Are our kids being thrown under the bus

[Pixxie7]

Chris Whitney has said that children are safe to go back to school because they are at low risk of complications from Covid.is this another case of politics being more important than lives?

@MovedByFanciesThatAreCurled

‘Teachers have to get on with it the same as millions of the rest of us who had to work during lockdown.‘

Arghhhhhhhhhh. For goodness sake. There is not one single profession which has been/is being asked to return under such circumstances without PPE. Up to 200 pupils every day. Poorly ventilated, small classrooms. No social distancing. No PPE. Tell me ONE profession with similar circumstances.

I’d still rather be a teacher with no PPE or social distancing than a medic working in a Covid ward with PPE.

I am fine with all families making their own choices - I just don't want my family to share their risk. This makes me sad but approach to risk is so varied.

@latticechaos

That’s understandable, but what’s the solution - the only way not to share anyone else’s risk is to keep your children at home and continue in lockdown isn’t it?

You share other people’s risks all day, every day normally. By driving, by travelling, by going out, by eating out, by having neighbours, by being part of society. The difference is that you’re very aware of this one risk.

I wouldn’t.

@Monkeynuts18

I am fine with all families making their own choices - I just don't want my family to share their risk. This makes me sad but approach to risk is so varied.

@latticechaos

That’s understandable, but what’s the solution - the only way not to share anyone else’s risk is to keep your children at home and continue in lockdown isn’t it?

You share other people’s risks all day, every day normally. By driving, by travelling, by going out, by eating out, by having neighbours, by being part of society. The difference is that you’re very aware of this one risk.

The solution is SD, obviously. It is pretty bloody simple.

It is in place everywhere else. Schools are the only places it is not happening.

It doesn't matter what my colleagues at work are doing, we are distancing.

@Rainbowb

I am getting so so sick of people moaning about the children going back. They need to go back for their education and wellbeing - the risk to them of the virus is minimal and parents need to get back to work. The moaning needs to stop. Teachers have to get on with it the same as millions of the rest of us who had to work during lockdown.

I’m not worried about the children, I’m worried about the adults. Most of my friends are teachers, all of them are post 50. None of them are suggesting that they don’t want to go back, one wants to wear a mask when teaching so they don’t spread it, the rest just want assurances around safety and reducing the risk.

Why do adults have to go back to work? I only know one person who was furloughed and even they have been back at work for months now. Why are you insistent on people having to travel into an office if they can work from home?

I speak only of secondary. My view is SD is not desirable in primary, but is essential in secondary.

@MovedByFanciesThatAreCurled

Well, the police. They aren’t routinely issued with PPE. And they’re quite routinely assaulted and spat at in the normal course of work. And they work a lot in communities where the virus is circulating fairly widely. And they didn’t stop working for 6 months (if anything their workloads increased), so they worked through the peak of the pandemic. And I haven’t heard outcry from the policing unions about it.

The only way SD would work in secondary is different year groups on different days with home learning on the other days.

@SnuggyBuggy

The only way SD would work in secondary is different year groups on different days with home learning on the other days.

Yep.

Or what Italy is doing, extra staff and space paid for by the government.

But for that you'd need the government to give a shit about the public.

Why are you insistent on people having to travel into an office if they can work from home?

Even if people can continue work from home many jobs can’t be done with small children around. My contract of employment in my last role (professional telephone advice line) said that you must not be responsible for children whilst wfh, mine went to childcare on my wfh days pre Covid when I was in that job. Many employers may have exercised leniency in lockdown but be unwilling or unable to ongoing. So wfh won’t necessarily solve any childcare problems for many.

@latticechaos

But SD doesn’t eliminate the risk entirely, it reduces it. And as you acknowledge, it’s impractical at primary level, so you’re still sharing other people’s risk if you have a primary age child.

Also, schools aren’t going back ‘as normal’. There are still loads of measures in place to help prevent the spread.

I can understand parents who say the arrangements for UK secondaries are shit but I don't feel I have an option, but I can not understand how anyone thinks they are good plans.

The UK plans are just.... nonexistent.

Or what Italy is doing, extra staff and space paid for by the government

I don’t think many would be against that.

I’ve read in pp it throws up practical issues, and could we find extra staff? I wonder how many extra teachers Italy is finding.

[quote Monkeynuts18]@latticechaos

But SD doesn’t eliminate the risk entirely, it reduces it. And as you acknowledge, it’s impractical at primary level, so you’re still sharing other people’s risk if you have a primary age child.

Also, schools aren’t going back ‘as normal’. There are still loads of measures in place to help prevent the spread.[/quote]
It reduces risk, exactly.

I don't ask for risk to be eliminated.

I ask for decent efforts from the government.

Why do British parents put up with such shit? I don't get it.

My family deserves better. I think all families do.

I think parents might be shocked at how much teachers have to juggle, you struggled with two children try having a small class of 16 with 16 different abilities and 16 different interests.

I fully appreciate how hard teachers work and how tough the job is but these comments get on my wick slightly. You’ve been trained to do this, probably not dissimilar to the 7 years I studied and trained to do my job. Of course we can’t do a teacher’s job the way a teacher can, you couldn’t do mine either.

To be fair though weren't a lot of lessons in the UK done by "cover supervisors" anyway because it's cheaper.

But yeah I remember that was floated here a few months back and was deemed impractical due to the high levels of safeguarding we now expect.

@RaspberryRuff

Agreed - I find it infuriating on these threads when people come out with crap like that. Working from home and providing childcare/education simultaneously is impossible, or at least very very difficult - that’s why childcare and teaching are in fact paid professions in themselves.

@MarshaBradyo
At least they are trying!

[quote latticechaos]@MarshaBradyo
At least they are trying![/quote]
True, I just read a bit more. €2.9bn funding, 40,000 extra staff, can use safe other premises, single desks, teachers / parents in masks still tbc re students.

It is more than we’re doing but would be around 1 extra teacher per school here.

I think extra staff is the sticking point, it’s hard to find them, without that I’d go for optional PPE for teachers and extra cleaning.

@RaspberryRuff

I think parents might be shocked at how much teachers have to juggle, you struggled with two children try having a small class of 16 with 16 different abilities and 16 different interests.

I fully appreciate how hard teachers work and how tough the job is but these comments get on my wick slightly. You’ve been trained to do this, probably not dissimilar to the 7 years I studied and trained to do my job. Of course we can’t do a teacher’s job the way a teacher can, you couldn’t do mine either.

I’ve never made the comment that I could. There are plenty of parents who seem to think they could do better than teachers. Also I’m not a teacher anymore, so does that mean no longer able to do the job? It seems weird that you’ve commented at the end of a chain where someone was saying a teacher couldn’t do x and as an ex teacher I said I’ve done that.

@RaspberryRuff

Why are you insistent on people having to travel into an office if they can work from home?

Even if people can continue work from home many jobs can’t be done with small children around. My contract of employment in my last role (professional telephone advice line) said that you must not be responsible for children whilst wfh, mine went to childcare on my wfh days pre Covid when I was in that job. Many employers may have exercised leniency in lockdown but be unwilling or unable to ongoing. So wfh won’t necessarily solve any childcare problems for many.

However if schools are open but parents who can work from home doing so it’ll reduce the community transmission which will in turn make it safer for schools. Like I’ve said it’s about reducing the risk.

[quote Monkeynuts18]@latticechaos

But SD doesn’t eliminate the risk entirely, it reduces it. And as you acknowledge, it’s impractical at primary level, so you’re still sharing other people’s risk if you have a primary age child.

Also, schools aren’t going back ‘as normal’. There are still loads of measures in place to help prevent the spread.[/quote]
Loads of measures......

Yeah - wash your hands and sneeze into a tissue is about the size of your 'loads of measures.'

I fully accept that for most children, the return to school is sensible and welcome.

The lack of flexibility or support for clinical vulnerable children, teachers or parents is shameful though.

Or what Italy is doing, extra staff and space paid for by the government

I don’t think many would be against that

Closed Schools back in March? Schools to reopen (come what may) in 2 weeks... and only now is there any talk of extra staff, less children in classrooms etc etc...... unbelievable.

.... my sister, a teacher for 35 years, says the Govt isn't bothered about state schools because MPs and Govt ministers children don't use them.
She is a lifelong Conservative or was.