Secondary schools are totally stuffed, WELL-RESPECTED SCIENTISTS ADMIT

[noblegiraffe]

I don't normally get asked for an encore, more usually 'urgh, not another bloody thread', but per a request we have a follow-up to the resoundingly popular:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4078722-Secondary-schools-are-fucked-BOFFINS-ADMIT

Feedback has been received and acted upon re the title so hopefully that will temper the urge to complain.

Quick round-up of where we were at:

1. the infection rate is now highest in secondary school pupils in Y7-11, higher than uni students and sixth formers. They're not catching it at the pub...

2. The government/ONS put out misleading figures to suggest that teachers weren't at higher risk than NHS frontline workers, where actually looking at the data, they may well be. They fudged this by calling the largest group of teachers, who are at higher risk than frontline NHS staff 'teachers of an unknown type' and pretended they were irrelevant.

3. The DfE have changed the format of their attendance statistics report to remove the reference to how many hundreds of thousands of kids are currently isolating due to exposure to covid at school.

4. Boffins are cool

New info: The Guardian reports that teachers are being instructed to ignore app notifications to self-isolate by the school helpline and this might be a bad thing. They can't help themselves though, and have a lovely photo of a socially distanced classroom of lies at the top of the story.

www.theguardian.com/education/2020/nov/16/union-says-teachers-in-england-being-told-to-pause-covid-app-in-school

@OverTheRainbowLiesOz

Yeah - shall I get real?

Just to add to Aragogs points. As well as the damage being done to the teaching profession through those who contract covid (which is just awful) or have to self isolate, there is now tremendous pressure on the remaining teachers.

My daughter has always slept well but for the first time in her life took a sleeping tablet as anxiety was stopping her sleeping. Quite honestly as a country we shouldn't be putting this amount of pressure on teachers.

The pressure is really on for those still in school.

I've been off six weeks. My job still needs doing. I cover all classes for PPA and other cover. It's costing my school a lot of money in supply for me being off, let alone when you add others who have been off.

I have been working from home to do some of the stuff for other staff that can be done remotely, such as overseeing remote learning and admin for that, sorting the website and other such tasks. But I can't teach from home.

I've been covered by a supply teacher for six weeks. That costs money and in the first week it couldn't be quickly sorted so people did lose PPA time etc.

I have to say that the guilt of having to tell school I had Covid and then subsequently having to phone each week to say I'm still not able to come in is hard.

I know plenty of other school staff who have felt the same re guilt.

Yes, I don't think people realise just how close some cities are to total collapse (re Hull.

[quote Barbie222]Hull are begging for rotas as there are not enough key workers able to attend work. www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/17/one-in-four-hull-children-absent-from-school-as-covid-cases-soar[/quote]
Wow-that’s high.

I presume the government won’t want to put just one area on a rota as they’ll then feel they might have to do something to address inequality in teaching/learning with exam years. If they just ignore it, they don’t!

Please don't feel guilty as there isn't anything you can do about such a shitty situation. I do think the powers that be need to change the system to take the pressure off the remaining teachers though.

The Guardian doing a run of school stories today- no annoying photo on this one from Laura McInerney mentioned by a pp.
www.theguardian.com/education/2020/nov/17/uk-teachers-and-pupils-are-bone-tired-and-now-theyre-freezing-cold

It’s like the Guardian is skirting around the issue but still not willing to really hold the government to account.

Aragog

You are really ill and it’s not your fault. No one will be blaming you, just worried about you.

@noblegiraffe

The Guardian doing a run of school stories today- no annoying photo on this one from Laura McInerney mentioned by a pp. www.theguardian.com/education/2020/nov/17/uk-teachers-and-pupils-are-bone-tired-and-now-theyre-freezing-cold

It’s like the Guardian is skirting around the issue but still not willing to really hold the government to account.

At least they are saying something other than 'it's all fine', I guess.

@noblegiraffe

Aragog

You are really ill and it’s not your fault. No one will be blaming you, just worried about you.

I know really and school have been supportive.

But I think it's the inbuilt guilt thing many people have. Being off means more work for others.

I know others who've had to take time off have felt similar. You feel like you have to justify how you caught it too and that you weren't breaking the rules!!

Have to say that I find it quite a game now reading school Covid articles. It's like playing bingo with the photographs they use!

The DfE always provide the shittiest quotes. At the moment it’s ‘schools remain the best place for kids’ er yeah, but you were asked about money for heating.
Expect to see ‘teaching remains a more attractive profession than ever’ as that is one of their favourites.

I rather like the Schoolsweek photo:

schoolsweek.co.uk/over-500k-pupils-now-self-isolating-after-surge-in-cases-sees-two-thirds-of-secondaries-disrupted/

It's like they are trolling the rest of the media with a picture of what many classrooms actually look like..

14% of the students at my college are SI today, along with full departments of staff. Still no move to blended learning though, and a cheerful email from the principal saying happily that local cases were down yesterday so everything will be OK soon.

I see the DfE continue to not provide the number of kids isolating (they did before half term so what prompted the change?).

Good that SchoolsWeek did the maths. Over half a million kids at home not allowed to leave the house.

Where are the headlines?

Definitely growing in Surrey. The whole of a local secondary school of over 2000 kids has shut due to cases growing suddenly as well as dd's 6th form

DS's school has had a total of 4 people test positive this term between the years 3-12.

No teachers or staff have been off. They have testing equipment on site which gives results in less than 2 hours so no fudging.

School has run smoothly despite most students and staff taking public transport daily.

This is in London and this anecdotal data does not fit in neatly with the catastrofizing going on on this thread.

My local news is doing an article on long covid in children right now and reporting a secondary school closed, so the tide is turning in the media.

Meanwhile Us4Them have lawyers working to prevent mask wearing in classrooms and kids being sent home to isolate.

They are the worst.

Is that a private school, out of interest?

Actual evidence is not catastrophising.

Yes, private. Other DS, also in private, no cases this term, also London but less public transport.

I’m hoping that journalists who have no skin in the secondary school game realise that it will extend lockdown/render it useless if the most infected subset of the population continue to mingle freely and untested and take that angle.

I’m guessing private schools who can afford their own testing also enjoy smaller classes and more compliant kids.

Right, so I hope you realise most schools don't have rapid turnaround testing on site. Not even most private schools ahve this.

That said, when rural Sedbergh school was mass tested (private boarding school) they uncovered 53 cases.

@Piggywaspushed

I rather like the Schoolsweek photo:

schoolsweek.co.uk/over-500k-pupils-now-self-isolating-after-surge-in-cases-sees-two-thirds-of-secondaries-disrupted/

It's like they are trolling the rest of the media with a picture of what many classrooms actually look like..

500,000 Pupils isolating!! Stuck at home unable to leave the house at all. What a fucking mess.

‘Where are the headlines?‘

Ds is a journalist on national media. I’ve sent him that link with that quote. I’ve been badgering him for ages to do something on it. He works for some of the top national press ( not the DM! They offered him an interview and he refused to go🥰)

@Mominatrix

DS's school has had a total of 4 people test positive this term between the years 3-12.

No teachers or staff have been off. They have testing equipment on site which gives results in less than 2 hours so no fudging.

School has run smoothly despite most students and staff taking public transport daily.

This is in London and this anecdotal data does not fit in neatly with the catastrofizing going on on this thread.

Rapid Testing equipment on site?!

Which school is this?