Why not masks for all in secondary schools ?

[countryroses]

Why not ?

Can you answer the question about shielding pupils?

think you make a lot of assumptions about the abilities and talents of some teachers.
No, you clearly misunderstood that I quoted a PP who trotted our the usual mantra that those who would resign would be 'good and talented' which is unsupported speculation. How could they possibly know that? There are plenty that aren't, and it is far more likely that the inadequate and mediocre would jump on that particular bandwagon, as well as playing the 'stress' card too, probably.

Well done for evading the issues about those who are advised to protect themselves.

Your vitriol is unbecoming.

No, the good, talented and experienced ones are the one who are not making excuses right now not to go back without'PPE' and stamping their little feet in a tantrum at the government for not giving them the free unicorns they deserve.
The latter on here who whine all the time hardly give the impression of being good and/or talented, or even actually giving a stuff about the well/being of pupils they are employed to teach.

I don’t think that’s fair.

I don’t want mask wearing in school personally due to my hearing (and I’m a teacher)...but...
some people do genuinely have conditions that make them particularly vulnerable and it’s clear that returning to school at full steam ahead, is going to run the risk of increasing the chance of virus outbreaks at school. Some people do have reason to worry and I don’t think it’s fair to make correlations between that and their commitment to teaching - which like it or not, at the end of the day is just a job.

The DfE themselves say that they are worried about talented and experienced teachers leaving the profession. Retention is a massive issue in teaching.

You don't believe in stress

You don't believe in masks, which you call paranoia

You think your students got Mickey mouse qualifications

You can't see any situation beyond your own school with its small class sizes

You sneer at fellow professionals who express any views different from your own

You yourself haven't actually got breadth and length of experience

I sincerely hope you do not teach science. PHSE , or have an SLT or pastoral role.

@lifeafter50

if good, dedicated, experienced and talented teachers leave No, the good, talented and experienced ones are the one who are not making excuses right now not to go back without'PPE' and stamping their little feet in a tantrum at the government for not giving them the free unicorns they deserve. The latter on here who whine all the time hardly give the impression of being good and/or talented, or even actually giving a stuff about the well/being of pupils they are employed to teach.

Your egotism disgusts me.

lifeafter50

for those who are paranoid and illogical

I really hope that you have/show more empathy towards/for your colleagues.

Or at least the decency to stfu keep your mouth closed around your colleagues.

@lifeafter50

if good, dedicated, experienced and talented teachers leave No, the good, talented and experienced ones are the one who are not making excuses right now not to go back without'PPE' and stamping their little feet in a tantrum at the government for not giving them the free unicorns they deserve. The latter on here who whine all the time hardly give the impression of being good and/or talented, or even actually giving a stuff about the well/being of pupils they are employed to teach.

ODFOD

I teach in FE and masks will be required for everyone in corridors and communal areas. Classrooms have been configured with 2M distance between students - so a pre-Covid class of 30 will now be group A and group B, 15 students in each - and from the lecturer. Lecturers can wear visors if they want, but H&S are confident in the precautions in place.

We’re doing a blended learning approach so the number of students (and staff) in the building will be hugely reduced. (Instead of doing four full days in, I will do two half days of face-to-face and the rest remote teaching from home.)

Interestingly, staff, including security, are not allowed to challenge anyone without a mask, due to people potentially having hidden disabilities. So who knows how many students will comply.

I just do not understand why at least secondary schools can't have something similar!

@Judystilldreamsofhorses this should be happening across the education system instead of sending everyone back at once.

@Piggywaspushed exactly.

Of course there should be blended learning. It’s so obvious. The gov should have spent the last 4 months finding out which children had no broadband access or laptop and putting it in place.

If we could afford to pay 80% of the wages of 1 in every 4 employees for several months, surely we could have afforded this.

Blended learning doesn’t work for all and It’s not just a matter of throwing money at it.

What do you think unsupervised teenagers are going to do all day by themselves?

Also, what do you do with the kids whose parents sells the laptop to fund their drugs problem or the child whose parent smashes it up in a fit of rage? What do you do about the kids who even with the technology given to them have no access to a safe space in their home to learn?
May work better for FE as they have generally chosen to be there doing the course they want at that stage but for secondary and primary not so much. If the teacher is busy teaching the class for half the week then with the best intentions the half not in will be getting nothing like quality first teaching - learning time will be lost again.

Mask optional for all - can’t see any reason why not unless children are using it in a way which causes disruption or potential harm.

Mask mandatory - no thanks - yes your child might be fine where it for a quick shopping trip but all day everyday is very different.

Wish I could find the link that said Wales is the only UK country where cases are still declining - no mandatory mask there apart from on transport - so make of that what you will.

Stupid thing is they will suddenly realise it is a good idea when schools start closing and it will be rushed in really badly and ineffectively

Re blended learning/part time learning... school is set up for working parents as a childcare service and many value you it in that way. Taking children out for holidays, day out to go shopping etc very common practice round here. It is not valued in a way it should be-providing children with an opportunity to achieve the best they can. The whole education is crying out for an overhaul, to support children in the 21st century. Mental health is a huge issue. How can it be right children age 5 spend as much time in school as a 16year old? Children’s days can be as long as many adults (or even longer). They can’t concentrate and give it their best for 5-6 hours a day then go home and 1-2hrs of homework. Can adults? Why is it in a primary school maths and English is generally taught in the mornings-because that’s when children are normally at their best. Children are in school in all day for the benefit of parents not children. My DS who did part time learning in June-July was so much happier, eager to share his learning and achieved so much. Absolute nightmare for childcare but that’s our problem. They are our children at the end of day and school is for education not childcare.

To be fair, although the childcare is directly for the parents, it's also vital for the economy generally and for any possibility of womens' rights.

Stop feeding it.

You can't fix stupid.

@CKBJ

Re blended learning/part time learning... school is set up for working parents as a childcare service and many value you it in that way. Taking children out for holidays, day out to go shopping etc very common practice round here. It is not valued in a way it should be-providing children with an opportunity to achieve the best they can. The whole education is crying out for an overhaul, to support children in the 21st century. Mental health is a huge issue. How can it be right children age 5 spend as much time in school as a 16year old? Children’s days can be as long as many adults (or even longer). They can’t concentrate and give it their best for 5-6 hours a day then go home and 1-2hrs of homework. Can adults? Why is it in a primary school maths and English is generally taught in the mornings-because that’s when children are normally at their best. Children are in school in all day for the benefit of parents not children. My DS who did part time learning in June-July was so much happier, eager to share his learning and achieved so much. Absolute nightmare for childcare but that’s our problem. They are our children at the end of day and school is for education not childcare.

A 5yo might spend the same amount of time in school as a 16yo but their pace of learning is far slower and relaxed and more play based with longer breaks, nor does a 5yo get 1/2 hours of homework a day.

Decades ago it was the norm for only 1 parent to be working and parent stayed at home, so yes school has now been incorporated into childcare as for many children both parents or the single parent needs to work to keep a roof over the heads and food on the table. Even parents who are able to work from home actually have to work, most of us wouldn't choose too or be able to take our children into the workplace with us its not any different when working from home.
Parents having to give up jobs so children can stay at home is going to help anyone especially not the children.

*not going to help

Blended learning won’t work

If you have classes at half capacity they still require the same number of teachers/ our workload isn’t much different

So who is preparing the home learning because I can tell you it’s not as simple as sending home the same resource

Home learning activities I’ve found take much longer to prepare and are much harder to differentiate so the quality isn’t there in same way

Teachers will be in school all day teaching so won’t have time to double up for the home learning

So the home learning will be poor

DS's school are putting webcams in the classes so the lessons can be recorded for any child that can't be in school

Is it private? Many of dds friends haven’t got computer access and the school head confirmed they haven’t received a penny from the council

Yes it is, and they checked before schools 'closed' in March whether all children had access to technology. Live lessons were delivered remotely during the Summer term. They have a number of foreign boarders so I am assuming they may be adopting this approach just in case the boarders can't come to the school.

But it will obviously help any child that is self isolating, and could be used to help with blended learning.

The promised laptops for disadvantaged children by the Government were woeful. But they had the time in the summer holidays to sort this so a decent Plan B could be in place for all schools. Most State schools do not have the budget to finance something like this themselves.