Do any teachers out there think schools should stay open?

[YouAreMySunshine123]

Just wondering if you ALL think they should be closed again?

Honestly just interested to hear the opinions of actual teachers.

They could stay open but we do need more safety measures and practical solutions.

-We should have air purifiers in every classroom to help reduce transmission of covid.
-We need the heating cranked up so we can keep our windows open and have the rooms at least at the minimum temperature of 16 degrees.

• We should have blended (in part time) for senior pupils to enable distancing for them (will also cut down/ remove the need for self isolation due to school contacts).
• priority testing and results for teachers and school pupils (I think NHS workers and caters should have this too btw).
• screens at the front that we can stand behind and microphones to make us more easily heard.

These could all be tried before blanket closure approaches.

@Cornettoninja yes exactly it was the union announcement that made me wonder.

Yes, I very much want schools to stay open. I have some colleagues who are understandably anxious for their own and their families' health but the ones who think we should close really are a tiny (very vocal) minority.

@walksen I don't think hi k anyone who works in a school thinks they should be closed.

Why di you think are unions calling for closures then?

Personally and professionally, I want schools open. But I’m not at all clinically vulnerable and neither are my children or anyone we’d regularly come into contact with. And, as a school leader who has personally put days and days of work into making a school as safe as possible, I don’t think schools as they are right now, with community transmission rates the way they are, are safe for those people.

The ideal would be that track and trace actually worked, so we could continue as normal. Given the unlikelihood of that, I’d say ECV staff and students should be able to stay home. But the logistics of this are beyond the current simpletons in the DFE: a decision on whether to furlough the staff, for example, or setting up a much easier methods of finding supply teachers; potentially having rotas at secondary schools, even if just for this four week period; the swift provision of laptops and broadband for the many, many students without it (it’s not just kids on FSM who don’t have exclusive access to a device from 8.30 to 3.30; many middle class families with several school age children have enough for them to use for homework in normal times by sharing, but not one each!)

Everyone really wants the schools to be open, education is absolutely vital, BUT, if the evidence says the govt has got it wrong and it is a cause of viral spreading, then they should close.

It really is that simple.

In 4 weeks we will be here scratching our heads, wondering why the virus levels haven't dropped.

But they have dropped very significantly in ROI, with schools still open.

covid19ireland-geohive.hub.arcgis.com/

I’m a primary TA and no I don’t want schools to be closed.

I’ve worked in secondaries and that’s a different matter entirely and I wouldn’t feel safe at all.

[quote YouAreMySunshine123]**@walksen I don't think hi k anyone who works in a school thinks they should be closed.

Why di you think are unions calling for closures then? [/quote]
Only the NEU are. The NASUWT, ASCL and NAHT just want greater thought given to safety, a clear contingency plan for exams, and a clear plan for what secondary schools will need to do if it comes to rotas. This is because the government itself did say that secondary schools would move to rotas if transmission rates rose again (and this is still on their website).

Thanks @Misssugarplum12764 I was reacting to reports of calls for school closures. That is interesting to know.

[quote TheKeatingFive]In 4 weeks we will be here scratching our heads, wondering why the virus levels haven't dropped.

But they have dropped very significantly in ROI, with schools still open.

covid19ireland-geohive.hub.arcgis.com/[/quote]
All secondary schools in Ireland have mandatory masks all day!

I'm a primary teacher and I think we have to stay open as it's so hard for primary aged children to engage with remote learning unless there is a parent who is able to support them. I think vulnerable staff and children should not be expected to go in and we should immediately do away with any idea of SATS as it's clearly going to continue to be a very disruptive year. I also think the Christmas holiday could be extended with some sort of childcare option at school during the additional weeks for those whose parents are unable to work from home.

DH is a secondary teacher and it is relatively easy for him to teach online if it's an entire cohort. It is virtually impossible to teach most of the class in the classroom and a few isolated students at home. Devices and WiFi need to be available to all and the government procurement process has been an absolute shambles. They clearly assumed that despite cutting funding to the bone we all have ample laptops lying around that we can just send home with students. It's lunacy that it's got to this point in the pandemic and schools have not been provided with the means to enable all students to access remote learning.

Exams also need a rethink. There cannot be a nationwide exam system when there is such a disparity regionally over disrupted education. Even within the same school, the policy of only isolating close contacts means one child might be unfortunate enough to be isolated 5 times while another student in the same cohort isn't isolated at all. It's completely unfair to subject all to the same exam system.

I'm not a teacher but have seen many PP's say that they would like it to be made safer to work in schools. I have read somewhere that other countries are installing air conditioning systems in schools that reduce the amount of virus in the air. I wonder if this is something that teaching unions could push for. Obviously only if it's proven to work but think something has to give as it's more than obvious that schools re-opening have contributed to soaring infection rates since September.

Also huge thank you to schools and staff. After 6 months away from school the kids really needed to get back and mine have enjoyed seeing their friends and taking in part in some level of normality.

There are a lot of teachers here who only want schools to be open if a lot of things change which won't realistically change. That is pretty much the same as wanting schools to close.

@notevenat20

There are a lot of teachers here who only want schools to be open if a lot of things change which won't realistically change. That is pretty much the same as wanting schools to close.

And that attitude is why we are in this shit! If every shop in the country was able to install screens and limit numbers then what is stopping the same happening in schools. The government could do this if it wanted to. Masks to be worn in secondary could be put in place from Thursday if the government really wanted to.

I'm a TA. I want schools to stay open.
I'm a parent. I want schools to stay open.

There are two issues with schools at the moment . First is Covid safety measures need to be better especially for secondary. Also the government needs to come up with a fair plan as at the moment my y11 child has been lucky but there are pupils in his year that have self isolated twice already some missed there mocks last week. That's 4 weeks of term missed when some like my son luckily so far have had all their schooling. This has put a tremendous pressure on some of his friends regarding their exams. It's just not a level playing field at the moment.

I am a teacher and my colleagues want schools to remain open. The NEU is full of militants as was the NUT before them. Many of us use different teaching unions that we feel represent a more moderate viewpoint.

Oh and I work in school. I have 4 children of my own and I definitely don't want schools closed.

All secondary schools in Ireland have mandatory masks all day!

I’m not sure how well that’s being enforced, but even so, it’s an easy fix. Why aren’t the NEU campaigning for this rather than 4 week closures?

@notevenat20

There are a lot of teachers here who only want schools to be open if a lot of things change which won't realistically change. That is pretty much the same as wanting schools to close.

Those pesky teachers advocating for the same safeguards as most other workers (with the added bonus of your children being in a safer environment too) - how dare they!

I want th to stay open. I want my students to learn, sit exams, move on. I want to teach. I don't want to teach from home with my 3 small children home with me. It's much better for me if schools stay open.

@Pegase

I am a teacher and my colleagues want schools to remain open. The NEU is full of militants as was the NUT before them. Many of us use different teaching unions that we feel represent a more moderate viewpoint.

When the NEU advised teachers not to attend meetings regarding full reopening, even the NEU reps in our school said that they were happy with the measures we were putting in place and grateful that they were being included in the planning. I agree the NEU don't represent the views of most "ordinary" teachers.

I'd have liked a 2 week break over half term, the option for parents to temporarily keep their children home, masks in classrooms for students (KS3&4), additional funding to support vulnerable children and funding to update technology in case remote learning is necessary. I want schools to stay open safely.