To remind you that the government NOT schools are letting down parents.

[BelleSausage]

This really. We’ve all talked about it endlessly. Teachers on MN predicted this exact outcome (the education system in parts of the country falls over because of the number of staff and kids isolating and ill) but the government went ahead with no significant measure to mitigate disruption in schools.

Where is the plan to actually make it feasible to continue to educate kids and provide learning for vulnerable students? Where are the school laptops we were promised? Where is the back up childcare system to help working parents?

That’s right- no where. Any idiot with half a brain could have seen this coming. Why is the DfE doing nothing but repeating ‘schools are COIVD secure’ over and over like a broken bloody record?

@Schehezarade

I said - People could volunteer to help in primaries but I dont' suppose the unions would let them.

Yeah, all that pesky paperwork like safeguarding, qualified teach status and DBS etc is really only done at the behest of awkward unions and really unnecessary anyway

This was your response - why am I not surprised?
Many people who volunteer are DBS checked. Me for one. Many could help listen to reading or do tables - the majority of kids will never make up this lost education - but we can't step on the toes of teachers, depressing.

Yes you can listen to readers - although that's not allowed at the moment because schools aren't able to let people on site who aren't staff. I'm a governor, I was supposed to be interviewing students and visiting school re curriculum in November. Because of lockdown, cancelled. We can't even do run of the mill stuff, let alone have lovely Mrs Scheherazade in to hear the Y4 readers. That is not a teaching union decision.

And frankly I think lockdown proved definitively that not just anyone can teach, even primary level. Otherwise we wouldn't be looking at this huge attainment gap.

Op, I don't know anyone who is blaming teachers. Ours have been brilliant. Careful, diligent, supportive.

We are lucky that we don't have any known cases yet but that's partly due to how well classes and the school overall has been managed.

I responded because I am concerned about this hole in British children's education - and the lack of explanation by anyone as to how it's going to be bridged. How are this generation going to compete on the world stage - much of the world are unaffected - I can see it's wrong that teachers and children are at risk but I can only assume that the Gov feels that trying to keep some education for DCs and keeping DCs at school so parents can work is better overall for the pupils and whole country, teachers' safety is compromised like careworkers health safety is compromised but I don't think it is a clear one thing or another which is the best thing to do in the long run. I can't help feel some school is better than no school.

Which is why so many of us have been saying since the summer that making schools safer would keep more schools open for more students for longer.
But we just got accused of being lazy work shy malingerers.

Hysterical nonsense. Good to see Momentum still plugging away on Mumsnet despite St Jeremy's ousting.

Oh and we’ve painted some arrows on the floor.

We have a corridor that's, at best, 6' wide. We have magical anti-Covid tape down the middle.

Magical anti Covid tape 😂

I don’t think it’s been too bad really.

It was never going to be easy.

I think it’s essential to keep schools open. Online learning just isn’t as good, even of every household in the land had 10 laptops and perfect internet.
DS1 is in year 11 and he’s had 4 weeks isolation this term, due to positive cases in his class. He has all the necessary facilities - laptop, quiet room, motivated to learn - but he still learnt very little in that time. The teaching just isn’t as good. Several of the teachers are able to engage with pupils in a class setting, but just can’t do it in front of a screen. Generally the lessons consisted of 15 minutes of the teacher talking, followed by the kids being told to do an online worksheet.
Anyone who thinks that online learning is a viable alternative is deluded.
And when it comes to school, they’ve got hand sanitiser everywhere, they wear masks in corridors, they have staggered lunch times - various measures.
The 2 cases I know of in my son’s year have been brought in to school by kids from home, so nothing to do with school Covid safety. And due to prompt isolation, no one else caught it.

My theory is the gvt are aiming for herd immunity by the back door, using secondary school pupils (who spread it fast and don't tend to be so ill). Disgracefully, school staff are the collateral damage.

We should start a campaign to move school staff right up the vaccination priority list. No other workforce has been left so woefully unprotected while simultaneously been so briefed against by the gvt to the media.

I don’t think anyone believes that teachers aren’t doing a great job in a very difficult situation. My kids school has been excellent and although a small number of children have had to isolate they have managed positive cases well and maintained pretty much usual service.

I do strongly believe that schools should be open. I’m fortunate in that I’m wfh and my kids are older in any case so I don’t need them to be there for work purposes, although I completely understand that others do, but I think my kids have benefited massively from returning to school. Many industries have remained operational throughout the entire pandemic and they have made it work. Schools have had a good period to plan so I’m unsure what the solution is. I do think that teachers should be higher up the priority list for the vaccine as their role is essential, but I don’t think closing schools is the answer.

Someone upthread said that the government are scared to lose voters and closing schools would lose support from millions of working parents who desperately want their kids in school. Losing teachers votes is tiny in comparison. They care more about losing voters than about Unwell teachers and parents who can’t prove where they caught it.

I have a teaching qualification a TA qualification, I used to volunteer in schools before the pandemic. I have a dbs check Schools and teachers treat you like absolute shit if you volunteer. I would actively discourage anyone from bothering.

I think they'd do best adding an extra week to Xmas and Easter hols and having a shorter summer break. At least in summer lessons and lunches can be outside 🤷

@Schehezarade

I said - People could volunteer to help in primaries but I dont' suppose the unions would let them.

Yeah, all that pesky paperwork like safeguarding, qualified teach status and DBS etc is really only done at the behest of awkward unions and really unnecessary anyway

This was your response - why am I not surprised?
Many people who volunteer are DBS checked. Me for one. Many could help listen to reading or do tables - the majority of kids will never make up this lost education - but we can't step on the toes of teachers, depressing.

I wouldn't accept a volunteer as a substitute teacher - a complaint would be going into the governors forthwith. I'd prefer to have a qualified teacher teaching from home than you as a volunteer. It just wouldn't cut the mustard to have an unknown adult with unknown experience and general knowledge trying to do the job of an experienced professional known to my children.

Pp who mentioned volenteering in primary schools. I asked back in march if I could volenteer even just cleaning the school after the kids had all gone home but they said no they werent accepting volenteer at this time. Which I can understand.

I used to volunteer at local primary, haven't this year as DH is vulnerable, mid 70s and several health conditions. I found the teachers were lovely and welcomed the support, the TAs were less than welcoming.

Keeping schools open in general is obviously desirable but this week and for Greenwich we are talking about 3 days, 3 days when they don't always do alot. I know GS watched Shindler's List for his history lesson yesterday. I think he could have managed that at home. On Thursday they will probably go home after lunch. So how much actual education would they actually miss?

We are lucky that we don't have any known cases yet but that's partly due to how well classes and the school overall has been managed. So schools that have had high rates are to blame? Maybe your school could let everyone know how it's done. Maybe your children magically don't breathe out the virus if they are asymptomatic.

The relevant thing in your post is, "we are lucky."

I wouldn't accept a volunteer as a substitute teacher - a complaint would be going into the governors forthwith. I'd prefer to have a qualified teacher teaching from home than you as a volunteer

I was thinking of using schools during the holidays so that some of the less fortunate kids could get some reading , tables practice. I don't imagine you are from a disadvantaged household. And I certainly wouldn't stand in for a teacher Many disadvantaged children in my area are and these DCs will never cover what they've missed imv.
There are many retired teachers around who could help. I would volunteer pre covid but it seems not to be accepted (despite DBs etc etc)

I was thinking of using schools during the holidays so that some of the less fortunate kids could get some reading , tables practice. I don't imagine you are from a disadvantaged household.

It depends how you define disadvantaged.

I still wouldn't agree with it, children need their holidays and I wouldn't be sending them to school to be given extra sessions by retired teachers who aren't up to date with modern methods and also who would be at higher risk of covid complications.

The DfE has been broken for a long time. (Parents have been pulling children out of school to home educate in record numbers for years).

If Gavin Williamson thinks children at state schools get any significant work done in the last 3 days of xmas term then he is so far out of touch it is laughable.

@Schehezarade

I wouldn't accept a volunteer as a substitute teacher - a complaint would be going into the governors forthwith. I'd prefer to have a qualified teacher teaching from home than you as a volunteer

I was thinking of using schools during the holidays so that some of the less fortunate kids could get some reading , tables practice. I don't imagine you are from a disadvantaged household. And I certainly wouldn't stand in for a teacher Many disadvantaged children in my area are and these DCs will never cover what they've missed imv.
There are many retired teachers around who could help. I would volunteer pre covid but it seems not to be accepted (despite DBs etc etc)

So who pays the caretaker to be on site?

Who pays for heating and electricity?

I teach at a primary school and love having volunteers in. They certainly don't step on my toes. They are welcomed with open arms as it means more help for the children.

At the moment volunteers and visitors aren't allowed as we are keeping bubbles as tight as possible to try and stay open.

Please get your facts right before you spout anti-teacher opinions.

How are this generation going to compete on the world stage - much of the world are unaffected

The pandemic has affected most countries in the world. The UK is one of very very few affected countries where schools are fully open! Across the US, schools are either blended or fully online. My friend is in Argentina - their schools have been closed since Spring and won't open until at least March - this is a country with poorer internet access than the UK. Pare ts in the UK dont realise how fortunate they are that our schools have been as open as possible.

@lesleyfish

In addition, if people feel the home learning they had during lockdown wasn't up to scratch then they should have raised this with the head teacher. In our school all of our home learning was scrutinised by the slt to check and there were also government guidelines to be followed. For example, lack of marking was government guidance to try to keep a level playing field for all children. Teachers were told not to mark lockdown work. If we'd been told to mark we would have!

Was it? I had no idea. My DD is secondary and all of the online work she did throughout lockdown was marked. Sometimes the teachers marked it and sent it back, other times (once they moved to an online timetable) they went through set 'homework' as a class in the next lesson.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the Government thinks that a level playing field means providing the least support possible to everyone. Sometimes I wonder how the idiots in power manage to walk and talk at the same time

I was talking about after covid - surely there are going to be steps taken to ensure those fallen behind are helped to catch up.