What's going to happen with schools?

[NebularNerd]

I'm a secondary teacher and I've posted before about my concerns about going back to work. For context, my husband was previously shielding which adds to my fear of catching this thing & I have two young children.

So I'm back at work, no social distancing possible but at least we wear masks I'm the corridors. I'm in the North East so in local lockdown, so not allowed to see friends or family, but still in daily close contact with hundreds of people.

I'm fucking exhausted at the end of each day as we have to move classroom for every single lesson as the students stay in their bubbles. Behaviour is worse.

Daily cases in schools in the local vicinity.

Staff off self isolating, awaiting test results. Students off in droves too.

And we're only four weeks in.

Honestly, how long is this sustainable?

@wizzbangfizz

I think in the nicest possible way aren't we all struggling with having to adapt? No one I know is enjoying any part of this and everyone feels stressed.

It is important schools stay open.

Yes we are struggling to adapt.

Yes we feel stressed.

However in a pandemic, with a new, potentially lethal and poorly understood pathogen, it is really important to respect the science and limit the amount of infection.

Schools in fact were open all through Easter and the summer term, but with some limits on the classes who could attend physically rather than virtually.

We need to rethink the funding and physical provision in schools if we want continued teaching through the winter as the teachers have been put in a very difficult position #a parent not a teacher

"Secondary teacher and I can only agree with other teachers about moving around the school lugging laptop and all resources with you, while trying to get past hundreds of students in the corridors."

It can't be both though can it. If teachers are moving between classrooms then the pupils won't be. If it is both than the system in that school needs reviewing.

Our secondary is not having the teachers moving around, it is more like normal, so that doesn't have to be the case. Think it may add to behaviour problems if they are not moving to be honest.

I can well imagine how exhausted teachers must be right now. This term is always so long, it must feel endless at the moment.
I am so, so grateful to all school staff for everything that you're doing to educate our children in almost impossible circumstances.
Please know that the majority of people acknowledge and appreciate you.

Is there anything practical us parents can do to make the burden more bearable? It seem so inadequate to send in a box of chocs every now and then, or send an email to Head thanking DD's teachers. Can we do anything else?

The other thing I have wondered, is whether it would be possible to set up virtual state education in which children could be enrolled, so that government funding would go with them, and there would be some support for parents and children and some structure? If it is too difficult for schools to teach virtually?

There would be potential for economies of scale across the UK & it could be part of existing academy networks, potentially. Something like that could be a big help to vulnerable families (and also people who are anxious about infection who are not vulnerable) and could be a way of keeping vulnerable teachers in the profession and keeping education going.

Of course if some pupils and some schools don't have a problem that's great, but there are others of us who are going to be challenged over the winter.

Also, seems to be normal PE and after school rugby and football have started as well.

@TheGreatWave

"Secondary teacher and I can only agree with other teachers about moving around the school lugging laptop and all resources with you, while trying to get past hundreds of students in the corridors."

It can't be both though can it. If teachers are moving between classrooms then the pupils won't be. If it is both than the system in that school needs reviewing.

I imagine the history, maths, language etc teachers are moving between classes. At the same time, children are moving to get to their games, music, science lessons which have to take place in spaces with the appropriate equipment.

So it's not everyone moving at the same time, but a very high proportion.

I'm in secondary and we are not moving classrooms. The kids are. If the kids are not moving, how on earth is it working for options? We have to spray and wipe clean the desks after every class, but at the same time, classes are not allowed to queue up outside classrooms. It's a joke. Social distancing is non existent and to top it all, my classroom is right next to the quad, where the kids have break and lunch. There are 5 different break and lunchtimes all day long, so I just teach with constant noise and screaming, as I cannot shut the windows or doors. I have a heavy cold and cough after 3 weeks of being back. My test was negative, but I'm fully expecting to test positive this year at some point. I have had heart surgery, so it's concerning. We have staff and kids dropping like flies. Constant emails are coming in from kids snd parents asking for work at home. My colleague got a parental complaint because she 'didn't do anything when a student coughed in her classroom.' We didn't sign up for healthcare. Every time a kid feels ill, I'm sending them straight to the office. I know which ones are messing around. The office are sending sick kids straight back to classrooms, as they've got no room to hold them.

Secondary teacher here and I have never seen exhausted staff so early in the term. We're end of term tired after 3 weeks. I worked 70 hours last week, our leadership team 100+ it's not sustainable and you can see the stress building. Being absent creates more work. Isolating and teaching from home is a nightmare. It all impacts on overworked colleagues.

(apart from PE staff, they're all relaxed and doing FA).

@TheGreatWave

"Secondary teacher and I can only agree with other teachers about moving around the school lugging laptop and all resources with you, while trying to get past hundreds of students in the corridors."

It can't be both though can it. If teachers are moving between classrooms then the pupils won't be. If it is both than the system in that school needs reviewing.

Of course it can be both. We have year groups in zones and keep year groups separate so they don’t cross. We move about. However students need to move between rooms within their zone at changeover. I therefore have to get through a crowded corridor to move from on year group zone to the next where they are also moving to their next classroom in their area. It doesn’t mean things need reviewing.

I feel for you and all the Teachers generally .Our friend is a Teacher and absolutely dreaded going back after the Summer Break .My feeling is that we will have an extended Half Term maybe 2 or 3 weeks? Then see how the virus goes .I think as soon as Schools are back again ,the Virus will keep on breaking out .Maybe they will have a P/T rota to ease numbers or close again completely over the New Year .Roll on a Vaccine!

I think people saying its nice to have a few minutes walk between classes and cant see how its stressful ,miss the point that Teachers desks are set up for their certain subjects in their rooms! Having to lug all their subject books along and set up again in a new room is going to be very stressful!

@TheGreatWave

It can't be both though can it. If teachers are moving between classrooms then the pupils won't be. If it is both than the system in that school needs reviewing.

Yes it is, because students move rooms within their bubble block and each bubble is just under 300 pupils so for every block a teacher moves through there are hundreds of students also moving, although to be fair they are moving shorter distances

@Gazelda

I imagine the history, maths, language etc teachers are moving between classes.
At the same time, children are moving to get to their games, music, science lessons which have to take place in spaces with the appropriate equipment.

Mine is not the only school where ks3 in particular are NEVER taught IT in a computer room and only have science in a science lab once every 2 weeks

It can't be both though can it. If teachers are moving between classrooms then the pupils won't be. If it is both than the system in that school needs reviewing.

Course it can be. We have 250 in a year. Two sides of the year and different sets with different options. 250 all move on mass. Yes its in their area and they don't come into contact with other years but we are moving in all of the throngs. Except year 7 but I don't teach them.

In some schools KS3 pupils are staying in their tutor group and mainly staying in one classroom except for specialist subjects, and then KS4 pupils are having to move around because of options/sets.

@ineedaholidaynow

In some schools KS3 pupils are staying in their tutor group and mainly staying in one classroom except for specialist subjects, and then KS4 pupils are having to move around because of options/sets.

My DCs school are doing that but ks4 have a two week timetable so they cover the access to science labs etc that way.

We're doing that. With a 4 week timetable. It's insane.

In some schools KS3 pupils are staying in their tutor group and mainly staying in one classroom except for specialist subjects, and then KS4 pupils are having to move around because of options/sets.

Ours are doing that but it's not their form. It's their English and Maths set.

Good to see people who don’t teach telling teachers that they’re doing it all wrong.

Well done.

Totally feel for you OP and I'm in the same boat. Constantly moving rooms whilst remaining a positive, in control, teacher is exhausting. Doing that whilst wearing a mask doesn't help. Remembering all that you need to take with you, knowing that you have no chance of sending a student to collect anything. I'm doing four lunch duties a week on top of break duties because we have so few staff in school.

And yes, there are students out when we move because break times are different for every bubble.

To those saying it must be nice to have a little walk between lessons, it really isn't.

It's best surprised as picking up your 'office' at the end of each lesson, moving to another room containing 30 unsupervised, often poorly behaved students, trying to get set up again, logging on etc. & dealing with behaviour for which there is no support in my school, as detentions have been stopped due to Covid.

Teach the lesson with multiple interruptions as 'bubbles' on different start/finish times pass the open door shouting and messing about.

At the end of the lesson pick everything up & move again, repeat five times a day.

The children DO move in their 'zone' so corridors are still rammed when we move about.

We aren't safe at all but to be honest with everything else going on you don't have time to worry about it.

Then I get home & watch the news & I hear that office workers are being urged to work from home. And we're in local lockdown, so no friends or family. Just the stress of work but nothing to look forward to.

I'm beyond exhausted and it's not even fucking October.

All this, and we've yet to have a positive case, although it's only a matter of time.

Something has to give.

@noblegiraffe

Good to see people who don’t teach telling teachers that they’re doing it all wrong.

Well done.

Exactly this - what Noble said . What a fucking disgrace people are. Imagine if a Dr , nurse or any other job came on here saying how they were on their knees and we turned around and said nah, bullshit. You just need to medidate...

@CarrieBlue sorry, I was unclear. Children have been able to get tests but not straightaway. Most families I know have had to wait 3 or 4 days for a test and the same again to get the result. There have been no positive results.

@noblegiraffe

Good to see people who don’t teach telling teachers that they’re doing it all wrong.

Well done.

They are making themselves look ignorant in the process.