Those who work in schools ....

[THATbasicSNOWFLAKE]

How would you feel about full reopening from 8th March with conditions as before?

Are your unions starting to look at what can be done?

If you submitted a section 44 letter last time would you do so again?

You don't have to engage DalryPlace . This is a critical week for school decisions - of course it's going to get talked about a lot. Probably most of the people on this thread work in schools. It's hard to think about much else at the moment!

I would love to get back in my classroom and would be very happy to be at work with the same mitigations as are a legal requirement in every other workplace.
So, blended learning, kids on a rota for social distancing to happen, masks worn in classrooms and good ventilation. And the same contact tracing rules as other places too.
All that, I'd love to be back it would be much easier than teaching online. But I'm also CV (only one course of meds off ECV) so without those measures I will not be working onsite until I am vaccinated and have had time for it to work.

@DalryPlace

It is half term, please leave hard working staff alone to have a break without thinking about school. Education staff have worked constantly, their mental and physical health suffering.

Please leave it.

Yes it's half term and I'm a teacher who needs a break. That doesn't mean I can't read these though. No one asks people to read and reply if they don't want to!

Katherine you had no masks at all till January?!

Where I am, they were optional for all staff and pupils from September. Then compulsory in communal areas for all staff and Year 7 and 8 pupils from Oct half term. Also compulsory for adults doing 1:1 and close contact work. Then recommended for all staff in classrooms too from the Nov lockdown.

Because we had a parent lobbying group pushing last summer for schools to go back "as normal" and the government listened to them. So we went back as normal.

We didn’t go back as normal at all. We had routines that meant staff constantly had to be on duty because bubbles couldn’t mix, we had staggered starts and pick ups meaning that a chunk of learning time was lost every day, we couldn’t do singing, have any Christmas celebrations, have assemblies, go on trips. There was constant hand washing or sanitising, none of it was like normal school.

One of the upsetting things I have discovered from this thread is how some schools (and the teachers within them) have left the TA's in school whilst they are at home, leaving their lower paid colleagues to take the risks but not them. If schools are such an unsafe workplace (MN opinion) why are teachers letting this happen? So they can be safe? Shocking.

Why do so many people think the only support staff in schools are TA’s, we are not and we are all in.

Depends what it's like. B4 ld it was:
Thousands of steps a day moving around school to teach kids in their bubbles. Then finding laptop had gone off/ no projector remote.
Still marking books, but now nowhere to leave them during the day
No drinking water in school.
No kettles cos of touching etc.
Masks I corridors/communal areas- but nothing happened to kids who wouldn't wear them.
Kids crossing bubbles.
Lots and lots of staff off, so on cover at least once or twice a week
Having to set work for absent colleagues in loads of different rooms
Kids complaining about having to be in school when x has cv and they looked at me this morning
Trying to find somewhere to work in a free cos pretty much every room was now being used.
Half your class suddenly disappearing cos of a cv case

It was exhausting and a mess. My 6th form haven't missed a lesson with me since Jan. Even when I had cv, I could still teach online. Before Xmas, some missed loads due to isolating.

So yes, I want to go back, but not to what it was like last term.

@strawberryforever our TAs are mainly home and teachers are in supporting key worker and vulnerable students. Everyone in on a rota. Even with only a v limited amount of people in we had 6 cases last half term and one pod had to close.

Someone on another thread actually said it was fine for TA’s/support staff to be in as ‘they’ve all had it already’ er, wtf 😂

@TheMoth I don't think parents understood what was actually going on last term. If kids were in then people assume it's all fine and lots of normal learning was going on. When it was actually just fire fighting every day.
My students have not missed one lesson since January. It's not perfect (I hate it, have eye strain and back ache) but it's a better educational experience than cover & bursting bubbles. And safer for all. We are so so close to getting out of this let's not blow it now by opening too fast. We've done that before. It didn't end well.

@strawberryforever, it’s not the teachers that make the choice in my experience. The headteacher makes the decisions about which staff will work where, teachers don’t have the power to either ‘let it happen’ or not.

Personally, I don’t mind because I can see the the decisions have been made by my head with the children’s education being the priority, and she’s right. It does work better with the teachers mostly at home and the TAs in school.

Fembot we have quite a lot of other support staff in but they are all able to work safely (office staff have distance and masks, grounds staff have masks and ate outside, cleaners have masks and work alone, kitchen staff are down to skeleton numbers and have masks, IT technician works alone. Etc) Other than peripatetic coaches, who I don't think are in anywhere, TAs are the only support staff I can think of who are at risk. Is that incorrect? I don't want to belittle any members of the school community so yes, I would definitely speak out against any support staff being taken advantage of. I didn't think they were being though.

It doesn’t have anything to do with the teachers, it’s up to the Head.

If schools are such an unsafe workplace (MN opinion) why are teachers letting this happen

I think you are massively overestimating how much power your average teacher has.

I have to teach my full time timetable on teams. So I pretty much have to be plonked in front of a computer for a minimum of 5 hours a day (this doesn’t factor in planning time).
I’m secondary so there aren’t that many kids in school (less than 50). Those 50 kids are each in front of a computer following an online lesson.

The head has decided that the teachers need to teach online. Whilst those who don’t have any lessons scheduled (TAs and PE staff staff) will support the KW kids in school.

As a teacher I have literally no say in this. I could insist on coming into school, but that achieves nothing other than having one extra person in school potentially spreading Covid.

@manicinsomniac

Fembot we have quite a lot of other support staff in but they are all able to work safely (office staff have distance and masks, grounds staff have masks and ate outside, cleaners have masks and work alone, kitchen staff are down to skeleton numbers and have masks, IT technician works alone. Etc) Other than peripatetic coaches, who I don't think are in anywhere, TAs are the only support staff I can think of who are at risk. Is that incorrect? I don't want to belittle any members of the school community so yes, I would definitely speak out against any support staff being taken advantage of. I didn't think they were being though.

It is incorrect, I’m a pastoral support and we are all in, science techs are in, librarian is in, none of us have an office and all of us are sitting in small rooms with more and more children (no enforced mask wearing) by the day. The only staff that are in an office are the office admin and the business manager.

My school has TAs in, teachers can come in or stay home it's upto them. SLTs in part time rota "working from home the rest". We have bubbles mixed so TAs can cover so high amounts of children in each bubble. Almost a full class in most. We've had lots of outbreaks, lots of TAs ill. Each week more children coming in. It's freezing cold and morale is very low.

Wow, Fembot - science techs and librarians in?! Your school must be running very normally right now. I don't know if I'm more jealous or shocked. Our library and science labs are closed and the staff on furlough. Pastoral, I do understand, of course. Our pastoral staff are SLT though so didn't think of them as support staff. But yes, of course, I can see you have the same risk as a TA.

SLT will have made the decisions about who is in and who is working at home. We have teachers and TAs on rotas here, but much smaller numbers than other primary schools.

We had to close a bubble that had only four children and one member of staff in - two tested positive. I think we should be prepared for disruption again when schools open to all pupils.

@manicinsomniac

Wow, Fembot - science techs and librarians in?! Your school must be running very normally right now. I don't know if I'm more jealous or shocked. Our library and science labs are closed and the staff on furlough. Pastoral, I do understand, of course. Our pastoral staff are SLT though so didn't think of them as support staff. But yes, of course, I can see you have the same risk as a TA.

I’m definitely not SLT 😁😂 Yes all in and all sitting with kids.

Thanks for your replies. As teachers you do have the right to express your opinion. Some schools appear to be mixing supervision with teachers/TA's/other staff. This may not be possible everywhere. If you don't voice your opinion to your headteachers you are complicit with their decisions. I see this every day in my work. Most people do not challenge their management team for fear of being labelled difficult.

One of the upsetting things I have discovered from this thread is how some schools (and the teachers within them) have left the TA's in school whilst they are at home, leaving their lower paid colleagues to take the risks but not them. If schools are such an unsafe workplace (MN opinion) why are teachers letting this happen? So they can be safe? Shocking.

Could somebody answer this????!!!!!

This is very much dependent on personal circumstances. I have had 23 in my bubble and we have had two bursts ( I know this is not a real word but I am making it one!). It has been very difficult juggling teaching that many and being available for my class at home the week I am in. I would not feel much different with my class back.

I have just been vaccinated and know I am
lucky to be in that position. I worry about my children who are at home and can't wait to have them all in the classroom with me. I will continue to keep myself as safe as possible.

I do know that my colleagues who have only had a few children in may feel very differently.

Several people have answered it already Dusty
Summary reply - it's not the case in all schools, it is happening in a lot of schools and is awful, most teachers can't change it, many schools don't have another option, TAs are definitely not valued enough, there are also other support staff affected.