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?

PHE only isolate close contacts now and not entire bubbles if a single case.

That just isn't true

For you, in your situation. It IS true that many other teachers are much much more exhausted at this point in the term than usual. I’d say that statistically (going by most surveys carried out about teacher workload and mental health and the very obvious recruitment and retention crisis in the profession) most teachers are not ‘managing OK’ without COVID, so I very much doubt that the majority are managing OK now.

@manicinsomniac

pooiepooie The pressures are probably different in independent (some of them anyway) but I don't agree that they are lesser.

State school teachers have generally got guaranteed jobs and salaries. Whereas we've all just taken a 10% pay cut and lost 7 staff to redundancies because so many of our parents can no longer afford the fees. Our biggest Covid challenge is having a school left at the end of it.

State schools (in many cases) bring supply teachers in to cover absence. Or are at least protected by their unions from covering for each other except in an emergency. We never use supply and our non contact time is not protected (no such concept as PPA time). We have timetabled non contact periods but getting them is a bonus, not an expectation.

Our classes are smaller but so are our classrooms. My classroom was built for 18, not for 30. There's no extra space just because there are fewer children. Hence not being able to teach in it right now.

Our school day runs from 8am to a minimum of 5pm. 1 night I'm on duty till 7pm and one night till 10pm. I also teach on Saturdays. In return for that we get longer holidays.

Our parents are paying a huge amount of money and that means they are very demanding (not saying they shouldn't be, just that it can be very draining). The value added can't drop because there's a pandemic or we lose all our pupils. We can't just cancel wrap around care, extra curricular clubs, productions etc - we have to adapt them and make sure they can continue. They also want clear, personalised evidence of educational progress, gaps, plans etc. Some parents are requiring daily emails or zoom calls right now. And we aren't in a position to say no.

25% of our pupils have additional needs and are with us because their parents weren't happy with wherever they were before. To keep the pupils, we have to be better.

The school I'm in has significant advantages over others that I know of - 1) we're rural and 2) we're not in a lockdown area. Being private is not, imo, a massive advantage.

You are right- sorry- was a bit arsey...

Herc I'm not disbelieving you. I'm just seeing a different experience (also in a variety of age, stage and type schools, not just my own). More tired than normal, definitely but still ok. I don't know if that will still be true in a few weeks or by the end of term or not. Or even if we'll get to the end of term. But at the moment, I haven't heard that level of despair from anyone I know personally. I've seen it on here quite a lot so I definitely don't doubt it's happening. But I disagree about how common it is.

Good to know about the close contacts thing - how do you work out who's a close contact though? A positive child could sit next to different children in all their lessons, spend breaks with others and do activities with yet more. I reckon it would be close to a full bubble for us - and could go into other bubbles too if the affected child is a boarder or does a lot of acitivities/wrap around stuff.

Carrie - maybe we just have different definitions of what 'ok' is, I don't know! If 'most' weren't ok before Covid then I just can't see why most of them would still be doing it. Some would feel trapped by family, geographical or other logistical circumstances I know. But most? I think the majority of teachers enjoy their jobs and are mostly happy at work. I think the majority who aren't happy, leave.

pooie pooie - no worries. I'm coming across too dismissive too - it's hard to both acknowledge what people are saying and articulate that I see a different demeanour in my teacher friends.

We're all trying our best, regardless, I know!

PHE will expect you to know who they've sat by. Centrally stored seating plans are helpful. They ask the student who they spent social time with and outside doesn't count.

.I think the majority who aren't happy, leave.

In their droves. Yet plenty remain due to stability, lack of other options, and feeling trapped. Not many are leaving now unless they have something else, there aren't many jobs out there. I certainly feel trapped yet love being in the classroom.

The tiredness is worse than ever. The workload is rising daily.

I think the majority of teachers enjoy their jobs and are mostly happy at work.

That’s not the message that comes across from any survey carried out into teacher wellbeing. It may not be your experience of your friends, but that really doesn’t seem to be the case across the profession. It’s not always as simple as ‘not happy, leave’.

It’s really good that you feel fine about it all. It’s not good that you seem to deny anyone else’s experience, and berate those of us who are telling you how exhausting working in the current conditions is. Especially from the point of view of the independent sector - which is different or else there’d be a recruitment crisis there too.

@manicinsomniac

And I never set out to claim that teaching isn't a hard job, nor that it isn't harder than normal at the moment. Of course it is. But I just didn't think it did any favours to the profession to suggest that we are all 'on our knees' at the end of week 3 or 4. There are 100s of 1000s of teachers in the UK (probably - I don't actually know how many) - statistically, the majority will be managing ok right now. But Christmas yes, that's definitely time to being out phrases like on our knees. But not September. That just isn't true and encourages the stereotype that we don't work hard. Which I don't think is true of anyone on this thread, whether they're feeling on top of the world at being back or really are clinging on by a thread.

Are you having to deal with poor behaviour?

Because that's a massive knock on effect of moving classrooms five times a day for me.
The students are already in the room when I get there & running riot. It takes ten minutes to get started generally.

You say that independent school teachers have the same amount of stress to deal with in the current situation, but I think that you are forgetting the hugely significant impact that poor behaviour has on stress levels.

And every teacher I know is feeling that they are on their knees.

Clearly, working in an independent setting must be better, if none of your colleagues are feeling this way.

Teachers! Let's not waste energy snipping at each other and unite around a common enemy instead.

I submit Crane Flies.

Herc - Eek! Mine don't sit still for 2 minutes together - guess that's why I'm outside. Really need to rethink how I teach over half term. Or get used to being very cold.

It’s really good that you feel fine about it all. It’s not good that you seem to deny anyone else’s experience, and berate those of us who are telling you how exhausting working in the current conditions is. Especially from the point of view of the independent sector - which is different or else there’d be a recruitment crisis there too

Have I denied anybody's experience or berated anyone?! If I have, I'm sorry, I didn't intend to. What I thought I was saying was that plenty of teachers feel horrendous right now (especially those in large secondaries, those with health conditions and those on SLT) but that plenty don't - largely because we aren't in big secondaries, are in good health and aren't on SLT! Therefore I think it's unhelpful to suggest that we are universally on our last legs 3 weeks into term. It gives fuel to people who think teachers are always on holiday and only work 9-3.

NebularNerd - I find the children's behaviour in 3 of my 6 year groups to be poor. But they are learning an indoor subject outside, they're over excited by being back and I don't think I'm particularly good at behaviour management. So in real terms, no, they're probably not that bad.

Clearly, working in an independent setting must be better, if none of your colleagues are feeling this way

I can't say that none of my colleagues are. I don't see most of them much except in passing. It's my friends that are teachers who I was saying are not struggling to the point of not feeling able to carry on - some of those are in my school but the majority are spread around other schools around the country. I'm not very good at making friends (perhaps unsurprisingly judging by how badly I'm coming across on this thead alone!) so I don't know the majority of my current colleagues well enough to know how they are feeling.

@noblegiraffe I agree. Crane Flies are the devil's messengers sent to make children running screaming around my classroom, thus breaking all attempts at social distancing.
Also, ime, teachers in both independent and state sectors are finding this unsustainable. Friend in an indie just texted me to say they have worked 80 hours last week, management are still saying they haven't done enough and are feeling sick at the thought of another week.
Agree with everything manic says about the slightly different but equally difficult pressures in the sectors.

Is behaviour worse because of the extended break or is it always this bad? I guess I am asking if you think it will settle a bit?

I do genuinely believe schools will close for a few weeks soon but I don't know what that will mean for teachers in terms of key worker provision and home learning. I am sure most of us parents would prefer a complete break from home school anyway! Would be great if teachers could get a proper break to regroup.

Well, as a rule of thumb, the behaviour you get in the first two weeks of term is the best of the whole year, so that doesn’t bode awfully well for the rest of the year.

Can I asked? I'm not telling anyone how to do their job before anyone jumps down my throat. Why are teachers having to lug trolleys, books and equipment around the building?

My ds is in a school where they stay in their bubbles. I asked him today if the teachers are having to bring all the books and equipment. He said that all they bring is their laptop.

The books and equipment all stay in the classroom with the kids all day the teachers just bring a laptop and plug it into the projector. He said it just takes a couple of minutes.

He says the kids are ready to learn because they're in the same place rather than wandering around often being late for lessons.

Is a lot of the stress being caused by poor management from above?

[quote SchrodingersUnicorn]@noblegiraffe I agree. Crane Flies are the devil's messengers sent to make children running screaming around my classroom, thus breaking all attempts at social distancing.
Also, ime, teachers in both independent and state sectors are finding this unsustainable. Friend in an indie just texted me to say they have worked 80 hours last week, management are still saying they haven't done enough and are feeling sick at the thought of another week.
Agree with everything manic says about the slightly different but equally difficult pressures in the sectors.[/quote]
We had wasps.

Then Crane Flies.

Now a combination of spiders and wind blowing in leaves....

We are starting to behave like those Japanese children in earthquake zones who practise diving under their desks - a cry of 'Daddy Long legs' is quite enough to send them all onto the floor....

@Missingsockswheresotheygo

Can I asked? I'm not telling anyone how to do their job before anyone jumps down my throat. Why are teachers having to lug trolleys, books and equipment around the building?

My ds is in a school where they stay in their bubbles. I asked him today if the teachers are having to bring all the books and equipment. He said that all they bring is their laptop.

The books and equipment all stay in the classroom with the kids all day the teachers just bring a laptop and plug it into the projector. He said it just takes a couple of minutes.

He says the kids are ready to learn because they're in the same place rather than wandering around often being late for lessons.

Is a lot of the stress being caused by poor management from above?

We don’t have laptops, my school can’t afford them. We have slow desktops that take about 10 minutes to get logged in and get everything you need opened up.

Kids move rooms within their zones so they aren’t always there much before us.

Exercise books stay in the rooms except when we mark then and then we have to lug them around as we don’t have our own rooms to work in anymore.

I have to take with me my board pens, any worksheets etc (as KS3 no longer have acces to textbooks - we’ve had to use all those in the KS4 zones). I have nowhere to leave anything so also need to carry my bag with pencil case, notebook/planner/any resources for lesson. Bottles of water and my lunch (as we can no longer use the canteens or leave the site).