School return will fail

[covidteacherscotland]

Okay so we have been back to school for a week! Great? No. Definitely not. Some thoughts on why this will be a disaster:

16 and 17 year olds are not children.

Social distancing is impossible. Genuinely impossible. Children will not or cannot stay out your space.

There is no PPE in school at all and staff are not protected in any way.

Children don't give a shit about washing their hands.

We've been doing double periods instead of single to minimise movement. This means that we are stuck in a room with 30 17 year olds with few or no windows as the respiratory droplets add up.

Educating your child is impossible if you can't go near them.

Our time management and pupil progress relies on us being able to give feedback to children formatively as we teach. To mark jotters as we go. We can't do this now.

I think that because infection is so low we'll be okay for a while - a few weeks - then the shit will hit the fan.

@CallmeAngelina

I think that there are so many variations in school infrastructure, that we wouldn't all put the same things on our wish list. So, whilst my own classroom is large, airy, has a number of windows that open wide and are positioned so you can get a good flow of air through, I recognise that other schools don't have this, and I don't know what the 'can-do' solution is for them. We have lots of outdoor space, so when the weather is good, we can be outside a lot. Other teachers would therefore put that on their wishlist, but I don't need to as the box is ticked. We are allowed to wear mask if we want to, although personally I don't relish the thought, to be honest, as they are so hot and uncomfortable, but the children won't be wearing them and I actually think that could be a nightmare to police anyway. What I would like to see in my school is temperature testing before children arrive each morning (this won't happen). I would also like for unwell children to be sent home immediately and not allowed to return until a negative test result has been seen by the office. This also won't happen. I would also like children who are known to have been abroad in countries on the quarantine list in recent days, to remain at home (Won't happen either). I would like all school toilets to be regularly cleaned throughout the day by designated cleaners. (nope. Won't/hasn't happened). I'm not happy about the sheer size of the 'bubbles' or that they are burst so easily outside school and in families, but don't see we can do much about that. Hand-washing/staggered starts/designated entrances for different year groups are easy to organise and have been running efficiently (but we have 3 basins per classroom, so that helps).

Cleaning, and quarantine absolutely yes!!

Also unwell children should never be in school. I know that some parents will send them in and it's unacceptable and always has been, always will be.

Some schools encourage sick children in for attendance figures, that's unacceptable too and I hope this brings an end to that nonsense.

As for temp testing I see where you're coming from but it's unreliable.

Really?You deducted that from these threads?

Are you joking? .......has no adult been to the pub since it opened and been in a room with 30 others for a few hours without ppe? Has every single adult in the country 100% maintained a strict 2m distance from one another? Of course they have! It can only be children who spread it

Well echt if that's your attitude, I couldn't give a shiny shit about you or the respect you think you deserve merely because of your Job Title

The job, not the job title. Can't you read?

I'd rather Can Do Teachers, than "couldn't give a shiny shit" Teachers like you

The point I made was about not caring what you or those like you think of us, not about teachers not caring what we're doing. And no, it doesn't translate into not giving shit about the job. Can't you read?

If it was in my gift I'd be giving you your P45, lucky for you Teachers don''t get sacked for not giving a shiny shit do they?

Fortunately no-one can get sacked for not caring what others think of them.

Think you are teeny bit confused and need to hone your reading skills and critical thinking.

You'd want to sack a teacher for not giving a shit about what someone on the internet thinks of them? I see.

Temperature testing is really not an effective way of screening people. You can have a high viral load with having a fever.

@covidteacherscotland is there no running water in the toilets? Just refill the bottle there...

Not sure what to think. The kids need to go to school somehow, it is risky but so is everything else now. We will just have to wait and see (as bad as this sounds).

Well, many teachers complain here that parents hardly respect them, so now would be a good time to demonstrate why teachers deserve this respect, rather than providing more reasons why parents can't respect teachers more than they should respect anyone else. @HateIsNotGood I think it is a small number on mumsnet actually and not in rl. No need for you to stir the pot!

*without having a fever

itsgettingweird Cybercrime is a huuuuggeee part of policing these days and will get even bigger. Fantastic area to get into, and if he does then give me his name as I could do with a contact 😂

I know that a raised temperature isn't necessarily a symptom, but the sheer presence of a thermometer might make unscrupulous parents think twice about chancing it.
Again, it depends on the layout of the school. We're Primary and I think we could manage it, as we have 4 entrances and the 10 minute staggered starts would give enough time to zap each child as they entered those gates.
But I think it would be met with hostility from parents, to be honest.

@CallmeAngelina

I think that there are so many variations in school infrastructure, that we wouldn't all put the same things on our wish list. So, whilst my own classroom is large, airy, has a number of windows that open wide and are positioned so you can get a good flow of air through, I recognise that other schools don't have this, and I don't know what the 'can-do' solution is for them. We have lots of outdoor space, so when the weather is good, we can be outside a lot. Other teachers would therefore put that on their wishlist, but I don't need to as the box is ticked. We are allowed to wear mask if we want to, although personally I don't relish the thought, to be honest, as they are so hot and uncomfortable, but the children won't be wearing them and I actually think that could be a nightmare to police anyway. What I would like to see in my school is temperature testing before children arrive each morning (this won't happen). I would also like for unwell children to be sent home immediately and not allowed to return until a negative test result has been seen by the office. This also won't happen. I would also like children who are known to have been abroad in countries on the quarantine list in recent days, to remain at home (Won't happen either). I would like all school toilets to be regularly cleaned throughout the day by designated cleaners. (nope. Won't/hasn't happened). I'm not happy about the sheer size of the 'bubbles' or that they are burst so easily outside school and in families, but don't see we can do much about that. Hand-washing/staggered starts/designated entrances for different year groups are easy to organise and have been running efficiently (but we have 3 basins per classroom, so that helps).

and how on earth is all this going to work in winter? Open windows, doors with children freezing? Outdoor space cant be used because its pouring or are we supposed to teach in the rain then bring damp children into the class to spread the virus to all and sundry? Don't forget, this virus likes the damp. The only heaters we have in some classes are blow heaters...aerosol transmission anyone?

@ZooKeeper19 the water in the toilets isn't drinking water

Yes, those (bloody noisy) blower heaters are going to be a major problem.

And thank you Angelina for coming up with some good ideas that can help making the opening of English Schools in Sept more 'safe' for everybody.

No P45 for you

@CallmeAngelina

I know that a raised temperature isn't necessarily a symptom, but the sheer presence of a thermometer might make unscrupulous parents think twice about chancing it. Again, it depends on the layout of the school. We're Primary and I think we could manage it, as we have 4 entrances and the 10 minute staggered starts would give enough time to zap each child as they entered those gates. But I think it would be met with hostility from parents, to be honest.

That is a huge worry. Parents pressed to go to work just sending their beloved children into school. I have seen children who have spent the night vomiting coming into school the next day!

@HateIsNotGood

Well echt if that's your attitude, I couldn't give a shiny shit about you or the respect you think you deserve merely because of your Job Title.

I'd rather Can Do Teachers, than "couldn't give a shiny shit" Teachers like you.

If it was in my gift I'd be giving you your P45, lucky for you Teachers don''t get sacked for not giving a shiny shit do they?

Gosh! I hope you feel better after that outpouring of hate. Time to put your wine glass down and go to bed.

[quote covidteacherscotland]@ZooKeeper19 the water in the toilets isn't drinking water [/quote]
Sorry, again, how is your school allowed to open with NO potable water? That is surely not legal? It's a massive health hazard in itself if that's true.

Parents pressed to go to work just sending their beloved children into school. I have seen children who have spent the night vomiting coming into school the next day!

Yes, and the pressures are going to be even greater now. I wonder if those parents are aware that their children invariably dob them in!

@covidteacherscotland "Our drinking water is quality tested every two minutes on average, making it “the most tested water in the world”, according to Scottish Water's chief scientist Elise Cartmell. And it is the highest quality it has ever been, with 99.91% of tests taken at customers' taps complying with strict regulatory standards"

Just refill, and drink. Unless you teach in rural Eritrea, you will be fine.

Arsehole parents sending sick kids to school is going to be a problem in winter I fear :(

I'm not a teacher.

Yet I'm surprised at how many parents aim their anger at the teachers wanting safe teaching environments for their children rather than actually lobbying the government themselves on behalf of their own children.

I actually get the impression some teachers care more about the students than the parents do

Well they probably can’t afford the specialist who do the water testing etc. No money in school budgets.

@SengaStrawberry

Arsehole parents sending sick kids to school is going to be a problem in winter I fear :(

Ok and comments like this this are why teachers don't always get respect.

Ever considered the arsehole parents might be trying to keep their job? Pay their rent? Put food on the table?

Yes it's totally unacceptable and no I would never do it but it doesn't take a genius to realise why some parents do.

We should have started part time. Part time in class with the teacher, anyway. Rest of day with childcare for parents who need it. If each school had known this would be an option back in May, we could have sorted it within our own school communities. But the gov wasn't honest with itself or with the population.

If it had gone ok, then term 2 could have been full time. I'm 'fine' to go back, but I think it's going to be chaos - even if no child of staff member gets covid, even if no bubble is ever closed, it's going to be absence/testing isolation chaos.