Another school one but please read!!

[lealealealea]

I have 2 DCs. Eldest in secondary, Youngest in primary.

Eldest has teachers from 4 of her subjects off isolating. In one of the subjects, the original teacher went off isolating and then the substitute went off isolating and they now have another substitute. The first to test positive was a pupil though.

In one department there is only one teacher left for that subject in the whole large secondary!

She's being supervised to study a lot by teachers who don't even teach that subject.

Three times (!) just in the past week I've had separate letters saying test and trace has been in the school.

My younger child in primary - he has had three different teachers covering this week for teacher isolating, and no homework been sent. Had two letters since schools went back from test and trace.

I've read in the news today about teachers being put under pressure to switch off the app or still come in even if they are a contact of a positive case.

Please be clear that I am not blaming teachers or schools in any way. I feel for them doing what must be an incredibly difficult job. I'm just putting it out there that it seems to be an untenable situation where education is suffering anyway.

Our school isn’t sending staff home when pupils or other staff test positive. As the protective measures mean that no one should be within 2m unless they are wearing a mask. So only students sat next to each other or who have physically touched. So unless you are willing to go to SLT and say yes I broke the rules we all stay in. The reality is that of course we come into contact multiple times a day with students and staff even with the very best of intentions.

So many staff being made to feel guilty or that they can’t say they have been close to a positive case because they have been given this impossible task of maintaining a two metre distance at all times. It’s disgraceful.

Teachers are isolating because of being in contact with a pupil who has tested positive. It’s impossible for them to stay 2 metres away from a class-full of students, there simply isn’t the space.

I work in a school in Manchester and apart from the six week holidays I've not had a proper rest since February (had normal flu over half term and was in for keyworker children during 1st lockdown).

Of course, being in Manchester means I've effectively been in lockkdown for the last 4 months. I live in a flat by myself and haven't seen any friends or family. It's just work and food shopping and that's it.

I'm absolutely physically and mentally exhausted and about ready to drop. My colleagues in work are the same. We're closing bubbles left right and centre and are incredibly understaffed whilst doing more work than ever before to catch the children up or to keep them safe through extra cleaning.

I don't know how we're going to keep going until Christmas.

I am in a Level 3 area in Scotland. We have had no cases and only staff off until test results come in, then back straight away. So no positive cases. Our first staff members (2) are now off for 2 weeks due to contact with positive cases by others in their households. No virus amongst pupils at all so far.

Not sure why. We are masked in all communal spaces and, now, in front of all S4-6 (last 3 years of secondary) as are pupils. We have all the protocols in place and are pretty rigorous.

But, I think we might just have been lucky. Watch this space.

I had to isolate for one day whilst waiting for a test. I sent in a lesson, with PowerPoint, video of myself, worksheets, mini test etc.

The cover teacher ignored my lesson and got them to draw a poster.

A teacher in my department tested positive. She probably caught it from an symptomatic student as all she has done is go to work and then go home. Her husband and kids are negative but she has passed it to her FIL who lives with them and feel awful.

Because of her test, two others have been sent home as they sat 'near' her in our office. We are spending at least two hours each day trying to sort out cover. We are all exhausted and frazzled. The kids are anxious. What a nightmare.

We've been relatively lucky in our primary school so far. No known cases yet and all classes are still attending.

That's down to sheer luck though as we've had several 'near-misses' along the way. One parent dropped their children off at school before heading off to the local test centre. Fortunately one of the children mentioned it in passing to their teacher and the siblings were sent home. Another parent tried to bring a clearly unwell child to school. Thankfully the child looked so obviously ill that they didn't get as far as the classroom door.

PPA cover is being done by the same few members of staff. They're each assigned to set classes to reduce the number of bubbles they need to enter, but if any one of them becomes ill there will be at least 3 bubbles that will potentially close.

Parents are complying with the request to wear face coverings on school grounds - then stand just outside the gates afterwards with their masks around their chins, talking to their friends. Their children (from multiple bubbles) are running around playing together while they wait for their parents to finish chatting.

No doubt the same parents will be the ones complaining when their children have to self-isolate.

I wonder what the plan for schools will be once Phase 1 vaccination is complete (assuming effective, safe etc). By that point all the more vulnerable adults will in theory be vaccinated - the over 50s and clinically extremely vulnerable. At that point, do you think they'll stop the whole test/isolate/send home bubbles thing on the basis that the risk is low? If they're not going to vaccinate children then presumably they're going to have to do this eventually - it's simply not sustainable to keep doing this forever.

@SleeptightDaisy

I'm a supply teacher I've been offered 3 days work this week so far in two different schools in different areas of the county. The schools where I live have - 1 high school 2 full years groups off as not enough staff in too operate safely, another high school has multiple children and their immediate contacts off and have been emailed about completing their mocks at home, middle school has 1 full class at home, first school has multiple children and immediate contacts off. Our area went into tier 2 the weekend before lockdown. Quite simply the government have let schools and children down just so they could say "look schools are open"

Spot on.

I hate to say we told you so, but....

@noblegiraffe

Yes, please do email your MP outlining the situation in your school and ask them what they propose to do about it.

Ask them why they are not following WHO recommendations for safer school opening.

Ask them why they have switched from having pupils in bubbles to only sending home close contacts.

Ask them why no funding is being given to school for covid measures.

Ask why head teachers are now essentially doing the job of test and trace in schools without any training or extra resources.

Ask why they ignored SAGE’s calls to shut secondary schools during this lockdown.

This. The response from this government on education has been shambolic.

It was utterly predictable that we needed chance to do proper teacher assessment for Y11 last year, but they ignored it.

The unions have been desperate to get proper plans in place since the first lock down but all they do is scream doom mongers.

We were never going to manage all schools fully open all year. Primaries would have coped if they'd had the resources. Secondaries could have prioritised Y10 and 11 and put in a hybrid model for the others so they were in school part time and the was room to distance. The money needed is a drop in the ocean.

As it is schools will be shutting on and off all winter, the kids get screwed again and the teachers get blamed.

I don't know, I'm torn on this one. Yes, there's been a huge amount of disruption, and yes that of course has led to inequality of provision. But - there are still a hell of a lot of children attending a hell of a lot of schools a large amount of the time, and the benefits to those children, both educationally and emotionally, is immense. And that can be true of staff too - DH is a teacher and he is so grateful to be back in the classroom, in spite of the risks and the stresses and everything. For him, the stress of trying to do his job while the schools were closed was far, far worse than the stress of being back in school now.

@audienda

I don't know, I'm torn on this one. Yes, there's been a huge amount of disruption, and yes that of course has led to inequality of provision. But - there are still a hell of a lot of children attending a hell of a lot of schools a large amount of the time, and the benefits to those children, both educationally and emotionally, is immense. And that can be true of staff too - DH is a teacher and he is so grateful to be back in the classroom, in spite of the risks and the stresses and everything. For him, the stress of trying to do his job while the schools were closed was far, far worse than the stress of being back in school now.

I agree completely but the choice isn't shut schools or not.

The choice is:

1. Listen to the profession and take decisions early which will keep schools as open as possible- allow resource sharing and use of other buildings.

1. Ignore the issue, leave planning down to individual schools and when most are forced to shut, blame the unions.

Add to this disruption that is hidden from parents. Legally schools have to provide quality remote education to any pupil isolating. I have a teacher at my school who has this week had to provide this to ONE child from her class who is isolating. While she sorts this out for ONE child the rest of her class is being covered by a teaching assistant. 29 children being covered by a TA while the class teacher sorts out remote learning and daily contact (phone call and marked online work) for ONE child.

@DBML

I had to isolate for one day whilst waiting for a test. I sent in a lesson, with PowerPoint, video of myself, worksheets, mini test etc.

The cover teacher ignored my lesson and got them to draw a poster.

I do so feel for you. I sent so much detailed cover work for the 2 weeks I was off (with COVID but not too unwell all the time). I’m very glad a lot of it seems to have been done but it is so disheartening to hear of cover teachers arriving late and not finding the work to give out.

Teachers said this many, many times and were accused of being lazy or scared or crap at their jobs, told to resign and so on.

Yep.

There is going to be a huge shortage of teachers in 2021. It's one thing to be under this incredible strain, but another to also be contantly attacked by people who have no concept of what it's like to be in the classroom right now. It''s entirely demoralising. Thank God I'm retired from teaching now.

Anyone who doesn't financially need to do it or who has other options will be planning their exit.

We're on our knees. Setting work for those at home on top of the covering, monitoring, cleaning, dealing with mental health crisis will be the nail in the coffin for many teaching careers.

Not helped by the fact we don't see each other in staff rooms - everyone I've spoken to in passing this week thinks they're the only ones struggling, that they're doing a shit job etc.

We're still getting constant fucking walk throughs and observations. Last one said to 'focus on the big picture more in the plenary'

The response I wanted to send was:

What fucking plenary? That's now cleaning time before I leg it across campus in my 'break' and climb 4 flights of stairs (1 person per lift) with all my belongings as I've got no staffroom base.

Big picture? The big fucking picture is that we're dying on our feet. I had to put a member of SLT out of my classroom yesterday. He fancied doing a walk through but him being in the room pushed my room capacity over its limit. I was too pissed off to be nice about it.

My ds secondary no cases yet bit local schools are starting to have ofd case pop up so know its a matter of time. Round here though still sending whole year bubbles off which I think is better.
We are sw so lower cases but creeping up
Irresponsible for those sending children in knowing they have symptoms , im dreading my sons usual winter cough as know we will have to self isolate whilst we await a test .
But my ds year 11 and I will be grateful for whatever face to face he gets as he doesn't do well home learning
How can people say home learning then exams will be cancelled and cag testing , they have to be in school to teat surely as if all on work done at home could of been done by anyone

... and can I just mention that Ofsteds are still happening!? Remote yes, but all the same, it's ridiculous!

Yep two of our 3 dds now self isolating. Dh is ecv too.
Dd3 especially does not work well at home. Possibly ASD and is already behind her peers especially as one of her year 2 classes are unaffected.
Teachers were right all along but they weren't listened to.

How can people say home learning then exams will be cancelled and cag testing , they have to be in school to teat surely as if all on work done at home could of been done by anyone

Planned for home learning would be far better than this ad hoc arrangement. It would stop the spread and allow students to know they had some kind of structure.

Last term we had one point where years 3, 4, 5 and 6 were isolating and we had 5 members of staff test positive. One of those members of staff is still poorly and we now have year 6 off again! Added to that we have the constant pressure of trying to get kids to ‘catch up’, trying to support our vulnerable families (who are really struggling) and coping with ridiculous amounts of paperwork in case we have Ofsted. I’ve never seen staff so stressed or overwhelmed.

@Letsgetgoing888

So if teachers are isolating (not shielding), it must be because they’ve come into close contact with someone positive?

If they’re supposed to turn the app off in school (like us in the nhs- but ours is because of ppe- but teachers don’t wear so I never really get that??) then where the heck are they coming into contact with anyone positive?

I mean, we’re literally working, doing a supermarket shop and going home. There’s nowhere to go to come into contact with anyone for long enough apart from work?

In my school, it's mostly been their children who go to different schools. Also, we have only been in lockdown for a week, so the situation might improve in a week's time.

In some cases it will be a colleague who tests positive, which is why in some cases whole departments are off, meaning no specialist teaching available.

Regular mass testing for teachers might help, as it would enable us to get back into school more quickly instead of having to wait two weeks every time we are considered a close contact.

It is massively unfair, though, and the situation varies hugely between schools and even between students in the same school.

@timeforanewstart

My ds secondary no cases yet bit local schools are starting to have ofd case pop up so know its a matter of time. Round here though still sending whole year bubbles off which I think is better. We are sw so lower cases but creeping up Irresponsible for those sending children in knowing they have symptoms , im dreading my sons usual winter cough as know we will have to self isolate whilst we await a test . But my ds year 11 and I will be grateful for whatever face to face he gets as he doesn't do well home learning How can people say home learning then exams will be cancelled and cag testing , they have to be in school to teat surely as if all on work done at home could of been done by anyone

Some slight comfort - because kids can't come into school coughing, the usual winter coughs don't seem to be spreading like they normally do in school, so less students than you might expect are having to have time off for this. I genuinely haven't heard a child cough since half term, and I've only had 3 (across all my classes) off because they are specifically waiting for a test for this reason.

I am a secondary teacher. We are closed to KS3 currently as we have so many staff who have tested positive or are isolating.

Yr 10 through to Yr 13 have had between 3 and 5 periods of isolation due to positive cases.

Teacher snap pupils alike are just taking each day as it comes. It really is a stressful situation.