Asking too much of teachers?

[DomDoesWotHeWants]

It's looking like masks are going to be a requirement in shops and possibly other indoor venues.

Yet teachers are expected to teach - for hours at a time - in confined, poorly ventilated spaces, with no social distancing. They have been told they do not need PPE. If I was still teaching there is no way I'd go into a room crowded with teenagers and not wear a mask at the moment.

Teachers should be allowed as much protection as possible not thrown under a corona bus because Johnson wants them for child care so their parents can go back to work.

I really can't understand why it's going to be compulsory in shops where meetings are fleeting but not in schools which are crowded and have people crammed in for hours.

Does the right of children to go back to school over rule the rights of of school staff (teaching and ancillary) to be as protected as possible?

This means they should be allowed to wear PPE, if they choose, and secondary children should be wearing masks as happens in some other countries. In some countries younger children also have to wear masks in school.

The safety of teachers has been ignored by Johnson and his chums in their urge to get people back to work and the cry of "back to normal" is taken up by those ignorant of the facts about the virus.

Teachers have been made out to be the bad guys almost from the beginning - as can be seen from many bile infested threads on here. They deserve better.

I think it's really difficult because yes teachers should be able to wear masks and have protection but what about the children with partial hearing loss who rely partly on lip reading?
It's also fine to say make secondary school pupils wear masks until you remember that it's advised people with asthma don't wear them and some SEN children just won't wear them and others are going to feel claustrophobic wearing them.
What's the solution? No idea.
Having said I'm confused by this new guidance. In March no-one shopping had to wear a mask, it seems silly to bring it in now

"get their kids used to it, by showing them how people out and about are wearing masks."

That doesn't work when most people out and about are not wearing masks. I was in the local town centre this week and at most 5% had masks on.
My son's special school use visors for personal care but the children hit them or try to pull them off and play with them because it is impossible for them to understand what they are for.

In March no-one shopping had to wear a mask, it seems silly to bring it in now
Actually, I disagree. We have (mostly) been isolating since March, with less scope for contracting the virus. Now that we are cautiously stepping back towards a more normal life, then masks are a good idea to reduce transmission (if the "success/efficiency" rates are to be believed).

I agree. Teachers are being treated as expendable and somehow immune to coronavirus.

It'll be worse when secondary schools fully go back. How on earth do they think a bubble of 175 pupils (in each year in our school) will safely work? Calling it 'a bubble' doesn't make it one, it's not a bubble it's 175 strong concert crowd or wedding crowd that mix together for 6 hours a day every weekday not including the teachers. All sharing toilets...

No PPE needed? Not every class has wide enough open windows all day? 30+ in a class? At least other countries have insisted on masks...

I wouldn't want to be a teacher right now...

It’s not even a bubble of 175, because large number of those pupils will come to school jam-packed into transport (for longer than 15 minutes) with huge numbers of different people every day.

I wouldn't want to be a teacher right now...

Nor do lots of actual teachers!

I teach in FE -not much been said about what will happen with us. We have groups of up to thirty 16-18 or adult groups.

A face covering is NOT PPE

My dd will be in what they're calling a super-bubble of 270. Ds another bubble of 240. Am discounting their teachers as that muddies the bubble idea. I will be teaching five year groups of 210 each.
I don't consider the year groups to be a bubble let alone the whole school. Three different schools for us too. And I wonder how many people are in similar situations.

Bubbles in secondary are an illusion. Teachers like me are going to teach in every single bubble, thus compromising the integrity of the bubble. At least 2 of the student bubbles are sharing toilets, I don’t know yet which toilets I will be allowed to or expected to use.

Lunch times will be staggered, with some bubbles swapping lunch for one of the regular periods. If I am unlucky I will teach a whole day without any break at all.

We will be asked to provide online lessons for absent pupils, which in fact means doubling our work load as we have to prepare each lesson twice, once for in class teaching and once for home learning.

I am trying very hard not to think about it, but the thought of going back to classes of 35 with a spray bottle of Zoflora and a bottle of hand sanitiser being my only forms of protection does fill me with dread.

21 of the kids in my 32 strong class havesiblings in other bubbles at my school. Probably more with siblings at secondary. So I will essentially be part of their bubbles too. Then there's my two kids at secondary. Both have a thirty minute bus journey to and from school on buses with kids from every single year group from our village. Then they are in massive bubbles of entire year groups.

How on earth am I meant to keep my shielded mum who lives with us safe? Even a visor would help. It would at least stop me getting spat at by a particular charmer in my class whose needs and rights apparently trump mine. No extra behaviour sanctions and I see from an email I got today thathis risk reduction plan is the same as last year - ie: i have to handle him out of the class.

I actually think there will be an exodus from the profession. My sibling is also a teacher and her entire ks1 team have resigned for Xmas.

@steppemum

This is really not about childcare. Our kids need to be in school.
I have huge sympathy for teachers, but we do have to find a way.

I appreciate it isn't for you but it's all Johnson and his chums care about. That was my point. They don't give a single fuck for the adults working in schools and won't even give extra money for cleaning.

I understand that in some schools teachers are expected to clean between classes Fuck that. A teacher higher up the thread has described the most horrendous situation. I know you say a way has to be found but surely not a way that impacts so severely on school staff. I really hope the unions get behind them.

I was a teacher until I retired.

If I was still there and the wearing of masks, in shops etc, becomes a requirement then I’d be wearing one at work.

I taught out of the main bit of school.

So what are SLT going to say? Wave the words ‘duty of care’ around, it usually does the trick.

And if they still insist then involve unions, governors, threaten to go home and teach via zoom.

I could teach wearing one.

My daughter goes to an independent secondary and they are encouraging mask wearing for pupils and teachers if they want to. I am very happy with that it is not discriminatory in any way or form. Lots of extra hygiene in place, one way systems etc etc and of course they all need to wear masks on public transport and school buses.

I think the unions will have to strike. I also think that's what the government wants, previously I've been happy to put it down to incompetence but I can't see how things could have dragged on this long.

They had proposals to get kids back in school for weeks before they announced it and refused to engage at all. They only started speaking to teaching unions at all a few weeks ago and it's just junior civil servants who seem to have no authority to do anything.

It's not just unions- academy chains, LEAs, council public health departments- everyone is just being stonewalled.

It's not that fucking hard:

• All the kids in masks (perhaps appart from the youngest).
• IR thermometers at the gate and anyone with even a slight temperature goes home.
• Money for hand gell in every classroom and extra cleaning.
• Money for extra staff (there are a lot of supply teachers out there but schools just can't afford them with the other extra costs).
• Allow the schools which are really short on space to use other buildings like church halls.
• Priority testing for teachers, so they aren't off for days because of a sniffle.

My colleagues class of Y6s are going class camping this weekend. About 20 of them, plus their siblings - kids told their teacher that they are taking extra tents so the kids can have 'sleepovers' in these tents without annoying the parents.
So much for all the rules we have in school!
One of the parents had the cheek to remind the teacher that she had a cold earlier in the year that was probably Covid.
It is this attitude that is genuinely making me wonder if it is worth it.

Asking way too much. I'm clinically vulnerable, but the level of clinically vulnerable where everyone, including my GP, is surprised that people with my condition aren't shielding. I am high risk from that and also had sepsis last year. Shielding teachers have also told they will be back in September so doesn't make much difference now.

In September I am expected to:

• Teach classes of 30 in a cramped classroom. There is no room for social distancing, my desk cannot be 2m away and fit the pupils in.
• Wear no PPE (my SLT want to get round this but the government have specifically said in their guidance that we should NOT wear it)
• Clean between classes
• Bubbles are meaningless - we will have 120 in our year group bubbles but the kids won't distance from friends in other years, the corridors are packed and they all use the same two toilet blocks.
• On top of this, I've been told that clinically vulnerable pupils might not come to school (but I have to!) so I must teach all my lessons twice over, once pre-recorded online and once in person.
• Over the summer I've been told to prepare new schemes of work and resources for blended learning.

I actually have a really good SLT - but the above is government guidance.

Normally I work 65 hours a week. I cannot see how I can do this in less than 90.
90 hours and told to literally put my life in danger (not an overstatement for me).

Why is so much expected of us when other workers are at least entitled to covid secure workplaces, and are not, mostly, expected to increase an already substantial workload for no extra pay by what will be at least 150%?

I understand that in some schools teachers are expected to clean between classes Fuck that.

I think that's been happening in most schools while numbers a re low but there just isn't the man hours or room to do it in a full secondary.

Shielding teachers have also told they will be back in September so doesn't make much difference now.

This is why I think we wil have to strike. I just can't see teachers being willing to risk shielding colleagues, no matter how much we all want it to work.

Secondary school teacher. It breaks my heart to listen to the public at large dismiss our concerns. If everyone else is 'advised' to work from home, why is it that teachers have to come in? Each of my non teaching friends have described how their workplaces have gone above and beyond to ensure covid secure workspaces- with only 50% of workers in the building at any one time. How is it that the general public believe that zero social distancing (I'm in Wales) in schools is acceptable at all?

Every sector is implementing social distancing and are trying to ensure the safety of their staff- why are we teachers treated like pond life?

This should mean schools, too.

Every work place having employees back has to be covid secure. But not schools?

I honestly don’t understand why simple ppe can’t be in place. Especially for DD who as a reception teacher will be providing intimate care such as toileting.

Maybe you should go off with stress. I would in your position
yeah, pretend to be ill. Good advice. that'll get the parents on their side...

Secondary school teacher. It breaks my heart to listen to the public at large dismiss our concerns. If everyone else is 'advised' to work from home, why is it that teachers have to come in
that's not the advice now.
it is go in to work if you can,

I do PPA cover in a primary school - well EYFS and KS1. So I go room to room, between 9 classes of 30 children each, each with their own LSA in there too.

I am clinically vulnerable but not shielded.

Apparently I am allowed to go between groups but should be SDing from the children due to the changing of bubbles and also due to the health issue.

Masks and visors are not to be worn, unless in specific situations.

We are trying to work out the best scenario and how it can work whilst still keeping me safe was well as the children, but returning to some form of normality too.

Its proving an interesting dilemma.