Schools fubared till November?

[Clemmieandareallybigbunfight]

Disruption to schools could continue to November, MPs told www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-52895640

Is this a dystopian joke?

Are we actually trying to fuck up our kids?

Schools need to be instructed to open fully five days a week with enhanced on day cleaning, increased buses to allow distancing, staggered start and finish, covered but open refuge areas allowing distancing whilst outside in all weathers for breaks and no assemblies. Relatively low investment needed, huge gain economically but more importantly for our kids education and mental health. Some of these kids will never get back to school if they are out for so long. Some will fail to achieve their potential. And all for an illness with a tiny mortality rate overall?

The teachers’ unions look craven. They are disrupting children’s education for a risk less than the flu to working age people and children. They are hurting our whole society and economy by not allowing us to move forward like other European countries have done (no second waves yet.) The lives lost and suffering that we risk for every week that the economy stays shut down will at some point out weigh the lives saved from Covid. We need to pull together and all do our part. The bleating from teachers’ unions looks weak and self indulgent compared to bus drivers, nurses, supermarket workers, and even desk jockeys working from home not sure if they’ll be laid off at the end of the summer while they try to home school their kids.

Sorry automatic was a bad choice of words. I meant that it's always been performance related, but the expectation was that you went up unless your performance was poor. Now budgets are bad and there are many more hoops to go through to gain the extra point.

Nike, I used to have what is considered a real job. It had a pay scale and performance related pay. The difference is, everything I had to do was under my control. It was entirely down to how hard I worked and how good I was at my job. Teaching has too many variables outside of the teachers control for performance to be effectively judged with any nuance.

This is all so tiring.I am a teacher in a deprived area.I would give anything to have all of my class back and return to some semblance of normal.Find me one teacher in the land who thinks differently.As a year 6 teacher, I’m devastated my class won’t have a usual leavers celebration.I feel sad that some of them are missing out on the only hot meal they had access to. However, teachers aren’t the ones making the decisions here.We are just carrying them out as best we can.Working safely costs money. Working safely means having space. I can fit 9 tables in my classroom at a 1m distance apart. There is no outside space as we are an inner city school so no sitting out on lush fields for my kids. We have a budget deficit of over £100, 000. Most of our kids are newly arrived to the country and need extra support. This costs money. We have a high number of SEN.This costs money. Can’t go on trips. They cost money. Can’t have iPads.They cost money.Can’t have new textbooks.They cost money.New pencils? Just use last years old chewed ones.Pencils cost money you know.Want to breathe clean air? Can’t do that-mushrooms are growing on the walls and there’s a factory next door burning god knows what. Want to print engaging resources in-god forbid- colour? No-too expensive. For the second year running we are facing staff redundancies yet running a skeleton staff as it is. I wonder what will happen if just one of us begins to show symptoms? 32 children without a teacher. An autistic child without their 1:1. A child who can’t speak English without their translator.No money for supply.No spare teachers hidden up our sleeves.Most staff members buy all of their own resources.Just this year I’ve purchased pens, pencils, felt tips, crayons, reading books and,once this hit the fan, hand soap, cleaning wipes and spray and even toilet roll. Hands up if you had to do that at your workplace.No?I returned on Monday-Limited cleaning supplies. Told to have a lidded bin- can’t afford it.
We have tragically lost a member of staff to coronavirus.Its devastating.Staff are scared.Parents are scared.Children are scared.But we are doing our best.We’re phoning our children every week and trying to stay positive.Encouraging them to engage with online learning-If- they have access to the internet.
I have rung parents this week to see who will be sending their kids back.At least ten had been telling me how they had been meeting up with family and friends throughout lockdown.They will be coming back to school possibly as carriers.Why should I have to take that risk?I’ve followed all the rules correctly.

Maybe parents need to step up more. Teach basic hygiene at home where possible instead of thinking oh, school can do it. Open your eyes to what has happened to schools and the funding.There is none.Parents with SEN children are lucky if their kids qualify for any support whatsoever because we just can’t afford it.I sincerely hoped the one good thing from this would be people waking up and seeing what the government have done to education.Sadly this isn’t the case.Lets just continue to slate teachers as always. I am so very very tired of it. I used to be proud to be a teacher.I used to be happy. This job beats it out of you. Wake up and demand more.Demand better for your children. Instead of comparing us to Denmark or wherever else.Think- WHY are they able to do it?A huge part of their success will be down to funding.Teachers are doing their best in a shit situation. We understand how difficult it is for working parents.We appreciate key workers who have done so much. But we have to follow guidance. I long for the day I see a full class of children in my classroom. I’m not here enjoying a long holiday.

What about the poor children who have massively slipped through the net and are probably being abused daily? It makes me feel sick at the thought. Children starving because their only food was from achool. And unless ss are involved or the school knows then they won’t get any help surely? What about children being sexually abused while stuck at home?!

We need to get the kids back to normality.

My Dd4 is due to start school
September. She was so confident and excited for school, now she’s shy, clingy and is refusing to even talk about it

Agree with comment about a lot of the public sector, including teachers, living in the dark ages.

The teachers’ unions look craven. They are disrupting children’s education for a risk less than the flu to working age people and children.

I give up. People don't want to accept the facts – it's the GOVERNMENT and SAGE SCIENTISTS who have decided how pupils should return and what year groups are involved, NOT THE SCHOOLS, NOT THE UNIONS AND NOT TEACHERS. But why should people listen – bashing teachers is a sport on MN. Plus tell the relatives of the 40k who've died that Covid is just like flu.

We are back to arguing about death as if that is the only consequence. Many people are showing signs of having long term health complications from contracting and surviving the virus.

Exactly Piggy

Chief executive of NHS England, Sir Simon Stevens, said: “While our country is now emerging from the initial peak of coronavirus, we're now seeing a substantial new need for rehab and aftercare for Covid patients who've come through this terrible illness.

“Some may need care for tracheostomy wounds, ongoing therapy to recover heart, lung and muscle function, psychological treatment for post-intensive care syndrome and cognitive impairment, while others may need social care support for their everyday needs like washing and dressing.
www.nursingtimes.net/news/coronavirus/first-seacole-centre-for-covid-19-rehab-opens-its-doors-to-patients-29-05-2020/

The WHO estimates one person in 20 will need intensive care treatment, which can include being sedated and put on a ventilator.

Dr Alison Pittard, Dean of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, says it can take 12 to 18 months to get back to normal after any spell in critical care.

Spending a long time in a hospital bed leads to muscle mass loss. Patients will be weak and muscle will take time to build up again. Some people will need physiotherapy to walk again.
www.bbc.com/news/amp/health-52301633

Teacher hate on this site is disgusting and ignorant.

Longwhiskers - as far as I remember, the unions tried to block the government's plan to return YR, 1 and 6. So while what you say is true, the picture you're trying to paint isn't accurate

@Longwhiskers14

The teachers’ unions look craven. They are disrupting children’s education for a risk less than the flu to working age people and children.

I give up. People don't want to accept the facts – it's the GOVERNMENT and SAGE SCIENTISTS who have decided how pupils should return and what year groups are involved, NOT THE SCHOOLS, NOT THE UNIONS AND NOT TEACHERS. But why should people listen – bashing teachers is a sport on MN. Plus tell the relatives of the 40k who've died that Covid is just like flu.

Ok, lets look at this from a different angle.

Lets assume for a minute that you're correct, the Teaching Unions are so totally unimportant in all of this, why aren't they just staying out of it?

Why do we hear their objections to pretty much every government proposal at every turn?

@EmpressoftheMundane

The teachers’ unions look craven. They are disrupting children’s education for a risk less than the flu to working age people and children. They are hurting our whole society and economy by not allowing us to move forward like other European countries have done (no second waves yet.) The lives lost and suffering that we risk for every week that the economy stays shut down will at some point out weigh the lives saved from Covid. We need to pull together and all do our part. The bleating from teachers’ unions looks weak and self indulgent compared to bus drivers, nurses, supermarket workers, and even desk jockeys working from home not sure if they’ll be laid off at the end of the summer while they try to home school their kids.

Fabulous post

Teacher hate on this site is disgusting and ignorant

I doubt anyone "hates" teachers. Rather like Keir Starmer remarked to Boris in PMQs today - you're confusing scrutiny and questioning with attacks. The difficulty is when people voluntarily take personal offence

Nike do you have an ongoing issue with ANY union - or just teaching unions?

FWIW I am not a teacher and I'd like my kids in school. But I'm not laying the blame at the door of the unions.

Snowballer The unions asked for the return to schools to be delayed in line with the science, which was to wait at least until June 15. Govt decided otherwise. They objected to the early years being sent back first because of the concerns about them being able to socially distance and the fact they require more hands on help and they asked that secondary exam-age pupils be considered for returning – the concession they got is that years 10 and 12 will have some time back at school before the summer hols. None of those were unreasonable demands IMO.

...and FWIW, we will lose many, many more life years to the coming recession than ever would have been lost to Covid 19.

Why do you think the meeting described in the BBC article was held today? It wasn't called because powerful people decided they needed to meet because of the resistance of those naughty unions... it was a meeting to discuss to consequences of the pandemic and the decisions they might make and their consequences for children. At NO point were teachers held accountable or unions even mentioned.

Bold quote fail - reposting to avoid confusion

Teacher hate on this site is disgusting and ignorant

I doubt anyone "hates" teachers. Rather like Keir Starmer remarked to Boris in PMQs today - you're confusing scrutiny and questioning with attacks. The difficulty is when people voluntarily take personal

Touche @snowballer

nike because the RW media report it?

If you watch the daily briefings, the interest of most journalist and even the public is educational issues is actually minimal.

Mummypig2020, you sound very immature. Those who slip through the net will slip through the net even the school is open. Being back to normal regardless of circumstances doesn't solve anything. As for your child, she hasn't even started yet. How can she have such a negative impact by school aren't open yet. It's your job to keep your children feeling positive about school. Everyone is in a same boat.

snowballer

Unfortunately many of those facts that you like so much are not facts.

Sorry @TheFallenMadonna just getting back to it . Well it wasn’t yesterday, circa 1990. Dunno if it would have weeded out those unfit to work in a Pandemic. 😬

As someone pointed out up thread.
The risk that this virus poses to most of us does not justify the extreme actions we are taking and the horrific impact on many children and people’s businesses and livelihoods. And yes the recession that is predicted for the next 8 years will cause far more deaths.

We will look back on this period and wonder what the hell we were thinking.

NikeDeLaSwoosh I never said the unions were unimportant in this – my point is the Govt never consulted them before making their decision to return R, 1 and 6, so to heap blame on them, and teachers, for the rest of the years not being back, is misdirected. Posters seem to think unions are wielding the power that's stopping the other years coming back too, but they're not. I bet they wish they had that power!

We are reopening on the date directed by the government, in the way directed by the government. My union (ASCL) has been a really good source of support for that. No blocking.