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.

@CoronaIsWatching

Just get on with it like the rest of us.

It isn’t “like the rest of us”, though, is it? I teach in a university, and everyone has to wear masks and keep 2 meters apart in order for our setting to be Covid secure. Name me one other workplace where employees are in the OP’s position: 30 people (who also happen to be more likely than the general population to have the virus asymptomatically) in a room, no masks, no social distancing, for hours on end?

Teachers should have PPE, it’s absolutely barmy that they don’t. I’m a college teacher but I went home in mid March when the college closed and thankfully haven’t had to return because I’m now on mat leave. I would wear a mask and visor if I had to go in, luckily it’s all online atm though.

I look at my DC’s teachers standing at the classroom door without a mask or visor and honestly just think they’re barmy. One of the teachers is heavily pregnant and she stands in at the classroom door closest to the exit so there’s hundreds of parents and children passing her. I just can’t quite fathom it.

Schools should be safer, no doubt about it.

@MonicaBelulaGellar if you work on a covid ward without any PPE then perhaps you should consider speaking to your manager. Why can't professions support each other anyway? I am sure many teachers were outraged about the lack of PPE for healthcare staff at the start of this, and would support any sort of improvement in working conditions for them.

Oh ffs please post these dramatic pleas in the Covid section. Whichever side you're on of school opening or closing. Whether you wish to kill all the teachers or destroy a generation of children just keep it one section so that the less dramatic amongst us can avoid seeing it over and over again.
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Please, please tell me which other ‘essential’ staff aren’t being protected? Or which other staff face working conditions like school staff do with only a bottle of hand sanitiser for protection?

PLEASE tell me because I feel like I’m going crazy!

I honestly don’t know if some people are in complete and utter denial about the working conditions in schools or if they’re just utterly selfish. I’m a teacher and a parent and I 100% want schools to stay open and that is what I hear from teachers on here and from colleagues.

We just want a SAFER working environment. What’s hard to understand?

It isn’t “like the rest of us”, though, is it? I teach in a university, and everyone has to wear masks and keep 2 meters apart in order for our setting to be Covid secure. Name me one other workplace where employees are in the OP’s position: 30 people (who also happen to be more likely than the general population to have the virus asymptomatically) in a room, no masks, no social distancing, for hours on end?

Most people would rather do that if it means they actually get to keep their job and livelihood

@NannyGythaOgg

If you won't do the job you are being paid to do by the taxes we are paying for you to teach and care for children why are you still claiming your wages?

When I see comments like yours I'm glad I don't teach your children.

councilworker I absolutely can't see where I've been overly dramatic. I've just given a breakdown of what I experience on a daily basis.

I think we should either have masks for all in schools (exemptions apply obviously) or furlough for teachers.

coronaiswatching Why is that the option though? Why can't we just have effective safety measures?

Most people would rather do that if it means they actually get to keep their job and livelihood hmm

But schools have shown to have a huge effect on numbers, instead of partaking in the misery 'others have it worse' olympics, can't you see that if the government helped put effective measures in place, it would help lower numbers, and those in jobs teetering on the brink of being lost would have a hope of surviving as they could open? It isn't just about teachers being treated like crap, there are other benefits.

Who is to say PPE is effective? We wear surgical masks, our patients don’t. I think the current consensus is that this offers more protection to the people around the person wearing the mask than the mask wearer themselves.

If we know they are positive we wear masks, gloves and apron unless they are on C-PAP or something when we wear more PPE.

Sometimes patients test negative and then later positive.

I don’t think everyone should be at risk - and actually I think teachers should be able to wear masks if they feel safer doing so. But I’m not sure on actually how much that will reduce your risk. I know it’s shit but I really don’t think you are the only people being exposed - no one thinks your lives are worthless, anymore than they do anyone else’s.

@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!

Absolutely! I’m so sick of the moaning. Put screens up, wear masks, do your jobs and stop moaning.

Most people would rather do that if it means they actually get to keep their job and livelihood hmm

So you can’t name me one other profession then, only roll your eyes and extrapolate your opinion to everyone else? Why am I not surprised?

Id take a safer working environment over closing schools any day.

My biggest concern is GCSEs. I can not see a way theyre going to go ahead this year, and that needs arranging now.
Not in two months when half the teachers are off with covid or stress!

You don't think saying
'Are the lives of school staff worthless?'
is melodramatic? You're being put in a position where you have a slightly higher risk of being exposed to a virus, that is not serious for the vast majority, than some other professions. You're not being asked to put a gun to your head.

My dh doesn’t wear any PPE at work. That’s because he sits in an office BY HIMSELF all day. The only times he might come into contact with others is in the staff kitchen or if he meets a client. Then they will both wear masks and socially distance.

@Councilworker

Oh ffs please post these dramatic pleas in the Covid section. Whichever side you're on of school opening or closing. Whether you wish to kill all the teachers or destroy a generation of children just keep it one section so that the less dramatic amongst us can avoid seeing it over and over again. ,

You didn't have to open the thread and comment did you?

Once more for those at the back teachers in England are NOT PERMITTED to wear masks in the classroom. No screens either. Or windows that open in a significant number of classrooms.
It would be illegal in any other workplace under H&S.

No, your lives are not worthless and I'm sorry you feel that way. Everyone expected to work during this pandemic should have priority access to any PPE they require and the fastest avaliable testing.

Your school/the government/unions are responsible for your working conditions. Not parents. I don't agree with teacher bashing at all but some posts seem determined to sort of guilt-trip parents who send their DC to school.

For what its worth, both of my DCs schools have been rigorous in applying their Covid policies (right down to my primary DCs Headteacher chivvying parents away from school gates and preventing them standing about chatting) and I'm am grateful for this as it keeps their staff and our children safe. All the teachers in both schools have been brilliant and my DC are thriving even under these current conditions.

Mintychoc did you actually read my post? We are not allowed to wear masks let alone put screens up.

@Witchcraftandhokum I'm a former teacher and I get what you are saying.
But this is Mumsnet and those who have no regard for the job teachers do will welcome the opportunity to put the boot in.

This particular government follows public opinion. If parents want masks in schools, they will say masks in schools.
Currently the loudest voices are shouting against masks in schools. So no masks which risks teachers and the wider community.

I'm a teacher, I desperately don't want schools to close. Aside from the fact that it's a massive ball ache to work from home, with my own small kids, my pupils really can't afford to be behind yet again. My GCSE and A-Level pupils are on the verge as it is, so worried about their future. We don't need to make it harder for them.

If you have an issue with PPE, social distancing then your SMT needs to sort something pronto.