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.

Schools are not essential - probably lower in the hierarchy of needs than food, healthcare, shelter, warmth, but education can be very useful (especially long term). I think a lot of teachers were saying during summer that govt should have made a plan B for online/blended learning in case.

If the govt changed the structure of education - eg central online teaching videos and small group online sessions, online exercises, moderated searchable forums, more education could happen even if pandemic does get worse. Won’t solve every problem - eg vulnerable kids, unable to access technology, but would allow some passing on of knowledge even if society has to take stronger measures to prevent a situation like Wuhan. If you wait to take action, the problem is going to be harder to deal with

Leaving aside all the other reasons for and against, do we really have people suggesting that schools should remain open and driving infection rates sky-high, just because some parents can't control what their kids do if they close?

Leaving aside all the other reasons for and against, do we really have people suggesting that schools should remain open and driving infection rates sky-high, just because some parents can't control what their kids do if they close?

No I don't think those are the main arguments.

Schools are not essential - probably lower in the hierarchy of needs than food, healthcare, shelter, warmth, but education can be very useful (especially long term).

School is essential to be able to access and afford
Food/warmt/shelter etc

Same, but it's not lockdown now and they're out and they're mixing. If their schools shut I presume they will continue to do so

No, I reckon if there is a circuit breaker and schools are closed, it will be considered a lockdown and people will be told to stay inside like before. It’s also much colder now and I think teens will for the most part stay inside for an extra week.

@Emmie12345

If they shut schools they will never get teachers back in

You what? I take it you missed the memo that the vast majority of schools never actually closed, and opened more widely from May half term and wider still from 22nd June (to all primary year groups in my case). And that teachers continued providing work to their pupils (against appalling technical difficulties due to inadequate funding from years back). And then we opened completely fully in September, whilst still providing remote learning to those pupils still at home for whatever reason.

But hey, don't let facts get in the way of your goading.

What are schools doing about online provision? Are teachers now obliged to provide teaching in this way?

At DD’s school some teachers were marvellous, others were belligerent refuseniks and in particular one subject teacher refused to do anything at all.

I would hope that now there’s been time to take stock and prepare provision will be good and “can’t” won’t be an option.

just because parents cant control what their kids do if they close?

This type of statement really makes my piss fizz!

1. No a parent cant fully control what their child does if the child is home alone and the parent is at work. Of course they can set expectations but without physically being with them they cant control everything they do.
2. Just because teenagers have the bodies of adults they don't have the maturity and life experience of an adult (although they will argue against that)
3. It takes a lot of self discipline for anyone to engage fully online with solitary learning, many adults struggled with wfh yet we expect our children to be perfect at it
4. Teenagers by nature are rebellious and would probably push their luck given half the chance I doubt many of us could look back on our teenage years and could wholeheartedly say they weren't rebellious at some point.

To insinuate that any child that didn't engage 100% is a product of bad parenting is total bullshit. I bet everyone of us on here did something in our teenage years that our parents knew nothing about, so in short no parents cant control everything their child does because life isn't that straightforward

@IrmaFayLear

What are schools doing about online provision? Are teachers now obliged to provide teaching in this way?

At DD’s school some teachers were marvellous, others were belligerent refuseniks and in particular one subject teacher refused to do anything at all.

I would hope that now there’s been time to take stock and prepare provision will be good and “can’t” won’t be an option.

This is my post from the end of July:

This is my post from the end of July:

This is what annoys me. If it was acknowledged that we might face disruptions, we could have spent the summer realistically preparing for them. I have about 2 weeks of work to do over the next month, producing resources to support a full return. I'll be pretty pissed off if having spent a good proportion of my holidays doing that, I am then placed in the position of supplying substandard distance learning at ten seconds notice for a second time around. We had ample time to prepare for a really high quality blended learning regime this winter, and in my opinion, we wasted it.

Do NOT come complaining to me if your child's learning is substandard this Autumn. (I don't know who I'm aiming that at really, it's just a scatter gun rant!)

What are schools doing about online provision? Are teachers now obliged to provide teaching in this way?

Yes, legally obliged, but it should be noted that this does not mean live lessons are mandated.

This will only work if parents ensure their dc stay at home for the entirety of the lockdown bar socially distanced exercise. However this isn't happening when kids bubbles are sent home currently - I only realised year 8 must have been sent home when I saw 6 boys including the twins from down the street racing about on bikes during school hours (I don't begrudge them but the twins got into trouble with their dm because they were told they stay at home and a neighbours shopped them! There dm is a widow and a ft nurse)

To be frank if the unions succeed in closing schools, I’d put teachers on 66% pay like the hospitality workers.

That might focus some minds.

hahaha, I love your posts, Ecosse. Nice one.

I’d put teachers on 66% pay like the hospitality workers.

That’s fine if you expect furloughed teachers not to provide remote education.

I don’t think parents would be happy though.

This will only work if parents ensure their dc stay at home for the entirety of the lockdown bar socially distanced exercise.

That is clearly impossible if the parents have to go to work. Even in a lockdown plenty of parents still need to go to work.

@echt

Teachers might catch it but as a sector they have good sick pay and generous back to work policies

Teachers are people, not sectors.

So probably easier on them being ill than someone in the private sector

And you base this on what evidence?

The teaching sector. Consulting of teachers. Who are currently working in schools that haven’t closed for anything other than half term.

Teachers have strong unions, good policies to ensure sick pay and returning to work. There is at least a week off every 7 weeks with the job. Many of the parents of the kids being taught won’t have these benefits. Any of them in retail, hospitality, farming, construction any of them self employed or with a small business.

That’s fine if you expect furloughed teachers not to provide remote education.

For primary teachers, how realistic is live teaching all day online?

Remote education is not necessarily continuous live teaching.

@Ecosse

To be frank if the unions succeed in closing schools, I’d put teachers on 66% pay like the hospitality workers.

That might focus some minds.

I don't think this poster understands how schools operated during the last lockdown; it's like the person who saw the bin man coming every Monday and reasoned that they only work one day a week. 🤦‍♀️

@Ecosse

To be frank if the unions succeed in closing schools, I’d put teachers on 66% pay like the hospitality workers.

That might focus some minds.

Happy days!

I’ll take that, as furloughed workers aren’t working. No more nightmares of trying to get my own children in to school, juggle key worker provision, online provision and everything else. 66 percent furlough would be an absolute dream in comparison.

That said, I love my job and I care too much for the children. This would be a disastrous idea because then children would be getting no education or support at all.

Nice try though.

@Ecosse actually I'd personally (and my DH too) be fine with that (largely in part to saving for years to escape from teaching).

Some schools were great but as evidenced by lots and lots of threads some schools did nothing at all remote learning wise.

So for some, furloughed teachers would be exactly the same service they recieved last time.

@notevenat20

That’s fine if you expect furloughed teachers not to provide remote education.

For primary teachers, how realistic is live teaching all day online?

I think our school got it right during lockdown, as we provided materials and videos that could be accessed at the parents convenience, and did a survey to find out how much time a day was manageable for most. Fast forward to now, and the vast majority of our children are on track for age.

@notevenat20

That’s fine if you expect furloughed teachers not to provide remote education.

For primary teachers, how realistic is live teaching all day online?

It’s not in the slightest. I wouldn’t want this for my primary child either.

Remote education isn’t the same as live lessons. It can include live lessons but not necessarily.

@notevenat20

That’s fine if you expect furloughed teachers not to provide remote education.

For primary teachers, how realistic is live teaching all day online?

My DS y6 teacher is currently doing it and doing it well the children were all very engaged. Not sure how my 5yo would engage in online lessons though