NEU tells teachers not to go to work on Monday

[Workyticket]

skwawkbox.org/2021/01/02/breaking-union-tells-teachers-not-to-go-to-work-on-monday/

@Noellodee

If schools remain open as long as possible and close chaotically, there will be no provision for the children of the other keyworkers.

The new variant means this is no longer about children and teacher safety, this is about maintaining a functioning society.

Excellent post

@Kjc39

Schools are no more unsafe then supermarkets. It’s a good job that supermarket staff didn’t refuse to work. Absolutely ridiculous!! Covid has become a rampant madness that’s stopping people having common sense!

Supermarket staff are risking their health for a society of entitled dickheads and shouldn't have to do so.

@notevenat20

What about the single parent families where the parent works in schools? Should they risk their child being orphaned?

I think you missed my suggestion which was to close all schools for 6 weeks now and cancel the summer holiday.

Please explain how cancelling the summer holidays will help protect teachers and children who are not going to be vaccinated against this virus as teachers are not a priority for vaccination and the vaccine is not licensed for children.

@MarshaBradyo

That was a bit muddled

Basically to prevent this walk out all schools need to go to KW provision, otherwise they may not be able to open to anyone as a walk out occurs

So we can expect an announcement tomorrow to stop it... or not

You misunderstand. Teachers are not striking. They will be providing keyworker provision and remote education.

If the government moves to keyworker provision and remote education, they'll basically be doing what the NEU are instructing their primary teacher members to do.

@notevenat20

I didn't realise supermarket staff spent 6 hours a day in a badly ventilated room with the same 30 kids with little space to socially distance.

There are professions which have been bad for catching covid such as meat packing. It's really important not to claim that teachers are catching covid more than any other profession unless you have facts to support it.

No one has ever said more than other professions.

What they have asked is for the data to show it's less despite lower protections.

Maybe if government had decided to keep and would publish this data it would help?

If schools go back as normal and the virus rampages through the children and there are many positive tests all those families will have to self isolate which I assume will impact quite a few key workers. There will also be numerous contact children self isolating, and if Primary will necessitate a parent staying at home to look after them as they can’t use childcare if isolating. I assume this will also impact key workers.

Surely better to reduce the number of children in schools to help with social distancing etc to reduce the impact on key workers

Justice and common sense prevails. Hurrah for teachers and school staff to get some recognition the H&S Act applies to them too (finally)🎉

Good on the unions! I can't believe how heartless and ungrateful some people are on this thread. Teachers have been working harder than ever for our children since March, their workplace is seriously unsafe. I don't know any teacher who is able to have a decent work-life balance / enough sleep: they work so bloody hard!

Anyway, for the selfish: it isn't just about protecting the teachers: schools open means the virus spiralling even more out of control for even longer, which affects EVERYONE.

[I'm not a teacher]

I also don't really understand why some primaries seem to have worse safety measures than others.

DDs primary is a large school, 3 form entry nursery to yr6 so roughly 800 kids. As mentioned earlier 7 confirmed cases total and 5 of those were school staff.

Bubbles are class sized only, no cross over between classes.

All parents/visitors need to wear masks for drop off/pick up.

No one is allowed into the school office without a mask and it's 1 person at a time, everyone else queues outside socially distanced.

Lunch is eaten in the classroom to avoid bubbles crossing

PE is scheduled so 1 class at a time in the hall

Playground is sectioned up and used on a rota for outdoor lunch/break playtime to avoid bubbles crossing.

Any staff member who wants to is allowed to wear a mask whenever they want, HT sent out a ParentMail saying that was his decision and parents just needed to deal with it.

If parents want their kids to wear masks then they can but parents obviously need to provide the mask and show kids how to use properly.

All homework is via class dojo not sent home in books

Kids have their own tray of resources so they aren't sharing.

Walk out doesn’t mean they don’t turn up?

So on first day they turn up and so do all children what then happens?

That was to Noble

If no change is made what do you do? Not turn up or turn up

If only the Early Years settings had this much support. We're always forgotten about and if we don't turn up to work because we fear for our safety we simply don't get paid!

@ArabellaScott

As parents we are powerless.

Just wanted to say I don't think that's quite true - we can keep our children home from school, we can be vocal about supporting teachers, we can get in touch with our MPs, etc.

I've kept mine home since sept. I have been vocal not just on the internet. Did anything change? No. I do feel powerless. I still struggle with LEA who are now asking me when will my chronic condition go away. As if they had no comprehension skills at all. Looking at being fined. All that is in my power is to shrug my shoulders and say fuck millions of times over and over. Unless parents band together with teachers and support the section 44 action, nothing will really change.

HTs should also tell gav to fuck off with the lateral flow tests. It is worse than not doign it as it will give a lot of false "I'm negative, can go do anything" attitude.

Please explain how cancelling the summer holidays will help protect teachers and children who are not going to be vaccinated against this virus as teachers are not a priority for vaccination and the vaccine is not licensed for children.

The hope is that in 6 weeks most if not all of the most vulnerable will have been vaccinated, including vulnerable teachers. This could greatly reduce the death rate.

Back in the summer it wasn't safe, so ok we will have bubbles.
Bubbles in my dc school is 300 people. Is that a bubble? Really?

Still not safe, ok masks can be worn in communal areas
Which in my dc's school are the well ventilated areas (mostly outside) that you are walking through rather than sitting next to for 1-2 hours (classroom) where they don't wear them.

Still not safe, track and trace all positive cases and their contacts, isolate them.
Isolation is the child they sat next to, not the whole bubble. You could be 2 children away and not be isolated. And that doesn't include all the asymptomatic children.

Still not safe, introduce rapid testing in secondary schools
and then do away with isolated despite the rapid testing is only abut 50% correct currently.

But I thought education beyond reading and writing was all just a money making scam?
After reading comments on SM, I am convinced that critical thinking and interpreting correct statistics needs to be on the curriculum asap.

I pretty much said you wouldn’t have to do anything differently if they changed it to KW

I’m more interested if they don’t change anything

@MarshaBradyo

That was a bit muddled

Basically to prevent this walk out all schools need to go to KW provision, otherwise they may not be able to open to anyone as a walk out occurs

So we can expect an announcement tomorrow to stop it... or not

No, the situation is that the union are advising teachers not to attend their place of work if the working conditions are that the children all attend full time, because they feel this is not a safe working environment. We have no reliable data about the occupational stats remember - numbers of cases among teachers, numbers of admissions to ICU etc - because this was last published in April and more recent data, although it seems to suggest teachers are more at risk, had poor confidence intervals.

They are not advising teachers to stop working, and they are not advising teachers to stay away from the building - in fact they are advising teachers to volunteer to work directly with key worker and vulnerable children, who will be in smaller bubbles.

Teachers will continue to teach remotely following the legal requirements for remote education, which have been in place since October and suggest daily contact and meaningful work set (3 hours for lower primary, for example).

The teachers have my full support. The government have been an incompetent shower of corrupt cronyism since they became aware of the pandemic. We had at least a months head start on the virus in February when Johnson did nothing. He is on film saying doing nothing to interfere with the economy would put us ahead of Europe. Since then the government have displayed nothing but cronyism and incompetence. Each teacher is entitled as a minimum to a safe place of work. They have been on the front line in this pandemic and the disgraceful attempts to villify them in the media is typical of our gutter press, who do nothing to hold this corrupt excuse for a government to account.

I imagine many of my colleagues have spent the last few days the same as me - 2 screens going while they plan/upload/support colleagues and learn new skills. I'm definitely up for the vaccination but as my 92yo dad hasn't even been contacted yet (his surgery are impossible to get hold of) I won't be holding my breath.

I have never taken any kind of industrial action before, but there again I've never felt so powerless and badly treated. I'm in anyway on Monday (vulnerable/KW rota) and teaching online at the same time.

Marsha I'm secondary and not in the NEU so this makes zero difference to my job.

Primary school teachers who are NEU members are being told that they should contact their head about refusal to work in unsafe conditions under section 44.

Primary Heads have been instructed by their unions to expect this.

Primary Heads will then have to make the decision whether this affects staffing levels to the extent that they will be unable to open safely.

Some heads may open their schools because they can still staff them and are willing to risk that it's safe enough to do so.

Some heads will have to close their schools to all but keyworkers and vulnerable students due to lack of staffing.

Some heads will decide to close to all but keyworker and vulnerable students after making an updated covid risk assessment.

Parents need to wait to hear from their school.

Can't remember where I read it - BBC? but apparently the Head Teachers Union are saying their members will not be disciplining any staff member who does not attend work if they are exercising their right to retreat to a place of safety.

My 'beef' with the profession comes from being married to a primary school DH, so seeing from the inside how much work is actually going on.

He would do less than half of what he usually does during working from home. Fortunately he is actually a professional person with a sense of vocation, so he is desperate for schools to open and for children to actually be educated again. Perhaps it's because we have young children and he can see the damage that all this is causing.

Don't pretend that 'working from home' is anywhere NEAR the amount of teaching and work you would usually do, I have seen first hand that it isn't. And seen some of DH's colleagues plead corona fear even though they are runners in their 30s, when they clearly want to just stay at home.

Are you sure your feelings are nothing to do with reducing the 6-6 day you mentioned earlier? Or are you claiming to be working from home 6am -6pm?

year5teacher thank you!!

Flippingnightmare yes, the skiving teachers should just go to work and die. FFS

@Katie517

Sorry but what are parents not classed as a “key worker” supposed to do if they are still working!?! Whether working from home or actually going into a work place you cannot expect parents to have the hell of home schooling and working full time again and it’s an unfair expectation for them to go on unpaid leave because unions don’t want teachers to work and the government have messed up again. Also why is the education of a key worker child more important than that of a child with parents working from home? It’s grossly unfair.

Didn’t you know we have to fall on our swords ‘for the greater good’

We can go and get fucked basically.