Headteacher unions begin legal proceedings against DfE

[Makingnumber2]

www.naht.org.uk/news-and-opinion/news/leadership-news/update-regarding-start-of-term-sent-to-members-on-2-jan-2021/?fbclid=IwAR3WFugSo-KsSToWAvbteMs8HspeXZTMBd9VaiOlAVxOeL0FM1wDRzqbviA

NAHT and ASCL start legal proceedings against DfE

Why though, what was the rationale?

The government have - until about the last week - chanting “schools are safe” whilst putting out misleading photos on MSM with socially distanced classrooms containing about 6 kids.

There was no rationale and there was no consultation with people who actually do the job.

@SansaSnark you can't stop some services though they simply can't be done from home , a march style lockdown would of solved half of this and I fully exoected them to do this for a month

@WherethebejesusisGav

but some of them may have been a teacher ? They may be fully aware of what working as a teacher is you may not know as they might not choose to tell you this , so your making assumptions straight away

Oh for crying out loud.

I give up.

Yes, some parents are teachers. By and large, this gets mentioned, either by the kid or the parent or we know because we’ve worked together in some way.

Would you like me to qualify my statement with “obviously if the parent is a teacher, then they know about teaching”

And re MPs - their literal job is to represent their constituents so....

I am a parent and a teacher, in fact I’m SLT. I teach the very year group my son is in. But I still would not presume to tell his teacher or the HT of his school how they should be doing things. Every school is different, every context is different.

I am presuming you mean Perspex box , but seriously not a teacher in this country is using one of these right now

I can't talk about typos and spelling, my spelling is atrocious and my phone spelling is also horrendous.

Just the perspective box /perspex box really tickled me and.. If d of e do read these threads..

Teachers... Tomorrow.. You KNOW what we are going to be offered!!

Boris will be on Andrew Marr explaining..

Well Andrew, alas, we could do better and we will, what we have is a world beating

perspective box, now the teacher has to really believe that actually, they are in a perspex box in class, and this power Andrew, to harness this sheer power of thought and positivity will significantly reduce the risk of transmission to our brilliant teachers.. We are going to roll out Rada, lamda and other specialists to teach the teachers mime, they must move and act as if they are getting into the box.. Flat hands up and down sort of thing...

It's world beating... And keep our children where they should be... In hope. In education. Living on a prayer.

@WherethebejesusisGav but surely parents didn't believe that , I mean do they not speak to their own dc?
I know exactly how my son school have handled it as ask him , the fact he now takes a coat means I know windows are open ( luckily his school they do open ) I also know the teachers don't always maintain the 2m at all times , what kids think they have a false senSe of security about bubbles ( he is in my bubble so why can't I go to his house etc )

Schools have been told they can't ask for proof of a negative test before a child returns. They may try to ask but no obligation to provide as its medical info. Same with isolation texts, they can't ask to see them either.

I would imagine the only time a teacher been in a perspex box in school is on dunk a teacher day at school fete

Let’s close everything down, the government can print money and we can live happily ever after 🙄

@HercwasanEnemyofEducation oh i didn't know that , tbf I had no issue providing as to me it meant they were taking things seriously etc and no real info other than name and date of birth

[quote donewithitalltodayandxmas]@SansaSnark you can't stop some services though they simply can't be done from home , a march style lockdown would of solved half of this and I fully exoected them to do this for a month [/quote]
The point is you stop some services so you leverage the government to give you what you want - i.e. in this case a March style lockdown.

If industrial action didn't cause problems, there would be no point in doing it.

but surely parents didn't believe that

There have been many, many threads on here telling teachers that schools are safe and that they should shut up and get on with it 🤷🏻‍♀️

So perhaps some parents do believe it.

The point is you stop some services so you leverage the government to give you what you want - i.e. in this case a March style lockdown.

If industrial action didn't cause problems, there would be no point in doing it.

So you admit you want to cause problems by striking. Well at least you're honest

I've just seen the cover of the Sunday telegraph. It really doesn't look like there is going to be a u-turn.

@Flaxmeadow

The point is you stop some services so you leverage the government to give you what you want - i.e. in this case a March style lockdown.

If industrial action didn't cause problems, there would be no point in doing it.

So you admit you want to cause problems by striking. Well at least you're honest

I'm not striking. Nobody is striking.

The post was a more general one about industrial action in general, and I think you're deliberately being disingenuous here.

I think if schools open as they were last term, more people will die. Based on that belief, do you really think I should be going into school?

There are Perspex booths in the (tiny) music practice rooms for 1:1 lessons at dds school.

No where else.

I think if schools open as they were last term, more people will die. Based on that belief, do you really think I should be going into school?

Yes I do. Especially for primary age children. Young childrens educational, physical and emotional welfare must come first, sorry.

Have sent the following to our local MP tonight. First time I've ever written to her, my wife is a TA at a local Primary and I've worked in Data/Stats for many years.

Dear xxxx

I am writing to you to seek your views regarding the proposed return of Primary Schools in xxxx on Monday 4th January.

Two salient points here:

1 School/FE/HE age children are the 3 highest age groups for infection rate as at w/e 18th December (the latest available data), source ONS:

Primary – 2.0%
Secondary – 3.0%
FE/HE ages - 2.4%
25-34 - 1.5%
35-49 - 1.3%
50-69 - 1.0%
70+ - 0.5%

Can I remind you that the National infection rate (as tested) in w/e 18th December was roughly HALF what it is today (2/1). The likely National infection rate amongst Primary Age children right now is c4%, the likely rate in xxxx is probably slightly higher due to the higher prevalence of the new variant in our area.

In a class of 30 children, even with an infection rate of 4%, the chance of the class having no COVID infected children is 30%. Those are not good odds.

2 Teachers and TAs are spending prolonged amounts of time (a risk factor) in an indoor environment (another risk factor) where people are not wearing masks/PPE (a final risk factor).

On Wednesday 30th December, the PM stated that ‘Schools are Safe’. Could you please explain on what basis he made that statement, as nothing at all, in my 25 year experience in working with data and statistics, leads me to believe that he had any justification for that assertion.

I understand the Government’s desire to keep schools open, a desire that I know most Education professionals share. However the facts now clearly show that mandating such an approach in the current situation is putting the health and lives of Teachers, support staff, pupils and their families at risk.

Yours

Holy fuck.

You've openly admitted you'll take people dying over a couple of weeks off school for kids.

Wow.

@Flaxmeadow

I think if schools open as they were last term, more people will die. Based on that belief, do you really think I should be going into school?

Yes I do. Especially for primary age children. Young childrens educational, physical and emotional welfare must come first, sorry.

Wow.

This is extremism folks.

@Flaxmeadow

I think if schools open as they were last term, more people will die. Based on that belief, do you really think I should be going into school?

Yes I do. Especially for primary age children. Young childrens educational, physical and emotional welfare must come first, sorry.

Do you not think their emotional welfare would be worse if their parents, grandparents, peers or teacher died because spread in schools is so high?

@starrynight19

I am presuming you mean Perspex box , but seriously not a teacher in this country is using one of these right now

Clearly they are....

@Flaxmeadow I'll be sure to tell the children of my 2 dead colleagues that their emotional welfare means crap all. As long as other children are ok eh ? I was going to keep off these stupid things but I am so angry tonight at losing another friend. And seeing 3 more children without a parent.

@Flaxmeadow

I think if schools open as they were last term, more people will die. Based on that belief, do you really think I should be going into school?

Yes I do. Especially for primary age children. Young childrens educational, physical and emotional welfare must come first, sorry.

For most children, their emotional and physical needs can be met by their families.

Schools even in the autumn term were not stable
due to bubbles isolating with (obviously) no warning and whole schools having to close due to not enough staff. This is before we even talk about safety to staff (which employers do have a duty of care for).

Why is a later start back so much worse than the above scenarios?

Sorry mumsneed.

Some people truly are dicks.