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?

Years 7-9 is relatively easy, just stream instead of set

Our year 9s are starting their GCSE options as done over three years. Many different subjects with multiple levels across each

The bubble idea is just ridiculous come September when all kids are back. In the same school how many kids have a sibling? That's bubbles instantly mixed throughout all the year groups. It has to be proper hygiene measures and PPE for any vulnerable staff and social distancing scrapped in schools.

@Useruseruserusee

I agree on the apology.

To be honest, I think that the government took absolutely no measures to reduce transmission and then scared them into complying too much so that people were terrified and are still.

If, four weeks earlier than Boris said "if you can work from home please do" they had said "please employers start doing this if you can, if you can't we may well impose it in two weeks anyway", offices would have gradually emptied out. Cancelling mass events, closing bars and telling cafes / restaurants that they would be allowed to run down stocks for a couple of weeks, but only by distancing tables etc before asking them to close for a month. Masks (home made scarves etc only - selfish to deny doctors etc until clear there is a good supply) advised on transport, clear instructions how to wear and clean them. I actually think we would have been able to minimise spread so our lockdown would have been far smaller actually. And people would not be so terrified now.

At our school y7-9 could be adjusted but y10 and y11 with GCSE options is going to be very tricky. Everyone does english, maths and either double or triple science, the top 60 take triple and they are normally the top at maths so that works OK to there but then there's a choice of geography / history - that takes you down to 30 already for that group with 3 more options to timetable with a choice from 15. Maybe 3 options will be online.

DS2 starts year R in Sept. They have said that they won't even be up to 2 days a week until at least November (starting with just half a day a week in Sept) and from the phrasing it sounds like the other years will only be 2 days a week too.
I really can't continue to wfh full-time for another 6 months, asking a 4 yo to amuse himself for much of the time, and not assume it is going to have a significant impact on his development.

There's no details because there's no plan. There's no plan because they don't know what they're talking about, and have no interest in finding out. This is not a government that gives a damn about actual detail on how things work. Come on, everything Johnson and his cronies have said about education has been completely out of context and irrelevant: they just trump nonsense and expect it to happen, because that's what always happens in their rich fantasy worlds.

@Oaktree55

Yes, at the moment, France is stipulating 1m laterally because it is the number that allows all primary pupils to be back in school. Probably they would cut the distance if they needed to get kids back because they have been clear that they are prioritising getting all primary school kids back for two weeks in June rather than because this number is magically miles better than 0.8m or whatever you could choose - it is the magic number in terms of what can be managed in all schools for two weeks this term. I imagine that they will scrap it altogether if cases are lower still in September, particularly as the weather becomes trickier to manage.

Bloody news AGAIN - they love to lie by omission - he said it was the intention, not cast in stone.

I don't know why this is so wrong. All risks and harm are relative - it's just choices by the government.

It's perfectly reasonable to stay rather than having social distance constraints that we have already that a) All children will attend school and b) will be in single class bubbles of children. Other than that schools must then keep children as far apart as possible and then choose a curriculum that meets a broad spectrum.

This is far better than saying schools must continue to have their own methods of teaching, always keep children a specific distance away from each other, children must be able to choose specific options etc. all leading to no education for many children.

Most options are irrelevant 3 years after leaving school - people have moved on - it really doesn't matter that much as long as English, Maths, mixed Science and mixed Humanities are taught - the rest is just icing.

@Pepperwort ffs! 😴😴

You don’t need to socially distance in bubbles! So for primaries it’s surely business as usual class wise with staggered starts, play & lunch. Lunch could be in classrooms (I’ve taught in a school with no hall & this worked perfectly well) or two bubbles distanced.

A lot harder for secondaries..

VenusTiger - ??
We're being led by press release, not actual capability.

Please no one bank on schools being back to normal.

Gav and Bozo are setting up to blame the teachers when it doesn't happen. And some on this site will be daft enough to believe them.

The virus is still very much around. Although researchers are learning more about it. Social distancing is still the best way to stop the spread at the moment.

@DomDoesWotHeWants

Please no one bank on schools being back to normal.

Gav and Bozo are setting up to blame the teachers when it doesn't happen. And some on this site will be daft enough to believe them.

The virus is still very much around. Although researchers are learning more about it. Social distancing is still the best way to stop the spread at the moment.

Can I ask what your qualifications are to make such a sweeping statement?

Gav and Bozo are setting up to blame the teachers when it doesn't happen. And some on this site will be daft enough to believe them

Yes, I wonder how much consultation happened this week

This government don't know what is happening next week, never mind in three months.

They haven't even told us what is happening with the vulnerable and their time runs out in June. Are vulnerable people to be forced to attend offices?

They have no idea what will happen in September. It's a complete joke.

At our school y7-9 could be adjusted but y10 and y11 with GCSE options is going to be very tricky. Everyone does english, maths and either double or triple science, the top 60 take triple and they are normally the top at maths so that works OK to there but then there's a choice of geography / history - that takes you down to 30 already for that group with 3 more options to timetable with a choice from 15. hmm Maybe 3 options will be online.

Everybody's way of working has changed. I have to wear a mask, limit my consultations to 15 minutes, work in a completely different setting because the hospital has been entirely reconfigured. I think the yr 10/11 teachers can cope with offering fewer options or not the kids' first choice. Millions of disadvantaged children and teens desperately need to be back in school they don't need 15 GCSE ootions.

@TrustTheGeneGenie

Can I ask what your qualifications are to make such a sweeping statement?

And your qualifications for thinking I'm wrong?

Daft question.

About time. The social distancing will be reduced. There is no need for 2m, even 1 metre in my opinion. Good to see the country getting back to normal. We need to live with this virus. It’s here to stay.

@Porcupineinwaiting

That's all very well *@Eileithyiaal* but the virus is highly contagious, so if it gets into a school, or workplace, lots of people will catch it - and then pass it to their families. Even if you dont care about the death rate, or the long term health effects (and personally I care about both) that means an awful lot of people are going to be sick or isolating or caring for the sick -and that will disrupt the school/business etc. The only way to get back to any sort of normality is to keep the infection rate really low.

this is not technically true. In terms of how contagious Coronavirus is it actually has a fairly low R0 compared to meny other viral illnesses. Chicken pox, for example, has an R0 of aroun 11, compared to coronavirus of 3. (and yes, I am aware there is difference in the severity of both illnesses but that is different.) There is nothing to suggest that if it "got into a school or workplace" lots of people would catch it, if good hygeine measure were in place. I have been working throughout this whole thing (mixing with many, many different people every week). There have been isolated people at work who have had CV19, at no time has it spread throughout the workplace with lots of people catching it.

Re secondary schools, it wouldn’t be very pleasant, but it would be possible for the children to wear masks in lessons, and perhaps for the teachers to have a clear mask/visor. They could then have bubbles with their tutor groups, in which they could eat lunch in a fixed room each day, maskless. Then massively up the budget
For school
Cleaners and instal additional hand washing stations. Isn’t going to solve the problem, but might help a bit.

@Emmapeeler1

Gav and Bozo are setting up to blame the teachers when it doesn't happen. And some on this site will be daft enough to believe them

Yes, I wonder how much consultation happened this week

None. I’m a teacher - we get the information the same time as everyone else ... on the news.

We are planning for different scenarios as no one knows what will happen in sept. Telling schools in two weeks is ridiculous bearing in mind they close in 4 or 5 for the summer.

I'm a Ta in a primary school, where I work between 4 classes in the year group, take numerous interventions with many different children, how will those bubbles work. Also been off since March cos of health.

At the rate restrictions are being lifted, surely social distancing will be a thing of the past by September, still more than 2 months away. If so, why wouldn't schools be fully open?

Millions of disadvantaged children and teens desperately need to be back in school they don't need 15 GCSE ootions.

They also need to be happy?