What can I do about a school not following their own risk assessment?

[Anniemabel]

First day back at school today, “bubbles” or so called bubbles were breached all over the shop - TAs moving between bubbles and kids in separate bubbles eating lunch together in the tiny dinner hall.

Despite saying desks would be spaced as much as possible my child is on a square desk of 4 (two tables of two pushed together) and is face to face rather than side by side with two of the others.

What’s the point of a risk assessment if it gets ignored and who do I complain to? (not the head because he’s impossible).

@Pumpkinsarepurple

Most of us on here who work in education tried to warn you, but the mumsnet hive decided we were workshy bastards trying to create problems instead of solutions so we can stay in the house on full pay doing fuck all.

And this is still happening on MN. Every time a teacher tries to explain to a poster why their ‘solution’ is unworkable, someone accuses them of putting up obstacles or barriers! When will the public realise that there is no extra space, no extra available teachers, no extra funding to go anywhere near alleviating the situation. Try offering your proposals to the Government and you will be met with the usual propaganda, and so the blame is deflected back to teachers.

@ineedaholidaynow you have hit the nail on the head. I gently raised one issue just before school went back and got a very rude and defensive response. I have about 4 issues in the 4 years I’ve been a parent there and have always felt that the responses have been pretty hostile rather than open and helpful.

Anyone expecting social distancing to be possible in schools once all children are back doesn't live in the real world.

Most of us on here who work in education tried to warn you, but the mumsnet hive decided we were workshy bastards trying to create problems instead of solutions so we can stay in the house on full pay doing fuck all.
This again.

Time after time we said things needed proper consideration and we had so much shit directed our way for it. Then it turns out that the challenges we raised were actually issues worth considering, and (as predicted) there's now dozens of threads about Covid measures in schools.

OP
Risk assessments are usually live documents and get updated based on the situation on the ground.
There was no way that schools would have one plan and it would all work seamlessly because the government guidance isn't workable.

For example, my school has changed our duty policies changed since we opened, some classes have had to be reroomed, lunch arrangements have had to be adapted. Unfortunately nobody has led a school through a pandemic under the direction of a government who couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery.

If you're concerned, I'd contact the head, say you're concerned and could you have an update on how school will be doing lunches. On staffing I'm afraid that's unlikely to change. Staff can go between bubbles. I've worked across 5 bubbles today, like the vast majority of my colleagues. TAs going between primary bubbles is fairly standard.

You’re right to be unhappy that the school have misled you and aren’t following their own risk assessment, and I think you’re right to try and take it further. It would be pointless going to the class teacher for something like this, they will have very little control over how they are being told to work.

While I don’t think it can be expected that there will be social distancing within a primary class bubble, I’d expect an explanation as to why they have children facing each other when they don’t need to be. Adults crossing bubbles is fine though, we don’t have ways round that.

I can confirm risk assessments are live documents. I get notifications when certain documents get amended for the schools I deal with, and my phone has been pretty much pinging constantly for the last 2 days. But the parents haven’t been sent a revised version yet.

School staff are allowed to move between bubbles and there is no expectation of social distancing. There never has been.

The government and media lied - we've been trying to warn people on Mumsnet about this issue for months.

As for the school I work in, we've got bubbles of 30 kids and 2-3 adults per class. We don't wear masks or visors in our bubbles but if we're moving around the school we're to wear a mask or visor then. The children eat their lunch in the classroom while staff eat in the hall (1 large table for each year group team) on a rota. Parents are required to wear a mask on site and the vast majority have complied, those who don't are refused entry.

Unfortunately we had to send home two today due to showing symptoms. If they're tests come back positive we'll be closing that bubble for 10 days...

@Topseyt

Anyone expecting social distancing to be possible in schools once all children are back doesn't live in the real world.

This! Although I never got the impression from government or media that there would be any SD in school, I think people just wrongly jumped to that conclusion themselves. Anyone with half a working brain cell can work out that in most schools they simply aren't big enough to enable SD between pupils.

Do you really think eating dinner in a classroom and all facing the front is going to make any real difference anyway, with a bunch of kids together day after day?
This is like the mask thing, it makes us feel like we are doing something while we all wait for a vaccine.
However I don’t blame the government, what else are they supposed to do? We can’t all sit at home on our arses for a year!

@Pumpkinsarepurple Well said.

OP, I suggest in this case that the school have realised that they can’t actually facilitate their initial risk assessment so have had to change it - they all have a statement on them reiterating that they are subject to constant review and update.

We had open afternoon yesterday for parents to have a look around. Already lots questioning why their child is at at the back or end of a row - ‘but how will you get to them?’. My answer each time was I’m sorry, we’d love to group them again but daren’t go against guidance!

@ClimbDad back to scaremongering I see. Still waiting for your covid treatment to hit the press

@HipTightOnions

Please report/complain. Parents tend to have more influence than staff.

As a teacher with decades experience I agree with this.

@Pumpkinsarepurple

Most of us on here who work in education tried to warn you, but the mumsnet hive decided we were workshy bastards trying to create problems instead of solutions so we can stay in the house on full pay doing fuck all.

This.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54025708

Mass hysteria more deadly than covid.

[quote ExmoorPony]www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54025708[/quote]
I work in a secondary school. Of course primaries are going to be slightly safer as they have smaller numbers than secondaries. Also this data was collected when limited opening happened so is unrepresentative of what is happening now.

[quote ExmoorPony]www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54025708[/quote]
Are you in Us4ThemUs?

Here is my experience, so far.

Staff cannot possibly stay within bubbles, it completely wouldn't work. At secondary, our staff are not supposed to. Instead, students stay within bubbles and staff just try to keep some distance from students at all times.

Within bubbles, social distancing isn't going to happen. It just isn't possible. If someone gets sick, their bubble will get it, but there's no way around that.

Students on separate bubbles dining together shouldn't happen. Somebody has really messed up there.

Students in different bubbles should not be interacting with each other. The dining hall issue

ExmoorPony

The survey took place when schools were in half class bubbles at most, where children were sat spaced out and increased safety measures were in place, especially social distancing. Most children were not in school at that point, those that were were in small numbers in classed which normally house double the number of pupils.

I work in an infant school. In June we had bubbles of 10-15 pupils, with enhanced cleaning, children sat at their own desks with their own equipment and devices, and the only time SDing didn't happen was when they were outside in a smaller section of the playground away from the other bubbles.

Now the children are in full classes of 30, with 2-3 pupils per table, with no social distancing. Due to the weather more time is spent indoors. Some equipment is now shared, through necessity. Toilet blocks are now used by everyone in school, rather than being 1 per bubble. We have class groups but year group bubbles of 90 - these larger bubbles mix at lunchtime and playtimes, and potentially within the school hall for assemblies due to start shortly, with no social distancing. Class adults were allocated to a bubble and not allowed to swap between them - this has no stopped and staff do work across the bubbles. I work in every class, every week so my bubble is 270 children and numerous adults.

I will wait and see if they do a survey in a few weeks based on how schools really are now, before deciding if children really don't carry or transmit the disease. And as someone who is clinically vulnerable I really do hope I a not at greater risk in the classroom then when out and about in general.

Yes the survey from last June isn’t much use. My child is in a class of 30 (mixed year groups) and last year those who went back were in classes of 8 but in the same classroom they are in now. Not even comparable.