

I am not being goady, thank you. I am appalled that the schools are still closed, we have zero infection rate her for 17 days. As in no one anywhere has tested positive.