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Original poster

To be shocked at yet another last minute gov announcement.

641 replies

wantmorenow · 28/08/2020 22:25

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

OP posts:
Original poster
wantmorenow · 29/08/2020 08:51

ramblingsonthego what your school is doing seems logical but it's not following the guidance. Or even the recently removed version of guidance. Or the previous guidance...

OP posts:
dementedma · 29/08/2020 08:52

Doesn't matter what rules are in place in school, when things are disregarded out of it. Made the mistake of being in Lidl yesterday lunchtime when the nearby high school had break. There were about 30 young teens buying junk for their lunch( not that all of Lidls products are junk! They were buying crisps, juice, sweets etc). Not one wore a mask and they were all arm in arm, close groups, playfighting etc. And heading back to school.

itsgettingweird · 29/08/2020 08:55

@FlySheMust

Just posted this on another thread -

The irrational teacher bashing has reached fever pitch at times on MN. So much frothing from ill-informed hysterics is almost amusing.

Some teacher members warned months ago that this latest set of guidelines would happen and got the usual abuse hurled at them. They are owed an apology from those who said they were scaremongering.

That which they predicted has come to pass. And the more rational among us always knew it would.

Of course teachers want children back in school but they have been asking for Covid safe guidelines for months and still the government is introducing last minute changes.

Does anyone with an IQ above that of a jellyfish think that's right or fair?

All praise to @noblegiraffe and others who have attempted to be the voices of reason among the unpleasant teacher bashing.

Abso bloody lutely

Teachers also need apologies for all the bashing they've had over the past decade of this shower of shite and the excellent education they've fought to provide whilst funding has been cut year on year.

Morfin · 29/08/2020 09:01

Agree, my absolute favourite teacher bashing reply atm is "so you want to keep schools closed" teachers on here predicted this guidance change, teachers have clearly shown the reasons why the government plan of all back together with no SD won't work and yet they are vilified as work shy stick in the muds.

RoseDog · 29/08/2020 09:06

I wonder if Nicola will follow this rule, up here in Scotland S4, S5 and S6 are all in mixed classes together, that would be 3 year groups out at once!

BKCRMP · 29/08/2020 09:10

They don't seem to have covered if parents wont/can't test or if proof is needed? That might be quite useful...

Lilybet1980 · 29/08/2020 09:12

@wantmorenow

*Lilybet* In South Wales. Friend doesn't drive but husband does. No drive through aptts offered to her. Only NHS workers and the like allowed to use our drive through apparently.
I think testing is now the one thing that is working really well in England. Three of my household were tested within a week. The postal test was ordered on a Thursday, received Friday and results back Sunday early am. Both drive thru tests had results within 24hrs.

I would prefer that the DfE was constantly reviewing and updating its guidance based on latest position/science/what other countries have done rather than rushing out ineffective guidance set in stone. Like lots of things in life we won’t know how things are working until they have been testing in real life. So I would fully expect lots of tweaks and amendments over the coming weeks/months as schools figure out what works best and the overall Coronavirus situation evolves.

D4rwin · 29/08/2020 09:12

Why the surprise? The dept of education is pretty consistent at last minute sweeping changes. The huge changes to the curriculum a few years back were dropped at the end of August too. It's new year, new guidance.

CraftyGin · 29/08/2020 09:13

We assumed that there would be disruption caused by students and staff self-isolating, and so have installed conference cameras in every classroom. This means that students who are at home will be able to participate in lessons, just as they all did after lockdown.

We’ve had since March to plan for this.

Lilybet1980 · 29/08/2020 09:14

@BKCRMP

They don't seem to have covered if parents wont/can't test or if proof is needed? That might be quite useful...
Why would parents not be able to test?
Nat6999 · 29/08/2020 09:14

There have been so many U turns it wouldn't surprise me if schools opening is abandoned, this shitshow of a government couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery.

ramblingsonthego · 29/08/2020 09:17

@wantmorenow

*ramblingsonthego* what your school is doing seems logical but it's not following the guidance. Or even the recently removed version of guidance. Or the previous guidance...
I have just gone through the guidance for schools (my child is in nursery) and I can't see much different to be honest. Maybe I am being stupid but it seems to be the same other than its only 1 person required to be positive rather than 2 for schools for the bubble to all isolate. The tiers thing is a separate issue and will not affect the majority of the country at the same time.
pennylane83 · 29/08/2020 09:17

So they're only going to isolate the class if a child tests positive? Not when the child is symptomatic, or when they report their parents are symptomatic..?

If you think about it logically we are coming into coughs and colds season. At least one child every single day with have a cough, runny nose, sore/horse throat etc so totally unrealistic to isolate the entire bubble every time one of the children displays a symptom (of what is far more likely to be one of the many many common viral illnesses that will be doing the rounds that share the same symptoms). If absolutely everything is to be treated as Covid then the children would never be in school!

Lilybet1980 · 29/08/2020 09:18

We’ve had since March to plan for this.

Absolutely! Surely lots of schools are using their own brain power to plan and not just waiting for every bit of guidance and instruction to be spoon fed to them?! We all know there is a risk that at least some schools will need to close at some point. Why wouldn’t schools be planning for that eventuality as a precautionary measure?

ramblingsonthego · 29/08/2020 09:19

@BKCRMP

They don't seem to have covered if parents wont/can't test or if proof is needed? That might be quite useful...
They need to isolate for 10 days for the person with symptoms and 14 days for the rest of the household.

If a parent refuses it is treated almost as a positive result and they have to stay isolated.

pennylane83 · 29/08/2020 09:20

wantmorenow what your school is doing seems logical but it's not following the guidance. Or even the recently removed version of guidance. Or the previous guidance

The clue is in the terminology GUIDANCE

Guidance does not mean follow to the letter because this is a mandatory legal requirement. It means implement where possible if appropriate to the situation or adapt the guidance to fit the scenario

itsgettingweird · 29/08/2020 09:20

I have just gone through the guidance for schools (my child is in nursery) and I can't see much different to be honest. Maybe I am being stupid but it seems to be the same other than its only 1 person required to be positive rather than 2 for schools for the bubble to all isolate. The tiers thing is a separate issue and will not affect the majority of the country at the same time.

Keep up! That guidance changed 2 after after posting it 🤣

Other than that what's changed is plan B for what happens if children can't "all be back in school due to our moral duty"

The plan B teachers and unions have been stated quite horrendously for asking since they closed.

SaltyAndFresh · 29/08/2020 09:20

I really hope my schools Headteacher is away somewhere, having a much-deserved bank holiday break before the shitshow begins.

FinnyStory · 29/08/2020 09:21

Schools will close again, surely no one believed we'd go back to school and that would be it? Of course parts of schools and occasionally whole schools will have to close for short periods to manage outbreaks.

But this "new" guidance doesn't change anything for schools.

YinuCeatleAyru · 29/08/2020 09:22

yabu to be shocked. you can only be shocked if you had previously retained any faith in the capabilities of the fuckwits in charge.

the key thing is - the additional measures get triggered if there have been 2 positive tests.

each school is given 10 testing kits. 10.

thus the additional measures will be unlikely to be triggered, due to a shortage of tests.

QueenBlueberries · 29/08/2020 09:24

Closing part of the schools will equal in staff shortages. There is no way that schools remain open if there are not enough teachers arounds.

BlackeyedSusan · 29/08/2020 09:25

Children have different symptoms. (Was on R4, possibly Inside Science) There are 5 key symptoms. Some of which are: sore throat, gone off food.

WickedEmoji · 29/08/2020 09:25

So do all secondary, even in NON local lockdown, now have to wear masks between classes and in communal areas?

BlackeyedSusan · 29/08/2020 09:26

Anyone predicting a shortage of headteachers in the next year or so?

Mumratheevergiving · 29/08/2020 09:27

@LolaSmiles

I thought bubbles were going to be small groups, up to a possible whole class but no more. Are they not going to even separate classes then? Madness In many secondary schools a bubble is a whole year group, so depending on school size that's anywhere from 150-300 students.

Staff are teaching across bubbles too.

In my DC school it’s a 12 class intake so bubbles of 360! The Covid rate locally to us has been and continues to be incredibly low but I suspect massive disturbance to the academic year ahead.