NEU calls for two week closure for secondaries and colleges following leap in infections

[noblegiraffe]

The NEU has called for a two week closure of secondary schools and colleges following a more than 9-fold increase in the infection rate in secondary school children in a month.

www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-teachers-demand-2-week-school-closures-after-cases-jump

The infection rate in Y7-11 was 0.5% last week, according to the ONS survey of random households, but this nearly doubled to 0.93% in the latest set of figures. This rise cannot be ignored or passed off as relating to university students as has happened so far.

In other, entirely unrelated news, 61% of teachers report that if a student doesn't wear a mask in a school where they are mandated in communal areas 'nothing happens'.

www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-61-staff-say-nothing-done-if-pupils-wont-wear-masks

And Teacher Tapp data from yesterday had 26% of teachers reporting that their schools were partially closed to students.

In the meantime, the testing positivity rate in 10-19 year olds is 17%, which means that this group is severely under-tested and lots of cases will be missed. The rate should be below 5%.

Yet the insistence continues that in any lockdown scenario, schools will remain open. Idiocy.

For many students, the half that they got in school In July was far better quality than the full they got in September. The effect of small classes in low achieving or easily distracted students souls not be underestimated.
Even so, if I was delivering half the amount of education I usually do, but effectively, this would be a massive improvement right now for 90% of my students.
I do share your concerns about whether or not even blended learning would be enough to stem disruption now that we have let cases take hold so much. This is why it’s really important to try to figure out why some schools are doing well and others not, because if it’s simply about hitting an inevitable tipping point, then it would be better to do the switch sooner rather than later.

The ones who worry me aren't necessarily the very most vulnerable. We know who they are and IF there became a situation with partial closure of schools like bwfe, they'd be mostly in.

It's the ones in the middle, not poor as such, but households that don't have three laptops for all three secondary kids. Where education isn't that valued, so they'll let the kids play xbox all day, where they DO value education, but can't really support their academically weak children with the best will in the world.

There's a whole swathe of "in the middle" families between the most vulnerable and the totally on it, middle class, mumsnet families. They would suffer appreciably if we were long term closed for in-school education again.

Hmm defensive because people love to do personal attacks or...

Anyway it’s silly if people can’t read a differing opinion on a message board go elsewhere or staff room board at least.

The anger at posters is counterproductive.

NEU hasn’t put forward pt, maybe engage with them.

All the venom hurled at teachers since the very beginning of the pandemic has been disturbing. The total lack of any concern for their health, physical and mental, from some regular "haterz" is bewildering.

Such selfishness is becoming typical on MN these days.

The "Teachers, do as you're told!" attitude from some is unhinged. I suspect a lot of it is from goady fuckers who just like to stir the pot.

Where education isn't that valued, so they'll let the kids play xbox all day

This could have happened last term but not this with registration and attendance monitoring.

@LastGoldenDaysOfSummer

All the venom hurled at teachers since the very beginning of the pandemic has been disturbing. The total lack of any concern for their health, physical and mental, from some regular "haterz" is bewildering.

Such selfishness is becoming typical on MN these days.

The "Teachers, do as you're told!" attitude from some is unhinged. I suspect a lot of it is from goady fuckers who just like to stir the pot.

There's been a lot of venom hurled the other way as well, lets not pretend it's all one sided.

@MarshaBradyo

Where education isn't that valued, so they'll let the kids play xbox all day

This could have happened last term but not this with registration and attendance monitoring.

What can schools realistically do?

If it's online but not live you could surely log in and then walk away from the laptop. If it's not done they'll say they didn't understand and can you really punish for that?

It's a good idea and certainly better than nothing but I still think there'd be a lack of engagement from some kids.

Okay, I'm glad it seems to work at our your school but, believe me, I'm confident that loads of "in the middle" families wouldn't or won't be able to access full time online learning for a whole week. We did a survey and they just don't have the devices/resources. Ironically, I think more children did have laptops a decade ago. Now it's almost all just phones.

There are definitely a few posters who are complete goady gits. Then you have a spectrum, from people like not even, who I think is slowly coming round to saying that there is a problem, but still trusts scientists in countries with very different conditions over the actual experiences of teachers on the coal face here (which is very patronising, tbh) and posters like Marsha, who engage very well, but see everything through a lens of wanting the very best for their own children (quite understandably) and who has been one of the rare and fortunate people to have had a very good experience with online schooling.
Added to this, posters on all sides get frustrated and lash out, or are sarcastic from time to time. And those are the reasonable posters - don’t even get me started on the rabid or irrational ones. There are plenty of those, and they are never the teachers.

There's been a lot of venom hurled the other way as well, lets not pretend it's all one sided.

I didn't pretend otherwise but nice whataboutry, there. Do you think it's ok? You don't seem to have condemned it.

@LastGoldenDaysOfSummer

There's been a lot of venom hurled the other way as well, lets not pretend it's all one sided.

I didn't pretend otherwise but nice whataboutry, there. Do you think it's ok? You don't seem to have condemned it.

Do I think what's ok? Personal attacks?

No. I've reported several. And again, I don't blame teachers for this, I entirely blame the government. It just so happens that I disagree with further closures, but at the end of the day if the government had done better to begin with this wouldn't even be a thing that needed to happen!

Nellodee I agree from other side re spectrum. Luckily there are posters whose posts I appreciate (and anyone who brings maths to the situation is great) and some who are spiky and I’d rather not see hone in on me. But hey ho I’ll keep talking to good posters.

I do recognise my school is doing things well and it’s difficult in other situations. Btw with these very well thought out blended models, Belle, are these just in care or can you choose to implement at some point? I think it’s uniform but just to check

Anyway that’s it got to go thanks to posters keeping it calmer

No. I've reported several. And again, I don't blame teachers for this, I entirely blame the government. It just so happens that I disagree with further closures, but at the end of the day if the government had done better to begin with this wouldn't even be a thing that needed to happen!

I'm glad to read you have reported attacks on teachers, it wasn't clear from your first post.

Of course the government is to blame which is why I find it hard to understand why teachers get so much stick on here.

Every time I start a thread about schools I’ve had shitty comments thrown at me just for starting the thread. I have mental health problems. I hate kids. I’m a shit teacher who you wouldn’t want teaching your kids. I don’t like teaching and should just quit. ‘I knew this would be you OP....’ ‘I’m sick to the death of you’. I’m sure the only reason I got only one shitty reflex comment on this thread is because MNHQ intervened on the last one. It’s pretty obvious some people are trying to stop me starting these threads and really really really don’t want the situation in schools discussed.

Of course the government is to blame which is why I find it hard to understand why teachers get so much stick on here

Because Matt Hancock Boris and co aren't on Mumsnet? if they were I am sure we would all be united in having a go at them!!
In all honesty I think some posters language etc just gets parents backs up. Nobody wants to think teachers think parents are palming kids off don't want the responsibility just want rid of them bla bla and that has been said and implied many times by some posters. Also the language used around kids by some posters hasn't been pleasant sometimes. And people don't forget.

I can see it from both sides. The vast majority of teachers do like kids and do want to teach. The vast majority of parents want their child to get a good education but also need to work to feed those children.

It's the small minority on both sides that makes both sides dislike one another, imo.

We've had three cases now. In an area which has relatively low cases. First case PHE told the school to send the classes home. Despite the fact they spend time in year group bubbles. Second and third it was just the kids sat directly next to the person. In fact with the third PHE said no one had to go as kids symptoms started on the Saturday. The kids all mingle between lessons in the time teachers are moving from one class to another. Rooms are too small to be 2m from kids. It does feel like nothing will be done to keep teachers safe until they start dying. Pretty sure this wouldn't be allowed in any other work place

@MarshaBradyo

We’ve worked really hard on it. At this point it does feel like we are being penalised for being good because some schools are badly run and organised (also not the teacher’s fault there).

There needs to be something done to up port schools that are struggling instead of punishing us all.

I agree, noble, you have had some nasty posts directed at you. You’ve received the Climbdad treatment on a lot of threads. If us for them have a pack of cards with faces on, he will be king and you will be queen of spades.

In fact with the third PHE said no one had to go as kids symptoms started on the Saturday.

And yet in other schools they have isolated anyone who was a close contact 48 hours before symptoms started.

I would love to see what guidance they’re actually working to on this because it looks like they’re making up the rules as they go along and increasingly going ‘fuck it, no one goes home’ as the DfE put pressure on.

I totally agree with the ‘in the middle’ families being a big concern. I have seen this in my school and there are many of them. There is often an issue with these children doing homework regularly in normal times, needing to be chased to get a parents evening appointment etc but they are often not the families where there are welfare concerns or no work is ever done at home. It’s just very patchy and education isn’t necessarily valued in these homes. It’s just something you do because you have to.

We are working hard to plug the gaps with an extended school day due to staggered drop off (parents can drop off any time within a 45 min window of time and the children come straight in to start on an independent learning task before the register.) Still these children are coming in 2 minutes before the register so missing a lot of catch up / quality feedback time with adults in the class. I’m run ragged but only so much we can do in a school day.

Parents and schools must work together to do the best we can for the children. This has been proven to have one of the greatest positive impacts on a child’s progress in education (see James Nottingham’s reports.)

Equally, burying your head in the sand saying schools must stay open is not helping anyone. Schools may be in a situation where they have to shut due to rising rates of transmission and staff illness. If the government reinstate shielding, even if it’s just in tier 3 areas, this will have a massive impact on staffing schools.

I dont see why the government would close schools. When a vaccine becomes available it's for the elderly and vulnerable. Therefore why close schools, I think we all have different opinions. It doesnt help I have a family member who works as an assistant and wants schools to close so they can stay home with their young kids like they did last time on full pay and not work as they arent a teacher

@Nellodee

Comments like the above “most teachers do like kids and so want to teach them” are master pieces in subtle attacks - but they’re really not that subtle and we all know who they are attacking. They do not help.

What are you on about? If I wanted to say that I thought you hated kids I'd say it.

Are you telling me right now that you truly believe that ALL teachers love children and are good at their jobs?

@Christmasfairy2020 maybe you could try reading the post and then you might understand why some of the schools are already shutting?

No, I am telling toy that I believe it was a dig at noble that you thought you could make and get away with.