Ways to make schools safer without closing them

[noblegiraffe]

Because I am so bored of the misrepresentation and lies going on on this site by people who shout down anyone who raises concerns about the current situation in schools as 'wanting schools to close indefinitely'. The people lacking in imagination who seem to insist that either things carry on as they are (with hundreds of thousands of kids not in school due to the spread in infection), or that schools close and there's nothing in between that can possibly be done to make things safer.

So here's my list, mostly copied from another thread:

We could start with an effective test and trace system, which we were told was essential for the safe re-opening of schools, but we opened without.

We could move onto making sure that all classrooms have windows. And then that those windows open. A national WEAR A VEST campaign to stop parents and kid complaining that it's cold. Germany have just invested a large amount of money in improving ventilation in schools, the UK should follow them.

Masks. Why do the government keep insisting they're not needed in corridors (from the comfort of a socially distanced parliament) and that it's impossible to use them in classrooms when the rest of the world seem to manage? What lessons can we learn from the international experience?

Marquees/covers on the playgrounds so that kids aren't inside for wet break. I know that wet break caused a whole year group to be sent home in a local school as it was uncontrolled indoor close contact.

For it to be mandatory (not simply 'where possible') that classrooms are arranged so that teachers are 2m from the kids when teaching. If smaller class sizes are needed to facilitate this, then solutions must be found even if the government needs to pay money for bigger spaces.

Parents to be supported/sanctioned to avoid kids being sent into school with symptoms or when they're supposed to be isolating.

The government to update its list of symptoms for children requiring a test to include the main ones that children experience, instead of the adult symptoms which they mainly don't.

Regular testing in schools, particularly when there are outbreaks, to enable more effective isolation.

Vulnerable kids to be allowed the option of staying at home. Schooling could be provided by Oak Academy (why spend millions on it and not use it?) and the army of 'catch-up tutors' to provide feedback on work (or ECV teachers also permitted to stay at home)

Any other suggestions?

Fucking freezing in school at the moment. We were told to keep the temp at 18 degrees through the winter - opening and closing windows accordingly. But now we have no heating on, and have to keep the windows open - it was 12 degrees in my classroom today, colder in the corridors and in some office rooms.

Because it all costs money and our government chose to spend 22 billion on a outsourced defunct test and trace system instead. Oh yeah and the millions wasted on dodgy PPE. This government has no interest in schools other than trying not to fund them. They know that the solutions could be made and it has all been discussed in sage but they chose not to invest in them. They don't care about children or teachers.

Teacher here.
My school insists on masks for all except exempt in communal areas, 2m 'box', windows open (allowed to wear coats if cold), bi-weekly lateral flow testing available for staff and students, all students facing forward, sanitisation on entry and exit of classrooms, wiping down tables before/end of each lesson, all non-essential contact done via teams, communal areas organised in bubbles to prevent staff cross-over, designated work rooms timetabled to avoid overcrowded staff/work rooms, dedicated tea-person to avoid shared facilities, compulsory mask wearing for all staff in communal areas and where 2m+ is not possible, dedicated one way systems for movement around the site, staggered start and end times and huge adaptation to pedagogy, teaching and learning to prevent shared resources/collaborative learning etc. We (staff) even take our lunch outside even in this weather! All of us - students, teachers and parents have dedicated ourselves to these changes to make our environment as safe and covid-secure as possible while allowing our children to access a good education and experience all of the other things needed for their healthy development (e.g. socialisation).... on the 'ground' we are doing all we can to allow as safe and as normal an experience as possible... the problem is that education is not valued as it ought to be and therefore the funding for further safety measures will never transpire, especially when our 'young' are deemed 'low risk. Any (and there are many of us - staff and children- who are unvaccinated and living with clinically vulnerable people) who are deemed lower risk, but who do become ill, are collateral damage. The numbers are small enough to be negligible - statistically speaking- in the bigger picture....and I agree with this. If the vast majority of our young people can lead a 'normal' life in school and that puts a few of us at risk then I say that is a risk worth taking. I was petrified of returning to school with two extremely vulnerable people in my household but it was 100% the right thing. Maybe I wouldn't say that if I had lost someone... but the well-being of my students has increased exponentially since they've come back to school. So many if my students NEED school for so much more than learning. Schools closing cannot happen again. There COULD be more done to allow for a covid- safe environment. I think the most effective would be an encouragement of social responsibility. Your decision and choice does not just affect you. AND a shift to recognising that without our education system our entire way of life - all of our freedoms and liberties and choice - is simply fucked. Do everything else required to reduce spread of infection but sacrificing our children's well-being again by closing school is not acceptable and everything should be done to prevent this happening.