To think the only way forward now for school staff is to strike in Jan

[OverTheRainbow88]

Sadly, I believe, the only way forward now for school staff in to strike in Jan.

Schools are unsafe, understaffed and not ‘covid secure’. This will get much worse in Jan when people are allowed to meet inside in a 3 household bubble and travel freely around ( in England at least).

Other countries are probably more focused on their own issues, not just sat around slagging off English schools.

Some of their residents are posting on here, Trust.

@saraclara

EIS and Unison?

Mentioned below as balloting. Great to hear if they’re not

@MarshaBradyo EIS is the Scottish University lecturers union. Unison is not a teachers' union. It's for non-teaching staff in schools (among other public service workers)

The EIS represents nursery, primary and secondary teachers as well as colleges. It’s the biggest teaching union in Scotland.

@noelgiraffe

So... you think the countries that have yet to re-open are doing better than the UK?

No, I’m saying that other countries are actually acknowledging that schools aren’t safe and taking various measures to mitigate against this.

The U.K. aren’t even following the WHO guidelines while at the same time claiming that schools are safe. Other countries think the U.K. are mad.

You do have a bit of a bee in your bonnet about the govt saying schools are safe, don’t you? It’s puzzles me that a teacher would be so naive.

And also, you are actually saying that countries who haven’t re-opened schools, or who want to close them for longer over Christmas, are doing better than the UK. You can backtrack all you like, but every parent on these threads knows very well what your agenda is.

@noelgiraffe

Fucking hell the DfE are so awful that they threatened court action against schools moving to online learning for the last week of term to keep families safe over Christmas because it was so vitally important that they be in school and in the same week announce that secondaries will move to online learning for a staggered start in January because apparently school isn’t vital a few weeks later.

This level of total and utter incompetence and last minute chaos and people still think that teachers are complaining about nothing?

This is their general approach to schools. They are just a total shitshow and actively endangering lives with it.

This way they’re giving parents slightly more notice to arrange childcare.

I think teachers should be furloughed . Half the country thinks they ‘didn’t do anything ‘ during the first lockdown . They should really ‘ do nothing ‘ in the next one .

@houseinthesnow. I’m confused about where this information came from about teachers striking. I am a member of the biggest union and haven’t had any correspondence about potential strike action.

@NaughtipussMaximus

And also, you are actually saying that countries who haven’t re-opened schools, or who want to close them for longer over Christmas, are doing better than the UK. You can backtrack all you like, but every parent on these threads knows very well what your agenda is.

Really? Do tell me my agenda and I can link to the many threads that I’ve started that will demonstrate that what you are trying to insinuate is horseshit.

My ‘agenda’ (meaning what I want to happen) is to keep schools open for longer for more pupils by making them safer. It always has been.

The govt on the other hand want to improve attendance figures and will achieve this by putting more kids with covid into classrooms.

The EIS represents nursery, primary and secondary teachers as well as colleges. It’s the biggest teaching union in Scotland.

Yes, sorry. I wasn't clear. It's the EIS university lecturers that are balloting to strike. Not its teacher membership.

I really think you need to retire from teaching OP

I’m just not sure you are cut out for it

@AlternativePerspective

But let’s have a full 5 day family Christmas as big as you like, invite all your extended family and party party party, mix mix mix... e right, we’ll just close the schools and the rest of the surviving business, may as well finish them off!!

But get your priorities right and have the best massive family Christmas 😤

Well, quite apart from the fact that there have been limitations placed on the number of households permitted to mix over Christmas, with a very definitive advisory to not mix at all as preference, I am sick to the back teeth of people blaming the government for Christmas mixing.

You do know that it isn’t mandatory don’t you? you do know that it is possible to take personal responsibility and not mix with other people?

The reason why the figures are going up is in fact the public not being careful, not thinking that rules should apply to them. Look at the pictures of the streets in London on the night before lockdown. The figures were going up and we’re due to go into lockdown, so let’s all mingle now before we have to be responsible because the government says so. It’s not as if we can think for ourselves is it? Oh, wait....

You do that that it is mandatory that business will have to close on the back of the huge surge there is absolutely going to be don’t you?

For the sake of 5 days it’s going to be another 3 months in tier two at best....

It’s ok saying people will take responsibility, but done won’t. They advise to stay local but that won’t happen so it’ll spread like wild fire and we’ll all have to pay for the big family gathering.

If the government made it mandatory no mixing of more than one other household then that should mean that parents get to see their kids, grandkids etc.... that will be the priority for most people. You don’t need 3 households under the one roof and you shouldn’t be allowed to travel from different areas.

@MaudHatter

I think teachers should be furloughed . Half the country thinks they ‘didn’t do anything ‘ during the first lockdown . They should really ‘ do nothing ‘ in the next one .

I'd be up for that

Yes, sorry. I wasn't clear. It's the EIS university lecturers that are balloting to strike. Not its teacher membership.
I think I muddied that waters on this one - the EIS have surveyed staff on declaring a formal dispute with their employers and in four areas have now declared formal dispute, Unison are seeking views from school staff membership about whether they would be prepared to strike.

noelgiraffe
You think it's ok that there's no evidence that teachers are at less risk of infection than frontline healthcare workers and a suggestion that they, in fact, are?

The ONS report is clear that there was no more level of infection in teachers than in other front line workers, or indeed any other occupation. Infections in schools in both teachers and students reflects the community and vice versa. So, at this moment in time there is no evidence of extra risk of infection to teachers.

I don't mean that teachers are cowards, what I mean is that some are too easily scared and worried, but I think that's true of so many people in different jobs (or no jobs) - the lack of resilience bothers me, and I feel angry that some people have relished the opportunity to create panic and fear among others

There are adverts out at the moment telling us to open windows to help manage covid indoors. The windows in my classroom don’t open. I work with a huge number of adult-sized children. They come and go every hour for 6 hours - that’s 4 x the reccomnded time to be in such close proximity to anyone. There isn’t two metres space between me and my students at ant point in my room. I am classed as vulnerable and have a vulnerable child (over 50, both type 1). I am teaching online and in class at the same time. I am doing 4 x the number of duties I did before covid. My lunch 30 minutes has gone.

Don’t you fucking dare suggest that I have no reason to be scared for me or my family and that in the fact of no time off since September, the adapting and additional lesson planning required with people at home and others in school, that I am somehow lacking in resilience. People like you are the problem and you know what, all you care about is you and yours. You couldn’t give one single fuck about what my death might mean to my family.

The ONS report is clear that there was no more level of infection in teachers than in other front line workers

Which is worrying, right? Shouldn’t there be clear evidence of less infection in teachers as their workplace is apparently so safe?

And ‘no evidence of’ means ‘no evidence of not’ and really should be ‘more data needed’.

The ONS report is clear that there was no more level of infection in teachers than in other front line workers, or indeed any other occupation. Infections in schools in both teachers and students reflects the community and vice versa. So, at this moment in time there is no evidence of extra risk of infection to teachers

Maybe read some up to date data and not data published when very few children were in school and infections rates far lower than they are now?

The vast majority it teachers have nothing to fear from catching covid.
Just like the rest of the population
It is the elderly and vulnerable that need to be careful.

@BigWoollyJumpers

noelgiraffe You think it's ok that there's no evidence that teachers are at less risk of infection than frontline healthcare workers and a suggestion that they, in fact, are?

The ONS report is clear that there was no more level of infection in teachers than in other front line workers, or indeed any other occupation. Infections in schools in both teachers and students reflects the community and vice versa. So, at this moment in time there is no evidence of extra risk of infection to teachers.

Exactly.

This link is interesting too:
www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/covid19schoolsinfectionsurveyround1england/november2020#prevalence-of-current-infection-within-schools

Includes information published today. Giving data across England for teachers and pupils about Covid testing and numbers of positive results.

Not every school or child, obvs.

I have huge sympathy with schools and teachers. Am sure it's one of the toughest years on record. Of course there is more that could and should be done. Nothing is 100% Covid secure though and the term covid safe definitely gives false confidence.

I am a fan of actual data though and don't agree with unfounded accusations. It undermines an otherwise valid argument.

Government petition to vaccinate all school and nursery workers.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/554316?fbclid=IwAR27m9aq41iJNYHrWAJTUFZcAW9QRj-902koI3qT7MoHl4fok5XIKM-kJBQ

@MH1111

The vast majority it teachers have nothing to fear from catching covid. Just like the rest of the population It is the elderly and vulnerable that need to be careful.

Good thing no teachers are vulnerable or have any contact with anyone elderly or they might have something to worry about, eh?

Also, seeing healthy colleagues having to come back from having covid on a phased return or in some cases not come back at all is really not a problem.

It’s all good. Covid really is nothing to worry our pretty little heads about at all.

The vast majority it teachers have nothing to fear from catching covid.Just like the rest of the population.:It is the elderly and vulnerable that need to be careful

Please do not assume you know the ‘vast majority’ of teachers. We experience vulnerabilities in the same proportions as the rest of the population. Why wouldn’t we? Many of my colleagues are vulnerable.

Yes you do isthstitnow.
So if you look at the mortality statistics, the vast majority of teachers have nothing to fear from covid.

@MH1111

The vast majority it teachers have nothing to fear from catching covid. Just like the rest of the population It is the elderly and vulnerable that need to be careful.

But the rest of the population is wearing masks and keeping well away from other people (even of those other people are wearing masks too).

Teachers have old people and vulnerable people in their lives. They even live with them. Yet like a pp, they have to spend six hours a day in a confined space, often with windows that don't open, in the company of up to 180 different teenagers, all unmasked, none of them social distanced.

The rest of us come on here and have a big whinge because someone we passed for about ten seconds in the supermarket had his nose poking out of his mask and put us at risk.