To sod SD as when I return to teaching in Sept it isn’t possible?

[motherrunner]

I’m a secondary school teacher. Despite all the ‘guidance’ my desk will be less than 1m from the classes I teach (Yr 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13). I will not be wearing protection as the guidance tells me my workplace in ‘Covid secure’. Come Sept I will have one 20 minute break a day as I am required to do a pre-school duty, a morning break duty, a lunch duty and an after school duty it’s every day. I can wash my hands once a day in those times. 5 times a day a class of 30 will be breathing at me.

Up until now I have followed the ‘rules’ religiously. I haven’t seen my mum (who is in a nursing home) since early March. I have turned down play dates for my children.

AIBU to think sod the SD and enjoy myself for the rest of the summer break? I was hoping for a sliver of hope from the dfe today with the promised revised guidance that hasn’t materialised. Come Sept I’ll be faced with over 200+ over 11s in close, unventilated spaces in 3 week so shall I just sod it?

[DorisLessingsLesson]

The teachers I know have been told masks are optional. Admittedly they're in Scotland. Is the English guidance difference or are you just assuming you can't wear a mask?

[Stripesgalore]

‘Stripes- do you not get an unpaid lunch break? Very unusual in retail to not have a lunch break.’

No. You need to do an 8 hour shift to get an unpaid 45 break. It isn’t unusual at all. Most stores are open way much longer than eight hours a day and retail workers do shifts. I might do 10-4 one day and 3.30-9.30 the next.

I would be delighted with 9- 6 with an hour off for lunch, but don’t know anyone in retail below management that would regularly get that shift.

[IDSNeighbour]

I can see the temptation but think YABU.

I am also a teacher and am doing as much as I can within the guidance over the summer then planning to do nothing non essential for the first couple of weeks of term to see how the lack of SD affects spread. I don't want to infect anyone outside of a school through my being at school (neither I nor most of my friends have children).

And I don't want to go against the guidance now and risk being the one to take a new infection into the school on the first day of term.

[Boogiewoogiebugleboy]

Are you sure you aren’t just looking for a reaction here? You’ve posted in AIBU and described your own post yourself ( in the staff room) as being somewhat “facetious” as though perhaps a little goady. I do actually feel sorry for you all. It’s shit. Really though - just do what you need to to get through it as safely as possible.

[Viviennemary]

I think a 20 minute break is not reasonable. Complain to your union. But you should stick to the guidelines re visiting your gran. There is no such thing as Covid secure. Teachers should be allowed to wear masks if they want to.

[OverTheRainbow88]

@Stripesgalore

The majority of persons coming into the shop where you work now must wear a mask... the 1,700 kids I will effectively be in a bubble with won’t be wearing masks. Sorry, you can’t compare the two situations they are so different

[Mistressiggi]

Boogiewoogie are you following the OP?
Facetious doesn't mean the same as goady, OP is just expressing an (as far as I can see) "oh fuck it" sentiment in the face of being sent down a coal mine with only a canary.

[Stripesgalore]

I am not suggesting the situation is the same - just saying how I have handled it - hand sanitiser etc.

When Covid was at its height, I had months of being in a building with 1000s of customers with no face masks on anyone in no type of bubble. Even now many customers are not wearing masks. And of course I can’t ask symptomatic people to leave.

I absolutely think teachers should be given Ppe - both visors and masks. I also think there should be more restrictions in schools and that the government is putting teachers lives at risk.

But the government doesn’t seem to care.

[BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou]

@DorisLessingsLesson

The teachers I know have been told masks are optional. Admittedly they're in Scotland. Is the English guidance difference or are you just assuming you can't wear a mask?

I’m in a primary school in England and we’ve been told no masks by our trust. My head has said that she wants those of us who are in the office to wear masks because of the steady stream of parents etc. we get but has been told that it isn’t necessary as “visitors should just stand two meters away” - which is difficult when they are buying uniform, paying for meals, passing on things like change of contact etc.

There is no way I and my colleagues in the office can be two metres apart either.

Our teachers “lunch break” will be spent with their class so as to preserve the “bubble”. But I, as a first aider, can enter any bubble to do first aid, without any PPE apart from gloves.

There is no protection for school staff and our own families but we were all reminded that we should avoid any socialising over the holidays to preserve the schools covid free status!

[Boogiewoogiebugleboy]

Nope mistress- not following but I’m

[Choppedupapple]

Wear a face visor, wash hands on arrival, wash hand at start of break, wash hands at end of break, does your classroom have a sink? Buy hand sanitizer?

[Boogiewoogiebugleboy]

Sorry posting too soon. No mistress, I don’t follow the OP. I do however occasionally read the staff room comments amongst other threads, for insight into School returns and other relevant issues. I believe that’s allowed. I do know that facetious doesn’t mean goady, but the OPs deliberately inappropriate/ tongue in cheek treatment of the subject was done to intentionally wind people up. That, is goady.

[AnIckabog]

I think people are a bit confused. The government guidance for school staff on masks, visors etc isn't 'optional' or 'unnecessary'. It's actually actively 'should not be worn'.
OP I'm in a similar situation except I'm also highly clinically vulnerable. But shielding and vulnerable teachers are expected back because apparently what counts as 'covid secure' in every other workplace isn't the same in schools.

[OverTheRainbow88]

@Choppedupapple

I think it’s been proven that face visors are pretty useless.

[CharitySchmarity]

Your situation sounds intolerable and I have a lot of sympathy, but I think I would continue with social distancing, for my own peace of mind if nothing else. However I don't quite understand why you can't wear a mask if it is considered unnecessary. Unnecessary isn't the same thing as forbidden! It's true that you wearing one doesn't protect you from other people as much as it protects other people from you, but it's better than nothing. If your employers are telling you you are strictly forbidden to wear one, I think they are definitely BU and I would be taking it higher.

[Somethingsnappy]

I can definitely understand how you feel OP, but just to offer another perspective...... My child's class teacher lives opposite my house and all through lockdown I saw a lot of different people (sometimes groups) going into her house. I didn't mention it to anyone, but it definitely influenced my decision as to whether to send dd back to school when it reopened (I didn't). I lost confidence to know that her teacher hadn't been following the rules.

[SonjaMorgan]

It is shit @motherrunner and I imagine this won't help with staff retention nor recruiting new teachers.

I want my DC to return to school but we have been given no guidance on how school transport will work. The school have stated that they will keep children in bubbles and that teachers will move classroom to classroom but none of the rooms apart from the main hall are large enough to socially distance.

[Stripesgalore]

‘ But shielding and vulnerable teachers are expected back because apparently what counts as 'covid secure' in every other workplace isn't the same in schools.’

I don’t know what ‘Covid secure’ means in my workplace but essential workers in the vulnerable group have been at work all the way through.

I don’t want schools back. My nephew is in the highly vulnerable group, will be in school and lives with my elderly parents who he could take Covid back to.

But people have been nonchalant about Covid throughout and they will be with schools too.

[Stripesgalore]

PGCE applications are up massively this year as there are so few jobs available for graduates.

[NotEverythingIsBlackandWhite]

What measures are in place that make your classroom "Covid-secure"?

We can not wear masks as the Gov guidelines state PPE is not necessary.*
Guidelines are not the law - they are advice only.
'Not necessary' does not mean forbidden.

Carry a small hand-sanitiser with you at all times if you cannot leave the room often enough to wash your hands. Also I presume you are allowed to pee when your bladder requires you to and not just in your legal 20-minute break period? Wash your hands then too.

[uglyface]

I can’t use the loo on a Monday between 8.30am and 3.45pm. Every other day I have a TA for the morning who will supervise the children for 20 mins while they eat their lunch so I can pee and fill up my water bottle etc.

My poor headteacher has tried everything she can to try and sort this, but with the bubble system she (rightly) needs to prioritise KS1 and other classes with higher levels of SEN needs. My clsssroom is of course also the furthest away from the loo 🤣

On the plus side, I don’t eat breakfast and won’t be using my 20mins at lunchtime to eat (otherwise I’ll drown under a sea of marking) so I’m hoping that I should lose a good chunk of weight again!

[spanieleyes]

No, you can't just pop out to the toilet whenever you need to, the only time the poster will be able to do so is in the 20 minute lunch break. It would be a disciplinary offence to leave a class unattended.

[uglyface]

@NotEverythingIsBlackandWhite Teachers aren’t allowed to pee when their bladder requires it; it’s a case of rushing to the one staff loo as quickly as you can at break time in the hope of having chance to use it!

Does wonders for your pelvic floor though 👍🏻

[Iamnotthe1]

@NotEverythingIsBlackandWhite

What measures are in place that make your classroom "Covid-secure"?

We can not wear masks as the Gov guidelines state PPE is not necessary.*
Guidelines are not the law - they are advice only.
'Not necessary' does not mean forbidden.

Carry a small hand-sanitiser with you at all times if you cannot leave the room often enough to wash your hands. Also I presume you are allowed to pee when your bladder requires you to and not just in your legal 20-minute break period? Wash your hands then too.

No. When you work in a classroom, you are not allowed to go to the toilet other than in scheduled breaks: the children cannot be left.

Most teachers I've spoken too are having their breaks cut down in an effort to maintain the "bubbles". In a lot of primary schools, you may find you're now expected to supervise your own class at breaktime and most of lunchtime including eating with the children. I'm not quite sure when all the marking is going to get done considering so many schools are back to working in books.

[KarlKennedysDurianFruit]

The two things aren't related. DH and I have been working, face to face work with very difficult and often antisocial 'clientele' throughout, and are often unable to socially distance, we are also not permitted to wear masks in either of our fields. That doesn't mean we've just been going to the pub and walking around Tesco maskless and in people's faces. I usually really back teachers on here, but there have been some threads recently that make me wonder where your sense of perspective is. Do you not realise thousands and thousands of people have been doing what you are now being asked to do throughout? We're lucky in that as professionals like you we have a decent pension, reasonable pay etc unlike the poor sods working at Asda throughout for minimum wage and a mouthful of abuse, stacking shelves without so much as a face mask and a constant influx of changing people (not one class) who frankly don't give a shit about social distancing.