'Unsustainable, overwhelming' Covid burden on schools

[LastGoldenDaysOfSummer]

Ofsted finds school staff 'exhausted' from ‘firefighting’ amid Covid crisis – and that 'last-minute' DfE decisions aren't helping

www.tes.com/news/unsustainable-overwhelming-covid-burden-schools?fbclid=IwAR0hhEWbw0JML_n__3WxhgzxkTNjQs6Pnc_0GEC1rVf5Y5ddWvT-5d1sR-c

Yes, another schools one. But evidence of what teachers are going through in the face of a total lack of support from some parents, the LEAs and the government.

Alexa - I know teachers generally work hard but during lockdown they were not providing lesson content, not interacting with the kids and not marking their homework. That is the core of their daily job and at my kids school they were not doing it - so what were they doing?

I don't know what the teachers were doing at your particular school, I can only speak for the schools that I know, where the teachers were actually very busy.

Did your children really get no work set during lockdown? Was the school closed for key worker/vulnerable children? No safeguarding checks?

@AlexaShutUp i was going to write pretty much the same about my DCs teachers during last lockdown. I think @gottakeeponmovin that your experience is not typical, certainly not universal. And it doesn't anyway take away from the fact that teachers are currently being asked to work in unsafe and stressful conditions.

@lastdaysofsummer
Ok you are very special - far more special than nurses, shop workers, bus drivers, postal workers, insurance agents etc etc and because of that, the kids you have identified that won't receive an education due to not having access to the internet should have their futures ruined. Is that better ?

@HappyChristmasTreeRex

Our local school has 10 members of staff off, all supply has been banned so we have some teachers with 60 children and no support staff. It's stressful for staff, but more importantly it just isn't possible to give children the level of support and help to learn that they need. I think everyone is just doing the best they can at the moment.

Why are they off? Presumably not Covid related

I've been teaching nearly 20 years and it's like nothing I've ever known. I am primary and we have had to completely change the way we teach - no carpet time, no group activities, no flexible seating, forward facing desks so impossible to work with a group and target support each lesson.

My class have already been out on isolation once. We have recently had another class isolated and yet another class closed because of lack of staff due to self-isolation. My class were also without a teacher for a few days when I had to take emergency dependents' leave when my own DC's class were isolated. We have two members of staff who had Covid badly and have been off for weeks, plus we've had to let a few ECV staff work from home so staffing is on a knife edge. These staff usually deliver important catch-up interventions.

Despite all this, the pupils are expected to make accelerated progress and Y2 and 6 have to take the SATs as usual. SATs are a pointless waste if time at the best of times, let alone in a year like this.

It must be even worse in secondary. I feel so sorry for the kids that have been isolated multiple times but will be expected to sit the same exams as someone from another part of the country who has not missed any school.

The kids have been great - so flexible and adaptable - but the pressure on attainment for this year really needs to ease up. It's challenging times for everyone and they need a break.

I also forgot to mention in my earlier rant, that every maths and english lesson has to now be adapted ready to upload ready for blended learning. This takes quite a number of hours each week and currently is being used by zero children.

@alexa one of them was open but they didn't have many kids there and the staff took it in turns including the TAs - they weren't actually teaching because of the varied age ranges so the kids were just reading or doing work. There was about one hours of work set a day and a lot of this was find out about volcanoes or art with a bit of maths and English but that was minimal over the course of a week. Work was sent in but not responded to and answers to maths were sent to the parents to mark it themselves. It was dire and actually not that unusual around here. They said they couldn't use zoom because of security issues but they could have pre recorded lessons. This time round they have opened up teams so if the teachers do get sent home hopefully it will be different

@gottakeeponmovin you are making generalisations about all teachers though based on the evidence of your school. I can assure you that I was in contact with my form via teams, my classes who I narrated PowerPoints for , marked all work sent to me, worked on my part time days off if necessary and home schooled my primary aged daughter . But you say ' teachers' as if we are all the same.

@gottakeeponmovin

People in care homes aren't complaining though - it's always the teachers. If they had been doing a teaching role throughout the first lockdown I would have less of an issue - but they weren't. Whilst everyone else was doing a full time job at home and helping their kids with their school work teachers were nowhere to be seen. Therefore teachers can not work from home and have to be in the classroom in the same way as store staff have to be in store. They need to just get in with it and stop moaning

How dare you! Throughout lockdown I was teaching every day. Our council would not allow live teaching due to safeguarding. I was online answering questions for the students. I was also calling my tutor groups parents most days. This is whilst I was also planning lessons and homeschooling my own children.

Everyone wants schools open and I believe they should be too. The problem is no one gives a flying fuck about the welfare of the students and staff. If staff are so shit please feel free to remove them from school and home educate yourself.

@flumposie that's a fair point - but everyone else is also generalising that all teachers were working really hard and that isn't the case for all

@Averyslover I've got a job thanks. Just want my kids teachers to do theirs

We have 17 staff members off either positive, waiting results or isolating. Have had to collapse classes so I had 45 in a room built for 25. We have to teach on line to isolating students (including those who decided to go on holiday over half term knowing they would the need to isolate for2 weeks, causing us more work) at the same time as teaching a live classroom. Takes ages to sort out the camera and sound. Students in class missing so much time while I sort out technology.
We have more duties as more breaks to cover. We have no PPE provided although finally students have to wear masks in corridors - frequently under their chins. No social distancing at all. It's rubbish. I'm 53 with a heart condition but I'm told just tough, it's your job, get one other it. If you die then it's a shame. Never been so demoralised and tired.

@mumsneedwine

If the teachers have tested positive - see bit their classes now also off isolating?

Teachers at our school worked 1 day every 3 weeks looking after keyworker/vulnerable children until June 1. We had a weekly emailed sheet, not marked. It was very disappointing, poor and I feel like my DC were completely let down along with many others. But of course working conditions should be safe, we need to separate the 2 issues imo.

And I worked 12 hour days from March to July, on line teaching (never done it before so we made it up as we went along) and working in key worker hubs.
I usually mark GCSEs in July. No doing it this year. I'm too fed up.

@Jroseforever 😂😂😂😂 not a chance. We don't have 1 class, we have 6 a day. I teach 17 different classes a week. No students go off if a teacher is positive. No teacher goes off if a student is. Apparently we are not in close contact.

Well some of my sons teachers cant do their job for 14 days because a child with covid was in school for 2 days before getting a test. They sit in alpha order. Its physically impossible for the teacher to distance from the front row children and this child was an A, the children dont wear masks and the windows dont open. So you know, it would be easier for his teachers to teach if some measures were put in place to protect them.

[quote gottakeeponmovin]@Averyslover I've got a job thanks. Just want my kids teachers to do theirs [/quote]
I never asked if you had a job. I said if staff are so shit them take your child out and homeschool. Have you spoken to your children’s school about your concerns or just slagged them off on mumsnet?

@MillieEpple at my school the teacher would still be expected to be in. Even if student was is in front row. Stupid and dangerous but who cares. Because some people think they were not given the service they wanted in Spring. Well if enough teachers get sick you'll get no education at all very soon.

[quote gottakeeponmovin]@lastdaysofsummer
Ok you are very special - far more special than nurses, shop workers, bus drivers, postal workers, insurance agents etc etc and because of that, the kids you have identified that won't receive an education due to not having access to the internet should have their futures ruined. Is that better ?[/quote]
I'm not a teacher. But I am special. Wrong again.

Do stop digging.

You couldn’t make it up here. Low incidence area, bubbles popping left right and centre. We are at the stage where the majority of year groups in the area have been out of school. Schools are open though.

Not forgetting the parents who are illegally sending their children in whilst awaiting test results. Meaning more people need to isolate.

Also the funniest thing, we have a huge learning walk soon. Another bubble went home this week. People are fiddling whilst Rome burns and it is a bit of a joke!

Anyone who says schools staff aren’t working, feel free to pull your children out or sign up and do a better job.

@gottakeeponmovin

You do realise that many children have no internet access at home. No zoom or prerecorded lessons for them. What should they do in your world? Fall even further behind?

Exactly why the schools should be open

You do realise that lack of internet at home is nothing to do with the schools though?

Why are they off? Presumably not Covid related

We had 18 teachers off today all either with corona or isolating. The majority with corona.

If people are writing to their MPs can they ask about additional funding. Our schools have already blown their supply budgets. Now have teachers shielding for who knows how long so have to cover with more supply, but have no additional funding for this. Will also blow the cleaning budget too

My school has now closed next week to all years as we have 20 teachers out - positive cases or isolating.

This is what ‘all in’ looks like in a hotspot area who can’t stagger school day due to transportation, where kids have to share facilities as our building was built for 800 but accommodates 1500, where students are predominantly BAME.

We have been forgotten about and I’m angry.