To think this last minute inset day is a terrible idea!

[Gotajobthrunepotism]

Please don’t think I’m teacher bashing. Because I’m really not: I think teaching must be a stressful job, and not one I would choose.

But, this last minute inset day is an awful idea:
This year has been dreadful, and stressful for most people. We home schooled during lockdown while both working full time in hectic jobs. And it was very trying.

To schedule a last minute inset day makes it so difficult for people to get childcare: not everyone has someone to look after their child (particularly if your family are shielding)

Surely this should have been announced at the start of term so parents could plan in advance ?

I think all schools should end term on Friday as planned but return on Monday 11 Jan instead. This should give 14 days clear from the 28 Dec, which is the last day of Christmas socialising.

I'm worried about sending my kids back to school in Jan because most of their friends will socialise over Christmas. One school mum is having 20 Christmas dinner guests, her choice to break the rules. However, her decision will put my child at risk of covid when kids return to school on 4 Jan. So 22 Jan should be the standard school return date.

Fat fingers 11 Jan not 22 Jan. If they delay returning to school by a week, they will reduce infection rises in Jan/Feb.

@PurpleDaisies

it's too late for my idea - and I can see why some people would hate it - but I think schools (or at least secondary schools) should have made a switch to online only with the last spray of onsite presence being today.

Schools were told no to this by the DfE.

Our school tried to switch to online learning (which has been very good) from today so that all self isolation would be finished in time for Christmas. There were only a few parents concerned about this. They were remaining open for any student whose parents did not want them to be home on their own as well as any who were in over the first lockdown. They were told they could face legal action if they went ahead with their plan so now it is just the brought forward I set day next Friday

[quote MarieG10]@Flipflops85

Why would I need to gain remote access to my school system to do planning and displays in the holidays? I don’t need access to the school system - I have everything I need on my memory stick.

A memory stick? What public sector allows memory sticks. Basic (and I mean basic) network security will not allow the transfer of data to memory sticks or other removable media due to the risk of network compromise and virus transmission..and I do t mean Covid. The only time a memory stick should be able to be used on a system is when highly encrypted and heavily controlled...usually a network administrator.

It must be 10 years since I have ever seen USB media access to a system. The only exception at times more recent was the NHS due to their appallingly outdated setups which have been resolved.

If your school or council provider allows that unfettered then they are in breach of decent security protocols.

[/quote]
Now I know for sure you aren’t a Chair of Governors!

Our local primary has had to be shut down by public health because of a covid outbreak amongst the staff. We've got two weeks of home schooling before christmas. Does it help to think 'it could be worse'?

We’re not changing anything, it’s not fair on parents. DC’s secondary is doing Remote Learning for the day rather than an INSET. I will have to be on duty for track and tracing from when we break up until Christmas Eve. Closing one day early would have made no significant difference.

Not using it here. We have our planned INSET days and to suddenly abandon our CPD plans and do something different as well as expect families to be able to manage is bonkers.

We will do our it to support Test and Trace because, well, because who else can and it will probably be me dealing with any problems.

Pandemic. What needs doing etc

I completely agree with you!!!

Also so fed up of getting school updates from BBC...,.

I say this as a teacher - who thinks my leadership team are doing a great job. It’s hard to keep up when everything changes every 5 seconds because of such a poor government!!!

@ChloeDecker

Now I know for sure you aren’t a Chair of Governors!

Go on...tell me your school is running XP? Ours, like all I know in our district are on Win 10/Office 365 and include One Drive. All staff can access their files remotely including web access securely ....hence why I laugh at memory sticks FGS. Basic MS infrastructure set up

Where we are school wasn’t meant to finish until 22nd, but the council have said school can do “home learning” for the last two days (a joke at our primary, and causing massive childcare issues for parents).

Two keyworker family here.

In a week where we hope to start being able to roll out Covid vaccines and need everyone there to do that unnecessary time away from work frankly a bit of a disaster. Families have the choice of using informal childcare (increasing risk of Covid spread) or time away from work.

I also object to the bit in our school’s letter that says they are making this decision to “firstly, keep the children safe”. If they’re safe in school on 17th they’d be safe on 18th December. I get really grumpy when people give reasons that just aren’t true.

OTOH I think track and trace should be doing track and trace for schools too!

I don’t have anything useful to add, but want to tell all the teachers and school staff here how much I appreciate you, and how absolutely appallingly shitty it is that you may have to spend any of your well earned and much needed Christmas holiday dealing with this. I’m sorry the government have treated all of you so badly throughout this situation. I know there can be a vocal anti-teaching brigade here but there are so many of us who are beyond grateful for all your hard work.

I suggest they do the same thing they would have done if the child was sick or told to isolate.
It is one day we are talking about, surly all parents know they might have to look after their DC at short notice at any time, and that was the case even pre-Covid.

Not on such a mass scale.

Don’t moan next week then that all the services you expect to access have no staff as they’re all at home looking after their DC. Don’t come to the hospital I work in and moan about how busy we are because half our staff are now at home looking after our kids as all the local schools have shut.

[quote MarieG10]@ChloeDecker

Now I know for sure you aren’t a Chair of Governors!

Go on...tell me your school is running XP? Ours, like all I know in our district are on Win 10/Office 365 and include One Drive. All staff can access their files remotely including web access securely ....hence why I laugh at memory sticks FGS. Basic MS infrastructure set up[/quote]
I’m not talking about operating systems my lovely (you’re getting confused there), I’m talking about the networking in schools that you incorrectly assume is set up with a full army of network administrators and is fit for purpose!
Schools are notorious for poor networking because they just don’t have the funds or staffing for it!

@ILikeStrongTea, as only around 8% if the adult working population have children of primary school age, I don't think it will be the problem you think.

@ILikeStrongTea

I suggest they do the same thing they would have done if the child was sick or told to isolate. It is one day we are talking about, surly all parents know they might have to look after their DC at short notice at any time, and that was the case even pre-Covid.

Not on such a mass scale.

Don’t moan next week then that all the services you expect to access have no staff as they’re all at home looking after their DC. Don’t come to the hospital I work in and moan about how busy we are because half our staff are now at home looking after our kids as all the local schools have shut.

Rather missing the point- most peoples’ emergency child care is retired friends and relatives or take the kid to work with you. Neither is possible at the moment!

But it’s also on top of people already off because they’re shielding, off sick with stress (plenty of my NHS colleagues have been off), sickness and those already self isolating. We are short staffed enough without adding to it.

@ChloeDecker

I’m not talking about operating systems my lovely (you’re getting confused there), I’m talking about the networking in schools that you incorrectly assume is set up with a full army of network administrators and is fit for purpose!
Schools are notorious for poor networking because they just don’t have the funds or staffing for it!

I don't assume anything. I actually fully understand IT systems and why any school would run anything else (in 2020) would beggar belief as it is all cloud based and removes a lot of demand for network administration although not totally as the internal network.

God knows what era your school is living in but it doesn't negate the original point that you got distracted from that for all the period in question there was very low level of access made to undertake work....given there is no other way of accessing the work or files I can take it as reliable!

I expect I've missed something here, but we're just currently in the process of moving our Network to a Cloud system and we've had quotes of between £25k and £40k, plus we have a knowledgeable IT manager paid c. £40k pa to manage it. It really isn't within the reach of all schools.

[quote MarieG10]@ChloeDecker

I’m not talking about operating systems my lovely (you’re getting confused there), I’m talking about the networking in schools that you incorrectly assume is set up with a full army of network administrators and is fit for purpose!
Schools are notorious for poor networking because they just don’t have the funds or staffing for it!

I don't assume anything. I actually fully understand IT systems and why any school would run anything else (in 2020) would beggar belief as it is all cloud based and removes a lot of demand for network administration although not totally as the internal network.

God knows what era your school is living in but it doesn't negate the original point that you got distracted from that for all the period in question there was very low level of access made to undertake work....given there is no other way of accessing the work or files I can take it as reliable!

[/quote]
Talking about what operating system a school would be using is not the same is using a USB Flash drive . If you are meaning cloud storage, many schools can not afford the monthly subscription for something like Office 365.
You were originally talking about USB flash drives and security so I’ll go back to that.

A lot of schools still allow them yes-you couldn’t run BBC Microbits, Raspberry Pis or other kit in class or clubs, without allowing those ports. The USB flash drive a teacher has will often have something like Bitlocker on it, in case lost or stolen. Exam boards still ask for coursework on USB flash drives. So yes, I’m still convinced you are either an incompetent Chair of Governors or not one at all.

A memory stick? What public sector allows memory sticks.

Every teacher in my school uses a memory stick.

@Redlocks28

A memory stick? What public sector allows memory sticks.

Every teacher in my school uses a memory stick.

It depends what is on your data stick. If there’s anything confidential I think you’re on dodgy ground. I have heard before what people are accessing on unencrypted laptops (student data) and honestly I think if you’re being asked to have anything confidential without encryption you need to raise it urgently with SLT. Data sticks are fine for storing presentations etc but they are a fairly significant risk for viruses and aren’t designed for permanent storage, so I definitely wouldn’t have your only copy on a data stick

They are encrypted memory sticks.

@Redlocks28

They are encrypted memory sticks.

Absolutely this. Bitlocker stated in my previous post encrypts the USB memory stick. There are other programs for this too.

My school don't use a cloud based system. We can't afford it.
We use memory sticks for work that doesn't include names such as displays and encrypted memory sticks for things like reports.

It's pretty standard.