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.

Infection rates in secondary schools everybody - worrying, aren’t they? Do we think that Boris will announce a circuit break that includes schools, showing that he’s following the science, or excludes schools, showing that he only cares about how he looks?

I said on an other thread, some DC have exam re sits straight after half term. (English and Maths for the ones that didn't get a pass back in August, most likely children from poor or deprived backgrounds.)
I don't think we should throw them under the bus ... or what do the teachers on this thread think? Are these children not worth your time?

I have a friend who is a university lecturer. They have had to record their entire lecture courses using only computer / recording equipment they bought themselves. What's even more annoying is that most of the students are now paying 24k a year to the uni as they are from outside the EU. That's about half of her salary per student and there are ~300 of them

Irrelevant.

Yes, noble - it should be infection rates that are headline news, not teacher bashing nonsense like the. Telegraph yesterday.

Infection rates in secondary schools everybody - worrying, aren’t they? Do we think that Boris will announce a circuit break that includes schools, showing that he’s following the science, or excludes schools, showing that he only cares about how he looks?

Yes, can’t deny they are worrying, alarmingly high. Especially since I live in a studenty area where they are in totally lockdown with 700 cases so far!
However, I don’t agree with closing schools, that isn’t the answer

I don't think we should throw them under the bus ... or what do the teachers on this thread think? Are these children not worth your time?

If it was a 2 week circuit break these exams could be pushed back for 3 weeks maybe? Revision for those exams is relatively straightforward to deliver online and most classes are a manageable size to do this.

That depends on the government acting decisively and giving exam boards whatever they need to facilitate this.

The alternative would be those exams going ahead anyway, regardless of a circuit break - I don’t know what effect this would have on infection rates?

The ASCL has urgently written to the government asking whether the resits should go ahead given the health risk they pose (some colleges have huge cohorts) and asking for more funding to deal with this issue. If no funding is forthcoming, it’s not teachers throwing exam resit kids under the bus.

SAGE asked for a circuit break 3 weeks ago, at which point it could have been tacked onto this side of half term.

www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-colleges-gcse-resits-november-exams-pose-public-health-risk

@Ylvamoon

Infection rates in secondary schools everybody - worrying, aren’t they? Do we think that Boris will announce a circuit break that includes schools, showing that he’s following the science, or excludes schools, showing that he only cares about how he looks?

I said on an other thread, some DC have exam re sits straight after half term. (English and Maths for the ones that didn't get a pass back in August, most likely children from poor or deprived backgrounds.)
I don't think we should throw them under the bus ... or what do the teachers on this thread think? Are these children not worth your time?

I am deeply worried for them. Which is why I think the current policies are wrong - these students are vastly increasing their chances of being off ill at the wrong time with everyone in full time. We should be protecting the exam classes by making other years (apart from the.vulnerable) part time with blended learning.

What is the answer then, to the issue in schools Rainbow?

You do realise we became teachers because we want student to enjoy learning, enjoy our subjects and do well?
Prior to switching career I was a highly paid accountant in big finance. I now earn£12,000pa. I could return to finance as I still have the contacts, but actually I enjoy makiy a difference. But not at the risk to my health and to the vulnerable members of my family. That cost is now too high.

I think it would be a great gesture for teachers to throw a few bottles of hand sanitiser in with their weekly shops for their classrooms and communal spaces

You think, do you? Luckily, I don't give a damn what you think.

God bless @Ecosse and @notevenat20 for their persistence. They have achieved the impossible this morning - making me laugh when I woke up.

Ylva, our students doing exams in November are already being taught on line.
Fully interactive, normal lesson. The only difference being for us is that in the classroom, whilst there are obvious benefits, we also used to get behaviour issues. On line, there is no opportunity for students to play up.
We get more done in that sense and it hasn't been an issue. There is no reason why teachers can't talk via modern tech to their students and do a proper lesson.

We’ve had 6 weeks uninterrupted tg. Two weeks off now so a natural circuit break. Then hopefully in until mocks.

The mock exams are even more important given situation

ResplendentAutumn

That’s interesting. I’d imagine it would work well with that group - essentially resits are about practicing and fixing small issues to gain a few more marks, esp now it’s only students who got a 3.
I guess the barrier is whether students have adequate tech/bandwidth.

"I don't think we should throw them under the bus ... or what do the teachers on this thread think? Are these children not worth your time?"

What on earth do you mean, "worth our time?"

@ResplendentAutumn

Ylva, our students doing exams in November are already being taught on line. Fully interactive, normal lesson. The only difference being for us is that in the classroom, whilst there are obvious benefits, we also used to get behaviour issues. On line, there is no opportunity for students to play up. We get more done in that sense and it hasn't been an issue. There is no reason why teachers can't talk via modern tech to their students and do a proper lesson.

Resplendent I feel more positive about this than others on thread. Many talking about dc playing online etc. It has been good here though (maybe not long term but short)

One of the proudest moments in my teaching career was when my entire GCSE resit group passed. Hate the suggestion we don't care about the kids. We choose to work with them!

[quote Ecosse]@TaxTheRatFarms

From your calculations, your school is spending nearly £180,000 a year on hand sanitiser. Given that there are approximately 30,000 schools in the U.K., the government would need to spend £6 billion a year to stock each school adequately.

When you add in other cleaning products, the government would need to spend £10 billion a year on school cleaning if it went along with your plan.

The money is simply not there so it is incumbent on teachers so do their bit to keep schools open. Teachers are one of the few groups in society who have not only been on full pay throughout but will also be receiving a significant pay rise.[/quote]
I work in a state school. We are not getting a pay rise this year as the school can’t afford it because they are paying for extra photocopying for home learning packs, sanitiser, an extra cleaner, school lunches to have disposable boxes and cutlery, leasing new tech to support children why are self isolating etc etc. All costs borne out of the pandemic without additional government funding.

They are allowed to not give the recommended pay rise as it’s an academy like lots of schools in the authority. We also didn’t get the full pay rise of 3% last time as school couldn’t afford it. The government said rises have to come from existing school budgets which have been decimated due to the pandemic and years of underfunding.

I am part time (however always work at home on most if my days off like many part time teachers) therefore I am on a lower salary than a full time teacher. I am not spending hundreds of pounds on sanitiser for my class since my wages though loss of pay rise are already funding it and probably will for many years to come.

If the government truly has no access to any more money for schools they could either use MP pay rises to pay for it or it should be on the parents to provide sanitiser as is the case in France. I am a parent too.

Whynotme - are public health managing who should isolate at your school?

One of the proudest moments in my teaching career was when my entire GCSE resit group passed. Hate the suggestion we don't care about the kids. We choose to work with them

That’s amazing!

Ecosse couldn't give a two-penny fuck about what teachers say. They trot out out the yada yada shite. Every time: sack the teachers, send out NHS staff across the UK, by compulsion.

MN will not intervene on this troll.

They need

I didn't get involved in the detail, but I know, even with our students, many of whom have very difficult situations, it wasn't an issue.
Internet was an issue for a very few, lap tops etc and we over came them. We are not a private setting, far from it, and it was fine.

I don’t always agree with you noble, but you just reminded me of the amazing maths teacher when I had to resist 20+ years ago!! She was absolutely determined we’d get through so we could continue with our A levels and so on ...

My DDs school was worried enough re number of cases in 6 form over the last month (8 cases in total - 7 in Yr13) so decided to send everyone home for 2 weeks for live google classe online lessons.

It has worked a treat. No more cases in Yr12 (just the original 1) and only 1 more positive in Yr13.

Every live lesson as scheduled on timetable, recorded and posted for later too.

Of course DD has missed her friends, but we are in Tier 3 so need to do something to slow the spread down.

I have been very impressed with DDs school. They have informed us of every positive test. Have tried to do everything possible to keep children SD, masks on when not in lessons or eating.

The SLT and teachers have obvously worked so hard to keep the school going and as safe as possible. But surely they can't do that forever. It must be so exhausting for everyone concerned. Half of the classes at home isolating, the other half in school. All their energy taken up with Covid and then trying to teach and on top of all that.

If it's decided they should have a 2 week circuit breaker every so often then I am more than happy with that. Not only will it hopefully slow down the numbers but will also give the teachers time to recharge their batteries (whilst still having to do a LOT of work online), but without having the hourly battle with trying to keep the children safe and obeying the rules.

30 years ago 😳 clearly still not a strong point.
Ignore ecosee anyway, she’s probably driving nhs staff to Liverpool at the moment.

Marsha I can see from the way we did and do things compared to my own dd provision is that right from the start, they ran a tight ship.
Everyone signed in on time or phone calls made. They were chased and reminded this is happening, there is no time for slacking. The students were very, very good. But over lock down aside from providing a structure and a normality, it was of course an excellent way to keep an eye on them.

It was great for them to see their friends, their peers and interact. Sadly, everything my own dc didn't get.

They were an amazing group. All of them really needed the C to progress so they were very motivated. One of them got an F in Y11 but wanted to do engineering, another had been told by a previous teacher that they'd never pass maths. We all had a big hug and a bit of a cry on results day. Still think of them fondly years later.