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

BlackCriw I only know about GSCE, as have dc in that year, honestly I’m not sure

@BillBaileysBum

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.

The risk is not being equally shared though. Anyone with a child with e.g. severe asthma has a very unfair share of risk. As a society we should be able to do better than this.

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

It's just awful- and what is the reasoning for this dropping I wonder?

to allow them to catch up and achieve better grades in English and maths it says. Hmm.

@Orangeblossom78
I assume so they can “catch up” in the other subjects, but it’s completely unfair. They should alter the grade boundaries or reduce content rather than drop subjects.

I agree

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

Apart from staggering the start and finish time of the lesson, bit like what they are currently doing in primary, I can't see how they are going to do especially if teachers aren't assigned to individual bubbles.

I hope i does not also impact the range of subjects at A level too.

So you've got a bubble of 240 students. One of them tests positive so then what? All 240 students in the bubble are quarantined? Plus all of the staff that taught the bubble? So who teaches the remaining bubbles while the teachers are quarantined for two weeks?

Then another child in another bubble tests positive and staff are quarantined again?

Is this going to work?

Doesn't sound too bad though would be a lot better if they just said "back as normal, lots of handwashing"

Slightly of subject but year group bubbles may have a knock on effect on after school ( non school related) activities restarting like cubs/ scouts/ swimming/ dancing etc where different year groups combine?

@Dadnotamum72

Slightly of subject but year group bubbles may have a knock on effect on after school ( non school related) activities restarting like cubs/ scouts/ swimming/ dancing etc where different year groups combine?

And wraparound care!

are you walking back and forth?

I suppose that would work - frenetic pacing across the front of your classroom. Think how many steps a day you'd do!

Wonder what the music and art teachers will be doing - it'll be their subjects that get dropped in favour of extra M and E. Maybe year 7 M and E will be taught by them...

What subjects would they be dropping do you think? Hope it is not the ones such as DT, art, music and drama, product design..

@Dadnotamum72

Slightly of subject but year group bubbles may have a knock on effect on after school ( non school related) activities restarting like cubs/ scouts/ swimming/ dancing etc where different year groups combine?

I did wonder about that too.

What subjects would they be dropping do you think? Hope it is not the ones such as DT, art, music and drama, product design..

You know it will be exactly those subjects.

Will this guidance apply to Six Form and Further Education colleges as well ?
How can they have bubbles for whole year groups when the students are studying a mixture of GCSE retakes, A-Levels, BTECs and Vocational courses ?

My room would have me with as much room as possible at the front of the room and the pupils can sit in about four giant rows at the back.

Could have fans and open windows to blast the virus away

@PinkFondantFancy

Doesn't sound too bad though would be a lot better if they just said "back as normal, lots of handwashing"

I hope this comes over as a genuine question and not snippy, but how much point is there in washing hands when not distancing? Won't they just breathe on each other anyway?

I thought handwashing was so you didn't catch it off door handles.

I just don't see how it will work in practise. How will children move around the school? How will they manage lunchtimes? And I really hope that PE / sports is still an integral part of the curriculum.

My DCs are still in primary, which I'm really thankful for. It must be so stressful for secondary children and their DPs at the moment

So year groups bubbles of 240 means kids could be being asked to isolate very often. This is going to be difficult for familys constantly being asked to stay at home.
It’s going to take all day to do lunch and dinner times in separate year group bubbles.
And as for kids being made to drop their chosen subjects that some of them have been studying for three years is cruel.

You know it will be exactly those subjects

OK. Mine is doing some of them

@PinkFondantFancy just wait until after August 5th, which will be one month after the lockdown loosens further on July 5th. If we are in our current situation or better and there hasn't been a titanic second wave, this guidance will be scrapped on the basis that it was introduced when they didn't know what would happen post July 5th, everything is hunky dory now etc etc. And the guidance will change to business as usual plus handwashing.

You read it here first. I should change my name to Mystic Meg.

(Disclaimer: I have no idea if this will actually happen, or whether this is a good idea. This is just my prediction on the basis of watching how this government has operated throughout.)

What of current Y10's who want to go on to do A levels in subjects that are dropped?

How does that work?