"Let our teachers be heroes"

[Hitchyhero]

I've seen the front pages of the daily mail and now the telegraph are attacking teachers unions because they want to ensure that the place is safe.

The headline was 'Let our teachers be heroes'. Frabkly, if it was safe they wouldn't need to be heroes. That headline implies its unsafe to go back and they are taking a risk.

I'm also wondering, as I'm sure teachers are.... How they will implement social distancing in nurseries. My 2 yo toddler was due to start nusury just before the lockdown but that's been delayed. When he does eventually go back when I think it's safe, how will teachers implement social distancing. He needs help with potty training. Most children his age won't have the developmental capacity to social distance. My child touches and kicks everything.

Think it's a bit ridiculous that these papers are attacking unions when they just want to be safe like everyone else. Think they are asking the right questions.

[LurksAscending]

Why the issue with hot school lunches. Mine always had a cold lunch: sarnie, veg, fruit, etc I work in a very deprived area. One childs packed luch was 4 supermarket own brand packets of crisps. There is no way many of my parents would afford to buy these things.

[wheresmymojo]

I'm just going to keep posting this as it's such a good summary of my feelings on the matter

[LaurieFairyCake]

The primary independent school I work in can have 3 year groups go back as there is a teacher and a TA to every class of 20 students. The buildings are spacious, the corridors wide. People walk or drive to school

Parents pay £25,000 a year for the above

My DH is SLT in a London comp. Massive underinvestment over the last decade mean 32 in a cramped classroom, no TA's obviously, tight corridors and stairs. A huge BAME population of students and teachers. Most students cram into London buses.

ALL SCHOOLS ARE NOT THE SAME

[TooGood2BeTrue]

I think these headlines are trying to bully teachers back into unsafe workplaces.

[HorsesDoovers]

@OhTheRoses
You do know that washing with soap and water is every bit as effective

You do know that opportunities to get to a sink and wash your hands thoroughly and regularly when you are in the midst of dealing with four and five years olds are few and far between?

[itsgettingweird]

We couldn't get sanitiser for a while because county stores were told to only provide and direct it all to the nhs. Luckily our office lady is a savey little thing and sourced us a better one from elsewhere!

[SimonJT]

@OhTheRoses My sons primary school only has hand washing facilties in the one set of staff toilets, the one set of girls toilets and the one set of boys toilets. As they’re enclosed it means one adult, one boy and one girl can clean their hands at any one time. Not practical.

Has anyone seen the guidance for children showing any symptoms at school? They are to be shut in a room alone until they are collected, these are four and five year old children.

[LurksAscending]

@SimonJT Let's not even get started on the new behaviour 'rules' proposed in the guidelines!

[SqidgeBum]

Also, have people forgotten that people only show symptoms after they have been walking around infecting everyone they come into close contact with for the whole week beforehand? How happy would parents be when they realise their son or daughter had been sitting in the same room , 5 days a week, with a kid who has had coronavirus and didnt know it? As a teacher I would be very worried. Similarly, if I go off work with CV, who is going to replace me? We couldn't find cover staff before the outbreak. Why do you think so many teachers work while sick?

[Kitcat122]

We are told government guidelines are no PPE for staff and socially distance where possible!!?? Which is the complete opposite of the rest of the country. Can I ask how you think this is OK for us but not everyone else?

[daisymay133]

Didn’t the government say it was transmitted via coughs and sneezes etc therefore is people are asynptonstic then it’s unlikely they’ll be passing it on

I’m sure I heard that at a briefing 🤔

[daisymay133]

Asymptomstic

[daisymay133]

🙈

[Kitcat122]

The kids I work with cough, sneeze, dribble, suck fingers and bite their nails. And touch everything. That's not even mentioning snot 🤔

[SimonJT]

Exactly, young children cough a lot, my son has mild asthma but he will cough several times a day, he has just about mastered not coughing with a mouth full of food!

[Clavinova]

Thirty-three London bus drivers have died from COVID-19

We don't know the source of their infection though - certainly there are factors to consider:

Four bus drivers were hospitalised from one bus depot (Crickelwood depot) - it's more likely they caught the virus from each other rather than from passengers. At the Barking depot; "the driver also raised concerns most of the 600-plus staff were not observing social distancing in the mess rooms."

Last month there were reports of drivers continuing to work with COVID-19 symptoms because they were worried about not receiving sick pay. This appears to have been resolved; "London bus drivers get sick pay from day one" - "Unite regional officer John Murphy said workers would no longer have to face ‘a terrible choice between health and hardship’ but we can't be certain that bus drivers with mild symptoms are self-isolating. Some of the drivers were not actually working at the time; "W...didn’t catch the virus at work because he’d already been off ill, but his daughter joined calls for drivers to get PPE"^ - and several drivers were related to healthcare workers.

metro.co.uk/2020/04/11/london-bus-drivers-get-sick-pay-day-one-12542497/

[Clavinova]

Why the issue with hot school lunches

School kitchens are meant to reopen;

"To ensure food is available for pupils who attend, educational settings are expected to reopen their kitchens if they have closed and ensure staff are able to work safely."

[Justjn1]

@OhTheRoses
Why the issue with hot school lunches. Mine always had a cold lunch: sarnie, veg, fruit, etc. Excuses, excuses.

Given that you are in the fortunate position of being able to employ a cleaner, I can imagine that your DC have never had to worry that the only hot meal of the day they will receive will be the one they receive at school - all very well having a cold lunch when you know there'll be a nice hot dinner on the table when you get home! As for your cleaner, I'm sure she is utterly thrilled to be returning to work and no doubt her decision had nothing to do with the fact that she would lose her wage.

[CallmeAngelina]

Isn't it just marvellous how keen everyone is to get other people to " be heroes" and take risks that they probably won't have to take themselves.

[CallmeAngelina]

The staff in my local supermarket are provided with masks and screens, as well as the Amazon delivery guys, and the bloke who came to collect my car for a service last week had a mask, gloves, sanitiser, anti-bac wipes and covered the inside of the car in clingfilm before he got into it.
All of them kept a clear distance from me, presumably for their own protection (maybe mine too, who knows?)
But for teachers, apparently, those same risks don't apply. We can just roll up to work in a couple of weeks and "play our part" with no fucking protection or care for our welfare at all. We're not professing to be "special cases" at all. We would just like the same things that other workers are now getting.
It makes me sick.

[Pinkblueberry]

They have been ‘heroes’ if being a hero means ‘putting yourself at risk’... they’ve been looking after key-worker children with little to no safety precautions other than frequent hand washing - 2 meter distancing wasn’t feasible and PPE not available. Most other work places have had access to at least one or both of those measures.

[OhTheRoses]

OFGS @Justjn1 you know as well as I that the public sector including teachers is still on 100% pay, not 80% furlough. My cleaner btw wasn't paid by 60% of her clients since lock down.

I am surprised teachers are overly concerned. Weren't about 40% of teachers off with covid symptoms at lockdown? How interesting that death rates among teachers are much lower than other categories of worker when so many more must have been infected.

If takeaways are open, why can't a school kitchen open and prepare hot food anyway. AFAIAC when my dc attended state schools their packed lunches were far healthier than the hot meals served at school.

As I have said before. Excuses, excuses and a lot of underprivileged dc are playing out on their estates in any event.

An anti-body test will sort it out.

[Justjn1]

@OhTheRoses They're on 100% pay because they are still 100% working.

You cannot compare takeaways, which have very few staff in the building so can social distance, and who knock and dump the food on the doorstep before standing very far back to and catering staff that has to cater for 100's of children in one go.

I can assure you that the packed lunches eaten by many of our underprivileged/vulnerable children are not anywhere near as healthy as the school dinners that are provided.

However, I'm sure you have every right to continue bashing the teaching staff as, like them, you undoubtedly will be going into work everyday with hundreds of people, with no social distancing and no PPE. Judging by your arguments based on assumption, stereotyping and an extremely narrow experience of educational settings you know exactly what you are talking about.

[Hearhoovesthinkzebras]

Weren't about 40% of teachers off with covid symptoms at lockdown? How interesting that death rates among teachers are much lower than other categories of worker when so many more must have been infected.

Maybe that was the fault of government guidance - if you, or anyone in your household, had a fever or a persistent cough then you all had to isolate for 14 days. Only those in hospital were tested so how did anyone know if they had Covid or not? Ridiculous to now throw that in teachers' faces. Many were isolating because one of their children had symptoms, but they could have had any number of illnesses. Not the fault of school staff that this was government guidance or that no one was being tested.

[Porcupineinwaiting]

Weren't about 40% of teachers off with COVID symptoms at lockdown.

No?