Schools guidance released

[Orangeblossom78]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53253722

No dropping of subjects at GCSE then. Posting for info

Dies anyone know what the bubble sizes in nursery will be? And also whether in primary school teachers can move bubbles? I'm thinking about PPA cover and whether school will finish at lunchtime one day due to lack of PPA cover.

Have you got a link to the actual guidance? I can’t find it online!

www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools

Thank you!

Thank you Blue, I feel for heads & teachers having to put all that in to practice!

On a selfish note I'm not looking forward to the possibility of staggered drop off/pick up. Youngest starts nursery in September so if it's all staggered by 10 min that's just shy of 2 hours each day (I appreciate I'm lucky that I sah & they're all on one campus)

Staggered drop offs is a bit of a ball ache if you have multiple children at the same school, but I understand the basis behind it.

I have 3 children at different schools. The eldest 2 use public transport to travel to schools 8 miles in opposite directions from our home. The youngest's school is a 45 min walk each way or a bus. We have one car. There is no way all 3 can attend without using public transport.

Ok great will read long one later

My reading of it is that some kids will be allowed/encouraged to drop some subjects at GCSE. Which could be flexible and intelligent, or could be shit, depending on the school and their motives. (If DS can drop Spanish he'll be thrilled.). I'm glad that the guidance doesn't specifically further narrow the curriculum.

Reading it I think it also infers some blended learning will happen. I also think that they are having a laugh if they think schools can organise around keeping year groups bubbled, given the architecture of older school buildings. But TBH is there really any point?

I understand they may be opening before and after school care so suppose there may be the possibility of dropping children there for working parents?

Our school is also offering children's clubs over the summer holidays too

I understand why, it's just the thought of doing it in the pouring rain .

Hopefully our school will do what they're doing now to speed it up, which is using 4 entrances. one for rec, one for y1, one for y6 & one for key worker children with 10 min intervals between the current groups of 15. Separate queues for each. My eldest is going in to y6 though so will be old enough to walk home on her own so I could just pick up the younger 4 & start walking slowly back up.

With staggered starts at primary, surely that just means families with multiple children all hanging about anyway?...

And with school transport as well, they’re all mixed on a bus then outside waiting for their start time...

It seems relatively sensible. Glad to see they are going back full time.

Maybe some of those things will get ironed out with time.

I’m really not sure different start and finish times and discourage use of public transport is going to work at all in Upper schools.

About 90% of the students in my child’s upper school have no other way of getting to school except on crowded buses. Most of which only run twice a day inline with start and finish times.

I’m relieved. School at last.

I'm petrified as a secondary school teacher married to another secondary school teacher.

For primary just about back to normal some issues but fairly manageable as long as infections don't rise.

Due to prior government cuts in school transport, we just don't have enough buses. Many companies went into administration and closed.
Worried about the rules, will pupils follow all they have to do on the bus. Is it really a bus drivers job to enforce this?

No extra money to implement? What about all of the extra cleaning needed, by who? Extra time for staggered lunches? All takes staffing.

I'm also worried at the amount of time test results are taking to come back...a week at least for staff and pupils I am involved with.

@JesmondDene they are good questions. Why isn’t the government putting any extra money into staffing and cleaning considering schools opening is so important. I’m not happy with the forward facing desks. Lots of coughing and sneezing directed to the teacher at the front of the room then.

A bubble of 30 isn't really a true bubble though. Let's say those 30 have 50 + contacts in the community....

DS would be happy to home school and we are seriously considering if we can make it work.

Both of us are 2nd tier risk (not cancer or shielding but existing conditions which could interact badly with Covid).

Yes - extra cleaning.

Boys primary toilets bloody awful at end of a normal day. Lots of school loos have no lids - when flushed they risk spread as no barrier to contain virus particles.

Has anything been said about clinically vulnerable children or parents / staff?
I appreciate that shielding is paused from August but it does not remove the serious risks for these groups.
I had a brief look and could not find anything about risk Assessment of these specific groups.

Give it two weeks into the term then all schools will be closed again.

@79Fleur - it says ecv and cv staff and children should be back. ECV staff should be supported to work remotely or in roles with SD if possible.