This government don’t give a shit about schools or your kids

[noblegiraffe]

AIBU to think that the government have fucked up literally everything to do with schools and education this year?

Evidence:

Chaotic school closures and keyworker provision (couldn’t decide what a keyworker was until the very last minute)

Forgot that kids on free school meals would go hungry so heads had to go round delivering sandwiches while the DfE put together an utterly shambolic voucher system that crashed and was pretty unusable.

Issued no guidelines for minimum education requirements during lockdown leading to vastly different provision between schools. Even Ofsted said they couldn’t judge schools on lockdown provision as there were no standards to judge them against.

Had to be shamed into u-turning on their insistence that free school meal children should go hungry during the holidays by a celebrity footballer (well done Marcus Rashford you absolute star)

Fed stories to friendly newspapers about schools re-opening in May to judge public reaction, leading to anxiety and uncertainty among parents and school staff

Announced that primary schools would open to all pupils before the summer holidays, an announcement that had surely not been run past anyone who worked in schools given that under the government’s own guidelines for schools for bubbles of 15 and no rotas, this would require double the classrooms and double the teachers available. Then backtracked on this a few weeks later (getting the friendly press to blame the unions) again creating uncertainty, anxiety and disappointment for parents and pupils.

Ignored education select committee questions about Ofqual’s algorithm when they raised issues in July

Lied and said they didn’t have early access to the data from Ofqual’s algorithm

When Scotland u-turned on their use of an algorithm, instead of making a considered response, came out with the bizarre notion that kids could use their mock grades - a suggestion that had obviously never been put past anyone who worked in schools. Again.

Took 5 days to realise that their mock suggestion created more problems than it solved, then u-turned on awarding CAGs creating problems for Y12 next year.

Fed stories to the friendly press that the unions are blocking the re-opening of schools in September so if it goes tits-up, they can blame them again (unions are asking for a ‘plan B’ in the case of local lockdowns, and for working conditions comparable to those of all other workers, no strike action has been proposed or balloted for so they couldn’t block re-opening even if they wanted to)

Blamed Ofqual for the algorithm they were told to create (prioritising statistics over teacher assessment)

Branded a teacher payrise that was agreed back in January a ‘reward for work during lockdown’, knowing this was incorrect, and deliberately fuelling outrage that they themselves had caused by having no minimum requirements for education in lockdown leading to vastly different provision.

Not funding this payrise so teachers probably won’t get it as otherwise it will lead to redundancies for other staff members due to having to fund it from already dire staffing budgets.

Issued guidelines that said that schools should reopen with increased cleaning schedules, increased handwashing, hand sanitising but providing no extra funding for this.

Instructed heads not to take any measures that would improve safety but would require more space (e.g. use of village halls) or not have pupils in full time (rotas, staggered timetables).

Didn’t realise that kids wouldn’t be able to get to school on public transport under current social distancing requirements as there aren’t enough buses until three weeks before schools reopened, and decided to throw £40 million to LAs to sort this (what? buy more buses?) so that they could blame the LAs when it inevitably goes wrong and kids can’t get to school.

And these are the people currently running a campaign to convince parents that they are capable of re-opening schools safely.

YABU: I have full confidence in the government and am perfectly happy with how things have gone so far

YANBU: It is mind-boggling how incompetent they have been, and how little thought they have given to the education of the nation’s children.

@cantkeepawayforever

My advice would be to wear a mask on Inset Day, in staff meetings, in the school office...

Where i work:

• Inset days will be done outside, or in SD small teams, because we cannot all safely be in a single room.
• There will be no staff meetings, except outside, for the same reason.
• The school office has a perspex screen

HOWEVER, as soon as the children arrive, 2 adults and 33 children are supposed to be entirely safe in a single room with relatively poor ventilation (though I am lucky to have one of the very few classrooms without blown air heating, and where the only windows are not at the back of the classroom actively blowing what the other 34 people in the classroom breathe out at me...)

Of course adults in school will take the steps they are allowed to take to protect themselves from each other. What we are actively not allowed to do is in any way mitigate the risks that the children bring in from their households, share amongst the class and with me, and take home to their households (many of which contain vulnerabkle adults).

Exactly

It was in the updated guidance.

But I’m not telling your where, or which version

Oh god, Smile the guidance. Millions of slightly different documents issued with no guide as to what had changed since the last version.

I forgot that the government didn’t release their guidelines for opening in June until the last possible minute (put back for Y10 and 12) so schools made a bunch of plans that had to be shredded and restarted when the guidance came out.

All that time trying to figure out what was meant by ‘some face-to-face support’ for Y10 and 12.

Ahh how did he do Piggy?

[quote Cookiecrisps]@Clavinova we are not allowed to wear masks at all whether in the classroom or other areas of the school with children or adults. My head teacher told us the reason why - the gov guidance says we don’t require it.[/quote]
This school has announced masks for all over 5s and staff

www.mkfm.com/news/local-news/milton-keynes-primary-school-will-tell-children-they-must-wear-a-mask-to-school-from-september/

He did really well, thanks smile!

Although a teacher (an actual teacher!) on another thread just called 2020 the year of the Mickey Mouse GCSEs. Charmed.

He knows he's a renegade!!

The head, not my DS

Honestly, the guidance made me want to cry.

The absolute lack of clarity and last minute nonsense hidden on page eleventy four under the heading “We haven’t got a fucking clue what we’re doing”

You are completely correct op and I agree with you.

Haven't rtft so it may have been said but I would also add in the withdrawal of free bus travel for children in London. Yes you can argue why should London have it and the rest of us not but taking it away from London kids doesn't help any of us.

@ILoveAllRainbowsx

So we aren't allowed to criticise MPs or the Govt?

We have one of the highest death rates, our economy will the worst hit of any G7 country, the Govt has screwed up our kids education inc the FE sector, track and trace is a disaster, ONS say 1000s infected every day and PM who fucks off on hols......

These people think they are suitable to rule over us, so its up them to fix the problems or step aside and let the opposition have a go, via coalition govt.

However, Its the lack of personal responsibility that really gets me, anyone else in the private sector messing up like this, would be out the door, Hancock, Cummings and Williamson should have all resigned.

Indeed, the guidance.

The guidance for singing and playing wind instruments, by the way, is in the 'Guidance for the Performing Arts', released when they said some socially distanced performances could happen.

That is, unless educational settings have different guidance. Which is a raging certainty....

@Bluewavescrashing

All MPs involved in education should have experience in education. Retired teacher, Ofsted inspector (shudder), governor. Why is this not a minimum requirement?!

I think we'd all benefit from having more experienced educators, doctors, legal specialists, proven business leaders, etc. as part of our parliament. By that, of course, I mean experience over time not staying in a job for 2-5 years and then becoming involved in a political party full time.

Of course that would raise the average age of MPs quite significantly but they'd also be bringing more experience and knowledge to the role.

Yes, I meant to say experience should be mandatory in all departments. It's baffling how some of them hop from one department to another.

@Leafyhouse

I quite agree the Conservatives are successful at winning elections and retaining power.

But have you read the OP? Do you have children in state schools? Do you work in education? Can you really not understand why people are angered, aggrieved and worried about what’s next to come?

Or should all the students have kept quiet last week and accepted their algorithm results as the Conservatives have a long history in power and shouldn’t be criticised? Should Marcus Rashford have kept quiet on the school meals as the Government know best?

If there is one good thing to come out of this it’s that my children are realising that politics matters. They have experienced how political decisions affect our lives and they understand that the Government should work for the people it represents.

However, Its the lack of personal responsibility that really gets me, anyone else in the private sector messing up like this, would be out the door, Hancock, Cummings and Williamson should have all resigned.

Exactly. And not allowed back into parliament in any other cushy role. I'd like to see how they cope in a job in the outside world.

Well, if you want to criticise them and think you could do better, why don't you stand for parliament?

What is stopping you?

I’m a bit busy sorting out the fucking mess that’s happening in school...

Well, if you want to criticise them and think you could do better, why don't you stand for parliament?

Seriously, did someone just suggest that? I'm all for standing in the other guy's shoes and all that, but that really sounded like it came from Cummings outer by the press on a bad day.

Not that Cummings has troubled himself to stand for elected office..

Let’s be honest, it’s not just schools the government is only interested in being popular the average person is just collateral damage.

Why don't you apply for teacher training then if it's so easy? There's a massive recruitment and retention crisis, you know! What's stopping you?

A tad goady, no?

[quote ILoveAllRainbowsx]**@SmileEachDay

But surely running the country is more important?

I'm sure no-one would mind if you gave up teaching.[/quote]
Keep looking at your rainbows. I'm sure they are lovely.

You forgot the complete lack of back up plan. In the US all schools had to provide 3 plans: fully open, hybrid, fully remote. Those plans were shared with the parents. This government doesn't give a flying fuck because their kids go to private schools that DO have these plans and are more likely to stay open.