‘School will have to look different from now on’....

[Starrynightsabove]

‘With a mix of home schooling and in-school learning’

So said Nicola Sturgeon.

So how does this work for a single parent trying to work full time from home with a full on job who needs to pay the mortgage. Literally how does this work?

Maybe its the teachers in some of the God awful Academy chains with awful SLT who they don't trust. Morale is on the floor in a lot of places as it is

Hmm now I can agree with that actually.

The govt need to really think about how they're going to reassure the whole nation, not just teachers and parents, after scaring them all to death with their advertising campaign

They do. Many people are needlessly terrified. There was an article posted on another thread where the government had said that people needed to feel personally threatened in order to comply.

To me that's not dissimilar to physiological terrorism.

GeneGenie my understanding of the union’s stance was that they didn’t want schools to reopen until it’s safe. Based on a text I got from the NEU yesterday, it doesn’t say “schools should not reopen until there’s a vaccine”. No one knows when it will be safe but I didn’t get the impression the NEU was pushing for 18 months of school closures (for example).

For the record, I would really hate to be off until there’s a vaccine. I’ve been working so hard for this job and even though that’s such a small (and probably selfish!!) thing in the grand scheme, I just want to be teaching in my first classroom.

No I really haven't. I've seen lots of I won't go back until a vaccine comments.

I don’t believe this is true. Perhaps you can link to, say 5, otherwise it does sound very much like you are making it up.

FWIW, I’ve seen lots of parents say this about keeping their child of till there is a vaccine.

This is the thing though we can't say what "safe" is. There's a lot of "I won't send my child until September" as though something miraculous will have happened between now and then.

I know the union's obviously want to protect their members but it's like asking for an impossible thing. Every individuals personal risk level is different and I guess it also depends on other measures not directly related to schools.

I wouldn't like to be the person making the decisions but all this "three more weeks and we might tell you something" isn't helping anyone imo.

I am very grateful for teachers like you! (And teachers in general because I cannot bloody do it)

I am keeping mine off until September because I’m hoping PPE etc will have been organised by then. If I see no health and safety conditions in place then they won’t be returning to school.

I was actually chased by the attendance officer for keeping my son off for two weeks with suspected Coronavirus and wanted to know why we’d not seen a doctor. Despite all the guidance to stay away from GP’s surgeries ... that’s how switched on the LA were prior to the government stepping in. People have no confidence, staff, pupils, general public

I seriously cannot be arsed trawling through past threads and Facebook pages. I have seen it I'm not lying about it and frankly I don't fucking care if you think I'm lying because I have no reason to be.

GeneGenie I know, it’s total guesswork. I don’t really think it’ll be any safer in September - there’s always going to be a risk until there’s a vaccine and we can’t stay closed until then!
And thank you! Teaching is hard, but also great sorry for being snappy to you, no need for that.

It's ok I think we are all stressed. I am sorry for my badly worded comments!

veryvery

Nonsense.

I've very clearly stated that you can homeschool if you want, that is your choice, but don't require it of the rest of us. We don't want it.

What is with these people who are desperate to remain home but won't just do that - they must have us all remain home too in order to validate their paralyzing fear?

Shut yourselves in at your own expense, but leave the rest of us out of it. We have work to do, taxes to pay and public services to keep running.

There was a survey on the d of e FB page and most of the comments were teachers who did not want schools to open.

Do you have a link, please? I've searched but can't find it and I'd be interested to look at it.

www.facebook.com/116423535060106/posts/2883998564969242/

I read it days ago... a teacher friend on FB shared it with her views.

Just looking now a lot of comments from parents too.

If schools do open perhaps they'll be half empty anyway?

GeneGenie oh my god!! The amount of people on that thread like “we love spending time as a family!” “Let kids enjoy freedom!” That’s lovely and I don’t begrudge them it.
However.... not to be awful, but those aren’t the kids I’m worried about. It’s the vulnerable children who are really suffering and also in dangerous conditions at home. And the many many families who aren’t loving having their kids home, it’s really difficult for lots of people.

A lot of teachers would prefer to work from home until there's a vaccine. I don't agree that's practical.I am only basing what I have seen online. It is probably not s majority but I have also seen lots of talk of unions rallying against schools re opening. I don't know what to make of that

We would prefer to be at work. However, some of us are high risk ourselves. Others have high risk people living in their homes. We know social distancing won’t work in school. We know some schools struggle with actually having basics like soap. We know student levels of hygiene are poor. We k ow their are students who will have fun coughing on each other and on staff,. There has been no consultation with teachers as to what could be done to support them and ensure their safety and that of their families, their students and their students families. So far, as far as I see it, we have been seen as expendable. Much talk of children not getting ill but no thought given to how that might work for the many adults in the school environment.

Yep cats I agree.

My child isn't in any danger but I'd be kidding myself if I said he was gaining as much from staying with me 24/7 as he does at nursery.

It's probably the same for a lot of parents. And that's the good parents who can appreciate that.

And then like you say there is children who are very very much at risk.

Is it really natural or healthy to have thirty children from different families, all day, in one room? I don't think so.

I used to work for a training company. Our company was in the same building ( a huge building with different businesses) as the biggest creche in my town, so every day I would walk by thirty children on the stairs. I was never so sick in my life, as I was in that job.

Children pass so much sickness around, I had bad colds and sinus infections every single week when I worked there. I never felt well. It can't be good for them to all be lumped in together like that.

We are going to begin to take health more seriously.

The old school system - throw a load of children together and make them sit there all day, was cruel, and bad for their physical and mental health

And what would you suggest instead out of interest?

It's quite natural to have children from different families together all day long. That's how villages used to work. Kids did chores and spent the rest of their time with all the other children.

Sitting cloistered at home in the nuclear family is the unnatural option.

Ultimately, if teachers choose not to return to work, that is their choice.

But they wont be salaried, furloughed or paid.

I think the issue is that clearly schools can be made safe for all.
Smaller classes with consistent kids and teachers.
Face masks on teachers and children
More time outside.
Packs if work on desks and child own pens etc
Cleaners cleaning handles and toilets much more frequently

But obviously this wont be done because of hassle and expense.

Read the news article abou the 28yo care home worker with the 3yo. The care home workers are also thrown under the bus (though clearly need to work but need ppe).

Not sure if i said on this thread. But employers would be in trouble for making staff do asbestos without ppe. But although dangerous at least that allows life for many years.
We are asking people to pretty much drop down dead (ie be prepared to die within 3w).
And that is a big ask of people with young kids especially. And it seems to be mainly argued for in a
My kid misses their friends
I cant teach them anythung
What about the vulnerable kids (who can already go in and would unfortunately be being abused year round and in normal school holidays but we dont force them in over the summer...)

Places are all looking at making work safer (facemasks in supermarkets for staff and customers and on public transport). Because these groups have already been failed.

We are asking people to pretty much drop down dead (ie be prepared to die within 3w)
And that is a big ask of people with young kids especially

Right and statistically how likely is it that you'll drop down dead?

What about the vulnerable kids (who can already go in and would unfortunately be being abused year round and in normal school holidays but we dont force them in over the summer

That's ok then is it. They're worth the sacrifice.

Just because they can go in doesn't mean they are.

Pics, your tone suggests you are indeed attempting to polarise the discussion. Your last post addressed to me demonstrates this further.

I've very clearly stated that you can homeschool if you want, that is your choice, but don't require it of the rest of us. We don't want it.

You address this to me when I actually said I am happy to send my D.C. to school (and will when lockdown is over). You suggest there is a 'we' that opposes my view.

What is with these people who are desperate to remain home but won't just do that - they must have us all remain home too in order to validate their paralyzing fear?

Who indeed? Not me. Added to this myself and all household happily go outside in our locality, running everyday. We visit the supermarket when needed etc. We are not paralysed by fear.

Shut yourselves in at your own expense, but leave the rest of us out of it. We have work to do, taxes to pay and public services to keep running.

Who is the 'yourselves' you are referring to? As I have said, I have not shut myself in.

It is these kind of comments that seek to polarise because you project a warped imaginary view of me by addressing me in this way. Why? Simply because I see the positive and negative? That I tend to acknowledge positives because it gives me opportunity to reap the benefits from them? That I am not catastrophising?

There is a difference between relatively safe, and and when there is a vaccine. Relatively safe means giving enough notice to organise groupings, rooming, timetables, finding out how many pupils will want to come back, and putting in place new behaviour boundaries and attendance rules, and planning food and bathroom access. Perfect distancing will not be possible but enough notice to improve on the usual scrum. My concern is that the government will not give the notice needed to be safer, not about a vaccine.

AnnaMaria interesting you say that, I was ill for about 10 weeks with a respiratory tract infection (I was fine, didn’t need treatment) when I started working in early years as a TA four years ago, but since that first year I’ve had an immune system of steel. I’d say generally, if you’re healthy, it’s fine to have all those families together. If it wasn’t you’d have every teacher (and child) off constantly ill.

Children already are ‘relatively safe’; the number of deaths of under 14s is very very very low. More die from other causes. The reason for not opening schools is adults not children.