Government removes statement schools are not considered "high risk settings" in guidance.

[IloveJKRowling]

Reported in the TES

www.tes.com/news/Covid-dfe-cuts-schools-arent-high-risk-line-guidance

From the article:
"The government has removed a paragraph from its Covid guidance stating that schools are not considered "high risk settings".

The Department for Education (DfE) previously stated in its guidance for schools that Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) advise that schools are not considered high risk work environments, and it is "therefore appropriate for teachers and other school staff to return to their workplace setting".

But following an update to the guidance today, this detail has vanished."

Remember the burgundy book does not apply to academies or free schools. Individual heads and MAT CEOs therefore have the flexibility to manage their workforce in an agile and efficient way...

Given their antics in March when they blocked live online lessons, marking work and any contact at all with DC and parents, they have shot themselves in the foot. The government will never get schools open again if the bow to union demands here.

Where do you get this crap?

Ecosse is right though they did!
Our head is absolutely militant.

I've Slowly realised it over the years.

She hung us out to dry and my dd has sen.

Yes the union letter is weak.

What an utterly ridiculous situation to be in.

Given their antics in March when they blocked live online lessons, marking work and any contact at all with DC and parents

So is it just in my imagination that I was doing all these things from March-July? I don’t recall my union “blocking” me. Perhaps I just dreamed it all.

Remember the burgundy book does not apply to academies or free schools

Yes. I know. I was responding to a government school teacher.

Individual heads and MAT CEOs therefore have the flexibility to manage their workforce in an agile and efficient way

If you mean shit on them from a great height, then yes.

@HipTightOnions

The union guidance was that none of those activities should take place. Quite what they thought teachers should be doing while still on full wages unlike many I’m not sure.

Given their antics in March when they blocked live online lessons, marking work and any contact at all with DC and parents

Oh, Ecosse, how many times do you have to be told:

The. Unions. Can. Only. Advise.

But what you describe has little resemblance to what teachers actually did in lockdown.

Ecosse has been trundling out this particular handcart for some time now.

So is it just in my imagination that I was doing all these things from March-July? I don’t recall my union “blocking” me. Perhaps I just dreamed it all.

There was a guidance letter issued to schools by one union reminding them that they couldn't just require a load of stuff which was outside of contracts and put crazy pressure on staff. This was in response to a couple of barmpot heads who were demanding staff do zoom lessons all day then mark all the work remotely and phone the parents of kids who didn't 'attend' lessons on their home phones.

The unions only did anything about 'blocking' unreasonable requests for a tiny handful of schools. My headteacher has one of the worst relationships with the NEU in the country but regarding Covid, she was on it. As a result the local union backed her and did everything it could to smooth the way, encouraging us to do all the things you say we couldn't because the expectations were realistic and planned for.

The union guidance was that none of those activities should take place. Quite what they thought teachers should be doing while still on full wages unlike many I’m not sure.

I really struggle to see how anyone can take such detailed interest in what happens in schools and yet so wildly misunderstand the situation, especially when people who are in schools and in unions have corrected you so many times.

I'm always reluctant to assign bad faith motives to anyone but I can't see what you get out of all these posts Ecosse. When the practical difficulties of opening schools are pointed out you say you want safety and make pie in the sky suggestions, then circle back to union bashing again.

What's your actual point? Does it have anything to do with the thread?

@Ecosse Do you even have children in schools? What is your stake in it?

I have thought for a while that @Ecosse is just posting wildly ridiculous ideas just to get a response from others. The posts are just so ridiculous and unreasonable that I don't think they can be anyone's actual views...

@HipTightOnions

Given their antics in March when they blocked live online lessons, marking work and any contact at all with DC and parents

So is it just in my imagination that I was doing all these things from March-July? I don’t recall my union “blocking” me. Perhaps I just dreamed it all.

Exactly. This is really looking like desperation now @Ecosse , you really need to go back to the boss for a bit of updated material.

Oh dear, poor Ecosse fell for the government media campaign against the union "blob". You really should engage your critical thinking skills you know - it's not good to be so easily swayed by a corrupt government.
The unions did nothing of the sort about what you are claiming.

Hip, are you the embodiment of every teacher in the UK?
I was asked to follow the curriculum as normal, so I was busy as normal. Unfortunately my dc teachers, probably due the militant head, were actively belligerent.
So whilst for me it was business as usual, I was also turning into dc teachers.

I want us to be safe, and I totally agree school is not safe and what we have seen so far is only a taster of what's to come.
But to teach in line whilst trying to simultaneously support dc as well.. While their teachers...

Is. Too. Much.

Esscose is right on this. I couldn't fathom why, why is our school rowing backwards?. Why won't they give me any feedback once dd? Why won't they be more helpful.

Then it came it out about the unions...and the penny dropped.
Such ashame, now we are all dragged under the bus.

Evidence please.
The unions said no taking or collecting books - online marking was absolutely fine. Excessive marking was not.
They also said live online lessons was not reasonable - I couldn't have done it with my own 3 smalls at home. However setting and monitoring other work online was fine. I posted relevant videos and oak Academy lessons or YouTube lessons that other people have made - ther s lots of excellent resources out there which have the benefit of being able to be accessed at any time.

There's a very good argument for having material available online that isn't live (asynchronous) rather than having live streaming.

That allows more flexibility as to how you work, for both families and teachers.

It worked very well in my limited experience with 2 state schools, also.

The unions have a very good point about safety and the government should be working with them to make schools safer, which would keep education going along better, in the short, medium and long term.

Me and my 3 children share my phone and my ancient personal laptop for accessing school work. If I was expected to teach live, and they were taught live - how would that work?
I also only earn about £12,000 per annum, so I'm not about to be buying 3 extra laptops. And I'm a teacher

@WhyNotMe40

The government would need to invest money in education so that your family have what you need to access online learning. They paid out billions for the furlough programme and over half a billion pounds for EOTHO. They surely should be expected to put some investment into making education effective and safe for our children, no?

Absolutely. But as they haven't so far, live lessons online was unreasonable during lockdown.

Absolutely. But as they haven't so far, live lessons online was unreasonable during lockdown

I know teachers who provided on line lessons for their classes. They said typically only 2-5 kids out of 30 actually joined them.

Various issues, some didn’t want to, others didn’t have the tech or had to share with a parent of sibling. I’m not sure why live on line is seen as the gold standard.

It shouldn't be. There are lots of downsides to live online lessons.
Live online tutor group sessions for welfare checks, yes. Lessons, no.

There's been about 15 DC and 4 teachers test positive at my DCs school, a few parents had it too. The thing is, they all had it incredibly mildly - slight cold at worst. For the majority the disruption in education is completely disproportionate to the virus. For the majority, schools are perfectly safe. That's why it's not on the news and probably why Union's aren't kicking up a fuss.

@Spiralsand

There's been about 15 DC and 4 teachers test positive at my DCs school, a few parents had it too. The thing is, they all had it incredibly mildly - slight cold at worst. For the majority the disruption in education is completely disproportionate to the virus. For the majority, schools are perfectly safe. That's why it's not on the news and probably why Union's aren't kicking up a fuss.

So it’s obviously spreading at school then despite the government saying they are ‘Covid secure’. And probably many many more infected asymptomatically. Lucky for the people who had it mildly but who knows how many people they have all spread it to outside of their families who won’t be so lucky. What a selfish attitude.

And yet when it was universities that were infected and disrupted, it was headline news, despite them also, for the most part, getting it mildly.

And when it’s the country getting it and the entire economy being disrupted, again it’s the news despite most getting it mildly.

One wonders why the response is ‘disproportionate’ across the whole bloody world if it’s really no worse than a cold.

The ‘it’s just a cold’ brigade need to explain those awful scenes in Italian hospitals, why China was sealing people into their houses to quarantine, why Thailand has kids going to school in plastic boxes, why New Zealand closed their borders, why pretty much every other country is dealing with this ruthlessly.

The ‘it’s just a cold’ brigade should really wonder if there’s something they’re missing.