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

My family is shielding. There is very little here that will prevent the virus spreading rapidly in a school. My eldest starts year 7 in September.

Feel a bit sick reading this.

@noblegiraffe wow, is your room really that small? I taught for twelve years in four different schools and I always would have been able to arrange desks in such a way as to create a 2m zone around my desk and the board. It would mean my having to stand in that space while kids came in and out at each lesson change, and obviously not circulate during the lesson which would be very strange, but it would certainly be achievable.

then you wont get the 2m I guess and have to cope with 1m.

But the guidance says not for longer than 15 minutes.

Maybe I could set a timer and move to a different corner of the room.

Their problem, and they know it, is that teachers are the weak link, what with them flitting between bubbles. One infected teacher could close the school. Teachers should be using PPE to minimise their risk of spreading it to the kids they teach but that’s not allowed.

wow, is your room really that small?

Yes. If I push the desks away from the front that far, the kids on the back row wouldn’t be able to pull their chairs out.

My room is tiny and I have classes up to 34. My desk could be moved closer to the board away from the first row, but it still wouldn't be 2m unless I was almost right against the board. Which I then couldn't use.

It would be gutting to have worked for a year on a subject and have to drop it (GCSE) is that what they mean? What about the teachers of the dropped subjects, are they dropped too? sounds a mess.

You’ll just have to get the biggest distance you can then. We’re all having to take calculated risks. We can’t keep kids off forever.

One infected teacher could close the school.

Does that mean that teachers are not assigned to the year group bubbles?

Nothing on how secondary pupils go from class to class either - they can't stay in year group bubbles surely?

secondary pupils advised to stay 1m apart but not at all times

I can’t see how this is achievable at all. Ours spend all their lessons 2 to a desk.

And in the corridors they’re not even 1cm apart!

You’ll just have to get the biggest distance you can then

So you’re saying that I should deliberately break the government’s own guidance and take personal responsibility for the health and safety of my classes?

My DS’s school do 3 year GCSE’s, he is currently in Year 10 so would have now completed 2 years of the course. It seems massively unfair that they aren’t going to be able to do the subjects they want to study (and potentially do very well in). How would it work in future years when they only have a few GCSE’s on their CV?

Good - schools need to get back the cost to children's education and mental health is too much now. The governments needs to set up decent online provision for kids in families that are shielding etc and then send the rest of the school population back. In the absence of this private schools will go back full time in December and the provision in many state schools will be woeful (as can be seen with the so-called provision for year 10s this term).

The only thing I disagree with is the fines - if parents don't want to send their kids back that's fine and they should be allowed to do so as long as they don't expect the school to provide distance learning any more. I have recently discovered UsForThem.co.uk and think it is a great group trying to try to ensure a whole generation of children don't get shafted.

Nope. Because it’s guidance not law, and it says “as far as possible”.

I repeat: we are all having to take calculated risks. We are tanking our country’s future otherwise.

C+. Try harder.

@Nobelgiraffe are you walking back and forth? I think the 15 monute thing would be directly in front of one pupil, less the 1m for more than 15 minutes - you wouldnt do that in a class of 30 would you?

Does that mean that teachers are not assigned to the year group bubbles?

They can’t be. For many subjects there aren’t enough teachers to have 1 per year. And even if there were, the Y13 teacher would be under-occupied while the Y7 teacher was overloaded.

Here they need 5 high grade Bs to go into 6th form, out of more subjects that is easier to achieve. Very unfair if they have to drop a subject they are good at and impact on their future

Seems better just to open as normal as none of this seems to impact much on the virus- but does greatly impact on the education (secondary anyway)

Apart from the distancing for the teachers I suppose

Does that mean that teachers are not assigned to the year group bubbles?

I can’t see that possibly working.

when they will all mix on the bus anyway
Face coverings are compulsory on public transport/buses

@BatSegundo

My family is shielding. There is very little here that will prevent the virus spreading rapidly in a school. My eldest starts year 7 in September.

Feel a bit sick reading this.

Yes, I can see the issues for anyone with a family member with less than perfect health. We are not in a risky group but it has to be said - what is proposed makes no attempt to limit the virus spreading in school.

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

@MarshaBradyo - what about the pupils who want to do non-core subjects at A-level? My DD's proposed A-levels would be three of them and no core subjects!

I repeat: we are all having to take calculated risks.

No ‘we’ aren’t. My DH, for example, is working from home for the foreseeable future.

D-. Poor effort.

@Orangeblossom78
And what about if they want to do the subject they have had to drop at A level?

This is going to be a timetabling headache for a lot of secondary schools.