No social distancing in 6th form classrooms/common room

[kitnkaboodle]

I know that there was an earlier thread on this that ran to 1000 messages and shut down, but ...

I'm sitting here with egg on my face, as through the summer I didn't believe my DS (16) telling me that in his (new) Y12, they wouldn't have to distance from the other pupils in sixth form or be spaced out within the classrooms. He said that things would be 'the same as normal', and I honestly thought he was talking rubbish.

He's just home from his first day and, sure enough, the WHOLE sixth form is classed as one bubble and there are no social distancing measures at all between the kids there apart from desks all facing the front. I'm not sure about teachers - will ask later, but I presume they aren't in the bubbles and have to keep apart.

I glanced at the earlier thread title (that was something along the lines of 'the govt are letting the public believe there will be SD in schools') and thought it was all a bit paranoid (without reading it). However, I now genuinely believe that photos of all the 'back to school' stories have been carefully curated to show kids standing/sitting at least a metre apart. I'm one of those who thinks that we just need to 'get on with it' now, regarding schools, but I do feel royally hoodwinked by that. It was very subtle ... (and now I have to apologise to DS for not believing him!!)

Honestly where i am the school has put up signs saying observe social distancing in corridors. Year 7's in only and there were choke points everywhere. Kids sit shoulder to shoulder in most lessons so can't really blame them for giving up. not to mention 25+ stafff having to do the same in meetings scheduled in classrooms.

When the whole school is in they'll be jammed in like sardines just like normal and so will staff when we have to move between classrooms during the day. Kids can wear masks if they like but many won't bother as there is no way to enforce it anyway. Still at least we are sanitising everything multiple times a day!

I'm kind of resigned to catching it by half term.

@noblegiraffe

I didn't know because I haven't really been following the coronavirus talk page through the summer

Funnily enough, my ‘govt lying about social distancing’ thread started out on AIBU as it was about government propaganda, but got moved to the less popular CV section by MNHQ. I wonder who reported it.

This is getting weird! Here's what happened:

• I've been glancing at the Coronavirus page throughout the crisis, saw that thread title, clocked it, but never read it
• obviously missed all the debate raging on here
• watched TV, read newspapers, absorbed subtle propaganda
• heard DS report today about what school was like - felt shocked at the disconnect
• remembered that thread, came on here, read it and am now saying that I AGREE with the sentiments on it.

Apologies if I've pissed people off - I was trying to say that those of you who have been warning this all summer all justified!

OP, thank you for posting.

Having had a thread full of posters telling me and others that we were fussing over nothing, it is good to be proven right!

I expect we’ll be shown to be right over other things too in the next few weeks. I hope not though.

OP - I genuinely have a lot of sympathy for you. In no way would I blame you for having been taken in.

BTW - breaking news on BBC, they are now reporting transmission within schools in Glasgow.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-54005621

previously there were "cases in schools, but contracted in the community" (i.e. people knew each other outside school).

@noblegiraffe think you have been proved right on something else already

It is naive to think that 6th form would socially distance -mine told me that they have been in an out of each other's houses all summer.
If you have teenager surely you know that?
We advise 6th formers to SD but are under no illusion that they will and will not be policing that.

At my DDs 6th firm they can only sit in groups of 4 for lunch. Anything else in terms of SD is impractical.

I can't get worked up about it, I'm just glad she's going back to school tbh.

It's going to be fun doing contact tracing

Well, no, actually, Life since teenagers, like other groups, all vary.

My teenager hasn't been anywhere, done anything or broken any rules. He's incredibly law and rule abiding.

@lifeafter50

It is naive to think that 6th form would socially distance -mine told me that they have been in an out of each other's houses all summer. If you have teenager surely you know that? We advise 6th formers to SD but are under no illusion that they will and will not be policing that.

To be honest, we have been quite strict with DS socialising over the summer. We live very rurally so he is dependent on us for lifts anywhere. But I'm not daft and know that once I've deposited him somewhere and he doesn't come back until 9pm that he could have gone anywhere inbetween. He's been quite responsible, but we've had a few battles about socialising. I think now I probably don't have a leg to stand on in those arguments!

Some extra rooms in our school (not a teacher) have been turned into classrooms so there can be social distancing. There has been so much done but then you're reliant on the teacher- all wearing masks monday morning, half wearing them this evening, hearing from my own kids how some children playing at distance in bubbles, others playing chasing, bulldog, football, some in militant lines of their bubbles, others walking out in a crowd. I think at this stage it's just cross the fingers it doesn't reach individual schools. Sigh.

kit

One of mine has been socialising and the other pretty much hasnt left his bedroom...since march

@noblegiraffe

OP, thank you for posting.

Having had a thread full of posters telling me and others that we were fussing over nothing, it is good to be proven right!

I expect we’ll be shown to be right over other things too in the next few weeks. I hope not though.

I haven't seen any of your posts but I would have took your points on board with out hesitation. The problem is there are teachers on here who jump on any threads about schools and covid and complain everyone is bitching about it constantly and don't like people having any other view or opinion than "theirs" shouting them down and it gives people a false sense of security as they think if teachers aren't bothered then we should not be as parents.

I am sorry you have been treated badly on here for speaking out. Its really awful the way some people behave on here.

My teen DS has been very good with sticking to the rules. He has been helping out at a project at college during the summer, needed to SD. Now he is back in uniform he doesn't Maybe his uniform will repel the virus.

FE college with 26 students in a class and 16 of them are sat at desks facing each other.

Shared computers with cleaning they have to do themselves.

No opening windows, door has to be kept shut as it is a fire door.

Students sat next to each other in normal spacing so no social distancing at all.

No staggered starts

No one way system

First and second years are in the same class for some vocational subjects

Teachers space is 1.5 m away from the students (if I dont move at all)

No one way system

Several colleagues have followed Mumsnetters advice and resigned today after 25 years of teaching.

How can they say to parents that their teenagers will be safe.

I hope infections rate stay low if the virus does come into college it will not be contained.

All that schools can do is to attempt to put the brakes on a train that is likely to career out of control down a steep hill, (or certainly, if we were to follow lifeafter50's views on PPE and SD)
So, yes of course, many teenagers have been mixing over the summer, but for schools to turn a blind eye would be to sanction impending chaos. We, or at least most of us, will do our best.

That's awful @RiaRoth

@lifeafter50

It is naive to think that 6th form would socially distance -mine told me that they have been in an out of each other's houses all summer. If you have teenager surely you know that? We advise 6th formers to SD but are under no illusion that they will and will not be policing that.

I have two late teenagers - and am medically vulnerable.

Neither has been 'in and out of houses all summer' - they have met a limited group of friends, outside.

I am very grateful to them for considering the risk they bring home with them, and my hope for them is that their much longed-for return to school and university is not short-lived because of them now being exposed to the much more risk-taking attitude of other peers and parents.

The problem is there are teachers on here who jump on any threads about schools and covid and complain everyone is bitching about it constantly and don't like people having any other view or opinion than "theirs" shouting them down and it gives people a false sense of security as they think if teachers aren't bothered then we should not be as parents.

Hang on phats, you think that covid threads have been full of teachers jumping on posters and telling them they're worrying about nothing??

Unless we double the amount of space used as schools in this country, social distancing will not be possible as schools were not designed for pupils to be that far apart. Personally I am not concerned that there will be no distancing when mine go back tomorrow.

can, I have a 16 and 19 year old. 16 year old has recommenced football .Otherwise no socialising. Don't panic. Many many teenagers are capable of social responsibility.

It does look from a number of threads on here that some schools are bringing in masks, and not just in the corridors

The idea of social distancing in schools becomes pretty pointless when you start throwing in after school activities/clubs, socialising with mates outside of school etc or did people just think that children would continue to be banished to the confines of their own home outside of school hours whilst us adults nip to the pub or gym.

Kudos to the OP for at least acknowledging her epiphany. Thank you.

Now let's wait for some of the others who have torn noblegiraffe apart over the last few weeks for being, amongst other things, a "doom-mongerer." (Recognise that term, lifeafter50?

When I dropped my dd off at infants today, the parents was told to line up along a wall. This resulted in us being shoulder to shoulder.

At pick up we spread around the edge of the play ground which was a bit nearer to 1 metre apart. But in reality spreading ourselves out has broken the new rules ( further apart from other adults but possibly not the 15 metres from the teachers they can achieve if we line the wall?!) Everything seems to be planned to the nth degree and it still makes no sense.

I will follow what the rules are but my inwards musing has concluded I'm not invested any more. Massive song and dance from education but formula puts people at more risk. Go figure. I just cant see the point really.

Just seems like a lot of froathing for in reality no real benefit. You can dettol the desks as much as you want, but cram 30 parents into a tiny space might counter act that.