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

@Hercwasonaroll

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?

Oak Academy is useless for the more able Year 10s, as there is nothing aimed at Year 11 they can't move up if need be and the work is ridiculousy easy. My DCs school have been doing their own work for the year 10 top sets rather than use the OA materials.

If they drop DT and PE then that's going to adversely impact on my DCs who are planning on continuing them at A level.

Miles yes to PPE. It was the one ask when writing to my MP.

Oak Academy is going to be massively beefed up over the next couple of months, they’ve hired hundreds of teachers to do the full curriculum for next year by September.

As a possibly not so flippant aside to this discussion, and knowing how much some kids love to set the fire alarm off on the last day of term to disrupt the whole school...

How much easier, and how much less trouble would they be in if they simply announced they had lost their sense of taste? Entire secondary yeargroup sent home until the negative test came through.

"What happens with schools that have more than 240 in the year? Two bubbles? Sounds a timetabling nightmare."

Those schools generally split the year group anyway for timetabling so it shouldn't make much difference except if the two groups are usually mixed for gcse option subjects.

Oaks being made bigger and broader so hopefully there will be extension. I'm expecting y11 to be prioritised at all costs from September to be honest.

I can't see any home learning provision continuing, as every member of staff will be in school working their normal hours. I suspect that any parent choosing to continue shielding will be homeschooling on their own.

How much easier, and how much less trouble would they be in if they simply announced they had lost their sense of taste? Entire secondary yeargroup sent home until the negative test came through.

No, everyone carries on until/unless the test is positive.

I can't see any home learning provision continuing

Oak Academy!! That’s what it’s for.

My son is going into year 10, he has been top set science all the way through, he wants to study science at sixth form and university.
We have already been told that the school will not be running triple science as the children haven't been able to start it in yr9.

"How much easier, and how much less trouble would they be in if they simply announced they had lost their sense of taste? Entire secondary yeargroup sent home until the negative test came through."

Current guidance is for bubbles to only be sent home if a member tests positive. No one is sent home for a suspected case.

Great news about Oak Academy! At least that's something concrete.

The thing is, I don't want to homeschool. What I really want is to not have blood cancer, and for my kids to have a normal life and go to school.

It is what it is, but having it implied that I'm choosing to opt out - and deserve to be fined - when I don't feel I have any real choice does catch me on the raw rather.

Anyway, I'm taking this thread too personally, so I'm going to sod off and do some RL stuff.

@PatriciaHolm

Gets worse doesn't it?

All parents have to do is announce they are home-schooling. There is little checking and no guidance as to standard

@Scarby9

As a possibly not so flippant aside to this discussion, and knowing how much some kids love to set the fire alarm off on the last day of term to disrupt the whole school...

How much easier, and how much less trouble would they be in if they simply announced they had lost their sense of taste? Entire secondary yeargroup sent home until the negative test came through.

I might be wrong but I thought they only sent the bubble home once a positive test has been confirmed - child with symptoms stays away, rest of bubble carries on as normal.

"Oak Academy!! That’s what it’s for."

Yes of course, homelearning led by parents accessing freely available materials rather than schools having any obligation to plan or prepare anything.

@rawlikesushi

I can't see any home learning provision continuing, as every member of staff will be in school working their normal hours. I suspect that any parent choosing to continue shielding will be homeschooling on their own.

And posts like this make me feel like a piece of shit.

Oh yes, you're right, @HipTightOnions! My mistake. That's a relief.
And actually, anyone who did try that would suffer he natural justice of having to undergo a test, so there is a built in deterrent even to trying to get yourself a day off school by those means.

"What would you like to see instead? That sounds goady but I genuinely don't mean it to be, I'm curious as to what could be done to keep shielding children safe. Face masks probably wouldn't be enough (although I do appreciate that adding face masks would help) and there just isn't space for adequate distancing."

Either something like blended learning for all in Y7, 8 and 9 with 1 of those groups plus Y10/11 in each day to maximise social distancing and reduce sharing of facilities. Maybe facemasks everywhere outside of lessons/dining hall. Or back to normal but acknowledge that it won't be a safe model for vulnerable students/families/staff and a requirement for schools to put something else in place for those groups. E.g. souped up home learning or a 'school within a school' for that group. In a large secondary school I imagine that there will be a substantial number of shielded students or students from shielding families as well as shielded staff who could teach them.

"And posts like this make me feel like a piece of shit."

That's the last thing I want. I'm speculating about government guidance, not saying it's right.

If they broaden the scope of OA and improve it then I'll eat my hat.

I have a Y10 who excels in Drama, Art, Spanish and History. Whoop-de-fucking-doo! She's been learning fine during lockdown but I think dropping all these subjects may tip her over into a very dark place.

I'm beyond livid at this idea. Why the FUCK have we been bothering with all the hard work at home?? I'm actual nearly in tears.

@Orangeblossom78

"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"

Great. An even more reduced curriculum to be sure that you have adults with no criical thinking and no undersatnding of thw world aournd them. I suppose this makes a population much easier to lead though.

And of course, not a word asbout the fact that many students wil then carry on learning on subjects that are not core subjects. When are they ever going to get a taste of them?

I’m wondering how this will work for the children that need more support/SEN. Exemption from the 1 metre 15 mins? But then you are asking some teachers to take greater risk.

@MilesJuppIsMyBitch I'm really sorry for your situation. A lot of these posts are purely talking logistics. It would be unreasonable to expect teachers to teach in the day and provide online work.

I'm hope your school will do its best to support you and your children going forward. I can understand why you feel so tense and are taking things personally. Hope you can enjoy some real life time.

the natural justice of having to undergo a test

I don’t know what would happen if the pupil didn’t have a test though. Presumably at some point we’d just let them come back to school.