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.

Yeah, I'm an embarrassment because I think teachers have to provide education for their students.

Oh course.

@covidteacherscotland I can't believe the grief you're getting on here. You are sitting in a room with a bunch of almost-adults for prolonged periods of time. In any other situation like that everyone would be required to wear masks. You are being entirely reasonable in what you say.

I wish this thread had gone differently, as a parent of teens in a Scottish secondary school I am genuinely interested in teachers' opinions on what school is like and what changes can make it better.

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

And two weeks is lost. For some several times, and for others perhaps none.

And this is better than not going back at all how?

I'm really not sure why the idea of not going back at all crept in!

What would be best would be proper offsite learning to cover the times when onsite schooling is not possible. As well as burst bubbles it might also be local lockdown, or individual pupils who have to isolate because of close contact with a confirmed case.

If people are going to equate concern for how to minimise loss of teaching time - which will fall randomly and unfairly across schools, and which is going to be a huge embuggerance for public exams in future years - with the (totally unconnected) idea that there should be no opening at all, I can see why contingency and mitigating planning seems to get sidelined.

Even though it is going to be one of the most important things for the education and attainment of older secondary school pupils

askmehowiknow

And yet they didn't get a pay rise...

They got a 4% payrise as per their agreement.

Where you are going wrong is that you have fallen for government/media spin that the recently announced payrise was due to the virus.

When it was in fact agreed to in January and will be coming out of existing school budgets so probably won't happen

Thanks to those who are supportive and thanks to those who are not but who have helpful ideas!

Has anyone been happy with the measures their school have in place? Is love some ideas to put to the union.

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

Yeah, I'm an embarrassment because I think teachers have to provide education for their students.

Oh course.

Your an embarrassment not to support them in making sure it's safe for your children and their education is disrupted as little as possible.

I hope your child's school doesn't close, I hope they don't have disrupted education.

More importantly I hope that whenever the time comes for exams they don't end up crying in your arms because they missed so much they didn't do well.

Because then they'll have to say "well love it's possible you wouldn't have suffered - I had the chance to support teachers for a safer opening but decided instead to call them lazy"

Oh bless you.

Crying in my arms? You couldn’t be more dramatic if you’d tried.

I think part of the reason parents are so concerned is because so many teachers failed to do their jobs when the schools closed. It was a real eye opener to see how little some teachers did compared to their colleagues in the same school. It has, obviously, sparked huge concern among parents. Many teachers lost the respect they had from parents and students alike. It is a real concern going forward.

@solidaritea

This should reassure you. You're welcome

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000ln07

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

Oh bless you.

Crying in my arms? You couldn’t be more dramatic if you’d tried.

And you couldn't give less of a hit about education.

Guess we both have our faults 🤷‍♀️

@Alongcameacat

I think part of the reason parents are so concerned is because so many teachers failed to do their jobs when the schools closed. It was a real eye opener to see how little some teachers did compared to their colleagues in the same school. It has, obviously, sparked huge concern among parents. Many teachers lost the respect they had from parents and students alike. It is a real concern going forward.

Agree the standards were widely discrepant.

That wasn't actually a teacher level decision but can see why when your first contact is a teacher that breaks that trust.

But that's why teachers want a better plan B so it doesn't happen again.

That in turn requires parents to also be lobbying government alongside them.

It's all a bit broken and shit to be honest

It's a minor point but could you use post it notes to comment on their work?

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

Oh bless you.

Crying in my arms? You couldn’t be more dramatic if you’d tried.

There were plenty of kids utterly distraught and crying in their parents’ arms on Thursday morning at my DC’s school, collecting their A level results. Crying due to the government’s mismanagement of the grade allocation. I’m not being dramatic-it’s true.

I’m sure there will be lots more crying next Thursday, sadly.

But that's why teachers want a better plan B so it doesn't happen again.That in turn requires parents to also be lobbying government alongside them.

Plan B is here:
Section 5: Contingency planning for outbreaks.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools

@Clavinova Note the language used:
“Where a class, group or small number of pupils need to self-isolate, or there is a local lockdown requiring pupils to remain at home, we expect schools to have the capacity to offer immediate remote education. Schools are expected to consider how to continue to improve the quality of their existing offer and have a strong contingency plan in place for remote”.

So ‘we expect’, ‘to consider’. It’s exactly like ‘where possible’ when it comes to social distancing in schools. The Government knows for some schools it’ll be difficult to provide quality remote teaching due to underfunding. Who will provide the laptops for pupils and staff? Who will deliver the lessons as teachers aren’t part of bubbles and will still be in school teaching other years? For example for me, a Yr 7 bubble could isolate, but I also teach Yr 8, 9, 10, 11, 13?

(Btw, I a teacher who taught live to timetable via Teams right from the start of lockdown so I know my school did and will continue to provide quality teaching and learning if required).

"You are sitting in a room with a bunch of almost-adults for prolonged periods of time. In any other situation like that everyone would be required to wear masks"
Not true.
I work in a restaurant.
In normal times we have 140 covers.
Now we have 60.
Average turn around time for a table is 1 hour.
I work 10 hour shifts.
Thats 600 people a day in an enclosed space.
No open windows.
The customers are distatanced from each other but of course i cant stay 2m away to deliver food and drinks as my arms are not 2m long.
We wear visors only.
I can appreciate that teachers are worried but this idea that they are somehow taking risks above and beyond what thousands of others have had to is frankly bullshit.
I

@Clavinova

Posters didn't say that there wasn't a 'Plan B'. They said there needs to be a better 'Plan B'. This is especially true for times when individual or small numbers of students have to isolate and there isn't the facility for the teacher to run in-person school and digital school at the same time.

@blubellsarebells

For comparison, my classroom is 8m by 6m and will contain 34 people within that space. I will never be more than a metre away from them and will most often be within 25 - 50 cm from them. I will wear no PPE, at all, and there will be minimal cleaning beyond what was already in place before. I will also be spending 6 and a half hours with the same people which, apparently, significantly increases the likelihood of transmission. The people in my room are also likely to be asymptomatic so could feasibly be spreading the virus without even knowing they have it, unlike many grown adults who will know and be isolating.

I'm not saying that I have it worse than anyone: I don't think there's anything productive to be gained from strawman "what about..." arguments. Instead, I'm just telling you what the reality will be for me and that the reality is not safe regardless of that the Government/DfE claim.

What you do with that information is entirely up to you but I'd hope that some people would lend their support so that we can make this reality safer for everyone involved and decrease the likelihood of school closures.

I cant see how being in a school environment is any different from being in an office, factory etc. My office has 50+ staff, all trying to keep social distancing as best we can, stuck in a room together for 8 hours a day. We all have to share the same facilities no ppe just hand washing and sanitizer.
We have been going to work all through the lock down whilst going home to our families everyday and also shopping etc. Our building houses 3000 staff, all in offices of 50 + staff. No fans allowed and a few windows open where possible. There has not been one positive covid case. I really don't think you have anything to worry about o/p

The thing is compromises need to be made to balance safety with the purpose of the environment.
So for example in my work place we could make it safer by reducing customer numbers down to 15, splitting teams into bubbles a b c d and having 4 at a time instead of 16.
But the business would go bust and none of us would have enough work to pay bills or a job at all.
So we let in the 600 not masked people and touch things they have had in their mouths and chat to them at .5m distance because we need money.
Its the same in schools, the purpose is for children to access the education they're entitled to and deserve.
Im sure it can be made safer and i would be happy for my own child to do any form of part time in school if it makes it more likely that the school will stay open.
I suppose the point is nothing is ever 100% safe and its as safe as it can be with the aims the government are going for which is all children in school full time.

Kids are hardly going to have stellar exam results if they’re in school one day a week either

These threads always seem to descend into the nasty, spiteful hurling of insults on both sides. This just isn't helpful and is doing nothing to sort this bloody awful situation out.

I am an ex-teacher and a parent. I have been able to teach my dd at home easily due to my teaching past, and did so for the entire time schools were shut (to the majority of pupils). In addition, her school (state) also provided amazing pre-recorded lessons for the children each day, they did weekly zoom class assemblies, we got phone calls from her teachers and daily correspondence from the headteacher on the school Facebook page. I cannot praise them enough for what they have done during lockdown....however, in my town her school was the exception to the rule and most of the local schools provided very poor online education. Huge numbers of children have received little to no education for months and months. I don't blame the teachers but I do blame poor leadership and lack of vision in schools, and more importantly, the Government for lack of decent guidance, understanding and funding. My dd was lucky as she got her normal education whilst at home and hasn't slipped behind where she should be, but socially she has struggled. She needs to be in school with her peers getting an education and having some level of normality back in her life. She is miserable at home and misses her friends and teachers and she needs her independence away from me. I am desperate for schools to open and for her to return as soon as possible and I feel utterly depressed at the thought of schools not opening, or opening and shutting constantly throughout the coming months.

However, school opening needs to be done as safely as possible. It isn't a case of schools being either open or shut, there are lots of options in-between if only parents and teachers would work together to put pressure on the government to do this. Why are we not demanding better, higher standards for our children's return to school? Why aren't we demanding, at the very minimum, that extra money is given to each school for more cleaners and cleaning products for example? Parents want teachers to find ways to sort this out and keep talking about "can do" positive attitudes but where are the "can do" positive attitudes from parents to get schools open as safely as possible so that they can go back to work? Schools will open in a few weeks in England but they aren't going to stay open for long or consistently if we don't all pull together on this. Just imagine what could be achieved if we put all our efforts into working together to achieve the best for our children rather than fighting against each other. These threads make me feel so sad because at the end of the day it is the children who will suffer the most.

@RocketFueler

These threads always seem to descend into the nasty, spiteful hurling of insults on both sides. This just isn't helpful and is doing nothing to sort this bloody awful situation out.

I am an ex-teacher and a parent. I have been able to teach my dd at home easily due to my teaching past, and did so for the entire time schools were shut (to the majority of pupils). In addition, her school (state) also provided amazing pre-recorded lessons for the children each day, they did weekly zoom class assemblies, we got phone calls from her teachers and daily correspondence from the headteacher on the school Facebook page. I cannot praise them enough for what they have done during lockdown....however, in my town her school was the exception to the rule and most of the local schools provided very poor online education. Huge numbers of children have received little to no education for months and months. I don't blame the teachers but I do blame poor leadership and lack of vision in schools, and more importantly, the Government for lack of decent guidance, understanding and funding. My dd was lucky as she got her normal education whilst at home and hasn't slipped behind where she should be, but socially she has struggled. She needs to be in school with her peers getting an education and having some level of normality back in her life. She is miserable at home and misses her friends and teachers and she needs her independence away from me. I am desperate for schools to open and for her to return as soon as possible and I feel utterly depressed at the thought of schools not opening, or opening and shutting constantly throughout the coming months.

However, school opening needs to be done as safely as possible. It isn't a case of schools being either open or shut, there are lots of options in-between if only parents and teachers would work together to put pressure on the government to do this. Why are we not demanding better, higher standards for our children's return to school? Why aren't we demanding, at the very minimum, that extra money is given to each school for more cleaners and cleaning products for example? Parents want teachers to find ways to sort this out and keep talking about "can do" positive attitudes but where are the "can do" positive attitudes from parents to get schools open as safely as possible so that they can go back to work? Schools will open in a few weeks in England but they aren't going to stay open for long or consistently if we don't all pull together on this. Just imagine what could be achieved if we put all our efforts into working together to achieve the best for our children rather than fighting against each other. These threads make me feel so sad because at the end of the day it is the children who will suffer the most.

It's great that you were able to home educate your kid.

However when you talk about schools needing to reopen as safely as possible. That's a delaying tactic to ALL kids receiving full time education. We've had 6 months of this. Kids in more deprived areas have already lost out in their grades and university places

It's beyond a joke that teachers aren't the first to stand up and shout loudly that this isn't acceptable

motherrunner
The Government knows for some schools it’ll be difficult to provide quality remote teaching due to underfunding.

There must be budget savings in some areas they can use - e.g. fewer short term supply teachers have been employed since March, science practicals are being reduced next year...

Quite a few examples of government sponsored funding in the link, e.g:

"from that start of the autumn term, Oak National Academy will make available video lessons covering the entire national curriculum, available to any school for free."

"government-funded access to one of two free-to-use digital education platforms: Google for Education or Microsoft Office 365 Education. Schools can apply through The Key for School Leaders. The Key also provides feature comparison and case studies on how schools are making the most of these platforms."

"For the 2020 to 2021 academic year, more laptops and tablets have been made available for disadvantaged children in certain year groups who are affected by disruption to face to face education at their school, or have been advised to shield because they are clinically extremely vulnerable."

"In addition to 4G routers provided to local authorities and academy trusts, the Department for Education is working in partnership with BT to offer free access to BT WiFi hotspots for disadvantaged pupils."

Who will deliver the lessons as teachers aren’t part of bubbles and will still be in school teaching other years?

Before lockdown, my dcs' school enabled self-isolating pupils to access their lessons via a webcam in the classroom as one example.

@askmehowiknow why are parents not doing more to advocate for their kids? Why is it being left for teachers, who have no influence or respect, to fight it alone?

And me being able to home educate my child wasn't the point. I was clearly saying that my child got something that most children didn't get because i was in the position to provide that.