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 dont want schools to close but just wishing so does not mean it won't happen. The annoying thing is it's avoidable (or was- don't know if it still is) OP hope you feel better soon- and don't feel guilty if it ends up being something else either. We need to change attitudes about 'going in and dosing up" in the uk if we are to have any sort of collective responsibility as a society.

I agree. It's a joke. I'm an SEN teacher. I'm next to my kids with no personal space whatsoever. Many of them are very very vulnerable. I'm vulnerable too. So everyone in the situation is at risk. It's ridiculous.

When schools start to close because of lack of staff then maybe Johnson will realise that if he wants them open then masks should be compulsory.

@OpheliasCrayon

I agree. It's a joke. I'm an SEN teacher. I'm next to my kids with no personal space whatsoever. Many of them are very very vulnerable. I'm vulnerable too. So everyone in the situation is at risk. It's ridiculous.

Thank you Ophelia. My DC is at a special school, his teachers and TAs are amazing. I think about them every lesson I am in when I'm standing behind my taped line at the front of the classroom. It's utterly utterly shit for all of you. DC's school has just had a confirmed case (although fortunately for us not in his bubble), very scary for all those wonderful children and staff. for everyone in special schools xx

noblegiraffe
Clav entirely unsure how what France is doing is relevant here, but Boris disagrees with the French Education Minister and says that covid is readily transmissible between children and adults.

What specifically did he say? I can see Germany and Scotland mentioned on this thread - are those comparisons irrelevant as well, or just my comparison?

Ok so I’ll prob get a bit of stick for this. But not all schools are struggling to understand and implement the health and safety aspects. Schools want the heads to be in charge. But then moan it’s the governments fault?

@Dee1975

Ok so I’ll prob get a bit of stick for this. But not all schools are struggling to understand and implement the health and safety aspects. Schools want the heads to be in charge. But then moan it’s the governments fault?

The guidance is so wish washy. Heads are doing their best in most cases. Some Heads will be prioritising this above all else, other Heads will be doing the bare minimum (following the guidance glibly). The guidance says no masks in the classroom- this is obviously madness. Ventilation is poor in schools and as it is airborne it should be a priority. Unfortunately there was no extra funding for more cleaners, better ventilation, more cleaning materials, blended learning, increased staff provision.

But not all schools are struggling to understand and implement the health and safety aspects.

What do you mean by this? No school is going to manage social distancing unless they have massive classrooms or tiny classes. Schools are advised that masks shouldn't be worn in lessons. Bubbles are huge in secondary schools and are rendered pretty ineffective by kids having siblings in other year groups and by teachers having to cross bubbles and teach in small, stuffy classrooms for hours, where they can't be 2m away from kids.

What is it that you think schools are failing to understand or failing to implement? Or rather, what do you think some schools are doing which magically solves all the above issues?

I’m a secondary teacher and I feel the same. I love my job and really care about my students but I feel so worried being in close contact with so many different people on a daily basis. I feel very sorry for children in all this (including my two primary aged children) and desperately want schools to be able to stay open as schools provide so much for young people, not just academically but socially too. I feel like staff in schools have been forgotten in all of this though and wish the issue of PPE for student had been thought through properly. One of my students said to me yesterday how shocked he was to come back to school and see teachers with no protection. He said why don’t you have a plastic screen at the front and a microphone- there are creative ways around the situation but nobody in power has bothered to consider them.

@Dee1975

Ok so I’ll prob get a bit of stick for this. But not all schools are struggling to understand and implement the health and safety aspects. Schools want the heads to be in charge. But then moan it’s the governments fault?

Of course not all schools are struggling, but from the consensus of teachers on this thread, a lot are doing the absolute bare minimum. We want to work, most teachers love children (yes even the nightmare ones) we want to be at work. It isn't fair one person (HT) gets to decide what is right for 30-100 teaching staff.

This is why we need the government to step up and take accountability and enforce mask wearing and also ensure we have priority with other key workers to tests.

I totally agree about testing too- all teaching staff and TAs in schools should be routinely tested maybe once a fortnight.

Our school has also pretty much been named and shamed by the local ‘newspaper’ as we’ve had to send home all 260 year 11s because one had a positive result.

@monkeytennis97 no thanks needed it's my pleasure. I love my job and wouldn't dream of doing anything else. Hope your DC stays safe in school. Everyone is trying their best, despite the government total incompetence.

@monkeytennis97 although I'll take the cake. . because ..cake :) honestly though I don't mind. Im vulnerable to many more things than just corona and there's things I have always been able to catch very easily in schools that can land me in hospital. It is what it is. I love my job...it just doesn't involve any personal space !

We keep running out of PPE. We are cleaning toilets after every child uses it (teachers and ta), I have chidlren with high needs who cannot understand social distancing, with colds sneezing directly in my face. Most of the cleaners have resigned and our toilet wasn’t properly deep cleaned (other than what we as teachers did) for four days. I feel totally unprotected and if anyone at my schools gets Covid it will knock us all as there is no way to stay distanced and look after ourselves at the same time as managing the children’s needs. I almost cried when I tried to go into an empty dentist reception area with a mask and was
Told I had to pay by phone as it was too dangerous for me to use contactless payment with the receptionist behind a plastic wall. What about us in schools?

@GlomOfNit

OP, hope you got some sleep last night and will feel better soon. You're clearly very upset. We all ought to be, and you're absolutely right that the government have let schools and teachers and support staff down.

I don't think I saw any 'teacher bashing' whatsoever though. A bit confused about that.

Just to clarify, universities certainly are not all asking students to wear masks for face-to-face teaching! DH's isn't - we're enraged that he isn't allowed to ask students to wear a mask as a condition of having them in a seminar or 1:1 meeting in his office. He will obviously wear all the PPE he can (at least he's not been told he can't) but apparently the university are under an obligation to provide free face coverings to students if they make it mandatory, so they're not. If there are any universities out there who ARE making it compulsory for students to wear masks, please post here, I'd really like to know.

Southampton Uni are mandating facecoverings and are providing students with two each. They are also running opt in saliva covid testing for students and staff.

@Clavinova

noblegiraffe Clav entirely unsure how what France is doing is relevant here, but Boris disagrees with the French Education Minister and says that covid is readily transmissible between children and adults.

What specifically did he say? I can see Germany and Scotland mentioned on this thread - are those comparisons irrelevant as well, or just my comparison?

Boris? He said "It is, alas, a fact of the disease that it is readily transmissible between children and adults"

Video link in this thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4025351-It-is-alas-a-fact-of-the-disease-that-it-is-readily-transmissible-between-children-and-adults

The point is that if France is merrily saying that kids don't transmit it so can just go to school as normal, that option isn't open to Boris as he has admitted that they do.

Why aren't teachers walking out until they are allowed to wear PPE

@PrivateD00r because we can't afford to be sacked. The unions are doing chuff all to support us.

noblegiraffe
The point is that if France is merrily saying that kids don't transmit it so can just go to school as normal, that option isn't open to Boris as he has admitted that they do. Video link in this thread

And Labour's Cat McKinnell disagrees with Boris - 'look at the science' she says.

Do you honestly think you would all be sacked for grouping together and saying you can only continue to work with ppe? I would like to think any decent head would have the sense to know they need to retain these fantastic teachers!

Have any of you tried? At least wrote a letter of concern that everyone in school signs?

What do you think “PPE” is? It’s not a standard mask or a visor.

Would you support teachers walking out unless all the pupils wore masks?

And Labour's Cat McKinnell disagrees with Boris

So? Unless Boris performs another u-turn and says 'actually it is hurrah a fact of the disease that it is not readily transmissible between children and adults', that statement, which was used to set the rule of 6 policy in England to include children, will now mean it will have to inform other areas of policy involving children too.

I agree with you completely OP. It is absolutely horrific, teachers didn't sign up for this when they started their career as a teacher. I can't think of any other profession that involves being in close contact with so many people not wearing masks. I am not a teacher, but it is so easy to say teachers need to stop complaining when they are working from home, or in socially-distant offices, or in retail where customers are wearing masks, etc.

I don't know what the answer is but I think it was ridiculous to get all children back to school in one fell swoop, especially as we are going into cold and flu season. There should be blended learning, or the option for parents to do home learning. The government could have invested time and resources into improving at-home learning resources so that a better quality of education could be provided at home some of the time.

@HipTightOnions

What do you think “PPE” is? It’s not a standard mask or a visor.

Would you support teachers walking out unless all the pupils wore masks?

Is that aimed at me? Of course I know what PPE is, I already said I wear it for long shifts in the NHS haha. Of course I would, why, wouldn't you? I have saw the high levels of anxiety of teachers on here and I would support anything to reduce that.

I really am not sure why you posted that to me though. If you are hoping for a row, you may look elsewhere