Headteachers proposal

[DfEisashambles]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9179961/Headteachers-send-Boris-Johnson-plan-vaccinate-one-million-staff-half-term.html

Headteachers proposed a blueprint to vaccinate all teachers and staff so that pupils can go back after Feb half term. Ministers yet to respond.

The vaccine is to help reduce serious illness. High risk teachers should be definitely be vaccinated ASAP. We should still work on the measures to keep everyone safe on the classroom.

Is anyone else concerned that once the wider adult population (in particular older and medically vulnerable people) are vaccinated we are just heading to the virus mutating to affect the kids and younger adults.

@Gobbolino7825 I didn't feel safe at all from September-Decided in the classroom.

Purely selfishly I am 100% up for vaccinating teachers (DH and I will both get done yay!) but it won't stop the school to community transmission at all if just the staff are vaccinated.

@Sunsetsaddict80 yes. Israel are vaccinating older teens now. Hoping for a vaccine to come for younger children.

*September-December

@Monkeytennis97 I understand that you didn't feel safe. What I am questioning is that now there is a suggestion of vaccinating teachers, why are people suddenly saying oh it's not about safety of teachers any more, it's a completely altruistic worry about community transmission?

The reasons I see on here for keeping schools closed to most children keep changing and I think it's politically motivated dressed up as caring for others. But who gives a stuff if children are not being educated face to face for the best part of a year or more hey? Let's just keep finding new reasons not to open up as soon as possible.

Could we changer the title to 'Headteachers' proposal'?! ☺️

Thats a really odd view gobbolino. In whose interests is it not to open schools up fully? Everyone wants schools open if it was safe and didnt spread covid. Teachers far prefer being with their classes and most have extra work and pressure now. Believe it or not people who trained to work with children really do want children to be educated. But also safe and with parents who are safe etc

Im not sure of any political party who doesnt want to educate children...

Are you unaware of what is currently happening with covid and the deaths each day or are you becoming immune to it?

@Gobbolino7825 that's what I'm saying though. It was always about both things. We kept saying yes we're not safe but neither are parents and the wider community. The twisting in the media meant that the last part was downplayed/ignored/didn't suit agenda/parents wanting kids back in school etc

[quote Gobbolino7825]@Monkeytennis97 I understand that you didn't feel safe. What I am questioning is that now there is a suggestion of vaccinating teachers, why are people suddenly saying oh it's not about safety of teachers any more, it's a completely altruistic worry about community transmission?

The reasons I see on here for keeping schools closed to most children keep changing and I think it's politically motivated dressed up as caring for others. But who gives a stuff if children are not being educated face to face for the best part of a year or more hey? Let's just keep finding new reasons not to open up as soon as possible.[/quote]
It is not a case of people suddenly saying this though is it? Teaching staff can be undersandably worried about their personal safety as well as see the bigger picture of how schools fully opened added to the rise of cases across the country.

The heading of this thread should be changed to make it clear this proposal is from a minority group of private heads with a select few academies thrown in. This group will have the interests of their own little communities at the centre of their plans.

How about we let parents decide what level of risk they would be prepared to accept.

The government has already been quite clear after the last return to school. If a child is enrolled and does not attend then fines will be enforced. This applies to vulnerable parents/children too which is obviously disgusting. I think every parent should be given a choice.

@Gobbolino7825 I'll level with you. Both DH and I 'enjoy' teaching remote lessons as we have no children at home ourselves it's easy to focus on it, as the behaviour management is much easier, as we are so much safer than before, as we are not freezing in non specialist classrooms and not having to do break duties/before or after school duties, as parents evenings are more efficient online etc Despite the fact that planning does take far longer.

However we would both love to do our normal jobs. The job of teaching kids our subject which we love and have taught for over 25 years, properly in specialist rooms, as before the pandemic. We would love to go back to those days. To go back to our actual jobs. That would be amazing! I truly long for that day. We want to be in the classroom doing our jobs that we've trained for and that we love.

I can hand on heart tell you that what I am teaching now is at least equal and in most cases better than what I taught from September-December due to the factors above.

The NASUWT launched “Vaccinate2Educate” a few weeks ago. Now the indies have come up with a plan to allow the use of their school buildings and medically trained staff to get teachers vaccinated....but teachers on here don’t seem to like it. Beggars belief really.

@CountessFrog

I read a thread earlier in the pandemic where teachers claimed they were at the same risk as hospital doctors. I kid you not.

When challenged whether they put tubes down kids throats, they said ‘sometimes.’

Again, kid you not.

Actually in my SEN school we have TAs and even some teachers who have been trained in deep suctioning and not that unusual for a teacher or ta to stop a lesson to deal with this. This can involve inserting tubes up nostrils and in mouths. We also deal with peg/tube feeds.

@BunsyGirl

The NASUWT launched “Vaccinate2Educate” a few weeks ago. Now the indies have come up with a plan to allow the use of their school buildings and medically trained staff to get teachers vaccinated....but teachers on here don’t seem to like it. Beggars belief really.

Please read my answers.

@Monkeytennis97 I have already read your answers thank you...but no one has commented on “Vaccinate2Educate” being a bad idea on here have they? There are a few comments up the thread mentioning that this initiative comes from private schools and suggesting that it is only to satisfy their own interests despite the fact that a teaching union launched a vaccination campaign a couple of weeks ago.

Well, as I said, I'm up for being vaccinated 100% but it's not going to change the rates in kids and their parents and in the community.

And it’s not just NASUWT.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scotlands-largest-teachers-union-demands-23367003

Typical Daily Mail clickbait.

@BunsyGirl

The NASUWT launched “Vaccinate2Educate” a few weeks ago. Now the indies have come up with a plan to allow the use of their school buildings and medically trained staff to get teachers vaccinated....but teachers on here don’t seem to like it. Beggars belief really.

I think support for the idea shifted when the vaccines actually rolled out, rather than shooting the breeze about something theoretical.

The current plan, which gets us out of lockdown fastest (and thus gets schools opened soonest) is to vaccinate the vulnerable.

Schools cannot be open when we are Alert 5. We get off Alert 5 by vaccinating according to risk of most serious illness and death.

The idea that teacher should be vaccinated before the clinically vulnerable, on the wholly misconceived idea that this makes schools 'safe' is, frankly, anathema and shows a total lack of understanding of both why we are locked down on Alert 5 and also why the vaccine policy is as it is.

It is also inhumane, as part of the answer (as has been suggested on thread) is for parents to take their DC out of school if they don't like it. I don't think removing schooling for clinically vulnerable families is acceptable,

@BunsyGirl As well as vaccinating us (yes please!) there need to be other mitigations to help slow the spread amongst the unvaccinated. Vaccinating one part of the school community is great for them (school staff) but it'll just spread again like wildfire in the unvaccinated and then go home with them (as before).

I'm clinically vulnerable and was told that first day of school when we (thankfully) chose not to send in we were marked unauthorised.

Anything that increases spread like schools do would be madness.

The situation on Dec/beg Jan was a complete mess.

[quote Monkeytennis97]@BunsyGirl As well as vaccinating us (yes please!) there need to be other mitigations to help slow the spread amongst the unvaccinated. Vaccinating one part of the school community is great for them (school staff) but it'll just spread again like wildfire in the unvaccinated and then go home with them (as before).[/quote]
Yes this is what appears to be missing from this group's plan.

College and Ipswich School.

In a letter sent to Mr Johnson, Mr Williamson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock on January 10, the schools said: 'The single initiative that could help families cope better with the lockdown, preserve our children's learning and mental health and help to encourage the economy to restart would be to ensure that schools can open safely after the February half term.'

The insinuation that by vaccinating all staff schools could open safely after half term is stupid. By dressing it up as a great service to all schools when it is not.

Ignore the *college and Ipswich school. Copy and paste fail sorry.

I think there is an argument that school staff, police, fire and prison officers should be prioritised for the vaccine. Not over the CEV but over the rest of us.

They should maybe be included once Group 4 has been done. If not then, after group 6- so they are done at the same time as 50-65 year olds. No to reopen schools as an aim (although school reopening would be nice!) but because these are all easily identifiable public facing key workers.

Good for them , at last common sense