AIBU or are the lives of school staff worthless?

[Witchcraftandhokum]

I fully appreciate that the education and mental well-being of children is important but why does it trump the physical and mental health of school staff? The facts are simple, people are being told to stay at home because it is unsafe to do otherwise, unless you work in education or the NHS who are provided with effective PPE.

On a daily basis I am expected to supervise the diner where 150 students eat lunch (obviously mask free) if I wish to eat I am also mask free. I have to supervise the same 150 children in narrow corridors. For this pupils are supposed to wear masks but there are a number who refuse (not the students who are exempt) and we cannot enforce it. We hand out hundreds of masks per week to students whose parents don't ensure they have one with them.

We are not allowed to wear masks in classrooms but are given visors which aren't as effective. The children are not allowed to wear masks in classrooms. None of this are rules imposed by the school but are in-line with the government guidance.

We have students who say they have developed a cough knowing we have to send them home, we cannot make the decision as to whether they are lying or not, but I've been verbally abused by parents calling me "fucking stupid" for not knowing when a child is lying.

Before half-term we had 25% of staff off sick as they had tested positive (including myself). There are many experts stating schools should be shut but Boris has done a fantastic job of insinuating that school staff are lazy and don't want to work, and the early response to the unions concerns shows that this is working. I've never suffered with stress or anxiety but the thought of a return to school tomorrow is making me feel sick.

Talking to colleagues who work in other schools it appears my experience is not unusual. So AIBU to think that this government doesn't give a shiny shit about school staff.

@grassisjeweled

Honestly, these posts. I live abroad and not one teacher has spouted this 'what about me' pining rubbish.

Maybe they’re being treated less shittily?

I mean, all schools internationally seem to have more protection than us.

If your colleagues feel the same, could you just buy a batch of see through face masks yourself and start wearing them. What are the headteacher or LEA going to do, send you all home? If it's as bad as you say they can't afford to lose anymore staff.

Take some positive action!

@Bambooble

Education is essential as many other jobs. why should school staff be especially protected when other essential staff aren't?

Keen to hear what these others jobs are that have the same conditions currently as teachers? I'll wait.

Doctors, nurses, pharmacy workers, hospital cleaners, hospital catering staff, nursery nurses, anyone working in critical infrastructure (keeping the lights on / sewage working etc), financial services etc etc

I am support staff, the number of teenagers who walk past my office inside without a mask are growing. All of them need to be reminded to santise, as none of them do it unless forced to. They are all pretty blasé about things, my teenage DS has been telling me how little they are bothered by it.

I work in an office on my own, I have no openable window, but do have a new shiney Perspex screen around my desk. Conveniently it stops at nick level, so anyone popping in to see me, have their faces above it. Most keep their masks on but some don't. I wear my mask as much as possible, but cant decently talk on the phone with one on so cant permanently wear it. But I work in a school that are desperate not to close so are doing everything they can to protect staff and students. Other schools are not so supported.

But two things annoy me:

1 - In our small market town school there are approximately 1500 kids from 2 - 18. To support that number of children, there are over 500 staff involved. Many more now have been employed as cleaners etc to support the school remaining open. But that is a large number and will get cases, we have already had cases, and a number of staff and students have had to isolate. Those numbers arent insignificant, and if many staff are sent home, safeguarding the children will become an issue. But no one outside a school seems to acknowledge the large number of adults needed to keep a school open, they just keep repeating the fact that children arent at a significant risk. Maybe not, but the staff who teach or safeguard them are. Schools remaining open puts us at risk.

2 - It was clear at the start of half term time, that another lockdown was coming, this could have been started at half term which would have included schools. Now at the end of half term lockdown was a missed opportunity that could have made a bigger difference.

And yes I will be back in work tomorrow. I am one of those lucky people who was initially classed as vulnerable by the Government, but not at risk enough to be shielded. Arent I lucky?

@chittychittyboomboom. You say you cannot enter your school wearing a mask and if you do you are asked to remove it as per your school risk assessment. At my child's secondary school everyone, staff and pupils, must wear a mask around school in corridors for example and only take mask off when seated in classroom where teacher is 2 metres from students. There is a one way system in place in corridors and each year group is in a bubble with their own teachers so staff only exposed to one year group I would respectfully suggest it is your SLT who don't care about your safety as they have the option of following rules similar to those my child's secondary school follow but are choosing not to. The government guidelines do not say staff and students cannot wear a mask when walking around school, only whilst being taught in the classroom. I suggest you take this up with your SLT and stop blaming the government.

To poster who said they are working in a school where children throw masks about then you need to be following the disciplinary procedures for students. What are you doing about this? As an ex teacher with 25 years experience I would say it sounds as if you have lost control of student behaviour and not implementing school behaviour policy. You need to get a grip on this as it is a risk to other pupils as well as to yourself.

Sadly your one of many jobs that need to still be done - social workers still need to go into parents homes, supermarkets still need workers , police ambulance and nurses all still need to do their job?

Can you imagine if the police turned around and said nope or dangerous dealing with a drunk person? This is naming but a few jobs that still need to happen and cross with the public. If school closes I can’t work - who will fill your online order? That carer that has multiple visits to the elderly, should we stop so they sit in there own body waste?
I’m shocked by some people - I’ve just ordered my new sofa do you think it will still come before Christmas? Ummm not likely probably not essential. Schooling is essential the younger generation are constantly being asked to give up so much and are the poor lot that will pay it all back.

I think it needs to be made a safe, we need a proper track and trace. We need support given for people who need to isolate so they don’t take risk.

@Witchcraftandhokum

I fully appreciate that the education and mental well-being of children is important but why does it trump the physical and mental health of school staff? The facts are simple, people are being told to stay at home because it is unsafe to do otherwise, unless you work in education or the NHS who are provided with effective PPE.

On a daily basis I am expected to supervise the diner where 150 students eat lunch (obviously mask free) if I wish to eat I am also mask free. I have to supervise the same 150 children in narrow corridors. For this pupils are supposed to wear masks but there are a number who refuse (not the students who are exempt) and we cannot enforce it. We hand out hundreds of masks per week to students whose parents don't ensure they have one with them.

We are not allowed to wear masks in classrooms but are given visors which aren't as effective. The children are not allowed to wear masks in classrooms. None of this are rules imposed by the school but are in-line with the government guidance.

We have students who say they have developed a cough knowing we have to send them home, we cannot make the decision as to whether they are lying or not, but I've been verbally abused by parents calling me "fucking stupid" for not knowing when a child is lying.

Before half-term we had 25% of staff off sick as they had tested positive (including myself). There are many experts stating schools should be shut but Boris has done a fantastic job of insinuating that school staff are lazy and don't want to work, and the early response to the unions concerns shows that this is working. I've never suffered with stress or anxiety but the thought of a return to school tomorrow is making me feel sick.

Talking to colleagues who work in other schools it appears my experience is not unusual. So AIBU to think that this government doesn't give a shiny shit about school staff.

NHS workers are not being provided with 'effective PPE' - patients don't wear a mask and we get a paper one to protect them but nothing protects us. We treat COVID patients with a paper mask and a plastic apron while they cough all over us with no masks.

It's not a race to the bottom but we're all suffering.

Doctors, nurses, pharmacy staff.... do not have the same conditions as school staff.

My dc is in hospital at the moment.Everybody in the ward is Covid tested, there is ample room for social distancing, the rooms are huge, they have proper cleaners, there is ample PPE, everybody wears masks, they are only near 1 patient at a time ..... gps aren’t seeing most patients, other NHS sectors aren’t doing face to face at all, our pharmacy only lets in 1 or 2 customers at a time sanitised with gel, wearing a mask and socially distancing.

I on the other hand will go into school tomorrow and will be squashed in a small room containing 30 non socially distancing, non mask wearing primary children and will then be doing my stint of table and toilet cleaning with zero PPE and first aid with zero PPE.

How are they comparable?

I work in manufacturing, we are not provided with PPE and we also have to carry on through lockdown. Not the same as schools but look how many factory outbreaks there have been. We aren't particularly safe either, these are places with hundreds of staff in at a time.

‘And yes I will be back in work tomorrow. I am one of those lucky people who was initially classed as vulnerable by the Government, but not at risk enough to be shielded. Arent I lucky?’

The shielded have been back working in retail for months now.

@grassisjeweled

Honestly, these posts. I live abroad and not one teacher has spouted this 'what about me' pining rubbish.

I teach abroad.

We have mandatory mask wearing, class sizes below 20, massive airy modern classrooms, big windows that open, outdoor spaces we can use to teach in if we choose, temperature checks of all pupils & staff in & out of the campus, gallons of sanitiser on every desk, effective contact tracing & every student has a MacBook so we can share all our work & resources electronically.

We've still had 4 year group bubbles closed once each since we went back just before October, mind you. But you wouldn't get me back into a U.K. classroom right now with a cattle prod. & to everyone keeping them going.

But factory rooms must be big to accommodate machinery. Do people know how small many classrooms are?Do you have to do first aid, comforting and toilet cleaning regularly?

Factory rooms are not all large. They are divided into different areas and some workers will be in cramped conditions close together.

you have lost control of student behaviour and not implementing school behaviour policy. You need to get a grip on this as it is a risk to other pupils as well as to yourself.
This
All shools should not shut because some are incapable of managing pupil behaviour.
My classes take responsibility for hand sanitising everyone, including me obvs, who enters the classroom and cleaning desks -just part of the normal routine now, no drama all matter of fact.

And of course some factory workers are also the named first aiders in their place of work.

In most customer facing roles the designated first aiders on minimum wage will have to help members of the public that they nothing about. People collapsing due to drug use and all sorts.

If you work in a school at least you have a record of the pupils you are treating.

Should close schools for 4 weeks. Open for an extra week at Easter, 3 over summer.

In the middle, I would think that was very sensible, but I don’t know that teachers can be made to work during holidays.

@MonicaBelulaGellar

Stop moaning and just deal with it! A lot of us still have to go out to work and put ourselves ar risk. We are all in the same boat here!!! I dont have any childcare when the nurseries close and I still have to go out to work because I work for the NHS. Just think yourself lucky your not on a covid ward kissing your kids goodbye everyday wondering what the day will bring. Sick of the moaning now, we are ALL aware of what's going on!

I agree with every word. I go to work every day. Plenty of people in the office. Private sector so nobody cares. You dont work so you don't get paid Didn't have one day off. I could see teachers and teaching assistants posting pictures in the sun with their dogs, kids last lockdown. My children had minimum support from the school. I've had enough of teachers moaning. Change jobs. Children need education.

DH is in the Army, he's dealt with far more than you can ever dream of, for less pay probably.

Tbf after the 'effort' DC's teacher put in over Lockdown 1 I now have a very low opinion of teachers and their desire to actually do the job our taxes are paying them to do.

I agree OP! It’s so scary. Our school day we have to wear masks in corridors but not in classrooms or the canteen. I’m on duty in the canteen and it’s packed full, close as sardines with kids eating, chatting, all touching each other. It’s so hot in there too - I can’t eat or drink anything because I’d have to remove my mask and that makes me feel even worse. I can’t stand even 30cm away from the students, we’re all squashed in! I teach in a secondary school across all the year bubbles and I have to cover absent colleagues who are isolate nag at home and teaching online - I must see 1000 students a week. They aren’t in any way social distanced and Covid-19 has been spreading fast around the school. We’ve had so many cases I couldn’t keep track. Students are just pulled from the class all the time and we carry on with the rest. I feel thrown under the bus by the rest of the public to be honest, people seem to hate teachers and disregard any calls for safety measures in school.

So are factory workers in rooms so small they are elbow to elbow with 30 other workers. Are they so young they forget Covid rules, do they cry and need comforting, do first aiders deal with a stream of incidents daily...

I'm a private sector worker and in office. I have been in office since June and predict I won't be sent home this time (employer opposed to WFH). There are currently about 2000 people in the office, I share lifts and lift buttons and a busy floor with many of those people. We are supposed to wear masks when not at desk but the rule is widely flouted. Three people on my floor have gone home with covid in last two weeks. I sit near them but not beside them so wasn't sent home. I travel in on tube. I don't feel like I'm not valued, I don't even think along those lines, I'm just so happy to have a job. I'm interested to know what differs between my set up and a teacher's set up? Is it that children are in the mix? Not being goady, I'm interested to know because teachers (on here) seem so convinced that they are being abandoned and are undervalued, more than any other profession. I would have thought care home workers had it worse. Police , hospital staff, supermarket workers, etc., all in a similar boat. Do you feel like teachers are in a worse boat and, if so, why is that?

Stripesnomore You'd think if teachers are so concerned for their safety over the winter period, they'd be pushing this to the unions as a solution. It still allows for plenty of holiday.

@caringcarer advice comes from the Government, in a gov.uk document that has been quoted upthread.

Rightly or wrongly, my SLT follow the guidance set out by the Government. Rightly or wrongly, your children’s school has gone against Government guidance.

I’m not exactly sure where I ‘blamed’ anyone.

@padsi1975 For me, it’s because I have to come in very close contact with so many of them so often! You say some colleagues near you had Covid, imagine that happening daily but instead of them sorting near you. - imagine you’d been directed to assist them with their work, Mark their papers, stand right next to them and appraise their work - that’s exactly what I’m being asked to do. Now imagine your colleagues change room every hour six times a day. Then your stand in your lunch time with them in a tiny room with no windows and none of them wear masks. Then the usual fights/ play fighting and you having to get involved. Then hen they feel poorly, your colleagues come and touch you to show you. Imagine that you’ve been doing your best, turning up evry day and working through these awful unsafe conditions (and providing online lessons for those at home too) and then the general public still have no respect at all for you and call you lazy constantly. Just over 50% of the teaching staff in my school were off the week before we broke up - who knows what will happen this week. I’ll be in though until the bitter end, I’d just like some bloody PPR and people to stop slaying teachers is that’s understandable?