Why are secondary schools staying open in the worst affected areas!!!???

[GinAndTonicOnIt]

So primary school children and staff are not safe. But they are allowing secondary school staff and students back in these areas (the extra week really won't achieve much in terms of covid!!??)

So do we not expect exam years back on 11th? I need some sort of plan in my head. I’ve already got primary child off but will hopefully be ok at key worker provision (sen so may not cope). I’m relying on exam years being back on 11th so I can work properly.
Even with primary, if it’s 2 weeks we’ll just persevere, if it’s longer I can envisage having to have them home.

I'm in the midlands and assistant head at a large secondary school. The 'guidance' we've had so far is laughable (if it was at all funny).

The DfE are absolutely determined that GCSEs and A levels go ahead because they said they would and they don't want to follow Wales' and Scotland's lead. So already it's an incredibly unfair playing field for those students - at least last year NO exams went ahead. English A level students will be competing against Scottish and Welsh students on completely different exam assessments.

I tend to agree with noblegiraffe that there will be a U-turn soon about opening/closing and I suspect this will also affect the decision on exams in England - 4-6 MONTHS AFTER WALES and SCOTLAND.
The unnecessary stress this puts on parents, students and staff is unforgiveable.

@Nochangeplease
Believe me, I want year 11 back on the 11th in the classroom. My 11s ( I teach 3 year 11 sets and 2 year 10 sets) - English - need face to face teaching.
But, with the best will in the world, why do people think us teachers are different from other beings? Seriously, medical staff with PPE are off in hospitals. Why does anyone think we are exempt from this?

I hope that I keep well and able to teach. But the notion that schools are "covid safe" is, at best, laughable.

Only for year 11 who should be able to social distance with no one else in! Also testing for only one year seems doable

The framework applies to all schools beyond year 11 (oh and upper sixth but our school doesn’t have a sixth form so I forget about them!)

I wasn’t assuming either of my kids (year 5 and year eight) would be going back this academic year.

This is relating to the contingency framework not other areas sorry that may not have been clear

Only for year 11 who should be able to social distance with no one else in!

Why do you think they’ll be social distancing? Year groups don’t social distance from each other.

Give it two weeks tops.

Major u turn will happen:

Deepti Gurdasani @dgurdasani1
I wrote yesterday about the spread of the UK B117 variant based on data up to the 13th Dec warning that it could become dominant across much of the UK & across most age groups. Recent data released up to end of Dec now suggests that this has already happened. Short thread.
threader.app/thread/1345137685380399105

Problem only set to accelerate from where we are now. T4 with schools open unlikely to stop it...

The whole school Is available with one year group in...if they cannot space out then no I don’t get it! When every other year group is in obviously see your point but a site designed for 1000 students will have 200 students in, that surely gives everyone more space!

No, they won’t be spaced out. They’ll be in their zone and in their classes of 30 same as they have been all along.

They’re not going to change the timetable for a week when the other students are supposed to be taught remotely plus also tested.

Anthony Costello @globalhlthtwit
Prof Karl Friston has used dynamic causal modelling to suggest that the NHS will be overwhelmed by January 12 under a November style lockdown. We need a March style lockdown now.

Unfortunately we are too late and the problem is already effectively 'baked in'.

Which is why, even if schools do open next week, im not anticipating them to remain open long....

But it’s not just a week in the contingency framework areas. In those area all secondary schools like primaries are closing for the foreseeable! the only year in these areas that is entitled to face to face education this year is year eleven (and year 13 if sixth form but ours doesn’t).

I don’t disagree with the priority but surely given that schools will prioritise doing this well? It seems nuts to put all the year elevens in one area of a large site that the other years are unlikely to go back to for the rest of this academic year! There are classrooms going spare on the site!. I genuinely don’t know what our school has planned but I had assumed that it wasn’t cramping one year into one small space and just Ieaving the rest of the school empty.

Otherwise what is my year eight giving up their education for?!

Expect a massive U turn on this. I’d say they’ll go back at Easter...

It seems nuts to put all the year elevens in one area of a large site that the other years are unlikely to go back to for the rest of this academic year!

Well schools are working on the assumption that all year groups will be in on the 18th.

Plus you can’t just split up classes to make them social distance. Those extra classes would need teachers and those teachers are timetabled to teach other classes. Some will be online and some setting remote work.

@Wsdhgujn

The whole school Is available with one year group in...if they cannot space out then no I don’t get it! When every other year group is in obviously see your point but a site designed for 1000 students will have 200 students in, that surely gives everyone more space!

I teach 54 year 11 students in two groups. They can't be split up to be taught because I can only be in one place at a time.

Only for year 11 who should be able to social distance with no one else in!

Who is teaching the 3 extra classes (just from my class of 32) this creates?

All the other teachers are teaching online.

But the school (well ours!) certainly don’t really think the 18th they have timetabled an extra inset day to plan for “long term remote learning” on January 4th!

I know I will be accused of not understanding how schools work but saying “the only year you have to provide face to face learning to is this one year group” it seems this can be done in principle in a more covid safe year however designed...eg using bigger spaces like the hall is something? It seems a total waste of space otherwise!

I accept in non contingency area areas it’s different when the other years are genuinely expected back! But ares like ours are not talking like they ever think anyone else will be back for a long time!

I've heard secondary schools won't be back this side of February half-term at the very least. I truely hope this isn't the case as my DC really benefit from being in school. I. Any see the GCSEs and A levels
Going ahead in England and think the government need to pull these ASAP for the sake of the children (& parents!!) Unfortunately every decision on COVID so far by the government has been a reaction and they need to step up and lead the way, just like Wales and Scotland. The effects on the mental
health of these children expected to sit exams under these circumstances cannot be underestimated.

Staffing is going to be a big problem a week from now. Tops.

Expect a press conference soon.

..eg using bigger spaces like the hall is something?

Using that for testing.

I really don't understand how people expect remote live lessons and socially distanced exam classes in the building. It is literally impossible. We don't have 30 maths teachers to teach year 11 for a start. Or even 15 if we only have half the year group at once.

Now now Herc
Where's your "can do" attitude?

I don’t really expect anything😂! I mean I don’t have a year eleven and as I said no one is expecting key stage 3 back in our place for the foreseeable future.

But it doesn’t seem totally unreasonable to say that ok school can shut for everyone except for the one year group who we think really needs face to face education but if you cannot even teach them I guess you can’t!

But I do wonder about how this works in the mind of teachers? I mean even if you cancel their exams what do you do? Can you really assess achievement based on less than two terms of year ten and one term of term eleven? Could such kids start a levels ok in September and not be a concern?

We don't have a major supply of extra teachers we can just recruit for smaller classes anymore than we can staff the Nightingale.

Its now January.

Has this message STILL not got through?

Or is this willful and deliberate ignorance?

if you cannot even teach them I guess you can’t!

We can teach them in their normal timetabled lessons.

I think you're finally realising what a shit show this is from the government.

And even if you sacked off teaching all the other year groups anything remotely to spread out the year 11s, they'd not be getting their normal teacher who knows where they're at, what their strengths and weaknesses are, etc etc.

Why do you keep saying other year groups aren't due back this academic year? You mean you think they'll be off until July???

Given the way school closures went last time no I think it’s very unlikely schools that are shut will reopen this academic year. Remember that cases of covid were at 400 a day nationwide a day in July (compared to 50,000 at the moment) and they did not reopen then so I assume they are looking for lower levels than we ever achieved in 2020 for people to generally feel its “safe” to reopen. The vaccine isn’t relevant to kids as it’s not approved for this age group.

The only year group that is prioritised for reopening is year eleven but it’s seams there is wide already opposition for that too (although it’s doesn’t impact on me).

I do think it’s wrong to say “secondaries are staying open in high risk areas” though the framework only allows for one year in (subject to review obviously but when has a review moved anyone down a tier?!) even if you disagree with that it’s not “open” given 80 percent of pupils are not in school!