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

Y10 and y12 are oddly different to primary as only 1/4 can attend at one time so even you have a spacious school you can my get everyone in. I assume applies to both state and private.

Primary easier as the whole 15 can fit in a big classroom. Not sure about other secondary years.

The teachers there are just as free to get another job as anyone else

Teachers, if they handed their notice in right now would have to work up till Christmas. They may have quit, how would you know?

Anyone who isnt happy with their working conditions Is free to resign. With notice. I suspect more and more are realising there really aren't many other jobs around atm. Except in health and social care. Where surprisingly the risk of covid is greater!

So I'd be amazed if many do resign. Even those approaching retirement as they'd be sacrificing pension.

Some will obviously but that's their right to do so

If it like this:
www.ft.com/content/d68d6292-0486-4bfc-bf5c-54ce850a3f7a

with the kids not allowed to talk to each other, I would rather keep my son at home with online support from the school.

The teachers themselves don't get the fees though. I doubt a private school would risk losing their whole staff if they really thought they'd all quit over it.

And agree with the poster above, if my child's school looks remotely like the one they've linked to I'll be quitting my job before my children are subjected to state sanctioned child abuse.

I've never wanted to home school but there's no way I'd put my children through being treated like that at school.

DS's Private school fully opened for Primary school last week. They break up this week. They had previously been open for the eligible years. Even with pretty much full fees still being charged not all parents sent their children in. Their year groups are under 40 in size.

They didn't fully open the Secondary school, so will have been able to pretty much use the whole campus for the Primary school pupils. They offered half a day a week for Y10 and Y12 pupils. The rest of the teaching has been done remotely via a live timetable.

Even if people haven't been hospitalised with the virus, you can still be very poorly and end up with long term health issues, you just need to read a number of threads on here where PP have said what the impact has been on them, and most of them were fit and in good health beforehand and not over 70. There are not just the 2 extremes, very little impact or death, there is a lot in between.

That’s one way to reduce class size - some screens.

Nor would any government. Can you imagine the headlines! I don't think we need to worry about that thank goodness

I won't be resigning Peleton. If the conditions for schools are sufficiently unsafe and my employer won't take steps to minimise the risk then I would not go in, and would feel section 44 of the employment act would confirm my right not to.
This doesn't apply to any element of risk of course but if school staff are expected to work in conditions that other employees are advised against, and barred from taking protective steps then I cannot he asked to work and I wouldn't be the only one objecting.

Well pink I think you can safely assume British schools will look nothing like that. There may, however, be high staff and pupil absences and constant games of so called Whack a mole.

They wouldn’t spend that much

Oh, yes, that too !

You might be encouraged to make your own with sticks and cling film ;

Havefunpeleton You mention flu in schools. All children , unless they opt out, are given the flu nasal spray. All teachers, unless they opt out, are given the vaccination. State schools.
Incomparable to the situation with Covid.

I do not understand why people like you feel it is acceptable that everywhere. businesses are expected to be Covid secure- but fuck schools and staff.

Looks like I'd better start saving for private school fees then if I want my kids to get an education and for me to be able to keep my job....

South Korea has a fundamentally different culture, as the line in the FT report the humility to pivot, backtrack and admit mistakes aptly demonstrates.

We may not like the look of a lot of that stuff in S Korea but a little bit of this wouldn't go amiss:

<strong>Conceding that there have been setbacks, Seoul’s mayor believes the city is demonstrating to the world that economic reopening can only be achieved alongside stringent prevention and containment measures, as well as the humility to pivot, backtrack and admit mistakes</strong>

Haha , great x post!

@Mistressiggi that's absolutely your right. I hope your a member of a union who is prepared to pay to fund your case that phe guidance is wrong. Otherwise I assume anyone who did this would be subject to the usual disciplinary procedures and ultimately sacked.

Sorry pooie but this is not true:

All teachers, unless they opt out, are given the vaccination

I have never had flu vaccine.

Not in England so not PHE. If it is unsafe (with all the caveats I've mentioned in last post) it would be on union advice that we would not attend work. Let's not reach that point though? Better approach is to listen to concerns of teachers/other school staff/parents and actually get our approach right.

All children , unless they opt out, are given the flu nasal spray. All teachers, unless they opt out, are given the vaccination.

This is simply not true. Primary aged children may be given it, but secondary are not. Some schools pay for the jab for staff, but there certainly isn’t a programme to immunise all teachers.

@Piggywaspushed - great minds......

@Mistressiggi apologies I was only commenting on England.

If you have union support and no guidance to the contrary then what are you being advised? Strike action?