To be pissed off that secondary school are doing next to nothing about Covid?

[MushyMushi]

Despite the huge risk assessment, reassuring letters, promise of bubbles and social distancing, segregated classes, coloured badges, separate entrances and staggered times for year groups, masks in corridors etc...

Absolutely none of this has been enforced.

Small class bubbles have become bubbles of full year groups of 150 pupils. The segregated break areas have been mixing with all year groups with no enforcement by teachers. Masks aren’t being worn. Pupils are entering and leaving school whenever they feel like it.

Not to mention that if one case of Covid hits, the entire year group will be expected to self isolate for 14 days!

AIBU to think this is really poor or is this the reality of secondary schools now? They’ve only been back two days and it’s all gone to shit.

Tbh I couldn't really see how it was going to work in secondaries.

I thought the plan was always to have year group bubbles? Otherwise how would it work for GCSE options or sets?

It was never going to work with everyone back full time.

I have absolutely no expectation of social distancing at secondary. Wrangling teenagers is like herding cats at the best of times.

Can you hone school?

Following government guidance. Don't know what else you expect to happen? We have long said this is how it will be.

I don't want to say you're BU, because I think this is a difficult subject for everyone, but I do think we need to cut schools some slack.

If you're looking for flaws in how schools handle this, you're going to find them. If you're looking for things they're not adhering to, you're going to find them. Schools have been hit pretty hard by this, guidance was still being updated at 7.30pm last friday evening and to be honest, schools are doing their best. If their best isn't enough for you, you can choose to confront the issue with them and ask how the plan to improve x, y and z, but I honestly don't think any Head has gone in with a "lets let it all go to shit" attitude. This is all new, this is all uncharted territory. Give them some time.

YANBU. I live abroad in a country that has been badly affected, but it's pretty much the same situation here (except masks are on a lot of the time). We've taken trouble to ensure that our DD doesn't have to use public transport to get to school (DH and I taking it in turns to drive her there two mornings each, she's biking it one morning, and then walking back every night.). But the school have organised it such that her class have to take the metro twice a week during the day to a specialist sports centre. Added to that, half of the playground is not in use owing to a building project (something they cannot help) but no teachers are supervising sd-ing at break times. Same re: the narrow staircases and corridors! They've opened up separate entrance and exit routes, but inside the school, it's a bun struggle!

The bubbles were always going to be year groups. They cant be in separate class groups. It doesnt work for options or if classes are streamed.

The one way system etc cannot be 'enforced' beyond teachers who happen to be passing by telling them to go the right way. Teachers have to teach. There cant be a teacher standing in every corridor. The kids have to follow the rules themselves. The same goes for masks (if they are mandatory. In england most schools have made them optional). Students coming and going from school is the same. Its logistics. You cant have a separate end and start time for each of the 7 year groups.

This was always going to happen. Schools said this. Headteachers said this. SLT have been tasked with the impossible of somehow managing possibly 2000 teenagers but also trying to mitigate the spread of a basically uncontrollable virus. Nobody bothered listening because they wanted the kids back in school no matter what. This is reality.

How did you think it was going to work?!
The building is the same (actually schools aren't allowed to rent extra space if they had the money) and the number of pupils are the same.

I think that our schools have tried their best. Y7 and y8 are having teachers come to them and we have staggered arrival and leaving time but with 7 years, 3 exits and narrow corridors (it's basically a C shape with 2 floors) it's a futile attempt to stick to guidance.

Secondaries can't do class bubbles because of options. Bubbles are an illusion as kids have siblings at other schools and years, teachers are in no bubble and teach every year plus have kids at other schools.

YABU -The government distracted parents with talk of "bubbles" etc in secondary, and the media were happy to go along with some strategically filmed clips in schools; but the reality was always going to be this, as they have no extra space, staff or funds. How else are they going to do what they were told and get all pupils back on a full time table?

Any one raising concerns about how the reality would pan out was shouted down as defeatist, workshy etc.

DS2 is back in school from today - year group bubble of 300 odd- they have put a 1 way system in place, and managed lunches/breaks and altered the timetable, but the school as over 1600 pupils and staff - the reality is corridors will be packed, classes have over 30 in them etc.

It was my son's first day at secondary school today. Despite staggered start times, the whole school was mingling in the front of the school, no masks. No designated areas. What did they honestly expect? Kids to materialise out of thin area bang on their allotted time? Lol. Obviously I have no idea how it all worked once inside the school, hopefully it will be easier to segregate. Also, I'm sure they will get better organised as time goes on.

How did you think small class bubbles would work?

Schools can't force a child to wear a mask, can you imagine the parent outrage

Also the government official guidance says use of masks in educational settings is not appropriate and is to be avoided.
It's those magic Covid repellent school gates...

The government are clearly banking on the kids catching Covid mildly (herd immunity) and are 🙈🙉🙊 about the adults who work in schools and the fact that teenagers are adult sized and face a similar risk that their teachers do.

Netflixismysidehustle yes we are probably being far too harsh in criticising individual schools; they no doubt have many different areas of concern to handle that us parents are unaware of. It's the disparity between the stats and "reassurance" broadcast by governments and education authorities, which is hugely in contrast to the daily reality, that is causing some disquiet here. The authorities concerned could have been more honest I think. I agree with schooling going ahead, despite all of the difficulties though.

would agree with last poster and previous about the herding cats bit.
DD 15 due back soon, will see what the picture is here.

I still waiting for DD to get home but I am very happy with the plan the school had, given it has a 300 pupil intake. The school uses a one way system in bad weather anyway (it is a campus style school, rather than just a main building) so they are used to that, and the yr 7 won't know any different.

@FudgeBrownie2019

I don't want to say you're BU, because I think this is a difficult subject for everyone, but I do think we need to cut schools some slack.

If you're looking for flaws in how schools handle this, you're going to find them. If you're looking for things they're not adhering to, you're going to find them. Schools have been hit pretty hard by this, guidance was still being updated at 7.30pm last friday evening and to be honest, schools are doing their best. If their best isn't enough for you, you can choose to confront the issue with them and ask how the plan to improve x, y and z, but I honestly don't think any Head has gone in with a "lets let it all go to shit" attitude. This is all new, this is all uncharted territory. Give them some time.

Absolutely this

DS's school hasn't started fully yet but we don't have staggered start times they are using different entrances for different years

We've had maps of the areas each year can go to and some of them are 'fenced off' or delinated. This means years have to spend all of their break times in certain parts of the the playground (or their tutor room if it rains) Break and lunch times are staggered.

We were told that any chld touching another even if they are hugging to say hello would get an immediate detention that day the idea being that after a few days of zero tolerence, the pupils would get used t the no touching rule. I think it is a pretty good idea for behaviour control as well as the Covid thing so I don't mind that at all. We were told to expect more detentions than normal in the first week or so and an advance apology about that that but they fully expected things to settle down after that.

@MushyMushi - 150 to a year group? Think yourself lucky. DS's school has a new year 7 intake of 400. That's one bubble.

There's no other way to do it. With 12 year 7 classes, for example, you can't split them into half size classes, you can't have separate lunch times for each class, same with breaks. Because you can times that year by five years plus the sixth form. And the year 9 and above have to move as they all have different options (then back together for English, Maths etc). How do you manage that as a school?

Our school is doing the best it can with the demands the government has put on it.

ours I hope so they said seem well organised and focussed more on emotional wellbeing of students, which they need I believe as kids have been through a lot.

DD just walked through the door, said it was a 'bit boring' because of the fixed seating plan. But 'ok'.

Timetable to change in two weeks. Guess they are seeing how it goes and then tweaking arrangements if there are any teething problems.I think arrangements vary across the country and nations.

The penny is dropping only now for some. It doesn't work. I'm not sure what peopke thought would happen, but the Govt and media are culpable again - it's smoke and mirrors.

Unfortunately, we have to send children in and accept that as parents or home school.

I work at a school and it is impossible, despite the best intentions.

Any system relies on the kids actually doing as they are told.

I’ll be honest, if a kid was in the wrong area, I wouldn’t know unless it was an obvious Y11 among Y7s. I’ve barely got my head around where I’m meant to be let alone the kids.

@SqidgeBum

The bubbles were always going to be year groups. They cant be in separate class groups. It doesnt work for options or if classes are streamed.

The one way system etc cannot be 'enforced' beyond teachers who happen to be passing by telling them to go the right way. Teachers have to teach. There cant be a teacher standing in every corridor. The kids have to follow the rules themselves. The same goes for masks (if they are mandatory. In england most schools have made them optional). Students coming and going from school is the same. Its logistics. You cant have a separate end and start time for each of the 7 year groups.

This was always going to happen. Schools said this. Headteachers said this. SLT have been tasked with the impossible of somehow managing possibly 2000 teenagers but also trying to mitigate the spread of a basically uncontrollable virus. Nobody bothered listening because they wanted the kids back in school no matter what. This is reality.

This, exactly this.

Headteachers, Governors and teaching unions have been saying this all summer. The government and media basically made it out that teachers are work shy and loved teaching from home. Teachers want to be in school, teaching. They want to do this safely but all their concerns were rubbished. In a fortnight when local schools have outbreaks and half the teaching staff and full year groups are turning up at testing centres en masse, the government will still somehow blame teachers. Anyone who thought all these airy fairy ideas would work has never met a group of teenagers.

Basically, our kids have been abandoned by our elected representatives. Don't forget this next election.