Greenwich schools closing tomorrow

[Starch1e]

Leader of Greenwich council tweeted an open letter this afternoon asking schools to close from Tuesday. Our school is complying.
I need a meltdown emoji. Work is stupid f*king busy this week for me and DP and I cannot do it with 4 & 7 year old at home

It’s all Christmas festivities for dc here and that’s great imo. I’m pleased they get that.

Not sure how you do home learning in new set up.
Op did the school say what they would be doing?

[quote nether]Thought it might be a good time to remind people of the existence of this thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_live_events/3961337-Webchat-with-Dr-Jenny-Harries-Deputy-Chief-Medical-Officer-for-England-on-shielding-children-Wednesday-at-9-30am[/quote]
Just skimmed. Thanks. So she answered questions from 9:40 to 10:04 only!? And what poor answers they were.

I’m not in the UK so have no skin in this game but this stood out to me - “cases doubling every 4 days”. If cases really are increasing exponentially like this how can schools not close??

(Disclaimer - I am in Australia where we lock down/close schools/close everything for a prolonged period at the drop of a hat so may have a skewed view)

@Cattybumbum that’s pretty much what my kids’ secondary did in their last few days. 😂 Surely everyone thinks it’s completely normal for primary?

@FrogToad

What Dr Harries was saying is that the biggest risk in schools is not the DC. It is staff meeting in informal settings like staff rooms at coffee break and lunch times.

She was very clear that the vast majority of outbreaks in schools will be linked to teachers interacting with each other while not socially distancing or hand washing.

And she was talking bollocks.

[quote FrogToad]@christinarossetti19

Personally I'd have no issue with schools closing for Christmas a few days early. The issue though is that it would give the unions a bone.

It would soon be "Let's have remote learning" for two weeks after Christmas as well and then "oh, we've got a case in year 7, remote learning for everyone it is".

These decisions have to be made by government and the DfE, not individual heads or councils as we'd soon end up back at square one with all schools effectively closed otherwise.[/quote]
The Greenwich decision was made in consultation with PHE. It wasn't Greenwich council going rogue.

Actually, I disagree that central government are best placed to decide on the details of how schools provide learning.

The govt should mandate the bigger picture ie all children have access to the proper curriculum and support schools to achieve that as they judge would suit their unique pupil/teacher profile.

Some schools might have set up blended learning from September, supported by the laptops that the govt promised for children who don't have access at home. Or those children would have been able to use on site facilities.

The idea of a free, fast, national Broadband service doesn't seem as laughable as it did exactly a year ago does it?

If schools had more autonomy and flexibility whilst maintaining accountability, I don't think this term would have been the shitshow that it has been.

Some pupils have had multiple, multiple periods of self-isolation. They've hardly been at school and, when they have, they've been waiting to be told to SI again.

No way would any school leader not done all they could to avoid those sort of situations, if they have had the power to do so.

And give over with the union bashing. The teaching unions have virtually no power. They haven't even been able to ensure a safe work place for their members, which is literally their job.

@FrogToad

What Dr Harries was saying is that the biggest risk in schools is not the DC. It is staff meeting in informal settings like staff rooms at coffee break and lunch times.

She was very clear that the vast majority of outbreaks in schools will be linked to teachers interacting with each other while not socially distancing or hand washing.

where does she want staff to go for the other 6 hours a day when we are working on school premises but not in classrooms?

We are at a desk, with a computer, near other staff at desks with computers. We have masks on and windows open, and everyone cleans their hands obsessively. No one feels safe, but what can we do? We can't stop existing for those hours, we have to exist somewhere.

And anyway, its nowhere near as crowded as when we are in classrooms, and in class we are seated far closer to children than we are to other adults outside of lessons, and the children are seated very close to each other.

We have had upteen cases where children sitting next to each other have spread it to each other.

We have

My youngest Greenwich primary is closing Tuesday, they’ve only had 1 case since March. My teens school in nearby bexley borough is staying open despite reporting 4-5 cases a week since September.

@ChloeDecker yes she absolutely was.

we have had no cases of staff passing it on to other staff

@FrogToad 😂😂😂😂😂😂sorry but you made me laugh. Staff interaction, staff rooms ??? You'll tell me I have a coffee break next. I get in at 7.30 and am not in the same room as another adult (except LSAs) until I leave at 5. Nor is anyone else in school. Yet we still have 397 students off tomorrow and 27 staff. Weird isn't it. No clue who could be spreading it. I mean having 32 kids in a small unventilated room (windows open 4 cm) with no masks and squashed in couldn't have anything to do with it

A week of busy work at primary school where they've had so much time off is a travesty. Do some learning until at least Wednesday.

I'm secondary and will have proper lessons til the end bar the last half hour with each group I teach. We don't have the curriculum time to waste.

Id be horrified at my kids watching that many films in one week at school.

@Bluegreen70 I take my laptop and work on my car. It's freezing but best I can do. Although last week I had to give up my PPA to cover so not had a break for a long while.

@FrogToad

What Dr Harries was saying is that the biggest risk in schools is not the DC. It is staff meeting in informal settings like staff rooms at coffee break and lunch times.

She was very clear that the vast majority of outbreaks in schools will be linked to teachers interacting with each other while not socially distancing or hand washing.

The staff rooms where I work have all been closed. No shared kitchens/water fountains either.

No such thing as coffee breaks at my school

@FrogToad

What Dr Harries was saying is that the biggest risk in schools is not the DC. It is staff meeting in informal settings like staff rooms at coffee break and lunch times.

She was very clear that the vast majority of outbreaks in schools will be linked to teachers interacting with each other while not socially distancing or hand washing.

This hasn't been born out by the reality of the situation in secondary schools, though.

In most schools local to me, it has been a student who has been the first case. In one case, it was a bus driver who is not exactly going into the staff room. I think in one or two cases, it was a staff member who tested positive first.

In some schools, the spread has been quickly contained through self isolation, in others, cases have popped up repeatedly, across year groups, and in some cases in staff.

AFIAK, there are no schools in the county where only staff have tested positive and no students.

To give Dr Harries the benefit of the doubt, in August this might have been a reasonable assumption to make, but it has not been borne out by reality- even taking into account that adults are less likely to be asymptomatic.

Ironically, the staffroom in my school is one of the few areas where people are able to socially distance to some extent- we certainly can't do it when teaching. Anything larger than a department meeting is done via teams, and department meetings are done distanced with masks on.

@AutoIncorrect

My youngest Greenwich primary is closing Tuesday, they’ve only had 1 case since March. My teens school in nearby bexley borough is staying open despite reporting 4-5 cases a week since September.

Bexley borough’s MP has a child going to a Bexley school too. Not sure Bexley will follow suit, therefore, even though Bexley borough’s positive cases eclipse Greenwich’s Number hugely.

There are multiple Bexley Secondaries already closed with remote learning but yet I’m sure the council will not go against the MP.

[quote mumsneedwine]@Bluegreen70 I take my laptop and work on my car. It's freezing but best I can do. Although last week I had to give up my PPA to cover so not had a break for a long while. [/quote]
I don't have a car. In fact, less than 5% of teachers drive to work, as there is nowhere to park, and only people coming the furthest distances are allowed to come by car.

What Dr Harries was saying is that the biggest risk in schools is not the DC. It is staff meeting in informal settings like staff rooms at coffee break and lunch times.

From what I've heard teachers are having to supervise children so don't have time for staff rooms.

She was very clear that the vast majority of outbreaks in schools will be linked to teachers interacting with each other while not socially distancing or hand washing.

Isn't it lovely when one professional shows such respect for other professionals. She is just plain rude and ignorant.

@FrogToad knows perfectly well that staffrooms are NOT open as usual this term, and that staff are NOT mixing in the way she suggests. She's been told this numerous times on previous threads.

Scroll on by.

ancientgran Exactly! The staff room at my school has been turned into a classroom since September.

To give Dr Harries the benefit of the doubt, in August this might have been a reasonable assumption to make, but it has not been borne out by reality- even taking into account that adults are less likely to be asymptomatic. She shouldn't have stated it as a fact then and she should now apologise and admit she was wrong.

Honestly I'm an old granny but if teachers want some support on a protest I'd support them. I'd have to wear a mask and try to keep some distance but I'd be there.

ChloeDecker glad to hear my sources weren't misleading me.

Whether it needed to be done or not it shouldn’t have been done with this short notice. Unfair on everybody

Sod the vulnerable kids and adults in schools everyday, eh? They don’t matter one little bit.

I think teachers taking their PPA time in their cars to minimise the number of staff in the building is a great idea.

Perhaps staff could sit and do their marking in the playground or even a local cafe. This would be far better than having them gathering in staff rooms.

This is just one example of staff gatherings causing a large outbreak in a school- I suspect there are many more.

www.itv.com/news/2020-09-17/covid-19-outbreak-at-school-pinned-on-teachers-party

A head teacher has condemned colleagues for their “very misguided actions” in attending a party that led to a Covid-19 outbreak.
Eight members of staff at Holy Trinity Stacksteads CE Primary School in Bacup, Lancashire, contracted coronavirus following a gathering at the home of an ex-colleague.
Another three staff members, who did not attend the party, also later contracted Covid-19, forcing the school to close while pupils self-isolate.
• Millions across the UK under tougher local lockdown restrictions
Head teacher John Aspin explained the situation in a frank letter to parents, telling them the school’s extensively planned safety procedures were not to blame.
He said that earlier this week, he learned that a “significant number of staff” had attended a “social event” on Saturday September 5.

This is just one example of staff gatherings causing a large outbreak in a school- I suspect there are many more.

Don't you get bored of sharing the same article about staff spreading coronavirus BEFORE they had returned to school.

PPA in a car is a joke. No WiFi connection and how can I mark anything? What a ridiculous idea. Same on the playground, plus its fucking freezing.

Are you usually this disinclined to engage with reality FrogToad?