Review point of a year 1 teacher

[Snuggles81]

So after reading a 101 negative posts about schools, teachers and so on I thought I'd offer the view point of a year 1 teacher and one people might not be expecting.
I welcome the move to get schools opening for more children BUT with realistic expectations on what can be achieved and the reasons behind opening.

As a teacher I have a duty of care for my pupils that includes both their physical and mental well being.

This means that social distance between myself and my pupils will not be maintained! Working in year 1 many children will be tearful coming into school, I can not and will not leave a child tearful and without comfort. When teaching a concept to children, modelling and scaffolding with resources generally won't be done at a 2m distance.

Year 1 learning has changed in many schools and like mine offer continuous provision similar to EYFS which means children don't sit at tables all day, in a highly stressed situation like we are in, is no time to introduce formal learning to the children.

Having smaller classes of 15 children means the children can not be offered a full time place, we don't have the staff and space. The guidance states we have to clean the areas the group are working in after the session which means it would be impractical to have a group in the morning then a different one in the afternoon (also if you work with children you will know that afternoons are challenging for learning and focus is harder).

When the children go back, it will be based on their well being not delivering the curriculum.

The government needs to be honest that they are sending the children back for childcare reasons, hence the younger children back first, the two year groups which are the most difficult to social distance. That I don't have a problem with, I am already offering that.

Parents and teachers need to be able to make an informed decision about going back to school for their personal situation.

If schools are back on the 1st June, I will be there as I have made the informed choice and weighed up the risks for physical and mental well being for myself and pupils. BUT I am honest in what I can safely deliver, I can't social distance from the children, I will be putting myself at risk. The parents at my school will make their own informed choice about whether they send their children back based on the information given to them

If other teachers choose not to go back because they feel unsafe, they are within their rights, the same as any employee in the country that do not feel safe.

People need to stop condemning teachers for fighting for the rights of children and themselves. Our work conditions are extremely different from most. We aren't lazy, we are being honest about what we can realistically offer for our youngest children. The government stated today they have been working with unions, that hasn't happened. All the unions are asking is that the government work with the unions to produce guidance that is actually workable in schools.

I am also a parent of primary and secondary children, if neither have the chance to enter their school buildings before September is going to have a negative impact on their well being and make September challenging. That doesn't mean they should all be back at once and back to normal lessons but the opportunity to have some time in school for their well being.

We all need to be honest about schooling and be realistic in what can safely be offered to pupils.

good post. I agree

Well said

OP, agree with sky, well said. It's important parents know this

Well explained. Thank you x

Great post, OP. Thank you.

I'm so torn over this. I know my youngests cannot go, from 6 months at home, to starting school in September. She will be a nightmare.
My eldest is in yr 2 and I think would be a bit scared going back because it isn't going to be like normal.
People are acting like it is a step towards normal and it isn't. There will be nothing normal about it at all. I think parents are being naive in some cases.
I would feel better if they were saying they will go back 4 weeks after easing lockdown begins not 2. There won't be enough data to make a judgement.

I understand teachers concerns, however watching the Danish school on tv today the head and teacher seemed happy and confident and the children had adapted well to the new situation. When if ever will you be happy to return if no vaccine is ever available. Surely we all have to think how we can move forward

Are you my child's year one teacher??

This is along the lines of what she has been saying when we talk each week, she knows it won't be easy going back and is expecting it to be a bit unsettled but is ready and willing to help them through it 😀

I’m with you on everything apart from this being all about childcare. I think it’s about child development and I’m really pleased that’s been the priority. The youngest children (3+) need social learning the most and year 6 need a transition to secondary. The older year groups chosen need to maximise their learning ready for exam courses next year.

I’ve been completely unimpressed by everything else this government has done, but I think here they’ve made the right choices. Within this scenario of course parents and teachers need to make their own risk assessments as everyone has different risk factors.

Thank you

The Danish schools have a tiny class and much more out door time than is being proposed here.

(Nice post though OP!)

Thank you for this - it is useful to hear from a teacher especially on the point about comforting a child. I would obviously not expect teachers to do that at all but knowing there would still be some emotional security in the classroom would be hugely reassuring to me.

Do you think the children will be allowed to play with their friends? Or will it be like the photo circulating on fb of all children sitting in separate boxes in the playground?

Powerof4 I completely agree with you but I don't believe that is the reasoning behind the governments reasoning for choosing EYFS/Year 1, I truly believe their decisions were based on child care when reading through the guidance as they ask for all the resources that early years children need away because they are 'unsafe' due to.not being able to clean effectively such as play equipment, soft furnishings, toys.

The return to school for the last half term should be about mental well being for all our pupils.

Penguinsbegin I have been in to with our key worker children and they have needed to contact and support too.

We just need honest conversations about what school will look like. I think many feel it is back to normal.

Boredsheep my class certainly won't be like that photograph. If I am told to set my class out in this way, then I will refuse on the grounds of my pupils mental health and social needs. If children need to be separated like that, it would suggest/give out the message that the children pose a significantly higher risk than we are being told.

@Snuggles81 thank you. I am happy for My year 1 to go back and feel the risk is minimal. I am however worried it will be a miserable time for them if they are constantly told off for not social distancing and are not allowed to interact and play with friends.

And I think we all need to manage our expectations on what school will be like on return.

My Y1s will be split into 2 entirely separate groups. There will be upsets over not being with particular friends as we cannot guarantee everyone's wishes. I will not be back as have a shielding husband, and following the DfE guidance will carry on working from home (probably picking up the home learning of Y2 and Y3 classes as their teachers will be in school teaching the split YR, Y1 and Y6 classes and the key workers/vulnerable children groups). I will hate this and feel desperately frustrated and sad. So both my groups of Y1 will be taught by someone else. This will be the same for at least one group of Reception children, although if they're lucky they might get their class TA. Most classes at my school don't have a TA (budget cuts).

We will be setting up classrooms with split tables, as the DfE guidelines have said we need to do, taking out all the resources that can't be cleaned or have small parts (that's just about everything in my room) as the DfE has laid out in the guidelines. So Y1 children will be sat at a desk, unable to move around, with teaching from the front - not something they've ever done before. We can't ensure their safety, or the adults safety, while trying to maintain some social-distancing in any other way. The children who are used to supportive small groups around a table led by a teacher or TA will find this particularly hard. Half of them will be in an unfamiliar classroom. We will try to think of fun things to do, engaging things, but it won't be teaching like the children are used to, and they won't be learning in the same way, which has always been very hands-on, collaborative, resource-heavy, play-based type activities (think playdough, Lego, tuff spots full of leaves, play figures, animals, cars, Numicon, puppets, paint, sand, water etc - they'll be none of that as too hard to clean). We will try and get them outside as much as possible but have a small playground with no grass and they'll need to staggered with the other groups. We have one set of toilets/sinks for each gender for the whole school (one form entry, old building) so lots of time will be spent waiting/queuing to hand wash.

My school staff are working really hard, trying to sort out the issues of staggered start and end times, staggered and longer lunchtimes needing more lunchtime supervision for longer periods, moving furniture and storage and equipment, thinking about and putting together individual learning packs of books and key equipment that children can keep in their 'places', measuring and re-organising spaces, working out how we'll do all the extra cleaning of classrooms and shared spaces required (no cleaners on site during the day as is the absolute norm for most schools), cover lunchtimes and play duties etc etc with reduced staffing. We can't run our wraparound care for any other than key-worker's children as we don't have the space to socially distance any more children than we've got, or have the additional staff needed.

Basically, we really are trying to think of ways to make this work, but it won't be like any teaching or school experience that your children have had before. It can't be.

My child's in year one. I don't know what to do.
I think she needs school
But I hate this whole keeping away from each other
And no one else I know at her school is sending their child in...
I don't know...

With regards to Denmark, they have just over 500 deaths. We have 32000 and none of the five tests have yet been met.

Teachers in my school very much want to return to teaching face to face rather than online as this is fundamentally what it is all about - the actual interaction with children. However, this has to be done with considerable thought and I'm not surprised that some teachers are extremely concerned.

In my school we have continued to have 10% of children since March 20th and throughout Easter holidays too. The reason for this is that we have a significant number of vulnerable children allocated to social workers so all were invited in. 10% may not sound much but compared to some schools it is. It means that we would have a little more confidence going forward as we already have 4 groups of children in 4 classrooms.

The issues that we now all have have largely been set up by the government with their blanket approach of saying that year R, 1 and 6 would be in from June 1st. For some schools this equates to hundreds of children and it is a massive undertaking to consider how to keep everyone as safe as possible, particularly as they want the youngest children in. It also gave parents the impression that school would open 'as normal' and this could not be further from truth.

In my humble opinion, the government would have been better to gradually increase the numbers to a certain amount and give headteachers the discretion to continue to have in the more vulnerable children and/or those who are not accessing work online.

There is an awful lot to think about over the coming weeks and this needs to be right for everybody. If there is an outbreak in my school, a member of staff may well pop in to Asda on the way home and spread it. People need to realise that this effects us all. It has also just been reported that the government's chief scientific advisor has 'spread doubt on suggestions the virus spreads less among children'. It needs to be done properly for all of our sakes.

So sone teachers are saying it’s too dangerous for little ones to be in school as they can’t possibly social distance, and other teachers that you’re going to sit them at separate distanced desks, ban them from moving around, remove all shared objects and basically, pretty much, make them social distance. As a parent I’m confused- which is it?

The government guidance is that for year 6 they would obviously be expected to socially distance but less for the younger ones as quite frankly, it is impossible.

Different schools will need to do different things - for eg, those with more outdoor space can do more outdoor learning, those with more support staff can have smaller groups and so on.

Once schools have made plans they should let you know so you can make an informed decision.

When I spoke to the teacher at ours she said they would all be kept 2m apart in year one

I get that different schools will have different ways of achieving social distancing, if that’s what they have to do. I’m just surprised different schools have a different interpretation of whether or not it’s required for particular year groups.

I need to understand at least a little what it will be like before I make a final decision.

I have faith in my kids school so will be led by them to a certain extent.

I do believe it will be in my Reception age child's best interest to go back, even if it's different if they are not expected to socially distance to any great extent. Especially in the playground. That's where the pose the least risk.

I'm not overly fussed about him learning lots, but i don't want it to be just childcare. I can do that myself. I can also supplement his learning if needed.

He's struggled with this lockdown so much. Its been difficult for the whole family. We've been working on it and we have been making progress. GP agrees his change in behaviour is linked to Coronavirus.

I want him to go back, but I don't also want him to be in a class with a teacher that is terrified and doesn't want to be there.

But even smaller class sizes, if he can play and see out some of Reception I think would be of amazing benefit to him.

My elder child, I am actually not as concerned about as she has managed it so much better emotionally.

Although September is a long time away. No I really don't think we can make other baby steps to normality without opening schools.

But obviously I also don't want my child to infect a teacher.

Even if he does return, we will carry on the way we are as a family. We will not socialise and will continue to make the kids aware of hygiene etc. Our risks are probably higher than some as DH goes to work, although he has been throughout without issue and takes lots of precautions.