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Original poster

Angry teachers why aren't your leadership team doing more?

180 replies

Blanketyblankblankety · 06/12/2020 09:52

If there's 2-3 teachers catching Corona daily in one school (15 a week) as stated on another thread why on earth has your leadership team not shut the school? Another school with 66 cases in pupils in one week, why is the school still open?
Before you say the government won't support it, that's rubbish. My DCs school has recently shut for 2 weeks at least to all but year 11 and 13. And they had much fewer cases than above and none in staff.
You should be lobbying your leadership team as they sound useless.

OP posts:
PrivateD00r · 06/12/2020 11:43

Ophelia, I don't see teacher bashing here. Surely you can see why its confusing when there is such variation happening (according to posts on here). Like why are some Scottish heads having to work Christmas? Why are some schools not letting teachers isolate/others are. Some schools closing bubbles/others sending home only close contacts. One would assume that PHA gives standard advice to all so you can see why posters might assume the reason for variation is at school head level.

Original poster
Blanketyblankblankety · 06/12/2020 11:44

I'm not trying to be negative about any school - I have nothing but admiration for all at the moment. But it does seem some are being much better managed than others currently with regards to quality of home learning, self isolating etc. I know of 3 different secondary schools local to me. 2 are doing a great job and are definitely leading with the best interest of teachers and students despite what others are doing, one really isn't.
@starrynight19 I think your leadership has more power to negotiate with phe than you realise.

OP posts:
PrivateD00r · 06/12/2020 11:44

Sorry PHE not PHA. It is PHA where I live.

FrippEnos · 06/12/2020 11:46

PrivateD00r

I agree that the OP has asked this in good faith, but the thread highlights how little posters know what is actually going on in schools.

OpheliasCrayon · 06/12/2020 11:48

@PrivateD00r

Ophelia, I don't see teacher bashing here. Surely you can see why its confusing when there is such variation happening (according to posts on here). Like why are some Scottish heads having to work Christmas? Why are some schools not letting teachers isolate/others are. Some schools closing bubbles/others sending home only close contacts. One would assume that PHA gives standard advice to all so you can see why posters might assume the reason for variation is at school head level.
You've not seen any teacher bashing on any threads? Oh my
WhyNotMe40 · 06/12/2020 11:48

Schools don't get their public health advice from PHE anymore. DfE now have their own line for heads to contact, and yes they are giving out incredibly inconsistent advice! Probably because it is just call centre staff with a flowchart manning the line...

BecomeStronger · 06/12/2020 11:50

I'm very happy with the measures taken at our school. We've had a total of 4 staff cases since the start and no evidence of any transmission in school.

noblegiraffe · 06/12/2020 11:51

@PrivateD00r

Sorry PHE not PHA. It is PHA where I live.
Are you NI? Education is devolved, including management of covid. The NI guidance for schools is very different to that for England (Wales and Scotland are also doing things differently), which would explain why your school situation is being managed better than ours.
Original poster
Blanketyblankblankety · 06/12/2020 11:52

I am not teacher bashing. I think it's ridiculous that a school with 15 teacher a week testing positive is still open. I'm very confused as to how my DCs school with 15 cases in 3 year groups has managed to shut to all but the exam years. Can you explain that?

OP posts:
Redlocks28 · 06/12/2020 11:56

@Blanketyblankblankety

I am not teacher bashing. I think it's ridiculous that a school with 15 teacher a week testing positive is still open. I'm very confused as to how my DCs school with 15 cases in 3 year groups has managed to shut to all but the exam years. Can you explain that?
Yep

Probably because it is just call centre staff with a flowchart manning the line...

Aragog · 06/12/2020 11:58

I work in an LA school so we are dependent on what they say and agree with.
My headteacher has gone against some advise to allow us to wear a mask in a classroom if we wish. She's changed my timetable as to how and where I work, albeit after I was off ill for 7 weeks after catching COVID at school, as she realises letting staff cross bubbles isn't safe.

She can't just send the school home. She has to follow what phe tells her, even when it put increasing numbers at risk - learnt the hard way when COVID then snowballed across the school. If they'd closed the 6 classes I'd been in the previous week we could probably have reduced the amount of adults and parents coming down with it.

But there's only so much she can do. She can't just ignore what the government, the DfE, and the LA are telling her.

noblegiraffe · 06/12/2020 11:59

@Blanketyblankblankety

I am not teacher bashing. I think it's ridiculous that a school with 15 teacher a week testing positive is still open. I'm very confused as to how my DCs school with 15 cases in 3 year groups has managed to shut to all but the exam years. Can you explain that?
If you’re in England, then either the school is about to get a monumental bollocking from the DfE when it concludes its inquiry, or there are other factors you are unaware of.

I’ve heard of schools that have to close year groups because the kids have been changing together for PE unsupervised and unmasked so close contacts couldn’t be identified. Other schools where kids are coming in in their PE kit won’t have that issue. Similarly, a whole year group was sent home when it was identified that there had been a wet break while the pupil was in school and the kids were indoors and not in seating plans. Again, close contacts couldn’t be reliably identified. I know of a year group that had to be sent home because a kid took a test on Monday, went to school all week and the test came back positive on Friday. They closed the year group because of the much higher risk presented.

Aragog · 06/12/2020 12:01

We have one regular supply who has been a star for us throughout this. She's reduced where she teaches and is now only coming to our school. She's risking reducing her own income to reduce her own COVID risk and reduce her spreading it elsewhere. She's actually had almost full time hours for the last few weeks at our school due to so many staff off.

We are so grateful to the supply teachers and TAs who are still willing to come in and cover when they know the absences are due to COVID.

We've almost used up our entire supply budget but the head is just still having to call them in. Goodness knows where the money will come from to pay for them.

ChloeDecker · 06/12/2020 12:03

My leadership team are still dealing with parents suing them after the fallout of the A Level algorithm debacle and the government washing their hands of it.

I completely support their decision making being based on government guidance and PHE and DfE instructions as a result of not wanting to put the school in that position again.

They have done everything possible under the guidelines and have worked day and night to support the pupils and staff, including me.

What a cheap shot this thread is to blame SLT in every school for what is a national scandal.

PrivateD00r · 06/12/2020 12:03

Ophelia I definitely say any thread. I said here. In fact I have just addressed teacher bashing on another thread!

PrivateD00r · 06/12/2020 12:04

*didn't say

PrivateD00r · 06/12/2020 12:05

@WhyNotMe40

Schools don't get their public health advice from PHE anymore. DfE now have their own line for heads to contact, and yes they are giving out incredibly inconsistent advice! Probably because it is just call centre staff with a flowchart manning the line...
That explains a lot!
PrivateD00r · 06/12/2020 12:06

Are you NI? Education is devolved, including management of covid. The NI guidance for schools is very different to that for England (Wales and Scotland are also doing things differently), which would explain why your school situation is being managed better than ours

Yeh that's right. I honestly didn't realise how different it all was until I read posts here. I definitely think schools have a bit more room to make their own decisions, which I assume is better, as a blanket approach doesn't work for all?

PrivateD00r · 06/12/2020 12:10

@Aragog

We have one regular supply who has been a star for us throughout this. She's reduced where she teaches and is now only coming to our school. She's risking reducing her own income to reduce her own COVID risk and reduce her spreading it elsewhere. She's actually had almost full time hours for the last few weeks at our school due to so many staff off.

We are so grateful to the supply teachers and TAs who are still willing to come in and cover when they know the absences are due to COVID.

We've almost used up our entire supply budget but the head is just still having to call them in. Goodness knows where the money will come from to pay for them.

This is one of the many things I wouldn't have known, that schools don't have an endless budget for supply Blush But I listen and now I know.

I hope you are taking it easy and doing ok. You really didn't take long off considering how ill you were Flowers

ChloeDecker · 06/12/2020 12:13

@PrivateD00r

Ophelia I definitely say any thread. I said here. In fact I have just addressed teacher bashing on another thread!
Senior leadership are teachers and the whole point of this thread is technically bashing them.

Thank you for addressing it on another thread-it is always appreciated!

cantkeepawayforever · 06/12/2020 12:15

I definitely think schools have a bit more room to make their own decisions, which I assume is better, as a blanket approach doesn't work for all?

I think it depends. Some autonomy is sensible BUT heads may have different risk appetite / different views on Covid and so policy should not be driven by heads alone.

Clear guidance on what MUST be done, and very clear alternatives about what COULD be done under what circumstances to give heads autonomy within very clear limits might be a start.

At the moment in England we have a very very fuzzy set of safety guidance, no autonomy on closures BUT an 'expert' advice line manned by cheap agency staff and driven by political expediency and PR. it's not a recipe for success.....

LOCAL public health is usually the most practical, pragmatic and up to date, but their role is marginal in many areas.

noblegiraffe · 06/12/2020 12:21

Yeh that's right. I honestly didn't realise how different it all was until I read posts here. I definitely think schools have a bit more room to make their own decisions, which I assume is better, as a blanket approach doesn't work for all?

Yes, I think NI actually admit that schools are an issue when it comes to transmission (they did the circuit breaker with schools closed for example) which gives them a lot more freedom to implement sensible measures to mitigate for this. The DfE on the other hand are so insistent that transmission doesn’t happen in schools that they have to actively work against any measures taken that might imply that this isn’t true.

Also,@PrivateD00r I would like to apologise for being rude to you on that other thread a while back. My default is rather set to exasperated and arsey these days when it comes to criticism because so much of it is in bad faith, however it is clear from your recent posts that you are not one of those posters.

PrivateD00r · 06/12/2020 12:23

@noblegiraffe

Yeh that's right. I honestly didn't realise how different it all was until I read posts here. I definitely think schools have a bit more room to make their own decisions, which I assume is better, as a blanket approach doesn't work for all?

Yes, I think NI actually admit that schools are an issue when it comes to transmission (they did the circuit breaker with schools closed for example) which gives them a lot more freedom to implement sensible measures to mitigate for this. The DfE on the other hand are so insistent that transmission doesn’t happen in schools that they have to actively work against any measures taken that might imply that this isn’t true.

Also,@PrivateD00r I would like to apologise for being rude to you on that other thread a while back. My default is rather set to exasperated and arsey these days when it comes to criticism because so much of it is in bad faith, however it is clear from your recent posts that you are not one of those posters.

Thank you, shall we kiss and make up? Flowers TBF my opinions have changed a lot so maybe my opinions were stupid in the past but I promise I am listening and changing my views accordingly
lavenderlou · 06/12/2020 12:27

DH's school got a very strongly-worded letter from the DfE earlier in the term when they closed a whole bubble rather than just sending home close contacts (of multiple cases). My primary school closed due to lack of staff and the Local Authority was straight on the Head's back.

School leaders do not have control over their own schools.

noblegiraffe · 06/12/2020 12:27

shall we kiss and make up?

SOCIAL DISTANCING Shock Wink

It’s heartening to hear that opinions can be changed with new information Flowers