To be really angry on behalf of teachers

[Jessicabrassica]

I know mumsnet loves a bit of teacher bashing.
I'm really angry that once again the Department for Education has put out guidance for schools in a Friday night before a long weekend with some schools having already started and others back next week.
I cannot imagine how many iterations of risk assessments have already been completed to make schools as safe as possible given the constraints of staff numbers, building size and requirements to get every child back in school.
They are getting enough PPE to tick the box that it's been issued to all schools but not enough to be useful.
Teachers mostly haven't stopped working since the pandemic began. They have continued to teach, to support vulnerable learners, provided meals and good parcels out of school funds in lieu of FSM, they remained open through school holidays for key worker provision.
I really feel that they have been well and truly fucked over, left massively vulnerable and will be left to carry the can for community outbreaks.

I'm a parent and work for the NHS if it's if any consequence.

Jim,

I totally understand why teachers feel at risk. I'm extremely worried about the schools going back as I said I really feel, spacing them out, part time etc would have been better.

But what I'm fed up of is, schools who did zero, making no proactive efforts to even ask us if we have access to tech at home, trying out different systems. Instead they seem to want to point score agaisnt the gov, and be passive.

Meanwhile other schools are getting on with it!! It's our children falling through these cracks.

YABU

Seriously, why is everything such an issue for school's management? Businesses have had to adapt to changes in guidance, and have government regulations that at short notice need implementing - and yes, we receive hundreds of documents each week to go through of government communications, standards work, business to business changes etc. that all need analysis and changes in practice.

I would expect the government to be issuing revised guidance every week or even every day at the moment, it won’t stay the same and will not be 'late', but being updated constantly - its the job of the school management team to plan to implement this - it should be in place within 24-48 hours. This is the job of leading and managing an organisation, it doesn't need months of planning for each update and expecting everything to stay the same - quite the opposite.

So don’t be surprised - expect guidance to be updated every day and have a set of nominated people and the structures in place to implement such guidance within 48 hours. Be grateful if things stay the same for a day. I fail to see what the issue is with the government approach - just make this BAU rather than exceptional.

I do hope instead of OFSTED inspections this year, they review the leadership only of schools in the provision that was given.

They'd only be able to review it against the guidelines put out by the government at the time - not what parents would have liked to have had, as well as also putting it against how many staff were needed to be in school full time with childcare provision which also determined how much time staff would have had to do the remote learning.

Instead of ofsted inspecting schools it might be better turning it around and inspecting how well the government's education departments have performed in advising and supporting schools during these times.

I am sure teachers have accessed healthcare settings and supermarkets where other people working throughout have had to spend all day with people and at risk.
Finally, it is their turn to do the same.

Again!!!

Teachers, on the whole, have worked throughout since March. Many have been in school full time providing childcare for key worker's children and vulnerable children. Others have worked full time from home providing remote home learning.

SCHOOLS DID NOT CLOSE.
MANY SCHOOLS WERE OPEN FULL TIME WITH FULL BUBBLES FORM MARCH.
MANY SCHOOL STAFF WERE WORKING FULL TIME IN SCHOOLS.
MANY SCHOOL STAFF WORKED FULL TIME PLUS THROUGH THREE WEEKS OF UNPAID HOLIDAYS.

@Aragog

*I am sure teachers have accessed healthcare settings and supermarkets where other people working throughout have had to spend all day with people and at risk. Finally, it is their turn to do the same.*

Again!!!

Teachers, on the whole, have worked throughout since March. Many have been in school full time providing childcare for key worker's children and vulnerable children. Others have worked full time from home providing remote home learning.

SCHOOLS DID NOT CLOSE.
MANY SCHOOLS WERE OPEN FULL TIME WITH FULL BUBBLES FORM MARCH.
MANY SCHOOL STAFF WERE WORKING FULL TIME IN SCHOOLS.
MANY SCHOOL STAFF WORKED FULL TIME PLUS THROUGH THREE WEEKS OF UNPAID HOLIDAYS.

The capitals dont make it any more valid. My daughter had a few bits on a learning platform and a phone call once a fortnight. No way that took 38 hours a week to manage

I was a keyworker. She went in. There were about 4 staff in.

Only the head and the super receptionist worked throughout every day.

Besides, I am not talking about working from home. Its about stepping up and doing what others have done for 6 months-working near other people.

If only nurses stood up and refused to work.

People may take notice of them.

Jimtim

So complain to your child's school.
See what their reasons were for not following the government guidelines regarding remote home learning provision.

But just because your school didn't do enough doesn't mean every other school didn't!

Besides, I am not talking about working from home. Its about stepping up and doing what others have done for 6 months-working near other people.

So again, complain to your school and ask them to justify why they didn't follow government guidelines.

My own school was open with full bubbles full times almost every member of staff was working full time IN school.

I admit I wasn't. As I'm clinically vulnerable I stayed home and oversaw the home learning provision - 5+ lessons a day - instead. I worked full time plus more.

Again, just because your child's school didn't do enough does not mean all didn't.

So again, complain to your school and ask them to justify why they didn't follow government guidelines.

Reminder: There weren't any government guidelines about remote learning provision during lockdown which is why provision was so different across schools.

Gottakeeponmovin

So who were those people teaching the full bubbles at my school then?! I don't think the children cared for themselves.

Why do people keep bringing up other professions? Not relevant here, and it's not a race to the bottom. I have never been more happy than in the past few months that I quit teaching - the shit they are expected to take is unreal.

Noblegiraffe- exactly!

Which brings us back to the OP really.
But sadly some people don't want to know what actually happened.

Just pointing out that NGS services are not back to normal. My dd has a progressive condition that requires her to be x rayed and have mri every 3 months. Since lockdown we have had one x ray and mri in extremely stringent circumstances. We have not seen the consultant, except via telephone. My friend is paediatric lead at the hospital and they are still not back to normal. Home visits have not started yet and most consultations are via phone.
It's almost like they think children could be carriers of a virus or something.

I do hope instead of OFSTED inspections this year, they review the leadership only of schools in the provision that was given.

They have already said that they can't do this as their job is to review against standards set by the government and the government didn't set any standards for provision in lockdown.

Your complaint should be aimed at the government because that is their failing.

The head of Ofsted said "At this stage, routine inspections are suspended. And this is an area where at the moment there are no clear expectations for what schools ought to be providing. Sometimes there is confusion about what Ofsted does – people think that we create the standards. We don't, we inspect against the standards that government creates. So what I have been saying is that we do need some clarity about those minimum expectations. Parents need them, children need them, schools need them. And as soon as those are in place then it will be possible to start assessing whether schools are in fact doing what they should be doing."

They should crack on like every other key worker in society.

Did they give up their 6wk holiday to give the kids a boost? Nah. Not a chance.

I saw the quality of some of the schoolwork set for my kids - terrible.

@Viviennemary

The difference is teachers get 12 weeks holiday Other folk get 4 weeks.

Why does 12 weeks make a difference? Some of that 12 weeks is paid annual leave and the rest is unpaid non-working time. Do you suggest they work during their annual leave or during the unpaid non-working time?

Did they give up their 6wk holiday to give the kids a boost?

Do you mean the GREAT SUMMER CATCH UP promised by the government and then kicked back to November?

To be fair none of this guidance is very different to what went before or had already been announced.

And I’m a senior leader in a school. So have read it and other versions carefully!

So op starts a post about how ridiculous it is to put out guidelines again on a Friday evening , which was again changed within hours.
And people come on to say teachers need to crack on. What do they think teachers are actually doing ??
I cannot understand this level of hate and vitriol for those who you want to entrust care of your child 5 days a week.
Op sadly it was never going to go well thanking teachers , the hate from Mumsnet is unprecedented.

I agree with you, OP, and I'm not a natural teacher sympathiser. The more I look at the guidance on reopening schools, the more impractical I can see it is. It doesn't take Einstein to work out that assuming it's all going to be safe because children will be fine at socially distancing just isn't going to work; or that "bubbles" of 100 or more children with siblings in different bubbles and constantly moving between home, school, childminders etc simply aren't going to protect anyone.

So the next year is going to be incredibly disruptive, with teachers having to have plans not only for the normal classroom curriculum but also catching up on everything they missed last year and accommodating children who have had to be out of class for a fortnight or more due to illness, quarantine or self-isolating. At the same time they have to have up and running a full online teaching package so that if any child is off or the whole year group or school is closed they can carry on without interruptions. And at the same time, of course, they are carrying the risk of mixing with hundreds of children with no "bubble" protection at all.

And then, come the first outbreak affecting a school, and the first deaths of people directly resulting from all this, there will be yet more government U turns when everything will change again and they'll be expected to accommodate that.

If I were a teacher, I'd be absolutely dreading the forthcoming school year.

If everyone profession had this precious attitude, the whole country would have come to a standstill by now. Get over it, everyone is bored about hearing how hard done by teachers are.

@tiredanddangerous

To be honest I'm more concerned that my children are going back to school to be taught by teachers who don't want them there. Kids pick up on that kind of thing and I don't think it's ok.

Oh ffs. I think I have read every single thread about schools and teaching over the past few months. Yes, I have a vested interest as I am a teacher. However, not once has a teacher said they don't want to be teaching the children. Not once. So read the fucking threads and quit the lies.

@whenwillthemadnessend

In this situation. You vs sent have everything written in stone. When work/ school begins workers and employers have to be flexible as something's work in reality and some don't.

The problem is with schools teachers seem to want to have one plan fits all and stays the same forever.

Some last minute changes maybe necessary. You have to suck it and see I'm afraid.

So you think it is fine for this guidance to be issued late on a Friday evening , on a bank holiday weekend? Schools are back next week. Some schools are already back in England. The DFE have had the entire summer to discuss this. Teachers and unions have been asking for a plan B for months. Yet you think it is ok?

There are parents, families, and childcare involved here. I am not sure they want endless prevarication and 'flexibility' either.

@sst1234

If everyone profession had this precious attitude, the whole country would have come to a standstill by now. Get over it, everyone is bored about hearing how hard done by teachers are.

I have to agree with this