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.

Just to get this clear, it turns out that the problems unions, teachers, headteachers have been saying for weeks are actually real issues that needed to be considered?

Does anyone fancy revisiting some of the dozens of threads on Mumsnet about workshy teachers who don't care about the children, want to be on holiday, want the schools to be closed because there's no issues and the government would never lie or mislead anyone?

@Writerandreader

Young people are at almost zero risk if damage or serious case of covid. They need to not just be educated but to socialise with their peers. Their brains are still developing.

Adults who need to should be protected. Teenagers should be given back their freedom

How the hell are parents supposed to protect themselves ??? They are living with their children ffs. And parents should be protecting themselves from their own kids because kids need to go to school.... again: FFS!!

That is rubbish that @MushyMushi

We are a secondary and temperature check every kid and staff member in the school first thing. The one-way system is enforced. Hand santisation being monitored at different points of the day. It is being strictly policed by our senior team.

@LolaSmiles

Just to get this clear, it turns out that the problems unions, teachers, headteachers have been saying for weeks are actually real issues that needed to be considered?

Does anyone fancy revisiting some of the dozens of threads on Mumsnet about workshy teachers who don't care about the children, want to be on holiday, want the schools to be closed because there's no issues and the government would never lie or mislead anyone?

The U4T bots are really cross with us now.

I desperately want mine at school, they need it and I was so happy they were going back. But I just can't see it lasting.

Not unless the government tells the sheilded, vulnerable population to return to sheilding and everyone else just carries on with local lockdowns. And maybe part time schooling in some way.

Well I completely give up now, I try to point out positives and yet it is not good enough.

What the hell do you what people to say?

Some schools are much better than others. Mine isn’t great. What’s the point of a one-way system when we have over 30 kids practically shoulder to shoulder in a tiny classroom?

Dunno, but having been back at school for 2 days, I’m finding the Covid measures pointless. Masks in communal areas eg corridors, but can be removed in class, so I have 30 kids in form, sat right next to each other, sharing each others’ glue sticks, chatting face to face-how do you stop that? They’re running round together, unmasked, they’re eating in the canteen together, unmasked. Pointless.

Yeah I’m not sure it’s going to work!

DD’s secondary seem to have whole year group bubbles but as others have said, it has to be for streams in the higher years.

Primary school made great promises about staggered start times, but then everyone turned up at the same time and joined the same - massive - queue! Hopefully there will be some tweaks and improvements now they’ve got started!

@TheGreatWave I'm sorry. I can't see the wood for the trees any more and it's only the first week back. I read it as you having a dig about other schools not trying hard enough. My fault.

Primary school made great promises about staggered start times, but then everyone turned up at the same time and joined the same - massive - queue! Hopefully there will be some tweaks and improvements now they’ve got started!

Schools can only do so much. The rest is up to the parents and pupils.

@Stannisbaratheonsboxofmatches that must be down to the parents not the school.

sharing each others’ glue sticks I can confirm that dd did this today, before remembering!

@ineedaholidaynow yeah maybe, but I think the school probably could tweak it to make the times more that 5 mins apart, and in particular remind the parents not to join the queue until it’s the right time!

I’m hoping it’s teething problems and just needs tweaking is what I’m saying. No system can really work perfectly until it’s seen in practice. I’m not criticising the school, just saying it’s difficult.

You can stay scared of a virus that doesn’t harm children and has minimal harm to the vast majority of the population- I’m not going to

@user1471500037

You can stay scared of a virus that doesn’t harm children and has minimal harm to the vast majority of the population- I’m not going to

Ok, that's good. Not sure what it'll achieve because your feelings don't change science.

[quote Stannisbaratheonsboxofmatches]@ineedaholidaynow yeah maybe, but I think the school probably could tweak it to make the times more that 5 mins apart, and in particular remind the parents not to join the queue until it’s the right time!

I’m hoping it’s teething problems and just needs tweaking is what I’m saying. No system can really work perfectly until it’s seen in practice. I’m not criticising the school, just saying it’s difficult.[/quote]
The problem with making entry times further apart is that there will then be parents who complain about that. Whatever schools do, there will always be those who find a problem with it. I just hope that when people do complain, they remember that teachers, TAs etc have been saying for weeks that they could forsee problems and they were told to get a 'can do' attitude. Few people were ready to acknowledge that those who actually work in schools might actually be able to see the problems with what was being proposed.

Ds starts secondary tomorrow, 150 in a bubble. They're trying to keep year groups apart with lessons staggered by 5 min (let's hope not many staff teach different year groups or there will be a problem) and different entry points, but otherwise I accept they will be at risk - thankfully ds must have had it after living with 5 people who had covid for 6 weeks.

Given how many people kids are interacting with in parks and on buses etc, I doubt the city's schools being open will make much difference. I'm a lot more worried about universities because instead of a catchment of a couple miles, they have people coming from across the country to mix their germs - Freshers Flu is bad enough most years.

Given effects on both mental health and education, I think schools being open is the right thing even without considering the economy. Universities I'm less sure about.

shizzle

I find myself triggered when jenny harries speaks but it's when I read, or saw her saying.. Masks are not needed because desks face forward 🙄🙄🙄😕😕😏😑.

I had to do some deep deep breathing to calm down.

Colleges also have wide catchment areas.

My dds bubble is 200 odd and this am huge queues to enter the school. Chaos.

We go back next week. I’m in the US. We have been split into two cohorts, am and pm, with Zoom lessons at home when the children aren’t physically in school. Masks are compulsory throughout. The canteen will remain closed, no music, no PE and sanitizing stations have been set up in corridors. They’ve also installed a new ventilation system throughout the school.

All will be reviewed after six weeks. At first I was bitter that we weren’t going back in full, but a tentative beginning will likely increase our chances of reopening in the least harmful way possible.

You can stay scared of a virus that doesn’t harm children and has minimal harm to the vast majority of the population- I’m not going to

Tell that to the people who have lost loved ones, or whose loved ones are still suffering months after contracting the virus. It's not just the people in the defined risk groups who have struggled to recover, or indeed died. There have been plenty of shocks - the young, fit person who once ran marathons and now can't walk upstairs....we all know these cases. This virus is unpredictable- or maybe we just don't know enough about it? Whatever the answer then it is sensible and logical to be a bit wary of it and try and avoid it as much as possible (and I'll never get a job as the PM's slogan writer with that one!).

Children are part of society and they need adults around them - family members, teachers....children may not be as affected, but the adults in their life are potentially going to be very ill and with a difficult recovery. What use is it for a child if their parent is too sick to look after them properly? Or their teacher off sick for most of the year?

To those saying children aren’t going to be as affected by the virus...

Yes, in primary that’s probably true. But don’t secondary and older kids react in the same way as adults?

At 15, almost 16, my DD has the anatomy of an adult, as do 90% of her year group. I fail to see how this is safe.

I wish there was better provision for online learning. Send primaries back if that’s safe and operate a full online timetable for older children who are capable of being at home by themselves.

I was 100% in favour of schools going back. Now I realise everyone was right when they said it wouldn’t work.

Children may have a low fatality rate but they can still get seriously ill.

There’s a post on another thread re a primary child needing heart checks after having it.

I’ve long thought they should report cases, fatalities and those who develop complications. Many of the latter aren’t known about yet happening.

@user1471500037

You can stay scared of a virus that doesn’t harm children and has minimal harm to the vast majority of the population- I’m not going to

And if you're in the minority who are at risk?