Did anyone else see the really positive news about primary schools reopening on BBC this morning? at 9am

[bigbananafeet12]

They were asking advice from a lovely primary school teacher in Denmark on how the'd approached it. She was so positive and encouraging it gave me hope for our dc for the first time in ages. Worth a watch if you can.

I wondered about use of trainee teachers to support older more senior staff who may be vulnerable due to health; this happens anyway, but could work well perhaps

Ireland has no plans to reopen till September

Schools in Ireland break up for the summer at the end of May or June in any case. They will have plenty of time to catch up it seems;

"Most children starting school [in Ireland] will be 19 or 20 years old when they finish secondary school."

www.irishtimes.com/news/education/doing-your-leaving-cert-at-20-school-starting-age-on-the-rise-1.3881875

For those saying 1 june is too early I don’t disagree but at some point our R will reach a level that we’ll have to try these measures. We Just can’t stay at home until the disease is eradicated.

Yes, but we also shouldn't rush to go back, sticking our fingers in our ears and humming in the face of all reasonable objections to doing so. The years of cuts to education have come home to roost, and much as the government would like to pretend that it doesn't matter and we can all go back as if we've got the facilities that countries that haven't decimated their education budgets have, doing so would be irresponsible in the extreme.

As an 80s/90s child a few portakabins on a school site was pretty standard so could some be bought on school sites now to cope

@Mumof1andacat where do you think all these portakabins are, built, ready to go, waiting to be ordered and put into place (including plumbing and power) within weeks, at every school in the country?

Seriously, it's like people don't give anything a minute's thought and logic.

Personally as a parent I’m not expecting my DS to be in full time. The letter we were emailed from the LA said that “the sizes of some classrooms may limit the amount of pupils that can be accommodated” and “staff shortages may limit the speed in which pupils can return” which to me suggests we should not prepare for business as usual, or expect our children to be back in full time.

the HT also said “we are all working together to form an approach to returning to school that is safe and appropriate”

Yes, can we stop with the ridiculous portacabins nonsense. Who the hell do you think is going to teach in them? We would need double the amount of teachers and we already have a severe shortage, not to mention the further resignations we're likely to get with all the toxic hate being spewed on MN threads.

In Switzerland a poster was saying children under the age of 10 have been allowed to play in groups of 5 for over a month now. No increase in infections. So good for their mental health.

I think this bubble idea could work well and great point about all the unused portaloos and sinks from festivals!

Some schools will have enough space so won’t need the help. We have a big playing field, lots of separate toilets, sinks etc. It’s not a one size fits all scenario.

I can honestly say that putting in a dozen new sinks (where?) at the same time as every other school in the county wants to install new sinks, is not a minor undertaking. Our school has been looking into cabins as an option for extra learning space for a while, and we're still holding out for an affordable option. Our budget is considerably healthier than most

I'm sure the gov could find money for sinks etc, considering the situation

Whilst it is wonderful to see Denmark with their low cases proceeding in their spacious schools, comparing that to London schools seems optimistic.

It’s awful that teachers who see the problems they’re about to face are being silenced or pointed at for being ‘negative’. It’s not their fault for goodness sake and it seems that everything they say has to be balanced with “I know we have to go back and risk our lives every day and that of our families but...”

Yes, we’re not expecting ours to go back full time. That’s already been made pretty clear by the head. Every parent I’ve spoken to from our school is accepting of that.

Extra sinks and portakabins (for schools with the outdoor space) are entirely possible and it would definitely make things easier in English schools. I hope the government announce in the next few days the extra funding for these. They know 99% of schools themselves can't afford them.

The idea makes sense, I suppose, a little class "bubble". I'd love to know how Denmark deal with antisocial behaviour in their schools. I know some classes in England who have several children with challenging behaviour. What happens to the class bubble if the teacher requires a pupil to be removed from their class? Or children just leave their individual bubbles and wander together around the school? Who's to stop them if you can't get too close? They're more likely to be the kind of pupils who'd spit at you in these times.

Portakabins are horrible to teach in, hot in summer, cold in winter and very noisy. Also enclosed and not easy for air to circulate

Listening to parents on here id honestly be tempted to resign as a teacher.

I think we are not only logistically but culturally so far away from Denmark right now. I mean their education system sounds great, it’s set up for this already. Small classes, outdoors loads, don’t start til 6, focus is on holistic development... prior to school child care is heavily subsidised! They were ahead of us to begin with!

Delatron
They will be most likely going back in June. Surely it’s beneficial to discuss how this might work rather than just shoot down every idea.

But those discussions are going to have statements where you can't do something. Its the nature of the beast.

And the threads would go better if the response to 'these are the problems' wasn't your just 'lazy', 'workshy', 'don't want to go to work'.

The fact is that most of those going back are going back similar to Denmark.

We could do something similar.
but the government isn't allowing us to.

Yes, she was really nice.

However, it's like comparing apples & bananas.

I'm sure this many posts in, people have explained why.

@AravisTarkheena

Wonderful holistic way of living and children being taught there, you’re spot on we could learn so much from them!

I know some classes in England who have several children with challenging behaviour.

Just "some?" And "several?"

I have to say it’s more ‘pea brained’ to stick your head in the sand about something that will happen whether you like it or not. To not take any learnings from other countries because we couldn’t possibly do anything they do over here. Such narrow mindedness.

Maybe they will go back with none of these measures in place. But they will go back and before a vaccine so surely some discussion on this is good. Rather than ‘oh no that can’t possibly happen’.

@SallyLovesCheese I'llrepeat what I said to the pp who said 'just get some portakabins':

where do you think all these portakabins are, built, ready to go, waiting to be ordered and put into place (including plumbing and power) within weeks, at every school in the country?

If every school had one extra Portakabin, it would require there being tens of thousands of fully built Portakabins being stored somewhere ready to be delivered. And one portacabin per school wouldn't make a dent.

To be fair, loads of constructions sites have such cabins, with a generator, and pretty easy to hook up, but you won't get many kids in them, you need space for them, they wouldn't be very secure for any equipment, and the construction industry will want them...

Not to mention the prices you'd be charged by opportunists.

At a push some schools might be able to use vacated buildings / halls - but less than ideal for children who really need familiarity.

2.5 days a week in two shifts might help (half the numbers), but it would probably be left to the schools to arrange all that, which again, would cause all sorts of upset about billy not being in the same half as freddy, and little Rosie who NEEDS to do Tuesdays and Thursdays etc.

Even half the numbers is still a LOT of kids. 'Pissing in the wind' springs to mind, but maybe only get one shoe soaked.

Maybe they could open some of the schools they shut in recent years, for more space.

I just checked. There are 32,770 schools in the UK. Get them all several portakabins, delivered and connected to the utilities by June 1st. That'll fix it!

As if you’ll get to dictate which day your child goes in? Why use that as a reason not to do 2.5 days a week? You will get told your days and that is that.