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).

GazeboParty

In the same way that most that were businesses carried on teaching so did most of those that are not.

.I'm beginning to see educators and politicians in the same light - they have no interest in answering your questions, helping you or finding the right answers - they defend the indefensible, will never admit they are wrong and save face at all costs.

I could not agree more.

I have no clue what her teachers can possibly have been doing to justify a full time salary. They aren't looking after key worker kids or teaching, so WTAF as they doing?

Same problem at our primary school. Apparently they had about 5 key worker children in each day. All we get is 'log on to zxy and do an activity' in the weekly plan. Not a single phone call and no newsletters. The head wouldn't allow any interactive sessions, so my child hasn't had any contact with her school or teacher in 13 weeks. We have written to the school to complain and will now be raising it with the governors.

@GazeboParty you’ve made a statement about all educators. I have suggested people on here might be able to help you but you haven’t asked anything. Perhaps you just wanted to have a pop at educators rather than seeking help or solutions?

What solutions would you suggest schools adopt to getting all children back? If we go back to how things were before lockdown that means the end of social distancing in schools. Either social distancing is an important measure in controlling the spread of the virus or it is not.

Billiemate

This is where we normally explain all the bits of the job that you don't see, and point out that the instructions come from the HT, but that has become defending the indefensible.

So I won't bother.

The Chair of governors for your school should be listed, so you should be able to email/write to them now.

When they say shops have been closed do we imagine the shop workers still working from home? Or do we imagine them on an extended holiday on 80% pay?

This is why it matters when people say schools haven't been closed. Because the majority of the staff have still been working and trying to provide the kids with an education.

But tbh I can't get too vexed about kids missing 4 months of education. Some miss loads more than that due to all sorts of reasons and manage to catch up. I think some parents need to get some perspective tbh.

The govt closed (partially) schools btw
Not teachers or Unions. The govt.

They are now making it very difficult to reopen fully whilst lying to the public! 'Schools are now open to year 10' actually meant ...jump through various very difficult infection control measures to have limited access to tiny groups!

@averysuitablegirl I know some people have paid a creche worker a much larger salary to come into their home to mind their children. Some have family helping them. The whole thing was a shambles. There was going to be a scheme set up for creche workers to mind keyworkers children in the children's own home but the creche owners couldn't get insurance for it. Plus the creche workers who were let go are getting €350 a week pandemic payment until the 29th June.

@BanginChoons

Has anyone actually said the schools haven't been closed?

Technically they haven't, but they have been closed to the majority of children for quote some time now.

Yes. Endlessly

It sounds like some of you have had crap experiences. Please don’t think that’s universal. Some schools have been excellent (and no, it’s not just the academies ). All the teachers I know have worked bloody hard and it’s all been in the children’s best interests. Our defensiveness comes from generalisations about our entire profession. At a time when I’ve worked my arse off travelling on public transport every day to give children the best possible education I can at the moment, it’s extremely offensive to be lumped in with the bloody awful government. I’d hope I’m the exact opposite! We’re in this job because we care about children and want the best for them.

For me, it frustrates me when I hear people saying that schools have been closed because it often comes with the thought that therefore teachers have been doing nothing. It dismisses how serious this has been for me, a senior member of staff whose workload has significantly increased, whose health-both physical and mental has been affected by the stress of how much work I've had. It totally minimises the efforts that have gone into online education and supporting the families we work with.

Hollyhobbi thanks that's very interesting. I had no idea - sounds so tough.

@BonnesVacances

When they say shops have been closed do we imagine the shop workers still working from home? Or do we imagine them on an extended holiday on 80% pay?

This is why it matters when people say schools haven't been closed. Because the majority of the staff have still been working and trying to provide the kids with an education.

But tbh I can't get too vexed about kids missing 4 months of education. Some miss loads more than that due to all sorts of reasons and manage to catch up. I think some parents need to get some perspective tbh.

This is an appalling attitude.

Parents get fined if their kids miss school but an apparent teacher says ‘fuckit - it makes no difference whether they miss months or not’

Apart from all the children who are really upset they aren’t in school, who miss their friends hugely, who are lonely and face months more of this.

And then teachers post picture of daffodils!

@GazeboParty

Schools have not been closed in as much as they are still working and educating children, the same way many businesses have remained open with staff working from home. We wouldn't have a business if we had adapted as poorly to distanced working as my dc's teachers - the school have most definitely not behaved like a business that wanted to survive.

But they don’t need to have to survive. They will survive regardless of how well they react or don’t.

There’s no incentive to do more than the basic.

I think @BonnesVacances saying that there's a fricking pandemic and school buildings have had to close and it's awful, but in the long term the children will be okay, because the teachers will work their butts off to make it so. Parents do need some perspective. They need to remember that this is an unprecedented global emergency. It hasn't been arranged to inconvenience them.

We wouldn't have a business if we had adapted as poorly to distanced working as my dc's teachers - the school have most definitely not behaved like a business that wanted to survive.

Absolutely. This is the crux of everything.

Our foster children’s schools have been closed to them.
No place, no contact. End of story.

It hasn't been arranged to inconvenience them.

Obviously no one thinks that. However, where every other sector has had to push out all the stops to deliver in these very difficult circumstances, some schools have done the bare minimum and sat back.

In our case, two generic worksheets emailed a week. Nothing further. Stonewalling all communication attempts.

By no stretch of the imagination is that delivering on their duty to educate children.

Honestly some of you have no idea of the long term damage you are doing to teachers' mental health (not that you'd care) but more significantly to the service you get from them going forward. Knock myself out working evenings and weekends? Ignore my own dc to look out for yours? Put up with endless shit from government and parents alike? Nah, totally unappreciated and accused of being lazy/crap/neglectful or whatever - why would I "go the extra mile" for people who have abused us for months and made it clear how worthless they think we are?
Fuck that for a game of soldiers.

but more significantly to the service you get from them going forward

I’m not sure that could get much worse in our case. Unless the worksheets stop entirely. Then nothing. They’d literally be delivering nothing.

Honestly some of you have no idea of the long term damage you are doing to teachers' mental health (not that you'd care) but more significantly to the service you get from them going forward.

Absolutely.

If we hadn’t had faced 3 months of frothing vitriol on here, I would have a very different view to offering up my time over the summer...

I kept my children of for 10 weeks whilst I was wfh.

They then had enough and so had I. I sent them both back under my key worker status. Anyways they are very happy reception and y5. Our school have now said they will have reception children back anyways and are also accepting all year 5s (even though government have said they dont need to) they are having y5s back as they said they need to get ahead for sats lol

It could well be true that most primary and pre-GCSE dc will survive without a school education for a few months - my DS did - more than once, but then that is par for the course for many DC who have SEND.

But don't think for a minute that this doesn't affect the dc in other ways because it most certainly does.

Well yes Laurie but on mumsnet the rain falls on the just and unjust, the generalisations are rampant and I wonder why it's worth me sitting up in the small hours to make sure every pupil gets some individual feedback when so many posters on here talk about teachers like dirt on their shoe. Everyone has a breaking point.

A fair few of my teacher friends are giving up soon. Know of a couple of headteachers leaving too. No one to replace them of course. Well done nasty mumsnetters, you got what you wanted.