For those who want schools to go back..

[pfrench]

.. tell us how you think it should work. Primary or secondary.

In your ideal world.

How would social distancing be adhered to?
How about drop off and pick up?
How would classrooms operate?
How about lunchtimes and breaktimes?
What about after school childcare provision?
What about staff who are sheidling?
What about children who are sheilding?
What about staff who have family members who are sheilding?
Should only some children go back? Who should they be and why?

So many education and school experts on here, it will be interesting to read your safe solutions.

Teachers think they have it harder than anybody else right now. This shows in the post! Many of us could of have COVID and not known before things got as serious I was poorly and tbh I’m not sure if it was or not as there was then no testing available!
People that are that anxious about it (rightly so) could of had it anyway!
There’s risk to everything in life and I think it’s madness that people will be losing homes as businesses collapse! This will all fall on the Gov to sort out. Like I’ve stated 5 months time from now I’m sure people will have a slight change of heart..

@Floatyboat I’m not holding out for a perfect solution but as a minimum track and trace procedures must be in place before we can allow any type of mass gatherings and for me, hundreds/thousands of children being in school together is just that!

There are 2 sinks in the ladies loos at my school for handwashing that would have to accommodate 50+ female members of staff at breaktime. We often have to queue most often teachers don't have time to go to the loo at work and we are known for being at increased risk of kidney infections as a profession as we restrict fluid intake as we don't have time.
There will be no increased hand washing.

Surely then now is the time to make the case for those resources. Eg we can open schools but we need an additional £500 per pupil for cleaning and resources. I'm sure the government would listen to that. Better than complaining about not having glue sticks. Advocate for your children! don't just give up on them

All the suggestions you have made Flax would be nothing to do with teachers. They would not be the ones sourcing buckets and carrying water etc. If you can't see why walking between socially distanced pupils to hand out jotters might be an issue...
I do find it interesting that the medical officers of (Wales and Scotland anyway) have not been convinced by the "children don't get Covid" studies, or surely schools would be open by now. Perhaps they are not convincing studies?

Teachers think they have it harder than anybody else right now
I don't think this is true.
It's not about 'working hard' it's about keeping safe.
Why some parents are so willing to put their children and families at risk I don't know.
The same people clapping the NHS, keeping 2m away from others at all times, wearing masks... they're happy to send their DC into a crowded germ ridden environments for 6 hours a day.

Green lorry, recent evidence says kids can spread it.

And l work in secondary and they can definitely spread it

This whole thing is nonsense. Teachers don't choose when schools reopen, the government does. The government wants schools open to get the economy gliding. The fact that schools are closed means it's not safe to open them.

Do you guys not realise that if cases start going up again the whole economy will truly be fucked. Plus its actually the world governments keeping schools shut at the moment not us.

Other places manage to stay clean and employ cleaners. Why can't schools

Lack of budget. Schools are barely employing teachers.

Hell even thinking about handing out books and worksheets etc is difficult.Why, what's difficult about it?

Classroom shapes and set ups which are fixed. For students to hand out paperwork, they will be squeezing themselves between desks and pushing people,out of the way. Not social distancing.

If the child is coughing then why can't you ring the parent to take them home

Parents are happy to send in sick children and drive 50 miles to work. Whilst we wait for said parent to finish a meeting and drive back, the child will need to be sat in a room with an adult coughing. That same child may have coughed all over your child and introduced the virus into your home by the end of the school day.

Just the basics of hand washing for example - my daughters secondary school has approx 1600 pupils and 3 blocks of toilets with between 10-20 sinks in each. So max 60 sinks between 1600 pupils who will need to wash their hands between every lesson. 6 times a day means each sink being used 156 times a day!

More defeatism

I'm sure the council has some spare buckets and soap is 30p a bar in Poundland. Blimey they're kids, not fine bone china and would probably enjoy the novelty of it and you could work in some kind of history lesson about the slums of the 19th century when people had tin baths. I honestly think the children would cope better than the teachers, who seem scared of their own shadows

When did schools become so bloody precious about everything?

@greathat teaching unions are exploiting a busy/weak government to dictate their own policies. When did teaching unions become experts in epidemiology and economics?

It's almost embarrassing how determined you are to argue you should not get on with your job when millions of other key workers are doing so every day of the week.

FFS, how many more times. TEACHERS ARE GETTING ON WITH OUR FUCKING JOBS!! It's just that most of it is not IN the school building at the moment, although some of it is, according to WHAT WE ARE ALLOWED TO DO BY THE GOVERNMENT!!!!

This whole thing is nonsense. Teachers don't choose when schools reopen, the government does. The government wants schools open to get the economy gliding. The fact that schools are closed means it's not safe to open them.
Honestly we should just post this on every fuck-the-teachers thread. It's funny how posters think the government is so in thrall to what teachers think or want. They never listen to us normally. It is not our decision.

@Otherrooms have you never had a bad and annoying cold how do you know you and your family have not have COVID already???

How are you all so sure you haven’t had it you could of but had no symptoms not everybody ends up on ICU!

I wonder if teachers are bothered about the welfare of the kids who will potentially lose everything due to this? As in their parent loses their income because they can't work due to no school... They then lose their home, perhaps their car, have to sell their things.

And don't tell me "well there's UC" because it often doesn't apply if one parent is still working.

So use buckets of water and a cheap bar of soap. What's the problem?

Are you actually stupid?
A shortage of sinks and you're suggesting using buckets of water and cheap soap?
Each child using the same dirty soapy water?
Or are you suggesting we refill each bucket after each child with clean water? Oh... yeh...not enough taps or sinks...F'ing hell.
Maybe we could hose them all down after each lesson...down ... again... not enough taps

Any more ideas Einstein?.

And all of you spouting studies which say ‘children can’t spread it’, can you tell me what that means for secondary schools? Because the 6ft boys with size 12 feet who shave every day may be children in name but their bodies would say otherwise. Please tell us what the science says to do about that.

Flax there are over a hundred schools in my area. Why would the council have 100x? buckets spare? In a magic bucket cupboard?

FFS, how many more times. TEACHERS ARE GETTING ON WITH OUR FUCKING JOBS!! It's just that most of it is not IN the school building at the moment, although some of it is, according to WHAT WE ARE ALLOWED TO DO BY THE GOVERNMENT!!!!

It's pretty bloody obvious that people are talking about opening the schools fully 🙄🙄

How long would it take? Does it matter if it takes half an hour or 2 hours in the grand scheme of things? You could even check for bits while you're at it. I'm sure many parents would be eternally grateful due to the amount of lice and re-infection rates in schools

It’s suggestions like this that highlight the need for decisions such as how to reopen schools MUST be made by people who work in schools.

Any extended amount of time for children to be spent queuing will result in problems-unrest, boredom, arguments, fighting, wandering off etc

Checking for nits? Really?

Can you imagine the outrage by some parents on here if we starting rooting through their hair?! Violation of their human rights?! We’d then need signed permission from each parent. Though obviously we wouldn’t be 2 inches away from their faces checking for nits because that’s not social distancing anyway.

I expect you’ll reply to this saying something like, ‘bloody teachers-always thinking up excuses’.

Well, I expect however schools reopen-and they won’t be full time for all children, people will be very disappointed.

Reading these posts really does make me despair.

I try to reassure myself that there must be other teachers (not posting on here ) that aren't defeatist and want to get on with the job, improve children's lives and help the country get moving again.

Greenlorry

Until everyone is tested will never happen we will never know.
Should we all just guess?

I wonder if teachers are bothered about the welfare of the kids who will potentially lose everything due to this?

Why do you think teachers in two income households are immune from this happening to them and their children?

But yeah, you’re right, we don’t give a shit about the children we teach.

FFS.

So use buckets of water and a cheap bar of soap. What's the problem?

Jesus Christ, I've heard it all now.

Flaxmeadow, you really are embarrassing yourself now if you have NO IDEA of what a ridiculous suggestion that is in your average school.