I’m not a teacher but......

[Comefromaway]

I think it’s time you went on strike.

The government clearly don’t give a toss about you, our kids & subsequently our families.

My daughter is so stressed about the school/college environment. Everywhere she’s being told that she can’t do this that and the other because people are dying. But she’s expected to go into college and have her normal classes with overcrowding and no effective mitigation.

Medical officer woman has clearly not been into a school. The teachers & students are dropping like flies.

@caringcarer

My son wears a mask in every lesson except PE outside. His teachers wear masks too for much of the lesson after the initial instructions. If his secondary school does this as students all seem to comply, I just don't understand why other schools don't do this too. Is it a leadership decision not to wear masks? I know people are saying masks don't protect you from the mutant strain but surely it should help a bit. I think all teachers who want to wear a mask should be able to do so. I think all students should be told to wear a mask all day except outdoor break, lunch time and PE.

The problem is that the DfE says masks are a hindrance to teaching and learning and should be avoided in classrooms - and that sanitizer and bubbles are sufficient. So heads who (unsurprisingly) aren't PHE experts want to follow the guidance exactly so they don't get sued if they go off piste and it goes wrong So in my school I am not allowed a mask in the classroom, and I'm expected to ask pupils to remove theirs.

PPE in Nursing Homes is crap. Flimsy masks for 12.5 hour shifts. Many staff wear their own cloth ones....it is very bad. Gov do not give a crap re Nursing Homes or Schools. I have no idea how teaching can be achieved under these circumstances. Schools are just a baby sitting service so people can go to work I think. My son had to come back from Uni in March in final year..utter shambles. Graduated in Biotech and now being sent info re shite Gov initiatives,including Construction apprenticeships and Kick start shite. He may has well not have bothered! ( soz for derailment)

If nhs staff aren’t complaining or supermarket staff or delivery drivers not complaining but teachers feel they have to be treated differently I’m really sorry but I think at the moment let’s all deal with it

Please sign...
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/554316

@MrsFezziwig

I’m not a teacher either and I don’t think you should strike, but I’m baffled by the ability of the government to shoot themselves in the foot. They’re running round like headless chickens because of the new variant while doing nothing to make schools safer (and by that I don’t mean closing them) and thus slowing down one of the main means of transmission. If I was a worker in one of the shut down industries I’d be absolutely raging at their inefficiency.

Not to mention the vociferous anti-teacher brigade who are so desperate that teachers aren’t given the least bit of what they consider to be preferential treatment that seemingly they’d prefer all the teachers to get sick (at which point they’ll realise that, er, teachers are actually needed to keep schools going). Unfortunately I feel the only way this mindset will change is if a variant occurs which actually makes children ill rather than adults, then all the entitled parents will soon be shouting that schools aren’t safe.

And Jenny Harries is an embarrassment.

@MrsFezziwig

Thank you for that! Someone who 'gets it' !!

I think nhs/ social care and retail staff are complaining but also have to get on with it. A nurse in a care home ...if they have Covid or have to isolate gets ssp ..they do not get sick pay equal to their normal wage like they would in nhs. Presumably a teacher would get nirmal pay..certainly not ssp.

but teachers feel they have to be treated differently
Teachers would like to be treated the same.

@Pmspiers7

If nhs staff aren’t complaining or supermarket staff or delivery drivers not complaining but teachers feel they have to be treated differently I’m really sorry but I think at the moment let’s all deal with it

So either teachers are being more vocal just to be difficult or teachers have reason to complain? I remember health and care staff rightly complaining and discussing if they would reluctantly have to withdraw their labour when there was a national PPE shortage forcing them to work in unsafe conditions in the spring. I also remember a huge effort to get equipment to them, both by the public and government.

You can believe that we're workshy moaners, but when we have to close schools to all children because we don't have enough staff, remember we tried to avoid it. When schools can't appoint senior leaders remember how badly heads have been treated in this.

Every teacher wants schools fully open, online teaching is difficult and being away from our kids is miserable.

@Pmspiers7

If nhs staff aren’t complaining or supermarket staff or delivery drivers not complaining but teachers feel they have to be treated differently I’m really sorry but I think at the moment let’s all deal with it

What a ridiculous post. We aren't categories of people, you know.

What evidence do you have that teachers aren complaining but nurses aren't??

@PoptartPoptart

I think teaching might be the only profession that are denied the protection of wearing PPE. Doctors, nurses, shop workers, bus drivers, office workers, and even the police can wear a mask. But teachers? Nope. Also, secondary school children are required to wear a mask when on public transport and in shops. Yet in the classroom they are not allowed. How is that right? A teacher or pupil are not allowed in a shop without a mask because it is too dangerous. Yet anything goes in schools. It’s disgraceful. And everyone, yes EVERYONE, should care about this because ultimately the virus is spreading in schools which poses a risk not only to teachers and pupils but to their families, friends, and the public as a whole.

Where are pupils and teachers not allowed to wear a mask?

Why don’t people want teachers to be safe. They look after your children, keeping them safe. I find the attitudes on her disgusting. Wanting free childcare, but fuck the teachers health and family. Shame on all you “I’m alright jacks”

@Wheresmykimchi
Mask use discouraged by DFE in primary as it is apparently detrimental to teaching. It’s in the guidance.

@happystone
Well said! The attitude of some disgusts me but then it’s something I’m used to on here.
Thank you OP for highlighting this issue. Schools are not safe, my school has not been open properly since the end of November after there were close to 100 cases, and almost half of them were staff. Some young fit, healthy colleagues were hospitalised as were some pupils with no underlying health conditions. Teenagers don’t socially distance, it’s hard when the nation is being told it’s not safe to go to work but teachers have to. Nobody is disputing that NHS staff and care staff aren’t risking their lives but as previous posters have pointed out they are not in close proximity to 5 groups of 32 kids for an minimum of an hour a day where nobody is wearing masks and there is no ventilation. Likewise supermarkets have large spaces and limit the numbers of customers whilst staff can socially distance from each other and customers. Online learning is not ideal and of course every teacher would much rather be in the classroom than teaching online but this is an option, nothing about this pandemic is ideal for anyone. Why should we have to risk our lives and that of our families?

The dfe. And government in the future will be saying “lessons have been learned” when there is an inquiry in to the way school and teachers have been treated . We as parents have to support our teachers,like they support our children. Don’t fight against the teachers fight against the dfe. And government

One of DS's secondary teachers came back after time off for covid last week and it triggered diabetes. She was telling the kids that if she gets cranky they are allowed to remind her to snack. DS thinks she's in her 50's.
His school does allow pupils to wear masks in class, he's been amazing and wears one inside all day. Most of his mates don't though.

Why aren’t teachers being offered vaccinations?

@megletthesecond

One of DS's secondary teachers came back after time off for covid last week and it triggered diabetes. She was telling the kids that if she gets cranky they are allowed to remind her to snack. DS thinks she's in her 50's. His school does allow pupils to wear masks in class, he's been amazing and wears one inside all day. Most of his mates don't though.

Is this a proven thing that getting Covid triggers diabetes?

@CheeseIsMyVice

Why aren’t teachers being offered vaccinations?

There isn’t enough vaccine. Most teachers won’t be seriously ill if they catch covid. The groups that are being vaccinated first will. Vulnerable teachers will be called in their place in the queue.

I’m a young (ish), fit teacher. I don’t think I should be higher priority than someone who is much more likely to die if they catch covid than I am.

@Doobydoo it’s true I’m with you. It’s rubbish. I think a lot people fling the term PPE assuming it’s something that it’s not. Flimsy blue mask won’t do anything.

You can’t tell the teachers that though. It doesn’t even have a seal round unlike the other masks!

My DH is vulnerable. He is in place 6 in the queue for vaccines and had to fight tooth and nail to get his flu vaccine this year.

I reckon some vulnerable teachers will be teaching for many months in schools before they get a sniff of a vaccine.

‘Is this a proven thing that getting Covid triggers diabetes?’

There are initial investigations into the links between the two and an international registry has been established to monitor outcomes. There is no published clinical evidence yet. They are considering issues such as the fact that undiagnosed diabetics who become ill with Covid are then identified during hospital treatment. Also steroid therapy, which is now widely used in the treatment of covid, can trigger diabetes.

@CheeseIsMyVice

Why aren’t teachers being offered vaccinations?

Teachers ARE/WILL be offered vaccines if they are in any one of the at risk categories. The vaccine can’t be administered to everyone at the same time!

”There isn’t enough vaccine. Most teachers won’t be seriously ill if they catch covid”
Is the issue there isn’t enough vaccine though? Or is the distribution the real issue? If it’s the latter, why can’t the army/medics be called in to help speed things up?
And while most teachers won’t be seriously ill if they catch Covid, the potential for widespread disruption to our children’s education is a real threat if schools are closed due to lack of staff.

And whilst I agree with...
”The vaccine can’t be administered to everyone at the same time!”

• not ‘everyone’ is being asked to go to work every day with no masks or social distancing and coming into contact with hundreds of different people every day!

The schools have no idea.
DH is 61. Caught covid (Pretty sure in an overcrowded classroom) and was Ill for 2 weeks. He rushed back as soon as he could (idiot) and was asked to referee a football match on his first day back.
He could barely walk 50metres let alone run around for 90minutes.