To ask how confident you are schools will be going back as normal

[demitrimendeleev1]

Excluding the changes with secondaries staggered start back
Yabu- I think schools will go back as normal
Yanbu- I don’t think schools will go back as normal
Please say why?

In South Wales where the virus is ripping through our valleys. How on earth can they send us to school in bubbles of often over 100 with no ppe but we can't visit our parents?!? Make absolutely no sense at all

I really hope they do but it feels a bit like March so I’m not sure anymore

I think secondaries might do blended learning I’m hoping primaries go back.

Recently they keep using the word ‘education’ instead of schools. ‘Access to education is vital’ which tells me they may want to move to more online ‘education’

@Jenifirtree

Theyve not been normal since march. What type of school do you work in, op, that you think theres even a chance?

We have been normal!!!!! Completely normal apart from our bubble bursting it's been business as usual

Primary school in tier 1 here, if we don't go back it will be purely to keep us in line with the rest of the country and not for any scientific reason.

Not confident but praying that they will!

And yes, bar not using the playground at the same time, no parents on site and eating meals in classrooms we have been totally business as usual.

They could go down the approach of keeping exam years in school and the rest done remotely for longer than the staggered start approach. Even that would take the pressure off the spread (although not entirely eradicate it)

My boy's secondary school is doing the same as Cuddling57. Years 11 and 13 are going back on the 5th, with years 7-10 and 12 remote learning for at least a week.

I think Boris changed tack very discreetly in tonight's press conference by saying schools will be back if at all possible instead of the usual insistence that they will keep them open no matter what.

I agree with this. What he said tonight WAS different. If he is saying it may not be possible i would take that to mean he thinks it will not be.

The DfE are still emailing today about opening as normal apart from the mass testing

Can someone with a bigger brain than me please explain how in the name of fuck the GCSEs and A levels are still going ahead in England next year?

Fuck. This. Government.

@ballsdeep my eyfs classes are spending an hour a day cleaning every resource that children have touched, cleaning at lunch, no mixing outside of our bubble of 60, staggered starts and finishes and we’ve still had 3 closures in our year group (the rest of the school have had several too). There is no social distancing at all, because 4 year olds have no concept of distancing however much we try! Genuine question-How are you managing normal?

Since the last few days I'm thinking almost no chance

Boris says a lot and then backtracks, is the thing to remember....

I hope they do but I don't think they will and I'm majorly stressing about it. Ugh.

I think we’re being softened up for schools not going back.

If EYFS/KS1 don’t go back it will break me. My work is twice as busy as it was then and there is no way I can teach a Reception child or expect him to watch pre-recorded videos to learn. But I will have to, which will mean a return to working early and late.

If KS2 don’t go back, it will break my 9 year old. He worked so hard and was so good during the first lockdown but it played absolute havoc with his mental health. I’m not sure how he’d react to a repeat, especially as his school refuse to do any live or interactive learning. It will all be videos on Google Classroom with light touch comments a few days later if children have any questions.

You don't need to start planning any mass testing until the 4th.

I work in a huge college teaching a GCSE re-sit subject. We've been told we'll be online for the first week but that's it so far.

College want us in to teach remotely which I think is ludicrous and won't be doing

The rhetoric has changed - from ‘schools’ to ‘education’ and ‘where possible’.

I think it will be blended learning. Maybe primaries back but not secondaries? Or just year 11 and year 13 (in smaller classes).

We’re in Tier 4. School dropped to single class rather than year group bubbles after half term. Across the school two bubbles burst before half term and one after with no onward contagion to the other bubbles.

Dropping to single class bubbles seems like it made a difference as nearby schools have had a much tougher run. Or maybe we’ve just been really lucky which is possible!

About nil. Owing to the number of teachers and support staff who will sadly have tested positive for Covid 19 or for whom a loved one has, and will be self-isolating.

I wonder if the change from #Schools' to 'education' is significant too?
But, BJ talks such BS it's hard to tell!

I really hope they will be but based on Boris' comments today, no, I don't think so.