Wales 5

[DdraigGoch]

The old one filled up before we could link a new one but here we are.

Teachers union threatening high court over teachers going back on Monday, they say it is not safe. This may be interesting. My DIL will have a breakdown at this rate.

@justasking111 have you got a link for that?

[quote Pandapotato]@justasking111 have you got a link for that?[/quote]
Sorry, yes of course.

www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/teaching-union-tells-mark-drakeford-schools-should-not-re-open-on-monday-because-its-not-safe-and-teachers-could-die/ar-BB1dPwv5

@justasking111

Teachers union threatening high court over teachers going back on Monday, they say it is not safe. This may be interesting. My DIL will have a breakdown at this rate.

Given the emphasis on getting kids back in school, I cannot for the life of me understand why teachers aren't being vaccinated as a priority. It just doesn't make sense.

@JesusInTheCabbageVan out if interest, who out of the first priority groups do you think should’ve had to step aside for the teachers? (I’m not having a go - just curious)

The scientific guidance has been very clear that vaccinating teachers wouldn’t have an impact on hospitalisation and mortality figures.

I do think that now we have the priority groups done, they should be prioritised in order to stop the bleating and get our kids back to school.

Vaccinating teachers and support staff (don't forget them) won't make schools safer but it could provide enough of a false sense of security to quieten the unions. I don't agree with that personally but it might be considered politically expedient. Of course, if that were to happen the immediate reaction would be what about the police, what about bus drivers, taxi drivers, shopworkers, prison officers etc etc. So that's why it would be foolish to do anything other than stick to the jcvi advice at this stage.

@Pandapotato yes, on reflection I worded it hastily!

I do agree it would be hard to justify delaying jabs for the first priority groups, but once you get to people under 50 or 60 with no underlying conditions, it makes sense to me to let teachers go first. Better still, work out some way of giving the excess jabs to teachers rather than them going to waste. I appreciate that would be a logistical nightmare though.

@ArosGartref I have a couple of friends who are science teachers. They have left their unions because of the failure to respect the jcvi advice. I hope they end up teaching my kids one day!

@JesusInTheCabbageVan that would be great, but probaby very hard to implement, especially in more rural areas.

I still don’t understand why their unions think school staff should have priority over police, prison staff, public transport operators, supermarket staff and so many others. Especially as the evidence around asymptomatic spread is minimal and kids are mostly asymptomatic.

Anyway - I hope it’s not too rough wherever you are. It’s horrible here!

@Pandapotato STOP MAKING ME BACKTRACK I AM TIRED

I'm in Cardiff. Generally been lucky with everything, but stil... it's hard. It feels like a 26 mile hurdle race where every hurdle transforms into a brick wall as soon as you try to jump it. 😩

Even if they out over 50s and vulnerable teachers that are going back now as a priority- we can't be talking about huge amounts - that would be something wouldn't it?

So in Wales the infant staff and hub workers now prior to opening

Kirsty has made a very pointed post regards that article - these usually fizzle to nothing don't they? Seen one every time they opened anything in schools.

@JesusInTheCabbageVan is so hard on so many levels. We’ve been lucky with case numbers here in the north. And we have lovely places to walk. But, you are right about that greener grass. I’d swap seeing the same beach every day for a take out coffee and a walk around a Cardiff park right now. Anything for a change!!
It’s been such a long slog and I think we are all so sick of it now. I’m usually the annoyingly optimistic type, but that’s wearing very thin these days.

@HauntedPencil all the ecv staff should’ve been offered a vaccine by now. And shielding is also still in place. Those with underlying health conditions are in the current cohort. It won’t be that long until they get to 50+ hopefully.
Nice tweet by Kirsty.

Not the over 50s and vulnerable ( not CEV but the vulnerable yet)

Here anyway - but they are racing through them

• hopefully this will be a moot point before too long

Some of my teacher colleagues and I are at odds with what the unions say. We need to be back face to face teaching. Perhaps on a rota. No one really asks the troops on the ground though. The heads meet with the LA, who in turn meet with Kirsty Williams.
It is easier being in a secondary school, which is what I base my experiences on. I can stay 2m away from pupils and wear a mask when teaching.
Pinning my hopes on March 15th.

Unfortunately teachers who feel unsafe (and I include myself in that) have been undermined by schools that won't teach online at all. I'm prepared to go back just because it will finally mean my children get some teaching.

@SaltyAF

Unfortunately teachers who feel unsafe (and I include myself in that) have been undermined by schools that won't teach online at all. I'm prepared to go back just because it will finally mean my children get some teaching.

I am lucky in that I have never felt unsafe at work. Being over 50 I will be in line to get my first vaccination in group 9. It isn't an easy decision to get right. I hope that when you return Salty you will feel safer than previously.😊

Thanks @tinytemper66. My school is quite different from my children's - there are 1250 pupils and I need to move around corridors / work in an open are surrounded by hundreds of pupils per day; whereas my children haven't even been allowed to use the playground at lunchtime it's that stringent. I suppose the sacrifices are on different sides.

I don't mind getting back really. I know my pupils need it and my children certainly do. I also know that if I'm ill I have the safety net of sick pay.

My underlying condition (asthma) narrowly missed a shielding letter based on the criteria they set at the start of the first lockdown, yet they have changed the criteria again and now I won't get it with the CV group. Makes me wonder why I've been called for a flu jab for 20 years but not this.

Hopefully it means I am less at risk (despite a simple cold leaving me with a chest infection requiring 2 list of steroids last winter) as there is not room in my y6 classroom for 2m distancing between me and the pupils even at the front if the class.

I seriously cannot imagine the logistical nightmare of a managing this in a secondary.

[quote Pandapotato]@JesusInTheCabbageVan out if interest, who out of the first priority groups do you think should’ve had to step aside for the teachers? (I’m not having a go - just curious)

The scientific guidance has been very clear that vaccinating teachers wouldn’t have an impact on hospitalisation and mortality figures.

I do think that now we have the priority groups done, they should be prioritised in order to stop the bleating and get our kids back to school.[/quote]
Office-based social care staff who have been working from home all year. I imagine there will be NHS admin and clerical staff in the same position.

@Pandapotato wish they'd allow house swaps

We used to visit my Granny in North Wales every summer when I was young, near Porthmadog. Very happy memories and I miss it so much right now I've started dreaming about it even though I haven't been there for over 20 years.

We had always planned to move somewhere more rural when we retired, but after lockdown there's no way we can wait that long! Though I do plan to make the most of pubs and restaurants when we finally get them back.

@SaltyAF I don’t think those people haven’t been offered where I work. Only parenting facing and clerical / business staff who come in and play vital roles in keeping the whole show on the road. But I suppose it’s different everywhere.

@JesusInTheCabbageVan a house swap! That would be cool! Can I leave you my house (and kids) for the weekend while we enjoy the big city 😂 my partner used to live in Cardiff and it’s definitely a place of fond memories for me! I’m
Sure you would love our beach - and the constant Dino noises from the 5 year old!

We aren’t that close to Porthmadog, but I know it and it’s lovely. Fingers crossed you get your rural dream. I think that this pandemic has taught us to love for the day more than ever, so definitely don’t put it off.

I see There’s rumblings about the unions etc being unhappy about schools returning in England on 8th March, do we definitely think 3-7 will be going back this week? I can’t see any evidence that welsh schools have had extra mitigation measures put in? All our school has said is that children need to wear vests as all doors and windows will be open, and they’ll be having different breaktimes.

@Pandapotato love for the day, what a lovely typo!

Haha, I can offer your 5yo a 9yo who does exquisitely rendered, technically flawless pictures of pooing bums. They'd love each other.

Cardiff is one of those great places that never seems to really change, no matter how much it changes. If you ever do make it back here, we have soooo many good restaurants now. Well, had, and hopefully will have again, one day. Foodies are quite snooty about Cardiff in comparison to Bristol, but EH and I have a wishlist of at least 20 restaurants we're missing desperately.

We've booked a summer holiday in St David's this year, so fingers crossed it goes ahead and I can get my beach fix in time for whatever fresh hell winter brings.

@AlohaMolly

I see There’s rumblings about the unions etc being unhappy about schools returning in England on 8th March, do we definitely think 3-7 will be going back this week? I can’t see any evidence that welsh schools have had extra mitigation measures put in? All our school has said is that children need to wear vests as all doors and windows will be open, and they’ll be having different breaktimes.

Teachers are testing twice a week and wearing masks from what I've seen?