How/when did the tide turn on schools?

[LaceCurtains]

In the beginning the mood here was almost desperate calling for schools to be closed.

In the last week or so there's been a marked shift to getting them open (from peope here).

Is it the same people who wanted the closed, now calling for them to get back to normal or have the original campaigners gone quiet/new people got louder?

FWIW I always thought schools closed as early as they did because of public pressure and it seems to me that "other" things are getting back to normal more quickly than originally planned/expected (because of DC and the need to distract?) but schools don't seem to be included in that.

I'm at a loss as to why schools are being treated so differently. I'm SLT in school, if that makes a difference and the government guidance is a shambles. Changes daily but doesn't seem to have any clear aim.

@DomDoesWotHeWants

I feel betrayed by any teacher who thinks it is acceptable for education to be disrupted to that extent for a virus this mild.

What a slap in the face for the tens of thousands who have lost loved ones to this virus.

Sickeningly callous.

And what about the thousands of children for whom school is the only safe place? Should we quietly forget about them for the sake of people's feelings?

Are all the subs dead too or?

The TA is also dead, but a zombie.

This virus kills EVERYONE.

Nobody has ever recovered from it.

It's the most deadly virus of all time and worst of all, some people get it and don't even know they have it.

So they DIE but they think they are STILL alive.

It's utterly horrifying.

There will be whole schools basically operating like the 6th sense.

"No one can change this suddenly, so we have to make the best of it."

But that's exactly the point. Many many schools aren't making the best of it and the government is letting this happen.

Some are doing an amazing job. Many teachers are wonderful.

Sadly many children are not receiving a standard of home schooling that is even approaching acceptable.

9 plus weeks of a child doing their best with awful home schooling support is taking its toll even with very well intentioned parents.

[quote Chaotic45]@Pitaramus I agree with you. If hime schooling provision wasn't so pitiful things would be so much easier.

Just a few well thought out pieces of work, a mark scheme and occasional feedback would be wonderful. [/quote]
I do this, and more. Feedback on every piece of work. I have posted what I do on threads and literally no one has thought it good, never mind wonderful. In fact I've been criticised for not providing live video lessons. People are never satisfied.

have even contacted my DC school to ask for a copy of the KS3 and GCSE curriculum so we can at least try to plan something. But apparently that's not something they can or should provide.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-framework-for-key-stages-1-to-4

It’s about your convenience and nothing else

It's about education. I can conveniently send DS to a childminder every day until Christmas but he won't learn as much as at school.

Why won't there be enough supply teachers?

Because you only isolate for 2 weeks for Corona. And the whole class would be off anyway. And I'm guessing thousands of teachers won't just die so?

So how can we, parents and teachers, collaborate on a way forward?
Come on, we should be able to do this!

Don't we all want good quality education accessible for all children? Isn't that the end goal here?
Instead of arguing amongst ourselves why don't we take action?

I've adapted the letter in this OP to send to my MP. I would suggest some could start by doing the same.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/3931348-Those-concerned-about-ongoing-lack-of-education-in-Spetember-and-onwards

Yes, school is about far more than childcare. Unfortunately, at the moment schools are unable to do all they usually do. Parents need to pick up the slack.
It’s not ideal, right or fair, but life isn’t that for anyone right now so we just have to get on with it.
Whether we do it while reminding our dc that this will pass, that it isn’t the end of all their hopes and dreams or while adding to their considerable psychological burden with rants about how fucking useless their teachers are and how their lives are now ruined is up to us.

a parent to monitor it at home occasionally

It's not occasional is it! Fucking hell.

Don't we all want good quality education accessible for all children?

Very clearly not.

Parents need to pick up the slack

But we aren't qualified teachers and some us have jobs? So? Go on tell us how to pick up the slack?

Ps I haven't even mentioned teachers to ds except telling him he can see his lovely keyworker soon and that his new teacher sends us messages on an app.

*Jane - you said you couldn't take back all those in the first wave because of the 2m rule, that's what I took issue with. Hundreds of schools have managed what you couldn't/wouldn't.

Going forward my own view is that in primaries the bubbles should be a straight 30. Keep bubbles isolated from each other. But I'm aware lots wouldn't agree with me.*

Snowballer - I didn't say that, as it isn't the case. We have welcomed back all pupils whose parents have decided to send them in; just not on a full timetable, for reasons that we believe to be the right ones at the present time. If you think that is uncommon, then I suggest that you do a little more research.

"Foot-Stampy Brigade Of parents"

God FORBID parents want an education for their children. It's like you think you're doing everyone a favour by being a teacher.

So you think someone who is trained either as a teacher or as a TA, in a school setting where the children are with friends is a worse option for children than their non-teacher parents, who are trying to work themselves and have no time to supervise learning? You're really bigging up your profession's skills there.

I can 100% say that my children's TAs would be far better at supervising online learning in a classroom setting than I can at home when I'm also trying to work to pay the bills. You must be on another planet.

It absolutely won't pass if some of the people claiming to be teachers have anything to do with it.

If we have to close schools for a virus this deadly, they can never open again.

I will say both my dcs schools are being very helpful. There is feedback from the teachers, work being set, emails responded to immediately. I'm a sahm, we have a laptop, a printer, good WiFi, heaps of books and stationery.

But even with all that, it's really really tough. I'm not a teacher. I'm doing my best. And it's all the other stuff that school provides that the DC are missing. The assemblies, the camaraderie, PE, team games, playtime, school plays, sports day, trips.

But, what my DC are missing the most is their friends.

My DD put a doll on the seat next to her to be her classmate

thetoddleratemyhomework You could not be more wrong if you tried.
"People like you," "probably," "I bet," "I imagine."
Is that the sort of scientific reflection you utilise?

I can't be arsed to even bother with the rest of the shit you posted, because I have some school work just emailed to me to mark. I've been in school all along, and more fully since last Monday, when the Government told us to open more widely. I don't work Tuesdays (officially) as am part-time, but am nonetheless pitching in today, as is usual.
I actually want to go back properly; this 'foot-in, foot-out' business is horrible. Do I want to risk my health with no social distancing or "bubbles" (which are hopelessly crap, by the way, to anyone who is relying on them as a solution to the risk)? Of course not, but if I am told I must, then I will, to the best of my ability.
Fuck off to the rest of it.

@Chaotic45

"No one can change this suddenly, so we have to make the best of it."

But that's exactly the point. Many many schools aren't making the best of it and the government is letting this happen.

Some are doing an amazing job. Many teachers are wonderful.

Sadly many children are not receiving a standard of home schooling that is even approaching acceptable.

9 plus weeks of a child doing their best with awful home schooling support is taking its toll even with very well intentioned parents.

But a shit school is still going to be a shit school even if all the pupils are back! Why didn’t the parents notice it was a bit shit before all this? And if so, why weren’t they lobbying their Governing Body/MP/LEA to make it less shit?

LaceCurtains

You've started another teaching bashing thread. You say you are on SLT and the teachers you know all support bringing all the children back to school. How were you planning for that to happen? Perhaps it would help people if you could enlighten them with what you are currently doing and what you'd planned to do when the children came back.

@snowballer

"Foot-Stampy Brigade Of parents"

God FORBID parents want an education for their children. It's like you think you're doing everyone a favour by being a teacher.

So you think someone who is trained either as a teacher or as a TA, in a school setting where the children are with friends is a worse option for children than their non-teacher parents, who are trying to work themselves and have no time to supervise learning? You're really bigging up your profession's skills there.

I can 100% say that my children's TAs would be far better at supervising online learning in a classroom setting than I can at home when I'm also trying to work to pay the bills. You must be on another planet.

Well there you go then. You’re playing your part in devaluing the teaching profession. The only difference between your dc staring at a screen at home and staring at a screen in a classroom with an unqualified person is that the latter makes you feel you’ve discharged your duty as a parent.

No wonder there are so many substandard schools out there not being held to account by parents.

I don't rant at my children, professor. And I'm lucky enough to say the teachers at their school have really stepped up, they really are trying to deliver an education of sorts via us struggling parents and are keeping us updated.
I can't relate to your bile.

*Well there you go then. You’re playing your part in devaluing the teaching profession.
The only difference between your dc staring at a screen at home and staring at a screen in a classroom with an unqualified person is that the latter makes you feel you’ve discharged your duty as a parent.

No wonder there are so many substandard schools out there not being held to account by parents.*

This doesn't make even an ounce of sense.

@Notredamn

I don't rant at my children, professor. And I'm lucky enough to say the teachers at their school have really stepped up, they really are trying to deliver an education of sorts via us struggling parents and are keeping us updated. I can't relate to your bile.

That’s ok. I can’t relate to the breathtaking arrogance of parents who don’t give a tiny chuff about the lives of school staff.

Formerbabe that bought tears to my eyes (hormonal today anyway)

Have emailed my mp.

Read the report from the professors of paediatric infectious diseases at Southampton university studied this and think all schools should go back now.

One child in the Swiss alps Ski resort outbreak had Covid and had contact with over 100 other kids before they realised. Not one other child or adult infected by that child. Same outcome with Italian towns worst hit 2.6% of town infected not one child even those living in families with it.

I’m in Scotland and when our schools closed there wasn’t even any cases in my area, we are rural and have continued to thankfully have very few cases/deaths.

If this part time, half weeks in and half at home or different weeks etc goes ahead I will need to give up my job as a community nurse. And before anyone says make your DH work less that will not work for us. He works away in a specialised job only he does for that company, it can’t be done from home and it is Monday-Friday with odd weekends, if he starts saying he can only work odd days they will just replace him and we are lucky he has managed to keep his job at all. I am already on flexible part time working so can’t be any more flexible, my off duties are done months in advance due to the pandemic and how things have changed in my health board. I have 3DC across different year groups and schools as well

They attend the hub currently but there is no teaching just childcare, they aren’t keen on doing school work when they get home now, it is just a worksheet emailed every few days and some work on sumdog and my eldest gets next to nothing (p7). Transition for secondary is now happening in August so may be the same for p1 as my youngest is starting then.

No wonder there are so many substandard schools out there not being held to account by parents.😂😂😂😂 The lack of complaining from parents is reason with have shit schools - that's hilarious.