I'm a teacher and I'm scared.

[NebularNerd]

I don't feel safe going back to work in September. When I became a teacher I did not anticipate doing so during a pandemic. I, like many others in secondary schools, will be facing up to 150 students a day, indoors, with no protection.
I am over 40 but not otherwise in a high risk category, although my husband is and we have elderly parents who will be exposed if I'm infected, as well as young children who will also be in school and potentially exposed.
I'm not disputing the need for children to return to school at all. I'm just starting to fear returning.
Anyone else feel this way?

@ZigZagPlant I’ve been teaching throughout lockdown and quite a lot of it full time on reduced pay due to just passing my PGCE.

No teachers I know had the option of “sitting on their arses on full pay” unless they were extremely vulnerable, in which case what do you expect?

I’m not sure why you’re confused and thinking that we don’t want schools to reopen - most of us have been working through the pandemic anyway, and are just concerned that the lack of real safety measures will cause schools to close again. All we have to rely on is hygiene because we can’t distance in schools (it says so on the guidance) and a lot of that hygiene is just... me cleaning the tables.

We’re concerned it’s not enough, and that schools will end up shutting again, which is shit because kids NEED to be in school.

There is a really desperate tone to the anti teacher comments now. UFT is pretty discredited given the new evidence out about spread in returning schools and they've already achieved a pledge of full opening - if they believe Boris won't flip flop as soon as the pubs and restaurants start putting pressure on them, they haven't judged him well. We all need teachers - most of us are parents. We should be prepared to put our money where our mouth is and admit that we are all terrified of a situation where school can't happen for months again and do everything possible to make it safe now before winter so we don't lose our teachers and the school way of life we're used to. Do we really want to look back in five years from a place where cheap standard virtual learning is all the state can now provide?
There's no comeback from this that UFT or any group can make so they are reduced to the sort of comments seen here.
Thankfully most parents and scientists share our concern and are speaking out.

@Friendsoftheearth

sparkles well, use hand sanitiser then like the rest of us. Is it not completely obvious?

Our county stopped providing sanitiser to schools from the county supplies back in March.

It was all re directed to the NHs.

I have no idea if this will continue in September or not?

Meanwhile, private schools are reopening without any fuss or fanfare, issuing glossy considered information booklets to all parents reassuring THEM that the schools are indeed ready and waiting for their children. A smooth orderly reopening with intelligent and thoughtful measures in place. All we are doing is making the divide even bigger and more long term.

We all felt concerned when we first went out, back to work, had dinner in a restaurant for the first time etc, but once we were back into the swing of things we were fine. The same will happen with schools. In three weeks time every one will get used to it, and life carry on as it did before.

It will be interesting to see how other countries will do this and how successful they are.

@Friendsoftheearth

Meanwhile, private schools are reopening without any fuss or fanfare, issuing glossy considered information booklets to all parents reassuring THEM that the schools are indeed ready and waiting for their children. A smooth orderly reopening with intelligent and thoughtful measures in place. All we are doing is making the divide even bigger and more long term.

We all felt concerned when we first went out, back to work, had dinner in a restaurant for the first time etc, but once we were back into the swing of things we were fine. The same will happen with schools. In three weeks time every one will get used to it, and life carry on as it did before.

Private schools are much better placed to teach 10-15 to a class. Absolutely, you are quite right, we should be doing that too in state, as that is the safe way forward.

If we can't do that, then we need to listen to our children's teachers and make our schools safer.

@LaurieMarlow

I wish some pp would stop their anti-union politics and scapegoating.

If the unions are advocating blending learning, then they are alienating working parents, who’ll be forced to give up their livelihoods. I can’t support that.

If they focus on the measures that can be taken to make schools as safe as possible while providing full time education for all, then fine.

They are.

They are asking for funding to provide the hygiene measures required to be covid secure.

They are asking for PPE to be used in high risk situations to protect staff and children.

They are asking for surveillance testing for staff and pupils (like in care homes and nhs) to help keep an eye on trends and stop any possible outbreak before it gets out of control.

They are asking for more safety measures so schools can stay open and safe on a FT basis from September.

The one going on about parents needing schools to be fully open so they can work - do you not think teachers are parents too? We're having all kinds of a nightmare to get around the staggered starts and finishes, no breakfast club and an extra week off to facilitate a decision to keep schools open longer before summer. It is not for school to facilitate childcare for working parents, never has been. If you can't make it work, you're going to have to make changes. My DH is having to alter his start time and do a pick up by taking his lunch break later. We've had to find a childminder. I'll be taking a week of unpaid parental leave later in the term. It's a pain in the arse but it's not for schools to sort out the childcare problems of families who chose for both parents to work FT (and I recognise it's even harder for single parents).

Let's face it, that's what a lot of this is about.

@Friendsoftheearth

Meanwhile, private schools are reopening without any fuss or fanfare, issuing glossy considered information booklets to all parents reassuring THEM that the schools are indeed ready and waiting for their children. A smooth orderly reopening with intelligent and thoughtful measures in place. All we are doing is making the divide even bigger and more long term.

We all felt concerned when we first went out, back to work, had dinner in a restaurant for the first time etc, but once we were back into the swing of things we were fine. The same will happen with schools. In three weeks time every one will get used to it, and life carry on as it did before.

Independent schools don't have classes of 30-35. They have better buildings because they get higher funding.

They aren't comparable.

But keep digging for evidence

As an individual you always have the choice.

You go back to work, you take sanitiser with you like we all do, and you do your best to mitigate risks - like we all do.

Or you look for a new job.

@BigChocFrenzy that is just another "estimate". Based on my experience and that of colleagues, this is predominantly a disease of the elderly and has simply given many people who were on the edge a push. It's extremely difficult to say that someone would have undoubtedly have been dead within a year retrospectively although many other "estimates" suggest that a majority of these people would have been. The average age at death is 80 with 3 or more comorbidities. These are not healthy people with years of life left in them. QALYS wise, the deaths caused by lockdown already outstrip those that have died of Covid. By all means, believe what you want to. You've made your mind up anyway and nothing is going to change that as many studies have shown.

@ZigZagPlant

I can’t be bothered to read the whole thread of people droning on in support. I am sick of teachers feeling they are in a special category when there are so many others who have had to continue to work in closer proximity to others. Nursery workers have to wipe their children’s arses and do a lot of personal care and there has not been a mass outcry. I assume because they’re not able to sit on their arses at home on full pay and be fully backed by a union.

You’re a civil servant (either directly or indirectly) your peers are working, the bin men are working, medical professionals are working.

I had emergency surgery recently and was whizzed into theatre with a team of healthcare professionals. They didn’t have time to wait for my COVID swab so effectively risked their own life to save mine. Nobody stopped to moan.

But teachers who are responsible for the prospects of the children in their care are apparently too precious to risk.

You might not have envisaged working during a pandemic. Did anyone? My husband has continued to work in a customer facing role throughout. He just understands that’s the nature of his role. Have we been comfortable with the risk? No. But have we realised there is little choice and unfortunately the world needs to continue to spin? Yes. We have bills to pay and his role, however insignificant in the wider scheme is essential to the operation of the business he works for.

many, many of us are working in close proximity to others with minimal PPE

Exactly that.

who is paying for the hand sanitiser?

I don’t think there is a single worker in all the land who hasn’t borne some expense from extra hand sanitizers. Are we really saying the expense of hand sanitizer is prohibitive? Arguments like this do nothing to strengthen your argument.

Re the hand sanitizer, the point the teachers are making is that there is none in school for the pupils and they are therefore buying it themselves repeatedly for their whole class/es in order to achieve a small modicum of safety. If I am not much mistaken.

I assume that other workers don't go into their place of employment planning to buy soap, sanitizer and stationery supplies for themselves and dozens of other people too.

I don’t think there is a single worker in all the land who hasn’t borne some expense from extra hand sanitizers. Are we really saying the expense of hand sanitizer is prohibitive? Arguments like this do nothing to strengthen your argument

There is no £££ for sanitizer in my school. If I want to do things properly, it will mean footing the cost of this for around 500-600 people a week (5 lessons a day, 30 kids per lesson, some free lessons). Do you consider it acceptable that as someone over 50 with w vulnerable people at home that I pay for this?

Well, countries that don't scapegoat teachers or their union will probably do quite well

In Germany, the teachers union have been treated with respect and made part of the process, so teachers feel valued and ready for action
Teachers here know that if the risk increases too much, that the regional authorities have their back and will modify the program
So they've been cautiously enthusiastic and feel reasonably safe about ft return

Would probably be a quite different situation if they'd suffered months of insults and media demonising

Our county stopped providing sanitiser to schools from the county supplies back in March.

So buy your own.

It is not for school to facilitate childcare for working parents, never has been.

This is total deflection.

There has been no supply of childcare during school hours previously because children were legally mandated to be in school.

You can’t expect to dismantle full time education and expect private supply to magically and immediately fill the gap. Especially in such a highly regulated sector as childcare.

The supply is not there. Childcare places are actually down compared pre-Covid. Alternative childcare to school does not exist. Parents will have no choice but to give up their jobs (and their children take the economic hit that entails).

I am sure we can organise a fund raiser to rally the funds for sanitiser why not speak to the head now, and then parents can do the rest?

@Friendsoftheearth give my school the same level of funding as an independent school and we will also embrace opening with small class sizes and more cleaners!

@Friendsoftheearth

As an individual you always have the choice.

You go back to work, you take sanitiser with you like we all do, and you do your best to mitigate risks - like we all do.

Or you look for a new job.

And when teachers do start looking for new jobs, there's no one to teach, because they've been told they can't wear PPE to mitigate risk - and the education system collapses.

Then what?

*As an individual you always have the choice.

You go back to work, you take sanitiser with you like we all do, and you do your best to mitigate risks - like we all do.

Or you look for a new job.*

This is true to some extent. I guess it's similar to pub and restaurant workers who probably don't feel safe either.
I do understand teacher concerns but I also understand other sector concerns as well, public transport for starters.
That's why I'm interested in how other countries are handling the schools issues and we can maybe learn something from the more successful ones.

Independent schools don't have classes of 30-35. They have better buildings because they get higher funding

Agreed class size is smaller but in my private school, so are classrooms. As for ‘higher funding’, well, whilst some private schools are well off, many are not. Higher funding doesn’t really mean anything at all.

@BigChocFrenzy

Well, countries that don't scapegoat teachers or their union will probably do quite well

In Germany, the teachers union have been treated with respect and made part of the process, so teachers feel valued and ready for action
Teachers here know that if the risk increases too much, that the regional authorities have their back and will modify the program
So they've been cautiously enthusiastic and feel reasonably safe about ft return

Would probably be a quite different situation if they'd suffered months of insults and media demonising

This

@Friendsoftheearth

I am sure we can organise a fund raiser to rally the funds for sanitiser why not speak to the head now, and then parents can do the rest?

The jokes just keep on getting better.

Well, countries that don't scapegoat teachers or their union will probably do quite well

If unions don’t alienate parents with unworkable solutions, then they’ll get their support. No doubt the German unions got parents on board.

I'm a pregnant primary school teacher, and I must admit I'm in favour of schools going back. Children really need it. However, I am nervous about Covid, mainly due to the pregnancy, but my head has worked so hard trying his very best to put measures in place (not easy in a big primary school with classes of 30). We aren't going back to school as we know it. No assemblies, different start and finish times, staggered breaks, rearranged classrooms etc. I can honestly say our head has done the absolute best he can. On a personal level, I'm just going to be as careful as I can, as there's not much else I can do really, and the children really need to get back to school.