to feel beyond annoyed every time someone says 'schools have never been closed'

[thisisthebestoftimes]

Because to the vast majority of children they have been. I feel it completely dismisses how serious this is for most dc and their families. Schools may have been open to 15 or so keyworker dc throughout this, and now to a couple of years worth of dc in years which seem completely illogical (except for the few hours years 10 and 12s have been afforded which is essential).

It's not teacher bashing.

Schools have been closed. Either closed altogether because half a dozen have been consolidated into one hub, or closed to certain year groups.

Teacher bashing would be saying that teachers are lazy sods who haven't been working. Saying schools have been closed is not the same thing at all.

I live across hte road from a primary school. It closed on 20th March. Until about three weeks ago, there was nobody in the school building at all. No cleaners, no teaching staff, no admin staff. The school was CLOSED. Just like in the summer holidays, schools are CLOSED.

Sorry to annoy you OP but schools have never been closed.
It might not suit your narrative but it's true.

Well, all schools round here have been OPEN.

With SLT, teachers, catering staff, site staff, teaching assistants and children. Just much fewer of each. It would be incorrect to say the the schools here have been closed.

So I can drop my kids off on Monday then if your open?

you are not your

Every school in my (quite large) area remained open to key worker children, either individually or as part of a hub. To say they were closed is disingenuous and unfair on the staff who have still worked throughout.

My sons state secondary has most definitely not been shut no matter how much it may annoy you for me to say it op .The school has been teaching to all kids throughout but just not with most of them on site.

There has been a very wide variety in the amount of education provided by schools and obviously your experience is different to others.

It's unfair on the kids who are not allowed in school and their parents who have supported them and provided all the childcare element to say they are not closed as if they are open to all.

Oh for fucks sake, its not teacher bashing to say schools have been closed. Many have been. Its not as if your average teacher had any influence on this.
Just like its not GP bashing to say that many surgeries have been closed. They have been (ours with a massive sign “temporarily closed”).
GPs and teachers were still working elsewhere. Not correlated with many kids not getting access to an education (with the ones still going into school buildings ironically being the worst off), and many patients not getting care. Not the GPs fault, not the teachers fault.

I get it because i think people don,t think how much teachers are still doing/have been doing, but then my children are not at school so it,s closed to them for now.

Some school buildings have been closed, some haven't.
Some children have been able to go into school, some haven't.
Some schools have been open continuously apart from weekends since March, some haven't.

YANBU

It's a stupid thing to say bearing in mind very few children have attended. Indeed our local school had around 20 children in until yr 6 returned recently (they/SMT decided not safe for Y1 and YR) .... and only 3 teachers and the head in at any one time. The rest were 'WFH' (allegedly) although the one email with home school 'guidance' must have taken a full 30 minutes to type out.... so a bit rich if technically correct saying that school not closed since it was for about 90% of children!

Our pubs have been doing takeaway food throughout --- they don't say they have been open throughout though since they haven't....

The teacher bashing has just got worse and worse since mid-May. "Schools have been closed" is usually followed by "teachers have had a three month paid holiday" which is utter bullshit which is why people push back.

Sadly being a teacher (and many other public sector workers) in this country is just shit under a Tory government. Below inflation pay rises for years, redundancies, made to jump through hoops at the last minute during the last few months and then as things seem to be getting better having a load of fuckwits telling you that you are lazy and should work for weeks on end unpaid because you have had the last three weeks off.

The narrative is just unmitigatingly toxic against anyone who it is decided by the right-wing mob is stopping something they want from happening. This is usually those that work in the public sector.

To be honest my children's teachers and headteacher have done a wonderful job turning last minute government policy into actually workable actions to get as much done for children as they can. It absolutely sickens me that there is a concerted effort to smear these hardworking people just because the profits aren't rolling in.

It isn't just teachers either, just look at the shitty way the government has tried to treat nursing students after they were basically conscripted into the NHS.

I equate schools with the place as well and I see school as more than the teachers/teaching, its all the other kids too. My SN child hasn't had any contact with another child since March apart from his sister whereas at school he would have had daily contact. It's true its open to a few for childcare but it's not open to any as school.

Our pubs have been doing takeaway food throughout --- they don't say they have been open throughout though since they haven't....

A school isn't a pub and also, how many punters were on site at the pub? How many children have been on site at schools? See the difference?

People who make comments about how their particular school has provided home schooling or criticise what their children have received etc are not a 'right wing mob'..... Oh dear!

It appears that we cannot actually say how we have found OUR school and OUR teachers have provided education remotely in OUR EXPERIENCE without a teacher from another school jumping up and down. You know less about my local school than I do. Some schools have been exceptional throughout, some good and some very poor.... you might not like us saying that but it is true!

The rest were 'WFH' (allegedly)

No allegedly about it, unless you have evidence.

Have all of us Non-teachers who have been working from home also just been 'allegedly' doing it?

The thing is it's mostly used in reply to "schools are shut so what are the teachers doing?" Or "schools are shut why aren't the teachers doing x,y,z?".

It might grate on you, you might think it's some kind of slight on you/children ,rather than what it is, but that doesn't make you right.

On Any Answers on R4 yesterday (an on iPlayer catch up) there were some shocking stories about schools setting zero work, zero communication. The callers had tried to contact the school and been stonewalled. Completely insulting to those people to chant 'the schools were never shut' -they are indeed shut for all practical purposes.

The rest were 'WFH' (allegedly)

If we are talking about ‘stupid things people say’, I’ll just leave this one here...

People who make comments about how their particular school has provided home schooling or criticise what their children have received etc are not a 'right wing mob'..... Oh dear!

It appears that we cannot actually say how we have found OUR school and OUR teachers have provided education remotely in OUR EXPERIENCE without a teacher from another school jumping up and down. You know less about my local school than I do. Some schools have been exceptional throughout, some good and some very poor.... you might not like us saying that but it is true!

Not a teacher thanks, just a parent like you. You are free to have your opinion of course.

However it seems that there are lots of people who are only the last few weeks complaining about their schools as there is a growing attempt to establish a national narrative that teachers are lazy and haven't been doing anything for the last 3 months. Forgive me for being suspicious about the motives of these people.

This is my working from home pack, and that's without the courses I had to do, looking for resources(for this year and next),preparing stuff and actually going into school(which involved delivering food packs,home learning packs or looking after keyworker's children), and I'm just a TA.

You purposefully or stupidly chose to not read what I said, when I said I was talking about MY school - not all teachers.... this is what happens. I personally know 2 teachers from MY LOCAL SCHOOL and they have admitted they are not working - following advice they do a weekly email which is produced quickly and mass sent out... true. You might not like it but it is true.

A person comments on their experience with their own school (as I did) and along comes a teacher from a different school and extrapolates that to mean ALL teachers.... then takes offence. Well done for working hard throughout. Try not to assume that when someone comments on their situation that they are not talking about YOU.

Yet another post about schools, I am sick of them and normally just ignore, but you have got me on a bad day.

What do you want, schools not to close and kids and children get it and spread it, and yes I know they think spreading is unlikely but it has happened, and teachers could easily get it, bring it in and spread

It’s happened, we are coming out of the pandemic, kids have learnt a life lesson, life is hard sometimes, not everything will go their way. Parents have had to adjust and accept more responsibility for their kids than normal as school.s are closed to some years and non keyworker children

Can we all just move on now, it’s done