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?

[LovingLivingInLockdown]

I agree about primary school teachers Star.I have two in my road who I speak to often, socially distanced of course. It was a conversation with one of them today which prompted this thread.

My DCs school has done nothing online at all. Even a 1 hour lesson a week, 10 DC participating at a time on Zoom, so they can interact and share ideas would have been good but all they’ve got is a weekly list for each year group consisting of websites and one project which would have taken no more than an hour to plan. Even DS’s cub group run by volunteers has managed to set up a weekly Zoom get together with activities so the DC can interact!

Obviously the government need to fund whatever needs to be put in place to get DC back to school and teaching unions and teachers should be lobbying for this, not just saying it’s not possible. Everyone else has to get back to work, so should teachers. What makes them so special, more so than shop staff?

I wonder how many teachers are going to go to the pub when they open!

I thought there was evidence that children posed a low risk of spreading the virus? We’re there any cases of teachers contracting the virus from pupils before lockdown?

I am as my username suggests actually but my DC and the DC of family/friends are massively being disadvantaged by this situation and the effects will be long lasting.

[echt]

A lot of this could be provided centrally which would save a lot of time in individual schools - even if they then tailored it

I agree curriculum needs tweaking.

Years ago when Literacy/ the Literacy hour was the thing, as well as central government micro-managing teachers, the DoE set up a central bank of Perfect Literacy Lessons. It may still exist for all I know. Then they got all hoity-toity about teachers actually using them. The rationale seemed to be this is how you do it, here is vast bank of materials and lesson plans, but you must go away and pointlessly devise your own.

[EmeraldShamrock]

But no, that would actually involve teaching and doing some work wouldn't it You are aware teachers are not responsible for this pandemic it isn't their decision to reopen schools. If the UK education board or school hasn't set standard online work it isn't the teachers fault.

[LaurieFairyCake]

Teaching unions have been lobbying the government for over a decade for money

[SallyLovesCheese]

You know TWO primary teachers so ALL primary teachers are "special" and will just be going to the pubs when they open?

I find this incredibly rude and offensive. You don't know me or the work I do.

[GreenTulips]

I’d be surprised if there any teachers left.

Are you doing a teaching degree OP to help the nation? Are you starting a fund raiser to pay for the extra staff or PPE?

Come on, what do you do? We can help!

[Stompythedinosaur]

Totally unfair to blame teachers and teaching unions.

If schools hadn't been so systemically underfunded then they would be in a better situation during this unexpected time.

Op honestly sounds like she is struggling with work and kids (as lots of us are) and feels entitled to insist the world shifts around her needs. Schools will go back when they can, and until that point parents who are worried need to provide their dc with an education as best as they can. Life is not always perfect.

[echt]

But all they’ve got is a weekly list for each year group consisting of websites and one project

That is online teaching.

Many schools do not use Zoom because of safeguarding issues.

Have you contacted the school about your concerns?

[Tink88]

No money for glue, crayons or reading books but let's build extra classrooms and ppe for all 😬

[Drag0nflye]

Schools, teachers and unions have begged the government for more funding literally every day of their working lives. More money means smaller class sizes, more opportunities for children, more teachers and a higher standard of education. Funding is needed even more than ever during this pandemic. Teachers are already severely underpaid and severely overworked (the career has the lowest retention rate and one of the highest suicide rates in the country), schools are severely under-resourced and class sizes are severely large. 99/100 obstacles schools face each day could be diminished with appropriate funding. Even more so in this time. Your beef should correctly be with the government. If they can find (print) money for a huge unused hospital, money for Brexit, money for HS2 and money for billions of people’s furloughs then they can find money to pay schools.

And I’m pretty sure teachers will go to the pub when they open just like everyone else will. Why wouldn’t they? Weekends and evenings and holidays (which I’m sure you know they don’t get paid for) still exist for teachers.

[MintyCedric]

Oh for the love of God! Again?!

I work at a state secondary school. we've got about 34 standard classrooms, 4 DT suites, 4 IT suites, 4 art rooms, 8 labs, 2 large music rooms, a drama studio and a leisure centre on site which belongs to us during the school term/day, plus refectory, diner and school hall.

The main sports hall is huge but you couldn't really facilitate 'bubbles' within it because it would be impossible to section it off fully.

It's basically 60 spaces and we currently would be running 43 classes at a time. So we would need to magic an extra 26 classrooms from nowhere, and double the number of teaching staff (not taking into account those who are unwell, shielding or in quarantine at any one time) in order to the whole school in with class sizes down to 15 students

So 26 additional classrooms and a minimum of 43 additional full time staff...in 11 weeks, with no additional funding and assuming no-one is off sick/shielding/quarantined.

Yep, definitely unions and lazy teachers that are the problem...

[MintyCedric]

...and of course none of that addresses the issue of 1300 students moving around the school whilst observing social distancing, adequate toilet facilities for the same, how lunch time will operate in terms of seating and food service, all the additional cleaning required in terms of manpower, equipment, time and materials.

And all that again for over 200 members of staff.

[Sweetlikecoca]

I agree with schools going back. It’s not realistic that some people are wanting things such as PPE and screens. This is the main reason why the kids are at home well some of them in the first place.

The ideas wont work in reality they don’t have the teachers and even if they did I doubt the government will be too thrilled to pay out for extra staff.

The kids at the hubs so far are doing fine maybe we should follow.

[walker1891]

Schools, teachers and unions have begged the government for more funding literally every day of their working lives.

They'd know this if they had given a shit about the education system over the years from cuts but they haven't given 2 hoots so they are blind to it.

[947EliseChalotte]

Government have built the nightingale hospital surely they could put up large tents / marques ? I've heard teachers can't wear PPE as it might frighten some kids x

[flumposie]

So patronising. Teachers and unions have lobbied for extra funding for years. The Government do not care. We've explained why things have not been possible. I'll say it again: lack of funding, cramped buildings. We have no control over this. Blame the government .You try lobbying them if it's that easy.

[walker1891]

Large tents are fine but where will they play out safely if there is no fencing around it and how will we stop the local pervert walking in without secure doors? Safeguarding is a huge issue.

[MrsArchchancellorRidcully]

I'm in wales. We registered just six deaths in total yesterday from Covid. Yet schools remain closed and when they do reopen its likely to be part time.

It's increasingly looking like not only do kids not get sick from the virus but they don't pass it on to adults either.

A few hundred kids die every year from road accidents and from cancer about a hundred. All death is tragic but we don't close schools.

Life has risk in everything we do. Open the schools up with no sd just good hygiene and give these kids a future.

Belgium, Netherlands, Australia still have low levels of virus and death but these all have their kids back to school with no sd.

How long do you want to wait? A vaccine may be years off.
There are legal suits being launched

[Saladmakesmesad]

I'm so glad someone started a thread about this as I was afraid nobody was going to mention it.

OP, starting shitty threads where you insinuate that teachers are lazy and blocking children's education and happy to go down the pub but not teach is probably the LEAST helpful thing you could do if you really want schools to reopen.

They need more teachers not less. There's a MASSIVE teacher recruitment and retention issue. Enormous. The way they've been treated by the media and the public (like people who say the things you've said on here) will only accelerate this problem. And not only that - if they're going to reduce class sizes they need even more teachers! Double if it's 15 to a class and not 30! They don't even have enough for their jam-packed, germ-infested standard classrooms!

[LovingLivingInLockdown]

Well let’s hope the evidence is clearer within the next few weeks on whether children pose a low transmission risk now that some DC here and in Europe are back at school. I’m sure there will still be arguments from teaching unions against sending them all back until there’s a vaccine though.

I’ve never voted Tory in my life btw.

[walker1891]

Have you read the NEU 10 point plan?

[LovingLivingInLockdown]

My comment about teachers going to the pub was referring to the risk of the more lax social distancing that’s going to happen there, so where’s the argument of not getting back to school? The risk to DC themselves is negligible as we keep being told.

Should have made that more obvious .

If anyone’s bored of this subject, you could always scroll onto a different thread. Yawn indeed.

[947EliseChalotte]

I am annoyed schools are closed. Garden centres, golf courses and NT were first to open while kids were at home doing their home education.It appears kids/ younger generation (under 60 ) are being punished...no school, no uni, lots of bussiness' closed, the lockdown is ruining the economy and the younger generations mental health when they are the ones who will have to work to pay the taxes back from all the mess. No healthy child has d i from covid the risk is low to kids. Holidays are cancelled again not good for mental health/ economy.why punish the under 60s? They will be left with mental health and jobs economy a mess. Surely they could do over 60s social distance flights to certain resorts, certain days for this group in the pubs and shops and all the other days the under 60s group they should let the young get back to work and school and stop punishing the young mentally and educationally.

[walker1891]

I won't be going to the pub, I am shielding when I'm not in school.....we are not allowed to be off and shield even though we are vulnerable so I am just staying home for as long as possible and not meeting friends or food shopping as I am at a huge risk being on transplant medication.

[walker1891]

The young have been punished educationally for years, you do know this - have you supported our fight for years or have you not given a shit before now?