To be shocked at yet another last minute gov announcement.

[wantmorenow]

New guidance for schools just announced on a Friday night before schools return. Breathtaking incompetence.

I agree - in fact I think I posted that on the A-level / GCSE threads - that Gavin W is being kept on because they cannot afford to lose 2 education secretaries in quick succession, so are sacking / forcing to resign all those who were involved in exams but not school return, and then will sack Gavin and a few others in about a month once a few schools have closed and infection rates are huge.

@noblegiraffe

You've been corrected on your patronising posts since 9:20 this morning and don't appear to have taken anything on board, penny.

How very ironic, someone accusing a poster of being patronising in a rather patronising way.

'it appears you get your information from the Daily Mail. The information you are getting from the Daily Mail is wrong'

Oh the desperate Mail slurs are always so tedious (and patronising ).You're right though the MSM as a whole is a load of hysterical one shite. That said, I'm still trying to find out what has been said in the guidance that is so different to what is actually in place

[quote ineedaholidaynow]@CraftyGin are you a private school? You are also assuming all pupils will have access to technology so can watch the lessons.[/quote]
Not the point.

The point is that head teachers/business managers/governors have had 7 months to figure out how to manage the new school year in their schools.

Oh the desperate Mail slurs are always so tedious

Then don't regurgitate their headlines.

@CraftyGin your response seems to hint that you are or at least at a school with a healthy budget.

Not many schools have that privilege or have pupils that all have access to technology that is suitable for that type of remote learning.

So can you tell me how schools should be providing such a provision with no funding for themselves or their pupils?

@QueenBlueberries

Maddening, each school will have to individually work through the implications of the guidance, such as if a secondary school has to shut a year group, what happens to the teachers? Will they also have to self isolate for 14 days?

If you have for example a biology teacher, who has a class in each and every year group from 7 to 11, when that teacher has to self isolate for two weeks, who will take over? If that's the case, it could be around what, 90% of teachers who will need to self isolate as most of them have classes in every year group. School can't just wing it.

Teachers should be social distancing from students. I personally have a lab safety screen, face coverings and a visor at my disposal, alongside hand hygiene.

If I have to isolate because of test and trace, I will deliver my lessons from home.

I have planned my lessons so far (almost up to Christmas) so that they are all on Google Classroom. If a child is accessing lessons from home, they are there, and if I get stuck at home, I just have to press the button.

I have planned it.

[quote ineedaholidaynow]@CraftyGin your response seems to hint that you are or at least at a school with a healthy budget.

Not many schools have that privilege or have pupils that all have access to technology that is suitable for that type of remote learning.

So can you tell me how schools should be providing such a provision with no funding for themselves or their pupils?[/quote]
The cameras were funded by a parent.

@noblegiraffe

Oh the desperate Mail slurs are always so tedious

Then don't regurgitate their headlines.

Seriously how can you accuse one poster of being patronising then say this?

So, what is in this finalised guidance that schools didn't already have in place? What disruption is this causing? I've always supported teachers but I'm struggling here.

You're not trying to tell people this is the only guidance schools have had?!

So, what is in this finalised guidance that schools didn't already have in place?

The Plan B that unions and teachers have been asking for since June 10th. It's a pretty big thing you know.

And I'm intending to be patronising.

@ineedaholidaynow

Schools have been asking for the Government’s contingency plan for months, so they can write them into their plans. Why wait until the Bank Holiday weekend, and they failed spectacularly to proof read it

Why can’t schools come up with their own contingency plans? They are run by highly educated and well-paid people.

Crafty you're in the private sector. It's different in the state sector.

Well we did, for the return to school in June. We planned to have as many year groups in as we could fit, on a rotasystem so everyone was in at least 3 days in every two weeks with home learning for the remainder. All sorted, all planned. Then thegovernment said no, just yr R/ 1 and 6, no part time rotas, no other year groups. Back to the drawing board!

'and I'm intending to be patronising.'

Oh I see, you're allowed to be patronising, but will criticise others when they are.Right.

'The Plan B that unions and teachers have been asking for since June 10th. It's a pretty big thing you know.'

Well, the final plan B wasnt possible in June as it's an ever changing situation. If they'd said one thing then changed it they'd have folk screeching 'U turn!'.

So, nothing released in the final guidance changes the return, does it? Come on, get on with it fgs. Look how the staff in NHS manage to be flexible and try to be like that.

@noblegiraffe

Crafty you're in the private sector. It's different in the state sector.

State sector teachers can’t plan?

Look how the staff in NHS manage to be flexible and try to be like that.

Is that why an NHS appointment for June has still not been re-scheduled?

Schools are being asked to deliver education as normal, but not Covid-safe.

The NHS is being asked to be Covid-safe, and as a result is absolutely not delivering healthcare as normal.

If the NHS was genuinely flexible, surely it ought to be delivering as normal at the moment, as the numbers of Covid patients in hospital is now very small indeed?

@CraftyGin not all teachers at our local Primaries have school laptops. We also don’t have wealthy parents who could pay for them

Schools have made their own contingency plans! We certainly have. But now we’ll have to change them all to fit this new government guidance. How hard is that to understand? We made our plans months ago, because the Friday before term starts isn’t the time to do that. Now it all has to be reviewed to check it complies.

Your school’s circumstances are clearly quite different to the average state secondary. Funnily enough the average school hasn’t had a donation of video-conferencing cameras for every classroom from a benevolent parent. All the planning in the world couldn’t have made that possible in my school. We’re also in a relatively privileged position, as the fact that we are the best performing school in our local authority (and have been for 8 years) means that they are more willing to turn a blind eye to us running a deficit to pay for the measures we’ve put in place. Lower performing schools in our LA and schools in some of the local academy chains are way more fucked than we are.

State sector teachers can’t plan?

We can, and do. however, we have to plan within the constraints of no funding, no additional space or equipment, extremely large classes (many of whom have no access to tecnhology at home) AND subject to what we plan being over-ruled at the last minute by the government.

State sector teachers can’t plan?

State sector teachers are expected to follow the government guidelines. Which means that when state sector teachers plan and the government says otherwise AT THE LAST MINUTE, it means that planning is ripped up.

Not had opticians appointment, no dentist appointments. Our GP practice has pretty much been shut for the last 5 months. Not everyone in healthcare (NHS or otherwise) are being flexible.

Schools have made their own contingency plans! We certainly have. But now we’ll have to change them all to fit this new government guidance. How hard is that to understand? We made our plans months ago, because the Friday before term starts isn’t the time to do that. Now it all has to be reviewed to check it complies.

Exactly. As I said way back in this thread, those responsible for creating and applying the risk assessments, plans and physical changes in educational establishments are, as I type, going through the new guidance with a fine toothcomb, picking up all the tiny changes, re-writing every piece of documentation, re-sending it out for consultation, and then re-issuing it to staff, parents and students, and preparing to go in tomorrow to make physical changes and signage changes required.

[quote ineedaholidaynow]@CraftyGin not all teachers at our local Primaries have school laptops. We also don’t have wealthy parents who could pay for them[/quote]
Your plans will be different from my plans. The key thing is that you plan for your own setting. You’ve had since March.

'that why an NHS appointment for June has still not been re-scheduled? Schools are being asked to deliver education as normal, but not Covid-safe.'

They are putting on extra lists to address the backlog, every staff member isnt requiring a document with every contingency plan set out before they go to work. Guidelines have been given for everywhere, businesses, hospitals and schools throughout this crisis yet sad to say some teachers seem to be the ones always complaining.

'But now we’ll have to change them all to fit this new government guidance'

Change all your plans? Which plans. Give me an example.

@noblegiraffe

State sector teachers can’t plan?

State sector teachers are expected to follow the government guidelines. Which means that when state sector teachers plan and the government says otherwise AT THE LAST MINUTE, it means that planning is ripped up.

Or tweaked.

What is the teacher meant to do? They will be the one that have been walking around the class from child to child. Effectively the whole group would need to isolate!! Other wise there’s not much point