I'm a teacher and Boris you have failed us

[NewnameNelly]

My school has no ppe, we have a cleaner wiping touch points all through the day. We have antibacterial hand-wash and sanitiser, but it still isn't compulsory for us to wear masks/face shields. Two weeks in to us starting back and I'm off sick waiting for a home test and I've been trying to get hold of one for the past 2 days and all I am getting is this. Come back later, what when I'm calling an ambulance or dead. So much for having key workers as a priority. University lecturers are making students wear masks and so are they but us teachers are being completely forgotten. If you want your children to have an education, you need to protect and look after the teachers! Boris you have failed me!

I’ve taught 120 children today in a classroom with no windows at all. The ventilation I was offered when I complained was a fan!

I’ve touched the same door handle and stair banister as probably 500 children.

We all wear masks on the corridors but nothing in the classroom. It is very much business as usual and just waiting to catch it. I’ve already had 2 days off while I waited on test results for my DD. We had 4 off today pending results. Once we got 8 we have to close the school or send years home as we don’t have enough staff to open without doubling classes which doubles our risk.

I totally agree OP. My school is in a local lockdown area and currently has years 3 4 5 and 6 off isolating with multiple positive cases - yet we still have to open without any additional safety precautions. Parents are scared and staff are terrified too - we’re just putting a brave face on for the kids. I’m clinically vulnerable (as is my husband) and I am beyond cross that the government has so little regard for us. I am scared for my children, I’m scared for my elderly Mum who I care for, I’m scared for my husband who is diabetic and I’m scared for my colleagues who are ill. (Many of them over 50 with families and other caring responsibilities). I don’t know of any other profession expected to work in such crowded indoor settings with confirmed cases and no PPE. I love teaching and before this had never had a day off but I’ve had enough.

It really is shocking. Our local uni has lecturers mainly teaching by teams.

Is it partly because most people dont actually go inside a classroom and see whats going on?

In my life Im isually at least 1m apart from people, usually 2 and I have a mask on if indoors (not often.) I fet a bit antsy on the times Ive been to the supermarket and its gelt a bit busy or people near me arent wearing masks.

Yet in my childs school its 30 to a crowded room . How is this right!?

Is it another "I'm alright Jack " from the MPs whose kids are mainly nicely spaced out in private schools with large grounds?

Im higher risk and scared silly my child will come home with something that could kill me :(

Colds (with coughs...) are spreadig like wildfire.

@NewnameNelly but isn’t it your school that’s the problem? each school has decided on its own usage and there are many schools where teachers are wearing masks or face shields.

Also with everyone returning from 6 months no contact it’s not just corona virus that’s around, many of the bugs are the usual cold and flu viruses that are circulating and our immune systems that haven’t been exposed are now exposed.

Maybe speak to your headteacher first as that’s the person onsite that can make these changes to help you.

Really? Most schools have been told they arent allowed to in the classroom.

By definition 30 kids in one badly ventilated room all day is high risk.

The govt passed the buck to the schools. Assholes! Maskwearing in schools should be mandated by the govt, local authorities and enforced. Schools shouldn't be forced to make such decisions and deal with the repercussions from parents and/or staff who oppose it.

I imagine the demographic that the current brand of Tories care least about screwing over is the teachers/woman with school age kids demographic because they don’t vote Tory anyway. Its shameful how young people’s education and educators are being throw down the drain.

My start school provides visors for all staff and all pupils and staff will be wearing masks inside corridors from this week.

They are so providing huge amounts of sanitation wipes and hand gel etc.

Not all schools don't care about their staff. Perhaps speak to your SLT instead.

I hope you feel better soon OP

*state school

In the same boat here, however last night I got lucky and managed to book us tests. The local walk through is 5 min away, local Drive through 20min away.

However, I am now going to drive, with both my ill kids, a 3 hours round trip ( if good traffic) to get a ducking test. Even having to cross from England to Wales. Having had no sleep last night as youngest was coughing in my face all night then decided to start the day at 4.15am.

I FUCKING HATE BORIS- watching his announcement last night about having testing results back in a min- how about let’s start with having them in bit cities!’

I’m not convinced visors without masks do anything at all.

I feel so sorry for teachers.

I work in healthcare and have been lucky to have PPE and restrictions on numbers of patients and staff in areas. Screening for any patients I have contact with.

Schools have none of this. My dd Y7 is in a classroom, in a 6th form centre designed for 15 not 30 students.

I've been wanting to have it get a visor or a mask but I believe the visors don't do much and can actually spread germs if not used correctly.

However we do have children who deliberately or accidentally spit.

I do feel like we are all, pupils and staff, sitting ducks in schools at the moment.

And yes, children are safe and yes many teachers are under 40 but not all by any means. And the guardian has noted a rise in hospitalisation if women 20-40.

I'm sorry OP, I hope you get a test soon and get better. Just keep hitting the refresh button and have the online form filled out as much as you can so you can quickly nab a test when they come up, they do sometimes pop up during the day was well as art 8pm. Schools are important but there should be better systems in place, as well as essential testing.

For the first time in my teaching career of 20 years I’m on antidepressants as I am filled with anxiety going into school each day.

Teach Yr 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13. The windows don’t open in some of the rooms I am in as I work in an old building and the many years I’d being painted has sealed them. The classrooms were also designed for 20, not the 32 I have in there. We only started wearing masks yesterday in corridors as we’re in local lockdown, not required elsewhere. We’re zoning pupils but due to transport limitations they all arrive together and leave together (no staggering).

We’ve had a number of positive cases so far amongst students - same year group, so pupil to pupil transmission is evident. Luckily no staff isolating.

The news about increased numbers of young women falling ill has worries me. My first through was, ‘been back a month. They’re teachers’. Some may say I’m over worrying but if you could spend a day in my shoes, or even a minute on a corridor whilst I do duty, I think you’ll see I’m not.

Sorry about all the typos!

You need to address your concerns to your SLT. At my school we have hand gel and wipes in every classroom; the pupils use the former on entering and leaving, and the latter on their desks and chairs before leaving. Masks are compulsory in all buildings until you reach your seat in the classroom, and teachers can teach in masks or visors if they wish.

Have you asked to see your school's risk assessment?

I was amazed to see people praising Boris and his announcement yesterday on Mumsnet - have we really got such low expectations of this government to accept such dire conditions?!

OP you are right, teachers are in a terrible position and the public really don’t want to think about it. Many just want to send their children to school regardless. How will wet play work in winter? So far the Autumn weather hasn’t been bad but how on earth will they contain the virus in badly ventilated crowded classrooms?

OP you have my sympathy. Is there any way of a group of you speaking with the HT to get permission to wear PPE? Staff and pupils in mine can wear it anywhere/ any time in addition to the mandatory places.

Also C-19 tests do come up at random times. My husband managed to get one for our daughter at 10am when suddenly there were tests available everywhere so a new batch was obviously added then. That was after about 25-30 attempts.

Finally there are private tests available and your school was issued with 10 tests so your HT may sort one of those for you if they want you back enough! Otherwise they'll have to pay for cover anyway.

@SlB09

I don't think teachers are alone or unique in this situation, and I'm sorry you feel so let down. Tests are hard to get for everyone and that is incredibly frustrating. I do think we need to balance our respective risks though and take into account the emotional/psychological impact PPE wearing can have on children alongside the anxiety this may cause some individual adults/professionals. You could very well catch it in a supermarket or other public space, we just all have to muck in and be vigilant with all the other measures and that's the best we can do.

Hang on a minute, doesn't school closure affect children's MH too? I'm afraid children can't sail carefree through this while teachers are expected but their health on the line. You either get your child used to wearing a face covering or they stay at home in my view (unless they're one of the tiny proportion who genuinely can't wear one).

I would really like to see the results of any study whatsoever that has shown an impact to children's psychological health from seeing people wearing face masks. What utter rubbish. The things children have to adapt to around the world and you really think seeing floral face masks is going to scar them. Perfectly possible to explain to even very young children.

He's also failing parents and children all over the UK. My child missed ten days of education because she had a cold and there were no tests available. It's an absolute mess. There are hundreds of viruses that cause

Coughs
Cold
Sore throats
Fevers
Headaches
Muscle pain
Weakness
Fatigue.
Diarrhea
Vomiting.

It's the bodies way of removing anything attacking it.

A large amount of people are getting sick because we've been away from touch, people, different environments etc.

I took my son to a park Friday the day after isolation for us finished. Two days later he's had an off day on the sofa. He's only two. Warm. Lathargic. Now I'm getting a sore throat and cold. I'm literally thinking we must have caught it from touching the play equipment. We've not been anywhere else. .

I have never felt as unhealthy as I do now. If we carry on a losing eachother and over sanitising everything we will get sicker and weaker.

Ofcourse it's a worry. But the only reason it's such a nightmare is the testing system. There should be a place in every town that you can go. It should be local. It should be approved via symptoms. If you have a snotty nose you dont need a test. If you have a fever/dry continuous cough, loss of taste and smell and muscle weakness and fatigue you should get a test.

This virus is starting to win. It's robbing people of absolutely everything. Do we really want to be reacting Infront of children in absolute fear?

Personally I'm more upset with the yo-yo approach with rules, fines, masks, number restrictions etc. If he thinks shutting pubs at ten and wearing masks is going to help why are cases up since he brought masks in?

It's common sense really. Me and my son picked a virus up from a walk to the park. Even though we were the only ones there. We sterilised our hands too. We have seen nobody for two weeks (DD went back yesterday) yet we got poorly.

The failures in the testing and tracing system are going to close schools. The government will blame teachers, or children, or parents or the scientists but the most fundamental problem is the lack of testing. This week we have several students in some bubbles off. It seems to be taking 48 hours of relentlessly refreshing the website to secure a test and then another 48 for results to come in. We’ve had one positive result from last week and have put a couple of classes worth of kids in self isolation but well over a dozen other symptomatic kids still waiting on results or and we have another dozen or so who were symptomatic and are in SI for the full 10 days because their parents haven’t got them tested because it was so difficult to book a test that they gave up. The lag in testing means we’re totally blind at the moment. We could have a full-scale outbreak on our hands spreading across multiple bubbles and not know it yet. If we get a big flurry of positives in a couple of days then that’s game over for two weeks and we’ll need a circuit-breaker closure. I’m angry... I want to be in school. It should have been blended learning in secondaries and we need the testing to head off outbreaks before they’ve spread through half the school.

I’d rather get Covid than have schools shut. I know it’s an absolute nightmare but it’s my lifeline. Without work my mental health will suffer so greatly.
I don’t expect others to feel the same though and it’s shit for everyone who is vulnerable, including teachers, children, and their families. Plus, I think the government know that individual schools will have to close, they’ll just blame it on staff/parents not SD. It’s so hard because the original opening not being safe will - and has - cause disruption to pupils.