What would you actually like the government to do on schools.

[StatisticalSense]

The demands on this site with regards to schooling are simply incompatible. Schools physically do not have the room or staff to reopen to their normal numbers of pupils with any form of social distancing in place, so it clearly isn't possible to get all kids back to school full time with social distancing in place.
What exactly would you like the government to be doing on schools that is actually feasible?

Protect the most vulnerable .. staff and pupils
Realise that most kids will be fine
Abandon social distancing in schools
Hire more staff (they have money to fund furlough they can fund this)
Requisition buildings
Put up prefabs
Get experts in to redesign the curriculum so core stuff can be delivered over compressed or shorter hours
Be clear about expectations
Redeployment of school inspectors to help schools. Some schools are rising to the challenge but many are not
Change the total lack of educational will to help educate children - at the moment there is no plan or weak plans.
Understand that social distancing and restrictive measureS will vary by sector and should be based on a risk/benefit scenario.

twinnywinny14 you have to read the studies that point to low risk!
We as a society aren’t getting rid of covid anytime soon. We are slowly opening up shops, places of work etc- I don’t see why schools should be exempt, why they aren’t opening when the risk is lower! Not non existent but so low that I would be happy for a child of mine to return and I would be happy to return as a teacher if I were one. Tbh I’m happy to return to my office via public transport, it’s time to crack on with some reasonable measures.

Also not blaming schools. Blaming the government

@bulletjournalbilly

Open NORMAL. Scrap social distancing. It's a head fuck to children

It really isn't in my experience. I've been in school for 7 days now. The Year 6s know why distancing is necessary, but mostly seem to be treating social distancing as a new game. They're very resourceful and find ways to play all sorts while keeping 2m apart and sticking to our weird rules.

To be fair, I can't speak to how the youngest ones are getting on.

For the record, if it were up to me, I would have wanted schools to be allowed to welcome small numbers back much earlier, and allowed to gradually increase numbers if safe. The experiment of having children back in is less than 10 days in, so we can't yet say the effect, and therefore I feel it would be unwise to increase the numbers until we have another week at least to see the effect.

@HipTightOnions so let’s sit down and moan about it instead of getting on building them? Portacabins are one way to get children back to schools safely. They need to create more space at least for the majority of the schools which have fields and outdoor areas.
We have 3 months to source these things to be ready for September.

For goodness sake, you see these refugee-all-weather tents built by the UN that withstand snow, Ice, and rain etc for families to sleep in, in the middle of harsh winters. We only need something similar to be used for few hours during the day. If it’s good enough for them, then it’s good enough for us.

It is pathetic how quickly we have already given up. Absolutely pathetic. You have no imagination and your solution is to ignore it and throw them back with no social distancing what so ever like done here are suggesting?

And oh- the argument that says children don’t spread it is still not proven right or wrong. There’s not enough research around it.
Until there is enough evidence saying that kids don’t spread it, social distancing should be in place.

Also why aren’t all the big tech companies
Helping fund online learning and devices???

The fact is that even with social distancing secondary schools could have a lot more students back. I am SLT, our school is us standing empty and we are only allowed 25% of Y10/Y12 back in... We could manage them all back in with smaller groups and an adapted timetable but government says we can't do it!

My suggestion for secondary schools is named seating. And rather than pupils moving class to class they remain and teachers move.

Exception being drama, science, PE, music.
But I would have it that a year group all did drama at the same time and so just that group move and then next period a different group move etc.

But we have to remember classrooms are not the same as shops etc. Far more people in a smaller space.

Our local Homebase allows 30 in the store. It's the same size as a whole school!

Green tulips - for those coming in fortnightly I would make every effort to deliver at least one period of every subject each week. I would use that period to cover material and set work for the fortnight. Not ideal. Temporary. But where there is a will there is a way.

Come on then Rihanna, answer the question.

How many portakabins? How many extra teachers and where from?

(I’m not sitting down or moaning, by the way. I don’t know why you think that.)

@WowLucky
I dont think teachers kid themselves that they're a highly valued profession. They've been pissed on by the government and parents for years.

However, currently I think this is adding to the issue. Whilst its the government making the decisions not them (just to be clear), I don't think many of them suddenly feel they owe any sense of duty to go the extra right now when their health might be at risk. And I don't blame them! Not to mention the recruitment crisis and the fact very few (if any) retired teachers are going to have any interest in returning to help.

@OnlyFoolsnMothers no thanks, I’ve hot better things to do. The conclusions of people enough know far better than us are enough for me. Once there is actual substantial evidence over time when children have actually spent time together that proves that they do not transmit the disease to the same extent as adults I think it is right to be cautious. I do not think it’s wise to send 30+ children in a room for 6hrs a with no social distancing until we know for sure that it’s safer than 30+ adults to do it. But we can agree to disagree, and I won’t agree with you because you’re not a teacher clearly have no idea about how schools operate or run day to day

where is the evidence that children can’t spread? The government clearly aren’t 100% on this otherwise they would be sending them all back now surely?

The government have already tried sending the kids back to school, slowly easing them ALL back in by way of a phased return the same as every other country is doing only the school unions didnt like it and the majority of parents preferred to keep their children at home.

And my solution is not to “throw them back”. I am a teacher.

Open them now, with no social distancing. Part time if needs be but ideally back as normal. The children need it, for their mental health more than anything

How didngovernemnt manage to produce and staff so many massive hospitals in such a shirt time if it's not possible tkndk thebsame for schools?

That said, I don't think it's necessary, if it's safe to open shops and pubs before long it must be possible to have schools back to normal by Sept.

@twinnywinny14 I really hope you're not a teacher if you just refuse to read the evidence that doesn't suit your narrative.

I’d like the government to tell them to reopen with immediate effect

How didngovernemnt manage to produce and staff so many massive hospitals

I think they built 3 hospitals and planned to staff them by moving people from other hospitals.

There are 32770 schools in the UK, all of which would need extra classrooms and teachers.

Normal school with no pish.

Of course it’s about childcare.
Otherwise exam years would be prioritised whom aren’t all able to stay unsupervised.
Part time education isn’t going to help them with none practical lessons or to get the support needed to get through them.
Yes some find it easier than others, but not all.

The what about year 9’s they were forgotten about completely for this year so will be fine for the new year 9’a right?

I would like the teachers at my DD year 10’s school to get their arses in gear and come up with a joined up approach to set school work in the same way with a combination of online learning at an agreed times with info about this communicated to teens and parents (others can listen in later), all teachers to be setting work in the same way using the same platforms. My DD attends a large secondary school. She is very down about missing out on her education, missing her friends, worrying about her future and feeling really let down and her year disadvantaged with the pandemic (rather than muddling along in her messy bedroom on her own, inundated with emails for goodness knows how much longer).
If its safe enough to do so they can possibly go back in September if a proper risk assessment is in place but a suggestion of going into school for one long half day a week is neither use nor ornament.

For the record, if it were up to me, I would have wanted schools to be allowed to welcome small numbers back much earlier, and allowed to gradually increase numbers if safe. The experiment of having children back in is less than 10 days in, so we can't yet say the effect, and therefore I feel it would be unwise to increase the numbers until we have another week at least to see the effect

Tbf, I think this is exactly what the government were attempting to do but because a large proportion of local authorities wouldn't allow there schools to reopen for another 2/3 weeks it has meant that it hasn't been possible for the government to turn around and say that schools can now open up to another year group in a couple of weeks because that would scupper the plans put in place by the schools which have delayed reopening which is why thegovernment have now abandoned trying to get the kids back to school at all - there just isn't the time now. So now, we are probably going to have to go through this whole phased return farce again in September.

I would like schools to provide equal access and opportunity to all their pupils. I think that social distancing needs to be relaxed, even if not removed altogether, in schools.

The teachers can distance from the kids to some extent. To my mind there is no need for the children to distance from each other.

For those families with a shielding member, there should be provision for their children to be in smaller bubbles or remote learning if those families wish.

As we move out of this we need to move towards making our own risk assessments, and the giving the right for a few to do what’s best for them does not have to conflict with giving 90% of children what is best for them, namely to be in school.

montrealgazette.com/news/coronavirus-infects-nine-of-11-students-in-trois-rivieres-classroom