Huffpost - leak on School Guidance

[PatriciaHolm]

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/school-reopening-whole-year-bubbles-full-guidance-covid_uk_5ef9dd4ac5b6ca97091288e4?oo9&guccounter=1

Full document due this week, but some "highlights"...(I use the word advisedly)

• secondary bubbles of up to 240 children (essentially a year group) -No in-class social distancing requirement for primary pupils, with secondary pupils advised to stay 1m apart but not at all times -Teachers advised to keep 2m away from pupils, at the front of the class, and away from colleagues as much as possible as if in a supermarket

• Compulsory engagement with the NHS Test and Trace system, with whole classes or year groups liable to be sent home if a pupil tests positive, but whole school closure not seen as generally necessary

-No face coverings for pupils or teachers, on Public Health England advice, as they “interfere” with teaching and learning -Children seated facing forwards in same direction and not at circular tables, with pupils wearing normal uniform and washing hands throughout the day -Teachers advised to spend no more than 15 minutes at any one time closer than 1m to anyone - Fines of up to £120 for parents whose children fail to attend school. In contrast with the “softly softly” approach taken during full lockdown the message will be “education is not optional”

• Heads told not to put in any staff rota or physical distancing that would require extra space or make it impossible for all pupils to return full-time.

- Contingency plans for some or all of the school being put in local lockdown and any temporary return to “remote” teaching needing to be of a high quality -Some subjects for some or all pupils may have to be suspended for two terms to allow catch-up on core subjects such as English and maths, with a full spread of subjects returning in the summer term of of 2021 -Some pupils may have to drop some GSCEs altogether in Year 11 to allow them to catch up and achieve better grades in English and maths. GCSEs and A-levels to take place as planned next summer but with some “adaptations” - First year pupils at secondary school may have to be re-taught English and maths from their final year syllabus at primary level

@MNnicknameforCVthreads

I'll post the link here (if I'm allowed). Need to sort through stuff first so it may be a week or so.

Agree mumma : but don't want it to be us, necessarily!

If anyone is interested, here are plans for Italy. Spot the differences :

twitter.com/RRaimato/status/1276553347177340930

Looks all good.
Lots of things have changed. Thank God:

The virus is gone.
The virus is less dangerous.
Let’s scrap social distancing.
Let’s open schools.
Let’s party like there’s no tomorrow.
Literally.
🙄

I don’t have a GCSE or an A-level in either of the subjects I teach; in fact I’ve never even been in a single lesson of them other than as a teacher. Teachers are employed as teachers and can be deployed into any subject. HOWEVER - and this is far and away the case most often - this is usually done with the agreement of the SLT and the teacher in question - some subjects are allied and movement between them is simpler than others. Sometimes teachers are put into subjects against their will. This is bad practice and generally leads to poor teaching through no fault of the teacher, and a great deal of support needed from the rest of the department. It doesn’t mean that a head can move a chunk of staff from one subject to another wholesale and isn’t what the rules are intended for.

I can't speak for secondary schools, but primary schools should be okay- in Sweden they were open as usual, (a bit more handwashing and spaced out at lunch), and there weren't any outbreaks. Statistically that must suggest that the under 12s don't transmit it much, as Sweden has had just as many cases overall.

The secondary plans sound dreadful for many GCSE and A level students.

How can children have their subjects restricted and it not have a huge impact on many of them?

Dd would have no doubt been expected to drop subjects such as computing (shared devices) and drama (too practical) for example - both subjects she had then taken at A level.

And is this for children who have already done 1-2 years of study.

And just isn't fair on those students at all.

As for primary day facing the front all in same direction, but still fitting 30 in and allowing 2m for the teacher and TAs - we don't even have enough room space or tables for that. And many of the tables in lower infants are circular - so we need to buy new ones?!

And what about children who need a 1:1 to even be able to be in school? No way will the staff be able to stay 1-2m, let alone the 15 minute restriction.

Have these people ever been near the average state school?!

Sounds good. As long as triple Science stays with English and Maths for GSCE

Why is triple science more important to retain than any other subject?!

So Kitkat, she was just very, very ignorant rather than malicious?
Thanks goodness no one has ever died as a result of ignorance!
I'm not even sure I can believe she thought it was ok, all the government advice has been about whole households isolating.

@GravityFalls

What do you teach?

I am all up for the kids going back in September. In fact I have my fingers crossed that it all goes ahead but I see a few issues with this guidence:

1. It is apparently necessary that teachers keep 2m away from others but are not allowed to wear visors if it's not possible (and many teachers have claimed their rooms are too small).

1. Behaviour is one of the main reasons for our teacher retention crisis. Especially from newer teachers. We have an entire cohort of new teachers who have passed their teaching qualification with months of experience missing. This will have a huge impact on them and our timetabling.

1. Teachers are usually working at full timetable, the only way they can make room on a core subject teacher timetable to make up the year 11 extra lessons, is by dropping lessons from other year groups.

1. If secondary classes bubble and the teacher moves around, then this will mean options will have to be dropped for all and sets won't exist. Classes tend to be mixed regardless of form or band for options, one classroom will have some that do French, some that don't, some that do history and some that don't etc.

I certainly agree that some students should be allowed to drop subjects and concentrate getting their 5 GCSEs, but for others this is a massive smack in the face when they have been trying their best.

Aragog important to me. Stresses me if it’s not, for ds, his best subjects. No different to pp below upset that her dd’s best subjects could be dropped. God are people really so dim. We all have our own stresses.

@CheesecakeAddict

1. Behaviour is one of the main reasons for our teacher retention crisis. Especially from newer teachers.

I agree. The behaviour of the NQTs I know is shocking

If secondary classes bubble

The leaked guidance suggests this will not be the case though. Instead we will pay lip service to the bubble concept by defining a whole year group as a bubble, and trying to keep year groups apart from each other somehow.

I would feel much safer if we could rely on exemplary behaviour from the kids. We can’t though.

@piggywaspushed. I'm sorry you 'enjoy' this. I find it deeply distressing that so many children are suffering from hunger, domestic abuse and acute mental health crisis as their needs are continuously ignored by government policy.

Picking out bits of carefully reviewed evidence doesn't change the fact that children do not appear to be at the centre of outbreaks as they are for most other contagious diseases.

With meat processing plants it is not hard to find outbreaks. I'm yet to see a campaign to close down factories.

Marsha - absolutely no reason to be so rude!!! Goodness, was that really necessary

I was referring to at least 3 or 4 posts in the first 100 or so that all referenced triple science, as though that was the only important subject.

No other subject appeared to mentioned as worthy of saving in the same number of posts; just comments about what may be dropped due to being practical or hands on.

Triple science is no more important than any other subject on the curriculum, from a general point. And as some of it is hands on, then actually it may well be restricted in some way.

It just surprised me to see so many people feel that it was that one subject that needed 'saving.'

At least if triple science dropped to double the kids would be still doing their favoured subject, if science is their best/preferred choice.

@serenada I realised after I hit the post button 🤦‍♀️.

Aragog ok I retract my annoyance. It felt everyone else was expressing their personal reaction but for some reason mentioning sciences was frowned upon.

Yes I find the thought of a teen who loves a subject having to drop it stressful. Ds has learnt French since he was 4 and is still not good, he won’t miss it. When a teen is really interested in something you want to hold onto it. For us it’s science but for others it will be drama or art. And losing those might make someone really want to wail against it. I have every sympathy.

The campaign, if it ever existed , to close down schools was parent conducted and centred.

Factories HAVE been closed down, specifically In Germany and there has been an investigation, quite rightly, into safety standards. 23 cases in a nursery and it's 'as you were'. Come on, that's not right.

I didn't have to try hard to pick those things out Margaret it was huge chunks of the link you posted. And we do need to keep repeating that the large outbreaks may simply not exist BECAUSE of lockdown.

This is basically back to school as normal.
I am guessing that this will work for a short while until there is some rise in cases again in October if not before. There will be a lack of decisive action and we will be back in the same scenario before long.

I am most concerned about the idea that it won't be necessary to close a school as the year group are in a 'bubble'. This is patently ludicrous. No school has the space or the staff to ensure that a year group doesn't come into contact with another. Given that kids will all be using the same areas, touching the same equipment etc etc, if there is a case, it will spread. It would be more honest to simply acknowledge this and commit to close schools when there is a case.
I am quite prepared and happy to return but I would like to be certain that there would be quick decisive action if there was a confirmed case. I would also like to at least have the option to wear a visor when in close contact with children as it is impossible to remain 2m distance. I am frequently standing facing children in crowded corridors. I can't see how it is OK for teachers to not wear a visor whilst shop workers are equipped with plastic screens and visors etc.

I also think there should be zero tolerance on dangerous behaviour from students.

and there weren't any outbreaks.

That is not true in Sweden. There were outbreaks and large student and staff absence rates.

There ahs also been a bullying culture about student and staff attendance in Swedish schools, including towards those medically vulnerable. It hasn't covered itself in glory.

Isn't anyone concerned about the toilets? Step inside most schools and you will find there aren't enough, they aren't very clean and they lack soap.

Well as a parent of a yr 10 dd whose best grades would be in Art and Music I'm seriously unimpressed.

240 person bubbles? ridiculous.

moving between classes????

and as someone who works in a school I would Really rather everyone wore masks. They are proven to help reduce transmission and are worn in a number of European countries.

I thought Swedish schools had social distancing, and their equivalent of sixth form colleges have been closed.

@tisaginthing I think it'll happen a lot less than in the past. Having read the guidance about what happens if a child falls ill at school (it's not quite the scene at the end of E.T but....) I know there is no way I'll be risking either of mine getting a fever/cough at school and being isolated there. I know there are some parents who will find it harder, but it's more acceptable now for those who can work from home to do so with a (sick) child there. And much less socially acceptable to be deliberately sharing germs of any sort.