Staff party blamed for outbreak in school

[Silversun83]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-54161544

The head says he thinks it was ill-advised despite them not breaking government restrictions at the time.. Though surely 8 of them attending another person's house WAS against the restrictions.. (Which was only two households inside or six people/two households outside)??

I think the head teacher’s reply was unprofessional but I also think the teachers behaved unprofessionally. They should use a bit of common sense and not socialise in groups. (I’m a teacher.)

He sounds like a nightmare to work for!

@Goingdooolally

I think the head teacher’s reply was unprofessional but I also think the teachers behaved unprofessionally. They should use a bit of common sense and not socialise in groups. (I’m a teacher.)

Exactly this.

I teach, and I go home. I distance from other adults in school. I attend absolutely necessary appointments (e.g. one today with my DD) with a mask and SD as far as possible but do not otherwise mix with other people.

No way would it be acceptable for me to socialise outwith the guidelines, and even if I were to e.g. go to a restaurant, I would be the person absolutely stringently following the guidance. It's common sense. I overspend my 'risk budget' massively every day as a necessary part of my job - why add further risk?

Oops, sorry. I have requested that the multiple posts be deleted.

Alright we get it cantkeepawayforever - you stick to the rules!

Is this how low we stoop? Jeez....

I just feel as a teacher, given we really must try to keep schools open, we should mitigate as much of the risk of school closures as possible. For me one of the easy ways of doing that is not to socialise with my colleagues en masse.

I don’t have enough friends to break the rules....

They didnt do anything wrong. The guidance at the time allowed more than 6. The Head sounds all sniffy that he wasnt invited and didnt know about it.

The party was obviously ill-advised. I’m fortunate enough to be in a position where I can wfh, but nonetheless I would not choose to attend a party at this time because I wouldn’t feel morally comfortable about the virus-spreading potential.

Nonetheless - absolutely awful from the head. So unprofessional. I can imagine it must be galling to be undermined by your staff like this when you've been moving heaven and earth to try to create the most covid-secure school environment possible, but that letter is inexcusable.

If my actions at work caused that scale of disruption, I’d expect my manager to bawl me out privately. I’d expect my wider team to know what had happened and for that to feel awkward. I’d even expect my manager to perhaps mention it verbally to other stakeholders in some cases. I absolutely would not expect my manager to publish a letter about it! Other than jobs where being in the spotlight is part of the deal (politicians, footballers, TV presenters), I don’t think it’s reasonable to be so public about disciplinary issues.

What exactly was the head hoping to achieve with that letter? What an idiot.

I work in a school and last week we got an email organising the Christmas party (not organised by the head)...am feeling a little uneasy at the thought of most the staff at the same party...restrictions and rules have obviously changed since then

As an aside the head mentions staff not specifically teachers, it may be teachers, support staff, office staff, cleaners etc. He also says in the letter it is a posible cause not the cause.
I would hope everyone would follow local guidelines but like many people school staff will also do what they feel is acceptable even if it is outside the guidelines.

I'm a teacher and think the teachers concerned were really irresponsible and lacking in common sense. Headteachers have had a nightmare planning bubbles and making schools Covid safe. Perhaps the letter could have been worded differently, but I can understand the frustration.

Our head teacher has been in school all summer. He’s had no time off. He looks absolutely knackered.

@Goingdooolally

I just feel as a teacher, given we really must try to keep schools open, we should mitigate as much of the risk of school closures as possible. For me one of the easy ways of doing that is not to socialise with my colleagues en masse.

Well, given that most parents are also really keen to keep schools open, you would think that they too would be on board with the idea of mitigating the risk of further closures by not permitting their children to attend parties, sleepovers and travel abroad on holiday. I think that anyone who has done any of those things in the fortnight preceding term starting, needs to keep quiet with the criticism.

The Head should have raised this with them in private. There is no need to have sent a letter to the parents who would have otherwise thought they had caught it at school. It just makes him/her look unprofessional. But they are probably under huge strain.

Goingdooolally it must be such a hard role to be in right now, I can imagine how hard they must have worked over pre September.

amy85 that's absolutely insane and I hope your school is in the minority as that's asking for trouble. I'm not a teacher and my work place will definitely not be holding any Christmas parties, it's irresponsible for all professions across the board (unless there's a miracle vaccine by then!).

Brilliant employee relations work by the Head there. 20/20 arse covering at its finest.

I don’t think any of you would be impressed if your boss wrote to your clients deriding what you do in your spare time and saying he’d have banned it if he’d known. What a terrible employer and just awful PR for the school - not the two week closure but the everlasting knowledge that the Head is a spiteful, unpleasant person.

He sounds like a complete wanker and if I was a parent at the school I would be furious at his behaviour. I hope the teachers leave and find jobs in a more supportive environment or that he is replaced.

He is being completely unreasonable. I say this as someone who has declined party invitations and gatherings over the summer, would have declined that one and have just had a child out of school for 2 weeks due to a bubble bursting. He is still behaving appallingly. You never criticise your staff in front of the public. A good manager has their staff’s back.

Given three more caught it who weren’t at the party surely shows how easily it spreads in schools?

This.

At this point of being expected to work in unsafe conditions, I'm just surprised that most teachers haven't handed their notice in (I know, I know, it's not that easy).

You can't expect people to work in an unsafe, crowded environment and then chastise them when they do something LESS risky that enhances their life and presumably gives them an opportunity to forget - for a few hours - the shitshow that is the government's 'plan' for return to schools.

Absolutely. Maybe he should be more concerned with 3 of them possibly catching it in school.