Can’t see how children will be able to go back to school in 2021

[Ouchy]

Let’s face it. The R0 may not be controlled for months. Vaccine unlikely until 2021. Teaching unions up in arms. People unwilling to accept the risk of the virus (low for many). I’m getting more and more concerned and the government haven’t published any forward plans for how school can be restarted in the various scenarios we may be facing come September (have they?). What on earth are the DfE and the Education Secretary doing during the working week if they’re not planning this stuff? Is there something I’ve missed - am I mistaken? I’m getting more and more concerned. The children are low risk - there needs to be a plan and fast as their educations and social development are being kind of ignored for something they’re super low risk for as individuals themselves. Looking for reassurance really - am I mistaken or being silly?

[thunderthighsohwoe]

@Nihiloxica I bloody well hope redundancies aren’t on the cards. I have been working non stop since March 20, replanning the curriculum, providing quality home learning activities, creating new resources, filming lessons, reading stories online to my class, caring for key worker children and delivering work packs/food parcels, all with my 18mo toddler in tow.

I KNOW this hasn’t been the case for all schools, but my colleagues and I are seriously flagging now. We’ve been applauded for our excellent home learning provision, so now that all teachers are full time teaching bubbles all of this is now happening late at night and over the weekend. Happy to do so for now, but it can’t last forever. We need a sustainable medium term approach. The government need to step up and make some actual decisions, not rest everything on head teachers’ shoulders with vague ‘advice’.

And I shall be sodding furious if redundancies happen after the sheer mission that has been the last few months.

[beela]

Education wise there is so much online for primary and workbooks available so most parents should be able to homeschool up to maybe yr 4 level even if that means doing some at weekends (assuming thats not when you are working).

Not really. I have the resources and the knowledge, but my dc are unwilling to do formal learning at home. They hate it. I am persevering with the work sent through from school, but it is getting harder to persuade them to engage with it as each week passes.

They both love going to school, and learn with enthusiasm when they are there, but they are resistant to this merging of their worlds. Their education will undoubtedly suffer.

[slothbucket]

Teachers are working full time and schools don’t have enough staff. We’re also in the middle of a recruitment crisis. Good luck cutting salaries.

[TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince]

Teaching salaries are shit as it is, not sure they could be reduced a whole lot further.

[Beawillalwaysbetopdog]

@Nihiloxica

So if you do the maths, they will need more teachers, not less

Well then we'll have to reduce salaries.

We can't keep funding for schools at current levels if they are passing at least half of the responsibility for education back to parents.

Part-time school as a default in the next academic year means we are reconfiguring society in a way that will harm children (and women), but if the danger from this mild virus is going to be used as a pretext for doing this (with the collusion of the teacher's unions) we need to at least make sure the people being given additional work to do are funded to do it.

We can't keep funding for schools at current levels if they are passing at least half of the responsibility for education back to parents.

If schools go part-time it's because the government have decided this is what they must do.

This:

we need to at least make sure the people being given additional work to do are funded to do it.
and this:
Well then we'll have to reduce salaries.
are at odds with each other.
If I'm in as a teacher full time and planning/marking for the kids who are at home I'll be doing two jobs. For half the salary according to you?

[Nihiloxica]

If the children are part time, the teachers are still working full time with split classes and different bubbles.

We can't afford this long term, sorry.

Schools can't expect to keep full funding for half the service.

One might have thought they'd be keen to assert the importance of free universal education, but if they won't and parents will have to make their own arrangements, they'll have to get creative with how to make part time school work on part time budgets.

Maybe parents should be allowed to take their child's full funding and not bother with the crappy bubbles bollocks and employ a tutor who can educate properly.

[Deblou43]

I understand what @Comefromaway is saying I felt Like that too this is not living it is surviving

[Sleeplessnightsinlockdown]

Just facing up to this the past week, it’s depressing tbh. Kids are sick of homeschool and so are we- and we’re in the lucky position of being able to swap in and out so one of us is with the kids.

I have friends who are on their knees trying to work FT and simultaneously homeschool primary age children.

[nosnugglesforyou]

Not many of the staff are working at my son’s primary school. If the schools remain closed yes to teacher redundancies. It doesn’t take 20 teachers to send a word document of links once a week.

[TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince]

Well said Topdog👏🏼 I normally do 3 days a week, but am working flat out 5 days a week.

In for key worker kids and setting lessons all the time. Online teaching too

[nosnugglesforyou]

@thunderthighsohwoe welcome to the worlds of those working for the private sector. Redundancies never feel fair but are necessary

[Ouchy]

Thanks for your replies. Think I’m still coming to terms with all this.

I know comparatively it would be worse to be in a covid ward amongst many other things, but let’s be honest it is a crying shame for children and children do matter just as much as those demographic groups vulnerable to covid.

It is reasonable to be sad for children and want the best for them, whilst also being sad for those dying and their families. I don’t understand the argument that wanting children to get an education is individualistic, either. I mean, there have always been people in worse situations (think famine, war etc) but a parent watching a child be sad as a result of a loss of something or a bad experience, would still normally be allowed to be sad.

And if it is individualistic of parents to wish for their children to access a reasonable education and play with other children, isn’t it individualistic of others to deprive children of those things to protect people from covid? I mean, why does one need trump the other? I’m genuinely confused these days and sometimes it helps to seek out others’ views as I am fully aware I may be wrong.

Part time schooling however seems a reasonable compromise at its at least something. Very worried for job losses as a result though and agree this will impact more on women

[Beawillalwaysbetopdog]

Nihil:

Teacher starting salary is £24000, half that would be below minimum wage.

[TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince]

Nihiloxica, I’m sure the school your children attend will be glad to see that back of you, if you take the funding and go elsewhere.

I’m bloody on my knees, but at least l don’t have parents like you on my case. You must be such a joy at open evening. Bet they all look forward to meeting you eh?

[Beawillalwaysbetopdog]

@Nihiloxica

If the children are part time, the teachers are still working full time with split classes and different bubbles.

We can't afford this long term, sorry.

Schools can't expect to keep full funding for half the service.

One might have thought they'd be keen to assert the importance of free universal education, but if they won't and parents will have to make their own arrangements, they'll have to get creative with how to make part time school work on part time budgets.

Maybe parents should be allowed to take their child's full funding and not bother with the crappy bubbles bollocks and employ a tutor who can educate properly.

You know schools are following government guidance right?

Out of interest, should the NHS have funding cut since there's loads of things they normally do but aren't?

Should dentists?

If you half the budget and sack half the teachers you'll get one week in four in school not one week in two.

[Nihiloxica]

You won't be planning or marking for the kids at home.

That can all be done via an e-learning company, like Oak Academy.

The current makeshift arrangements put together in extremis won't apply in a new academic year.

Distance learning can be done a lot cheaper and scaled far more efficiently than paying individual classroom teachers full salary and pension to do it.

If I were a Tory donor with an e-learning company I'd be lobbying for teachers to cover the stuff that was hardest for me to do cheaply online and for me to get funding to do the rest.

The whole pupil premium thing has already opened to door to children being given their assigned bit of the budget.

Basically, if schools aren't going back to normal, and free universal education is over, we will have to look at the whole thing again.

[NeverTwerkNaked]

There's quite a good article here on this point www.tes.com/news/world-we-knew-over-lets-focus-future

[TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince]

Oak don’t deliver my subject........,

[NeverTwerkNaked]

I do think the teachers who insist oak academy and worksheets will suffice are talking themselves into getting a hefty pay cut.

[Nihiloxica]

Out of interest, should the NHS have funding cut since there's loads of things they normally do but aren't?

If they're still operating at half capacity in September, then yes.

[vinoandbrie]

“Bol87

It’s shit. This is our children’s education. Their future. For an illness that barely affects them. I don’t know what the answer is, I don’t think there is one. But it’s awful. And heartbreaking. Part time schooling isn’t feesible for anyone who works, it just isn’t. And who is going to lose their jobs because of it? Probably women. How many people are going to lose houses or struggle to feed their families because employers will simply performance manage them out in favour of someone who isn’t homeschooling. Awful”.

100% this. My year one is due to go back on Monday. If they push this back I will be so angry on my child’s behalf.

A new balance needs to be struck.

[Wishforanishwishdiash]

We need investment in alternative childcare if women (because this will mostly hit women) can continue to work

One day a week of school will be more bother than it's worth for my reception age child.

We will embed structural inequality that this generation may not recover from.

[Beawillalwaysbetopdog]

But I'll still be doing as many hours as normal for half my wage?

What job do you do?

Would you take 50% pay cut for the same hours?

Apologies, it's difficult to read tone on the internet, are you saying pupil premium is a bad thing?

[pitterpatterrain]

What gets my goat most about this is that parents and teachers are running around like headless chickens trying to do things by the books

And then when I go for a run I see people meeting up with whoever in the park and people in the flat behind us having a dinner party ...

The rest of the world seems to have already moved on whilst we are still here talking about schools not being back until 2021

[Comefromaway]

That’s not correct. It is the parents duty to secure the education of their child, not to provide it.

A child’s right to an education is part of the human rights act.