Every child in every year group will return to school in September, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has said.

[itswhereitsat]

I didn't catch the briefing but read the above comment in the news. The big question is, did he say whether children returning would be part-time or full time? Or did he just gloss over that bit?

Oh hahahahaha. I am sure it will!

What's the plan for secondary as they obviously can't have bubbles for subject choices?

I am laughing at the idea they will SD on the journeys to and from school!

I am laughing at the idea they will SD on the journeys to and from school!

Exactly-my DC’s school has kids from all over coming by bus and train. They are jammed on like sardines!

Every bus going to my child's secondary is rammed. He often can't even get on if it's raining and has to walk. Laughable to think they'll social distance in any way at all. How can that be policed. They'll all pile out and behave exactly as before.

The plan for secondaries is that whole year groups should be bubbles. I mean, it's bollocks. What's that, 200 kids in a bubble? Why even pretend that's a bubble.

Looks like a load of Torygraph BS, bet this hasn't even been run past the actual schools, or unions to see if it's got a chance of being workable, or acceptable.

Their usual trick of floating it to see how well it goes down. Government by opinion poll.

Looks like a load of Torygraph BS, bet this hasn't even been run past the actual schools, or unions to see if it's got a chance of being workable, or acceptable

Although Geoff Barton of the ASCL also talked about year-group bubbles in his briefing today.

vimeo.com/432152393?ref=tw-share

You could reasonably expect every single teacher and other member of staff to have come into touch with a whole year group though (maybe excepting the odd TA, office person or science technician) so if a child in, say, Yr 8 tests positive, the entire workforce has to stay home and therefore every other year group too?

That's what I think too, Danglingmod. Unless they allocate teachers to each year group bubble exclusively, which would mean recruitment that a) the govt won't pay for and b) would need to already be happening.

I saw a supply teacher tweet that this effectively renders all supply teachers redundant, if no one else is allowed to enter the bubble.

@danglingmod they’ll have to get round that somehow, I dunno, ppe or 1m distance or whatever else they come up with by September. Teachers in visors?

The years don’t mix an awful lot anyway do they? At break, year 10’s hang with year 10’s etc.

The government will have to make something up though. Whitty said he’d be surprised and delighted if we weren’t in this situation come next spring. So the kids can’t just take a whole year off and keep fingers crossed for September 2021.

Yes, year groups do mix in corridors, on buses, walking to and from school , and you can't say a year group is a bubble! That's 420 students in my school!

Well, they do more than "mix" in corridors and canteens if the whole school is in; we literally have to brush past one another touching! But, I meant that if all the staff have come into contact with a "whole year group bubble" which they (90%) would have done, then the staff have to self-isolate, there's no-one left in school to teach every other year group!

I assume they will be very strict in their application of contact : 15 minutes (even though with zero SD it should be less than this) at I'm or less form someone would probably be your contact. And teachers will probably be told to keep at a 1m+ distance from each other and children 'where possible'. Nightmare.

The visor thing is interesting. I'd like to be able to wear one at least for moving around school because it's so, so busy and hemmed in, crushed really. I mean, literally like a "how many people can you squeeze in a Mini?" scenario at every single lesson changeover BUT precisely for this reason we wouldn't be able to - there's no extra spare centimetres for people to wear visors: they would be immediately knocked off your face. Secondary school corridors are THAT tight.

The visors are really to protect your from splashes of human fluids if you are looking after someone vomitting or someone coughing straight in your face. The companies selling visors also sell goggles which are work with a face mask. So that might be less knock offable in a busy corridor? Bit like science lab ones? (I do understand that some schools are saying no - but they arent forced to say no - they could say buy your own. The guidance says its not needed, not not allowed). A lot of the chemicals staff are now being asked to wipe tables with also suggest wearing gloves and goggles to use. So its worth reading whatever bottle has been ditched with you and looking at the COSHH stuff.

Well, the coughing straight in your face is most likely to happen - and does happen - (both deliberately and accidentally) in corridors. But out school has said we aren't allowed to wear them. I wonder if they will back down if we're back, "business as usual," with full, heaving corridors and classrooms.

If unions send the message to DfE then perhaps they could focus more on changing guidance on PPE.

Dangling the corridors are crazy. I have to wade through a sea of teenagers at a snails pace and then get people to stand back so I can get to the door to unlock it. In my one story block we could get kids to line up outside at fire exits for some classrooms If slt agreed to it but not an option for main block.

Realistically the visors aren’t useful when students are shorter than you surely?

Hmm, that is a point I hadn't considered.

Though the candidates most likely to deliberately cough on us are definitely my height and taller!

Ive checked out the goggles and they would be hard to knock off.

I think speak to unions about allowing ppe in busy corridors might be a good shout. If its facemasks in public transport i cant see a difference. I feel so sorry for lots of you. All our teachers were given visors/goggles. I got it through the risk assessment on the cleaning angle.

Maybe I could claim the goggles were my new prescription glasses?!?