To ask if your school have confirmed return dates yet for September

[cocktailoclock]

Just that - have your school given you a definite return date for your child?
We have two kids that have been years that haven't gone back and I am desperate to give them certainty.

(Should add we are in England in a borough with a very low transmission rate)

Yes, our primary school goes back in September, all classes. My.sons have had a translation week to.meet their new teachers and get used to the new classrooms etc. Im not sure about uniforms or lunches though. I hate making packed lunches!

Transition*

No, nothing yet from state secondary. Well, the website says 9th September but I think that date has been on there all year.

Ds1 went in for the first of his 2 mornings at school (year 10). They told them they’re doing slightly different lesson change times for each year group so there will only be 200 kids in the corridors instead of 1000. That’s got to mean teachers only teach one year group?

We have been told new teachers, and they were allowed in for 2 hours last week to meet them. Not been told the plans for September yet but have been told that an email is coming this week

With regards to giving certainty, I don’t think anyone can give that at the moment. If there’s a second wave or a local lockdown then clearly plans will have to change. So I will not be giving details of firm plans to my children If I can avoid it, they have had enough disappointment when we realised that the “one month of all primary children” wasn’t going to happen....

@JellyBabiesSaveLives no, teachers can move between bubbles in our secondary. So we have one year group per classroom block-students stay in one place to lower movement and staff move from one class to another. The guidance is quite clear in terms of all students are expected back so I’m not sure why some schools are suggesting otherwise. Social distancing between students is ‘if feasible’ so not compulsory.

My son's primary has told us new class teachers and that it will be full return in September. Finer detail to come next week.

I work in a secondary and we are also planning full return in September from the beginning (2nd September as 1st is always an INSET). Waiting now for the head to publish her finer details. Think it will come next week - she will do it before the holidays but she will make sure it's all carefully thought through first.

In an ideal world, I'd have 2 INSET days at the start because everyone is going to need to sort classrooms etc. My poor newly qualified hasn't even set foot in the building yet! Realistically though, we need to get the children back asap so it will be all hands to the pump on INSET to make sure everything is ready.

I'm looking forward to September but I feel it will be a long month for staff and pupils alike.

Nothing yet. Haven't even heard anything personally from them since before Easter when we had one phone call. An email with suggested work comes once a week and that's it.

Ours were announced today. Secondary school.

Staggered start dates with 2 yeargroup per day for the first week, then all in from the following Monday.

Had the full plan from primary (and details of plan B and plan C...), but nothing from secondary yet. It’s the transport situation that’ll be the hardest to resolve for secondary, kids come in from all over.

@Boulshired

DS2 is in special school and they have used the words “risk assessment” and that children will be begin to come back full time from September. So he will not be back anytime soon.

I don't think "risk assessment" or "from September" necessarily imply that they're not planning to start children back at the beginning of September.

Schools all have to do a risk assessment for September.

Yes - England primary school confirmed return date in September as originally planned. School expecting return to normal curriculum and attendance for all children from September. It's very rare that the teachers change for each year unless someone leaves/ maternity etc, so already know who their teachers will be. Also been told this week that Breakfast and After school club can start again in September. They are continuing to stagger start and finish times, break times and lunch times. Currently Year R, 1 and 6 are eating lunch in their classroom, not sure if this is continuing in September though.

Sirfred this is from the DFE guidance

If anyone in the school becomes unwell with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature, or has a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia), they must be sent home and advised to follow ‘stay at home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infectionon’, which sets out that they must self-isolate for at least 7 days and should arrange to have a testst to see if they have coronavirus (COVID-19). Other members of their household (including any siblings) should self-isolate for 14 days from when the symptomatic person first had symptoms.

Children must be sent home if they have symptoms, this wouldn't be an illegal exclusion. Were you saying it is an illegal exclusion because of the two weeks rather seven days?

Yes for primary, no for secondary

@sirfredfredgeorge

Their email also mentions they'll be taking the temperature of students daily, enforcing hand washing at the beginning of every lesson and will send home every student who has any symptom for the required two week isolation, no exceptions

School does not currently have such power, it would be an illegal exclusion in many cases, are they expecting new laws to give them the power?

Schools aren't allowed to force a 2 week isolation, but must send any child with symptoms home for a test. The child must not return to school until there is a negative test. This is not an illegal exclusion, it's government guidance.

Yes we’ve been told dates etc. Lots of detail etc. Then the expected “this is all subject to change dependent on national COVID-19 policy” type disclaimer.

Not much more they can do really.

Yes been given return dates and teachers etc.

Looks like it’ll be 3rd September. They’ll start in their old class and then move to the new one. Reception will start the end of September.

I suspect they are going to be sending children home at the drop of a hat. How the hell they will navigate the usual winter illnesses ive no idea!

Yes, we have a start date, new class details and staggered start/end times and which entrance each year group can use.
Our school are doing class transitions this week

Yes, the first couple of days are a bit complicated, but it's definite dates. That's for both my dd's primary and my ds's secondary. We have been told they've suspended our timetable whilst they sort out rooming as it's looking like teachers moving rooms and kids staying put. I work in a secondary with 200+ kids per year group.

Yes, a couple of weeks ago, state secondary only difference is tweaks to staggered start dates to account for the new year 7s.

Ds (year 11) has left school so we are awaiting info from college.

Dd starts back 3rd September at 8.30am.

Above is for primary, not secondary, havent heard about secondary yet.

Ours (and when I say that I mean the school in which I teach) has confirmed teachers for next year, and should have staggered entries sorted by end of this week. Hoping to start earlier and finish later, rather than shorten the day for anyone, but head is trying to coordinate with the village pre school because we share parking.

Next step is to work out how we can get 50% extra desks into tiny Victorian rooms - we currently seat three to a desk, which can’t happen if we need to face them all forwards...

solidaritea no they are going to start introducing children during the autumn term by risk assessment to reach full intake as soon as possible (so not immediately). I have his last risk assessment, he will not be back in September.