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).

Also since the he initial case in March when a group of staff caught It we’ve since had one child and one adult test positive. A neighbouring school is still yet to have cases. We are in tier 3. Not everywhere is unsafe and dripping like flies.

Please think very carefully about this. Everyone, especially professionals, have a responsibility to keep everything working as smoothly as possible, with reasonable modifications, until this awful virus is defeated.
Our children need to be educated and parents need to work. (I'm NHS clinical)

If teachers vote to strike I would support them.

Schools are a disgraceful mess, the government are useless.

@Oeliilio

Also since the he initial case in March when a group of staff caught It we’ve since had one child and one adult test positive. A neighbouring school is still yet to have cases. We are in tier 3. Not everywhere is unsafe and dripping like flies.

It's ok, until it suddenly isn't. We had 1 case from March up until October, now we're up to double digits and it's only getting worse.

TonberryDreams

Completely agree.

The last thing teachers should do is strike. That would be an absolute gift to the govt. And would drive a rift between teachers and parents which would never heal.

We need the support of parents in demanding that schools are kept safe.

A strike would be ridiculous, but thankfully there’s no chance of it happening. I work in a school and I’d be shocked if even one of my colleagues thought a strike might be a good idea.

Should supermarket staff strike? Perhaps prison nurses? Hospital staff?

They won’t because they have a duty of care. Patients would die if NHS staff decided to strike. Vulnerable people isolating would die if they can’t get groceries delivered. And what do you propose re prisoners, release them all or just not feed them and deny them medical care??

... Strike, and then what?

Gues who is picking up the pieces?

I work in school. We are discussing the merit of a remote timetable in the first week back and frankly, staff don't even want to do that, they want to be there for the students who need them. Teachers don't want to strike in our school.

The testing plan is bonkers but I fully expect that to have changed considerably before it actually happens.

@AaronPurr I’m still not at the point where I think leaving children with poor access to education, in many cases with very reduced financial means (job losses, no wages, limited food or heating), is something that sits right with me.

Why? We are in a major city and our rates are well below national average.

We’ve managed to have no cases at all at our school.

Or maybe fining parents who send their children in whilst awaiting test results FFS.

Teacher here. I won’t be striking. Our school is pretty good but we (and I) have relaxed a bit (possibly too much). A fun day yesterday doing lots of noisy activities and I did think last night that we ban singing 🤔 My area has around 100 cases per 100,000 and I’m in an independent senior school so numbers are lower and behaviour and adherence to rules pretty good. I know I’m lucky. We have had a fair amount of Covid but none in my classes. Although I’ve had plenty pupils off due to family/close contact self isolation. Three staff have had it.

@saraclara

They’ve had 8 months to make them safe... they haven’t!

Yesterday, on my way home from work, I went into the garden of a family I teach to swab them, wearing a mask and with their mums permission. They have kids across 3 year groups all with symptoms but their results came back inconclusive, so now we don’t know if 3 year groups have been affected... as I was doing it I was thinking how has it come to this. Then to top it off I got fined for collecting my son late from
Nursery.

Everyone, especially professionals, have a responsibility to keep everything working as smoothly as possible

This should start at the top - the fucking government aren't fulfilling their responsibilities to protect British lives.

Those asking about staff infection numbers. I ambit sure of them but in our school ( and most locally) bubbles have been shut due to staff COVID rather than children. We have had 32 bubbles shut ( one 4 times!) since September

Strike action always backfires on teachers. Personally, I think it’s ineffective and irresponsible, and when I joined a teaching union I chose one that had a policy of not striking, even though on one occasion it did recommend doing so, though I can’t remember exactly why.

Teachers and school staff really should be a priority for vaccination.

I honestly think some children could also die, or be harmed, if teachers strike over and over. In a household with the pressures of no money that already has significant existing issues it’s a pressure-cooker. Children will bear the brunt of lost opportunities, food issues. Round here the parks are full of young teenagers wandering dejectedly in the cold. Some are avoiding home, some are locked out while adults work and it isn’t that simple everyone has a warm home to hide in. It’s sad to see them. They aren’t causing trouble mostly or acting up in anyway. I’ve spoken to a few in passing and they’re just lost. A few are chucking fireworks around or lighting small fires to play with, but they are having bleak days.

I think it would backfire personally. Suggesting NHS staff strike is ridiculous.

It's an incredibly difficult time for many workers, not just teachers. As PP's have said, NHS, hospital, prisons don't do this. They can't.

Refusing to swab etc, absolutely understandable but striking at this time would have a horrifying impact on many children.

Our council have planned to keep schools shut until the 11th Jan to provide some sort of buffer after Christmas mixing. I’m pissed off; we personally sacrificed the chance to see extended family over Christmas (most of whom we haven’t seen since March) because of the risk, and I have a child with SN who can’t cope with online learning and whose mental health really suffers from not being at school; but I completely understand the council’s position.

@Pikachubaby

DS 6th form college have already decided that the first 2 weeks of Jan will be online. Same schedule and lessons as normal, just online

Pragmatic and workable and non-emotional, I really respect them and how they’ve handled the crisis.

Sadly our education minister is neither pragmatic, nor wise, nor calm.

I wonder if my ds' 6th form will do the same - or at least for the first week (Monday is an INSET day anyway) so it would only be for 4 days. We've not heard anything so far, but it could still happen. They went online for this week, too.

They've only had three covid cases all term.

I also agree that school staff should be a priority for the vaccine, particularly if it's discovered in the next few weeks that it stops transmission as well as illness. We need schools open so we need staff to be healthy.

I know people will say well then you should vaccinate supermarket staff too because we need food, but they can wear masks and keep their distance from colleagues and customers.

@Hikeforward that was my point, but I forgot that sometimes I'm not good at conveying sarcasm in text, sorry :) I was trying to make the exact points you raised though, just not as well expressed

[quote Oeliilio]@AaronPurr I’m still not at the point where I think leaving children with poor access to education, in many cases with very reduced financial means (job losses, no wages, limited food or heating), is something that sits right with me.[/quote]
I didn't say you were I was just pointing out saying you have low cases is meaningless, because lots of schools could say the same until recently, and now cases in their schools are rising.