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?

I think schools are just trying to work with the guidance the government has foisted on them. I don't think schools are purposefully trying to put TA's in danger.Someone has to supervise keyworker children. This is a key reason why all school staff and keyworkers should be vaccinated in my view.

In my school it’s just TAs & SLT in. No teachers have been onsite since the emergency inset day we had in January.
TBH we are exhausted, we have no interventions for SEND pupils as the TAs that do that are in classes, nursery staff from are in with year 1&2 not really understanding how to do the focus learning with them & emails from our union rep are being ignored.
The amount of work we’re doing on site is far more than we’ve ever had to do. Once I’ve done all the welfare calls, marked/uploaded the work the children in school have done & got the classroom ready I don’t leave until 5. I’m also struggling with getting my DC into their school full time even though DH & I are both key workers. It’s all getting a bit too much now.

To be honest I'll just do as I'm told.

My worry with a full unmitigated return is that it will just lead to bubbles popping all over the place an a poorer standard of education than we're delivering at the moment.

I want to do whatever provides the best education - and remote is much better than bubble hokey-cokey.

I personally favour a rota model - so they get to be in and social some of the time for their MH but fewer in a classroom and not like sardines in the corridor.

But if we go back we go back, it would be lovely if it worked and didn't drive up cases and pop bubbles.

@Inmyownlittlecorner I really feel for you. Like I said, all our staff are in working their full hours. As a teacher I would feel really bad if the TAs in my class were expected to do that.

Thank you @manicinsomniac

I’m not blaming teachers.

Are support staff supported by unions?

I personally favour a rota model - so they get to be in and social some of the time for their MH but fewer in a classroom and not like sardines in the corridor.

Government will not even consider this. Why is that?

I personally favour a rota model - so they get to be in and social some of the time for their MH but fewer in a classroom and not like sardines in the corridor

Yes, and this could have started next week if the stupid government hadn't sat on its hands. You could have had 50% of the kids in one week and the other 50% the next. I know there's an issue with the children of keyworkers needing to be in all the time, but that can't be insurmountable (and doesn't really apply to secondary).

@manicinsomniac all support staff are in at our school. Full compliment of canteen staff, cleaners, site staff, librarian, IT and DT technicians and finally office staff.
PE and Maths teacher's are doing room supervision. SLT in on rotation.

I actually get annoyed at the teachers who come in when they don't have to. We have to be in because we can't work from home and SLT are scratting around finding us stuff to do. I would rather have limited numbers in to minimise the risk of transmission.
On the one hand, I do rather resent being in, it's like we are not valued, it doesn't matter if we get ill. On the other hand, if I can keep myself to myself, I don't mind.

Apparently you can't furlough public sector workers. That's why everyone is in - it's that or make them redundant which no one wants. Teachers have to supervise KW in my school and I'm in every day as my home wifi is rubbish.

@mumsneedwine, the Dept of Education advised that only those paid from a separate income stream could be furloughed ie. Somebody who deals with room rentals, because there are no rentals at the moment, that income stream has gone.

In reality, schools are furloughing support staff.

It really doesn’t matter what I think. As a CV TA I have learnt that no one (who doesn’t work in a school) has any idea what’s going on, or cares....

I have been in school full time since September. We were not allowed to wear any PPE in the classrooms until January- since then I make sure I have a mask and visor on where I can (but have to take the mask off if at the front of the class teaching - which is a large proportion of my time).

In our school the TAs and teachers are in on a rota, but my rota is ‘in full time’, so not much of a rota?!

I don’t feel safe at all. I would like to be prioritised for a vaccine (but it looks like I won’t get one anytime soon despite being CV as have the wrong kind of asthma, despite having had the flu jab for 30 years).

But none of that matters. I have a duty to the children and will be in regardless with a huge smile on my face.

I can definitely understand you feeling like that NiceTwin

However, if the aim is to keep numbers down, I don't understand why all these support staff are in. Surely they aren't needed? What can, for example, a DT technician do once they've cleaned and inventoried everything? Surely nobody is doing practical DT? If I were SLT, I'd furlough them and help keep the numbers down.

No issue with teachers being in, imo. Those of us who aren't in bubbles are mostly alone in classrooms and need the resources/space. I go in because I don't have sufficient internet at home to run Teams or Zoom and because I have a couple of scholarship pupils who I need to do physical 1:1 lessons with to prep them for their scholarship auditions.

@NiceTwin we haven't. Everyone still on full pay. V glad they are as not fair otherwise. Support staff earn rubbish money anyway.

Most at my school did submit section 44 last time. However I have been in school throughout as all my children have an EHCP.

I do wish they would vaccinate those staff who need it most. Our local MP was quoted as saying he would not push for vaccinating teachers as he could not justify it for “healthy 25 year olds”. I have real concerns for my support staff, several of whom are over 60 and taking on intimate personal care duties on a daily basis.

I know that some LAs are prioritising this but clearly not ours?

You can't furlough public sector workers can you?

I'm 53. I take heart pills. No vaccine. Great.

I suppose teachers can wfh. Support staff can't. Ours are in on a rota but on the days they aren't in they aren't working so getting paid for doing nothing. Whereas teachers are working all the time.

Another school here with the librarian and science/DT/food techs in, and teachers at home. And as the librarian and tech roles are vastly reduced currently, they are being roped in to cover vunerable bubbles, calls home and lateral flow testing.
Meanwhile the 5 teacher for one subject have decided they will take one school year each, live teach one lesson per year per week, and put worksheets on for the rest. Then they talk about taking their primary kids for walks in the snow, baking, helping with school work etc while my 9 yr old spends his day with 30 mins of interaction with his father over lunch, and the rest home schooling alone (2 key workers here, school place denied as we cant predict when DH will be required out of the house, so then the 9 and 11 yr olds are left alone until I can find cover and get home).
It's totally unfair how unbalanced kids in different situations are being treated, but equally full time, no mitigation, is not a viable option.

I'd love to see rotas made to work, but not sure that isnt doubling the work for the teachers, even if, say surnames A-M have one week at half term and N-Z follow a week later in school, so lag one week behind on everything. Then A-M finish one week early for the summer. But that's still having to juggle 2 different sets of work each week, even if the planning could be directly reused (and it usually cant!).
It's a mess, and whatever is implemented will leave someone feeling like they have the short straw.

@poppycat10

I personally favour a rota model - so they get to be in and social some of the time for their MH but fewer in a classroom and not like sardines in the corridor

Yes, and this could have started next week if the stupid government hadn't sat on its hands. You could have had 50% of the kids in one week and the other 50% the next. I know there's an issue with the children of keyworkers needing to be in all the time, but that can't be insurmountable (and doesn't really apply to secondary).

It is unsurmontable unless you have a plan to enable this Otherwise its just pie in the sky wishful thinking.

I still maintain its not plausable in practice. And unless you can come up with a viable suggestion which magics up extra teachers and space, I will continue to say you are just talking nonsense.

I really think school staff over 50 or vulnerable should be able to access the vaccine now, so they have some degree of protection before returning. We have three weeks, it could be done.

We lost a colleague to Covid, a TA. She was in her late 50s.

@RedToothBrush rotas are very doable. We have plans ready to go. But government say no.

@Beforethetakingoftoastandtea

Thank god the nurses and doctors didn't serve their employers with section 44 letters eh?

Good job they’ve all got fit-tested ppe and have been vaccinated, eh?

Not seen a dental nurse yet, mind you.

They haven't. My daughter is a ward sister on a Covid ward, and has had nothing but a blue mask, apron and gloves throughout. She's vaccinated now, but that was only three weeks ago.

I'm an ex-teacher and my other daughter is a teacher, and I'm appalled at the lack of PPE in schools (as is the nurse DD). But let's not pretend that nurses outside ITU have great PPE, because in many cases they don't. DD's mask is lesss effective than many people wear to go to tesco, yet she's up close and personal with dying Covid patients every working day.

@saraclara I'll second that. My DD worked as an HCA on covid wards, cleaning up toileting accidents and washing patients. She had an apron, blue mask and gloves.
However 2 wrongs don't make a right. Sending school staff back into workplaces that anywhere else would lead to prosecution (no social distancing, no preventative measures) is stupid. And will just lead to the in and out bubble bursting again. Why not do it properly ?

In my school the rota is shared and been made to be equal. Teachers are one week in and one week wfh and full time TAs have the same. Part time staff still have an equal time working at home. It has been as fair as possible. I was shocked to hear how some schools have set things up because that wasn't on the guidance. Maybe because the guidance was so lacking this time has led to such disparities.

@Useruseruserusee

I really think school staff over 50 or vulnerable should be able to access the vaccine now, so they have some degree of protection before returning. We have three weeks, it could be done.

We lost a colleague to Covid, a TA. She was in her late 50s.

I am of the opinion that the date of March 8th should be rolled back two weeks to enable this and allow immunity in the population to be building up. Two weeks which will have significant difference.

By March 22nd the picture will be significantly different to March 8th. It would make a lot of concerns and problems disappear.

Its not overly cautious. Its sensible. It means we will have less cases throughout the country (including places which are still high) and will mean the hospitals everywhere will be below the April peak (some will not be by March 8th) and many more of the over 50s will be vaccinated meaning the likelihood of those hospitals refilling is way down.

The numbers on this make the most sense without going over board and being overly cautious. It kills the union arguments dead.

I don't think it will happen.