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

Oak academy will be up and running for kids staying at home.

Dropping subjects is an absolutely awful choice. How is it fair on anyone?

Where are the extra teachers coming from too?

@Hearhoovesthinkzebras

I wonder if they will be upping capacity on buses to accommodate this too?

Currently the limits here are 10 passengers on a single decker and 20 on a double decker. During term time the buses were rammed at normal capacity with school kids. They'd have to run goodness knows how many extra buses to cope with demand if they stick to 10 and 20.

I think if a lot of parents are WFH, they'll be running their kids in the car if the buses still don't have the capacity.

@stayingaliveisawayoflife

If I have to stay 2m away from my class of 6 year olds I can't check their work and give them feedback as they are doing it which is one of the most important elements of teaching. Also sitting the children in rows means they can't work together or support each other so maths mastery will be interesting. I think the rules will have to be broken if quality teaching and learning is going to happen!

Are you seriously going to go back in with a plan of "breaking the rules"? What impact will that have on other staff? (Perhaps you are just pointing out it won't be great quality unless you can get closer, but it sounds like you plan to ignore the rules)

Just musing. Primary teacher here. I do want the kids back in September, but can't they just tell the truth and say, "Kids will go back. It will basically be normal. Maybe that will be fine."

- secondary bubbles of up to 240 children (essentially a year group) - simply meaningless, as their teachers will teach the other bubbles, they will have siblings, travel on public transport, walk home together, have break/lunch together...
-No in-class social distancing requirement for primary pupils, with secondary pupils advised to stay 1m apart but not at all times - standard desks seat 2 people and are less than 2m long. Students are normally a couple of inches apart
-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 - I'll try, but that's not how many primary teachers teach. I'm doing it in my bubble now and it's so unnatural and much less effective
- 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 - see above
-No face coverings for pupils or teachers, on Public Health England advice, as they “interfere” with teaching and learning - seems a little arbitrary, as the other measures also "interfere" with teaching...
-Children seated facing forwards in same direction and not at circular tables, with pupils wearing normal uniform and washing hands throughout the day - what about schools that only have circular tables? (though tbf I'm fine with this one, as there's plenty of research that shows rows facing the front as a standard leads to the best outcomes)
-Teachers advised to spend no more than 15 minutes at any one time closer than 1m to anyone - I'll buy a stopwatch
- 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” - weird that this is the one people are moaning about - if you want to keep your kids at home, just formally agree to homeschool them
- 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. - really, this is the only point that they should say , then leave the actual logistics up to people who actually have the faintest ideal what they're talking about
- 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 - well, they're funding Oak, so presumably that's 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 - this would be a shame
-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” - not my specialist area, but I would have thought they'd be at a disadvantage compared to other years if they have, say, 7 GCSEs, while students finishing in any other year would have 9. Seems quite unfair. As an aside, fascinating how Sats haven't been mentioned for months!
- First year pupils at secondary school may have to be re-taught English and maths from their final year syllabus at primary level - what an odd statement. Children constantly need things re-teaching so this is not new in the slightest

By online lessons I mean Oak Academy rather than teachers needing to cover both home and school learning. Maybe some tutor time could be used here too.

It's in the Times as well, now

www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/whole-year-groups-to-be-isolated-as-secondary-schools-reopen-l08qq3h3n

Orange make no jokes as someone from DfE will have it in a guidance document in no time! (Buckets/marquees/fans)

I think if a lot of parents are WFH, they'll be running their kids in the car if the buses still don't have the capacity.

Maybe but in this area we have students travelling in from miles away, usually a train and then bus. I don't think many parents would be able to drive them.

@TW2013

Shielding and online lessons should be an option available with a school space and funding kept open. This will also mean fewer children in school so would make social distancing easier.

This would be perfect for my nearly Y10 DS but he learns much better teach led.

I'm sheilding and dread him going back because I know how rammed his school is. On a plus he gets a lift/picked up.

"Further up the school, headteachers will be told they may pare down the number of GCSEs their pupils take to allow them to focus on the core subjects of maths, English and science. This is what many educational experts hope will be the future for GCSEs in the long term.

It is the practice already in many private schools, where a small number of subjects are taught more intensively and higher grades tend to be achieved. They view the approach as more valuable than a long list of more mediocre results"

@PollyPolson

I wouldn't get too het up about this tbh.

They changed the school guidance 42 times in 2 weeks just imagine how often then can change this before September

Indeed!

I can't imagine the fines being legally enforcable during a worldwide pandemic anyway. Especially if LAs still working on "best endeavours" for SEN provision, which may make schools inaccessible for some diabled children. I really hope some legal bod challenges this.

I will be wearing a mask as a vulnerable member of staff who should be shielding there is no way I will be in without one. My notice will be given.

I'm convinced that unless we see a second spike we'll be back to normal (with possibly a one way system and extra hand washing) by September.

That leaked guidance is contradictory.

You cannot fit 30 pupils in my lab 1m apart all facing the front and leave 2m clear for me to teach.

I'm not even sure I can get all the desks facing the front without them having to climb over/under to get to their seats (fixed gas tap islands).

I'm also not sure how you'd make the year groups into bubbles separate from each other, staggered lesson times would be tricky using the same staff, maybe some sort of holding area / allocated break are system and double lesson blocks? Do away with daily tutor time and have it as a lesson, with am and pm reg in the applicable class?

I'm willing to give whatever a go to be honest!

Goodbye, Arts Education.

Goodbye, Humanities Education.

Goodbye, Technology Education.

Goodbye, MFL Education.

English, Maths, Double Science and RE, That's your lot.

@Haffiana

It'll be the same as the overseas travellers quarantine rules - come into the U.K. Make your way to your destination on public transport and THEN quarantine for 14 days.

Actually, that will be - come to the UK from a country which will 99% be certain to have a far, far lower infection rate than the UK if you have a death wish. Then quarantine for 14 days to keep the British racist xenophobes happy.

What happened back in March?

Lots of British people told to come home from highly infected places. Government policy was to come back to the UK, get on public transport to your destination and then to isolate for 14 days.

@walker1891

I will be wearing a mask as a vulnerable member of staff who should be shielding there is no way I will be in without one. My notice will be given.

Surely PPE is allowed in certain circumstances? My DS's special school uses PPE at the moment for personal care for example.

I assume there will be separate guidance for special schools though, as so much of this guidance just not possible or doesn't apply in SS.

Glad the bubbles and small classes is not in that. Pointless since the students all come out and congregate anyway.

Seems pretty sensible and intending to get children back into education. Some will not have had any education since mid March so will be almost 6 months by September. Focus on core subjects excellent.

I think most of that seems like a sensible first draft at getting schools back. Not perfect, but a start. I am most concerned about an entire year group of 240 having to be off if a single pupil in that year tests positive though. That has the potential to be incredibly disruptive to education.

@walker1891

Great - wear it. It doesn't say you cannot, just that they won't be required as in not mandatory.

I didn't realise private schools tend to focus on a fewer number of subjects.

i feel very sorry for the children who only cope with school due to the subjects like drama or art

Aside from the contradictory logistics of how to keep students and teachers apart, I'm not at all happy with the idea that GCSE options will be dropped to increase teaching in core areas. Fine for some students but students many gain confidence and enjoyment from their participation and succes in arts, humanities, music, drama, languages, PE etc. The less academic kids will just opt out of school if there's nothing there they like (we are, after all, talking teenagers here).

Exactly @Grasspigeons

Has the science been published to back this up?

I do wear it now but it took a fight to be able to and I have no risk assessment as a shielding person either.

I hope Mr Williamson is going to give us money to buy new furniture as I only have 4 tables that are not circular and can't fit many others in.