How will large schools cope?

[oldbagface]

The school issue is worrying. Our school has approximately 1800 pupils. Inner city school in a deprived area. Huge percentage of pupils do not have English as a first language which may possibly hinder understanding of the plethora of new rules they will be expected to adhere to. Further, a high percentage of kids with learning disabilities, Ditto the same issue. Also, even if all kids were able to be compliant and carried out all expectations to the letter, who is going to clean the school throughout the day. Particularly high touch areas. It's not possible. I don't see how it will be safe.

Then if we go with the untested theory that kids don't spread it. In a school of our size there's a lot of adult staff members. Still plenty of opportunities to spread the virus.

Opinions please.

And it's cloud cuckoo land to imagine that 1500 secondary school students are going to carefully socially distance from each other on the walk to and from school. And social distancing becomes even less possible if lots of students travel to and from school on the same bus.

Would halving the school day not work? So the morning would be one half and the afternoon the other? If kids had 3 50 minute lessons per day no breaks only hour lunch for teachers? If they scrapped form time I’m sure they could make that work? That way classes are a lot smaller and more manageable.

Its also cloud cuckoo to think parents would then stop the children meeting up socially when they have spent all day together and sat on the bus.

@Keepdistance
How would your suggestion work with students at KS4 who are already in sets? Who have picked their options and GCSE path? Who are doing different English texts to lower sets? Or are further ahead in terms of work for Maths?
How can we stream these students please, without as you say, "making a huge amount of difference?"

@Wehttam
Half days at our high school? Not possible. Firstly our buses, lots of our students rely on school buses. So how can we bus some in and some out?
Secondly, free school meals - lots of our students have these - often their only proper meal a day - so, how would we cater for all of these if they were staggered.

And the ones not in - who teaches these? Presumably not the teachers in school who are busy with the morning and afternoon shift. So online learning would then stop too.

I wonder what will happen in boarding schools?

Yes as i say when thry select options for gcse they would have to stick with those.
But thats 3yrs where they could stream instead ?

It does highlight uk issues with behaviour and kids compliance and lsrge class sizes.
Tbh some kids probably will do better at home with fewer distractions from other pupils. (Thoufh maybe not where thry have lots of siblings

I really don't know what the solution is. I actually can't see a way to make this work at all and am interested to hear people's thoughts.
I like @Wehttam idea actually..those who travel by bus could all be in the same half maybe?
Teenagers will not socially distance though. I know teachers in secondary at the moment where even with only 20 key worker kids in, they will not listen at all and are constantly being told about the 2 metres and they just answer back and don't care. How can you control that on a much bigger scale?
This topic is one that I'm really keen to know the answer to but I dont think there truly is one yet.

I was discussing this with my teacher sister. She honestly has no idea how it could work, her school and my dn's school are pretty old buildings, narrow corridors and tiny classrooms. There is no blueprint for a school, so what could work for one probably wouldn't for the one across town.

Her prediction is maybe yrs 10 and 12 for the last half term.

I also think that the unions will put up a lot of blockers, teaching unions object to many things, they are more than likely to object to a school return plan.

All pupils enter through one set of double doors at our school. There would be a queue to exceed anything seen at B&Q recently as they entered each day, if we kept up the social distancing.

Any ideas why unions might object, thegreatwave?

They will think that it is not possible for large staff numbers to be kept safe and that behavioural wise pupils will pose a risk.

If they feel that staff will be at risk they will object.

It’s going to be one thing to decide how to manage the kids when they are in school, it’s going to be another matter to timetable it!

Think how long it takes to create the timetable for September.

So it needs to be timetabled. And then teachers need to know who they’re going to be teaching so they can figure out exactly what they’re going to be teaching them. And then plan those lessons.

It’s going to be a massive job.

And what if you have 3 children all coming and going from schools at different times? How will that work? Who will be at home? How will parents get to work? Its a massive undertaking all round.

Also, what about after school care? Will that resume? It is a nightmare.

What about break? No ball games, tag, sitting with your friends and chatting (too noisy not to sit close) ...

At Primary the dropping off and picking up is going to be challenging. All having to socially distance while dropping/picking up hundreds of kids. There will have to be so many different play times/lunch...they will be happening all day.

The world of work, schools included will have to change. Many industries are looking at a two shift per day system to maintain social distancing. Perhaps two school days in one, 8am - 2pm and 2pm - 8pm. We need to understand that we are not going back to what once was. Adaption and perspective are key to success.

Good luck filling the teacher gap for that, there aren’t enough to fill one ‘shift’.

I agree with many of you, it will be a nightmare.
About these school buses and half days that are suggested, I touched on the problem with this earlier. So, morning shift leaves at 12.30. Buses take up to an hour to drop off (we have a huge catchment area). Then has to pick up the afternoon shift, lucky to get back to school before 2.30. And instead of the two bus runs a day, there would be four. So, where do we and other schools get double the amount of buses from? Will Rishi just pluck some money off his magic ever growing tree?

@noblegiraffe. Timetabling! Bloody nightmare at the best of times. Lots of our teachers are on part time contracted hours too so add that into the mix - and rooming. One of our SLT does the timetabling, and he starts in January for September.

And a lot of the morning shift that leaves at 12.30 will have needed their free school meal - so presumably they actually finish at 11.45 a.m. to get said meal, eat it, socially distance hang out on the field for 10 minutes before collecting their stuff from their magically disinfected locker and run for the bus.

So, long split lunches in a canteen that doubles up as a sports hall (where will the kids play indoor sports?) Teachers that have to double in quantity - because some will be doing on line teaching all day for those not in school, but still having remote lessons. Double buses. Extra rooms.

Impossible to achieve and stay safe.

I think our school will pay lip service to this, more hand gel, notices reminding kids to wash their hands. They'll drop assemblies and try and stagger lunches a bit. And turn a blind eye to the groups huddled together on the field, too close in the classroom, etc.

And I know the school I work in is a bit rough, we had older students deliberating spitting at younger ones the weeks before we finished. Others fake coughing at teachers and each other, challenging each other to lick books in the library ffs. That won't change. Sad, but that's what we face.

The founder of the strictest school in england, The Michaela School, isnt someone I usually agree with. However she realeased a brilliant article saying that even in her school social distancing is impossible. If and when schoolls return lets not kid ourselves in any way that there will be social distnacing in place.

I don't think that they can let kids back until they know that the impact of not socially distancing will push the R figure to more than 1.

So will assess the impact of schools returning only when R is below 0.7 ( which they keep mentioning but could be higher or lower) and that other relaxations they are taking combined with schools returning won't push that R up.

I don't think we will know that until we see what is happening in other countries. I can see them taking y10 and y12 back with enforced social distancing but not whole schools and not primary. Not until they have a test and track system in place. Which won't be until at least September.

As a teacher in early years the thought of an 8 til 8 day five days a week sounds hideous! When will we plan, assess etc?
Also is the whole thing not made a bit pointless by the fact the teacher is mixing with ALL the children.