WTAF schools...

[SoberCurious]

My friend who works for the DfE says they are planning for kids to go back to school in December 😭😭😭

I’ll caveat that with-perhaps not full time in the summer holidays!! I would like to be able to spend some leisure time with my own kids to make up for being their worst teacher ever!

All the teachers I know are desperate to get back to normal

Well, all the teachers in my school are back to working their normal full time hours at school now, and having worked Easter and May half term, I’d like a holiday.

That’s great for you though if you don’t mind working over the summer.

Presumably if they do start in September it will be a phased return, so I'm guessing not back to normal until Jan as long as R is down.

Appuskidu-in that case I sincerely hope you get a normal holiday.
I’ve only entered my school building twice since March 20th and will only be going in once a week for the foreseeable future. The rest of the time is this horrendous half way house.

I find the attitude to teachers from many sickening. If teachers are that bad, why are you entrusting your children to them?

When I was teaching I worked a regular 55-60 hour week, plus all the hours I worked in the holidays - running revision groups, preparing lessons, painting my classroom, making resources. That was pretty standard amongst my colleagues. So over the 12 years I taught I am "owed" thousands of hours. How dare people talk about teachers "owing" hours, it just shows the level of contempt there is. For most this might well be the first time in years that they have actually worked their proper hours (although many gave up their Easter and half-term).

Of course teachers shouldn't be in over the summer. This shit show isn't their fault, why should they lose their holidays, after having worked throughout this whole time? They deserved time with their families and to decompress after a very unsettling time, not to mention try to get some energy back before they have to contend with putting more (no doubt last-minute) new plans into place for the autumn.

We all want kids in, teachers too. But the wrath of Mumsnet is severely misplaced - look to the government. England could be doing what Welsh schools plan to do (all children in on a rota) but our government have chosen their own way.

How can anyone say for sure , what if virus disappears ( not likely I know ) but if it does we would go back to normal , or if a vaccine is rolled out , or even if numbers are really low then I think we will go back to normal
With those who don't want to having to de tegister and homeschool , maybe a few teachers will leave but many won't as they simply can't afford to , plus I'm sure not all are so worried about it , I know a couple of younger teachers who as numbers go down would be happy to go back to normal
But the reality is they will be planning a couple of scenarios as we just don't know what sept will look like just yet

As someone else said, the reason Johnson was very careful to talk about an army of retired and ex teachers and volunteers helping out in summer schools is because he knows the Govt can't afford to cover the cost of extending contracts for teachers. Because you all know that teachers aren't paid for holidays, right? Their salary covers term time only so accounts for 10 months of the year, but it's spread over 12 months so they don't go without payment in the summer. If the Govt wants them to work, they need to renegotiate their contracts to pay them.

Which leads me to a question for all those posters who think teachers who've been lazy and done nothing should make up the hours they've been paid for. Many of you are saying that you're finding it impossible to WFH and are struggling to do your job because of home learning – presumably you're also going to work for free for your firms this summer to make up the hours you've been paid for but haven't fulfilled either?

No? Why not? If you're not working the hours you're being paid for either, why shouldn't you make them up for free like you're asking teachers to do?

Also, what about your children? All I'm hearing is parents saying they're stressed, they can't work, schools need to be open over the summer – have you asked your children whether they want to go to school all July/August? Lockdown has been so stressful for them: not being able to go out, not seeing their friends, hearing about death rates every day, living with stressed and irritable parents for all the same reasons, feeling under pressure and claustrophobic. And then they're told they have to not have a summer holiday and go to school instead? For a 22-week Autumn term? What would their mental health be by Christmas? Why is no one actually stopping to think about the kids?

all this negativity towrds teachers is distracting fro the problem and the source of the problem. The realy problem is the total and aboslute shambles that the government is making of this situation. No proper plannin on their part, no problem solving, no creative ways around difficutlies, faling to invlove teachers in talks and discussions etc...Basically this issue os at the absolute bottom of the governments priority pile. Way down below primark and beer gardens.
People need to be proactive. WE need to fight for our children. The govenrment dont care, the media are mostly ignoring the issue, it is parents that need to fight this battle. please,please write to your MPs, to Gavin Williamson. See my thread here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/3931348-Those-concerned-about-ongoing-lack-of-education-in-Spetember-and-onwards
Also a campaign you can join : www.usforthem.co.uk/

I don’t think schools should open in the summer holidays. Everyone needs a break, it has been hard on teachers and students. I think teachers on the whole have had to adapt to very challenging times. I have to say my daughters school and teachers have been amazing, constant contact and checking in to help, some are better than others but it’s no substitute for school. The government need to put a clear plan together to get schools fully open for September. What I really hate is the way the media have whooped up a frenzy over the safety of children going back to school, it was ridiculous, thank goodness it’s starting to change now.

I don't want schools opened in the summer holidays either. What I'd like to see is a plan put in place for schools to be open as normal in September.

I don’t want a mish mash of volunteers teaching my teenagers exam subjects. I want them in school. If they can lay on summer school they can open schools in Sep.

They never discuss secondary aged kids. Primary can catch up over the years secondary kids in exam years can’t.

It’s just appalling.

I definitely don’t think schools should be open in the summer holidays, I assume a lot of teachers are waiting hopefully to see if holidays will go ahead like the rest of us! Both my DD’s teachers have primary aged children too, so where would their childcare come from when they’re teaching?

I agree about the summer holidays. Sadly I suspect that the whole talk of catch up over the summer is simply to distract us from the fact thay thye dont have a plan for September. They will announce some half baked scheme for over the summer that wont work for multiple reasons and expect us all to placated by that and accept when it turns out they wont be going be back in September.

One thing couples might do is make sure the men stay home and women return to work as only then when lots of men are not in work as they are caring for children full time might the state start to take action.

Stats - "In April to June 2019, 3 in 4 mothers with dependent children (75.1%) were in work in the UK. This compared with 92.6% of fathers with dependent children. " (ONS) I am not sure what percentage of the workplace has children however - it may be quite small in which case men staying off would not have an impact.

Primary can catch up over the years secondary kids in exam years can’t.

I'd agree with what you are saying but the other side of the coin is how do you teach reading, handwriting and numbers online?

Nobody has it easy and no point in fighting against one another.

@Xenia I agree, over 90% of single parents are women, says it all really.

That would be great Xenia but unfortunately my DH earns 5x what I do and we can’t survive on my wage.
I think around 17% of the workplace has children young enough to require supervision (disclaimer I can’t remember where I saw that stat).

Looks like September is the plan and 2 metre ruke will be relaxto achieve this.

You do realise that hundreds of teachers have resigned and won’t be teaching September don’t you? The way the profession has been treated is awful- no PPE no social distancing? It is only a job and a very badly paid under valued one at that - why would anyone put up with it?

I think the attitudes shown towards teachers are appalling. Why are they to blame for any of this? People ranting about how little work they've had for their children at home when that teacher may well be going in to teach during the day, look after and educate their own children and set and mark homework in addition to worries created by the virus.
Honestly, I despair at the lack of awareness; people clapping religiously for those key workers who are now being villified.

As for the comments about those shielding ,they were disgusting. Shielding people are incarcerated in the homes, how bloody offensive to suggest that they are out on jollies and should be at work educating your children!

It’s 8% of the working population that have primary aged children .. the gov will concentrate on the 92% that don’t.

@Alex50

Unless we make a stand children won’t be going back FT to school for a very long time. We need to organise a march for July.

Make a sand against who? Teachers are leaving the profession in droves already this pandemic has increased that trend. Schools are woefully underfunded and understaffed already ... there was and is no slack and September will be significantly worse. How about stop the bile towards teachers and this may change.

@bodgeitandscarper

I think the attitudes shown towards teachers are appalling. Why are they to blame for any of this? People ranting about how little work they've had for their children at home when that teacher may well be going in to teach during the day, look after and educate their own children and set and mark homework in addition to worries created by the virus. Honestly, I despair at the lack of awareness; people clapping religiously for those key workers who are now being villified. As for the comments about those shielding ,they were disgusting. Shielding people are incarcerated in the homes, how bloody offensive to suggest that they are out on jollies and should be at work educating your children!

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I don’t want my children to go to school over the summer either. This hasn’t been an easy time for children and they need a break too!

I also don’t understand those shouting about children missing 6 months of schooling...not all of those 6 months would have been in school, 10 weeks of the time missed in our school would have been holidays!