How can schools successfully reopen? What the UK can learn from other countries

[herecomesthsun]

Very interesting thread, in the Telegraph, looking at what other countires are doing to make schools safe, here.

www.telegraph.co.uk/education-and-careers/2021/02/14/can-schools-successfully-reopen-uk-can-learn-countries/

The implication is that the UK can adopt some of these measures for schools reopening to be more successful.

For example, in France, some measures discussed that are not currently in use in the UK include:

"-Students must adhere to the one-metre social distancing measures in their classrooms and two metres when in the canteen with pupils from other classes

-Wearing a face mask is mandatory for adults and pupils from the first grade

• Facilities must be cleaned and aired for at least 10 minutes every three hours

When looking at how other advanced nations have navigated school closures, France has one of the lowest closed school rates. Children and teachers in French schools are also no longer allowed to wear fabric face masks, but must instead wear “category 1” surgical masks which offer a higher level of protection."

and so on.

I think it's very encouraging that this is at least being discussed, and in one of the more right wing papers. Let's hope there are government plans to put more measures in place.

No, late 40s so I just miss out. That’s why I am pushing for mitigation so I can do my job without running the risk of death or long term illness. Masks are not a big ask if teachers are not vaccinated. Children in other countries manage it.

Meanwhile, no doubt we’ll continue with the open window and hand sanitiser approach.

I would love 18-22 in my class, I might almost be able to SD the children at that level. I’d also like additional hand washing facilities (I have 1 sink to 32 children) and masks to be worn.

They are of an age where get have to wear them in shops etc, so school would be doable. If their parents don’t want them to wear them, I will happily upload the work so that they can continue to work at home- maskless and under the full supervision of their parents.

People are not meeting indoors without wearing masks in groups of 30, in small poorly ventilated rooms, and staying there for hours at a time, while conducting conversations with each other.

Not anywhere else, except apparently schools.

We have a more infectious variant now.

So we need to put whatever precautions we can in place, especially when neither the teachers (in the vast majority of cases) nor the pupils have been vaccinated.

Whatever we can. Thant probably means masks, especially in secondary.

If that doesn't suit, there is always remote learning and we should be offering that as an option IMO.

Remote learning is inadequate. It occupies some time, but children can not and should not be isolated this way for much longer. Play and socialisation is essential to their development. It's not something they can take or leave.

@Tryingtryingandtrying

Remote learning is inadequate. It occupies some time, but children can not and should not be isolated this way for much longer. Play and socialisation is essential to their development. It's not something they can take or leave.

Are your children primary or secondary?

Herecomesthesun Very very soon the majority of teachers will be vaccinated. Once that happens Covid is not a danger to them and should not prevent them from doing their work.

@Tryingtryingandtrying

Remote learning is inadequate. It occupies some time, but children can not and should not be isolated this way for much longer. Play and socialisation is essential to their development. It's not something they can take or leave.

Ok, then we need all the mitigation measures we can muster to be put in place to keep the schools open.

How have you concluded that the majority of teachers will be vaccinated? The vast majority of my colleagues are far too young for that!

Mrshamlet My children are primary aged.

Everyone will be vaccinated by the summer unless your colleagues are children themselves

Herecomesthesun Rotas especially would not help anyone. Mitigation is only worth doing if it actually mitigates, not if it just makes people feel safer.

Summer is still a long way off for those of us going back into small rooms with 32 unmasked teenagers for 2 hours at a time.

I agree about play and socialisation being necessary. But I only teach 14 year olds and upwards. They do most of their playing online it seems.

@Tryingtryingandtrying

Herecomesthesun Very very soon the majority of teachers will be vaccinated. Once that happens Covid is not a danger to them and should not prevent them from doing their work.

It's more complicated than that.

We need to avoid schools being a place where covid can spread and mutate if we can.

The children themselves are not being vaccinated.

Mutations like the South African variant may not be well controlled by the vaccines. It's not altogether clear how protected vulnerable people will be from them, even if they have been vaccinated.

So, while it's great we have vaccines, we can't be completely complacent that the problem is now sorted.

re rotas, the Telegraph article was describing advantages of flexi schooling. (I'm not specifically arguing for that, but clearly it is one possibility).

Anything which helps schools spread pupils out could help with social distancing; on the other hand, I can see there are disadvantages.

Funnily enough, there was an item on the news just now about Chichester College, an outstanding further education college, which is planning to move some of its teaching on line permanently, even when students return to college.

So clearly they feel that remote learning has worked for them and st least some of their students, some of the time.

I don't think FE Colleges are really compabke to Year 1 in the village primary school.

No but they are comparable to sixth forms.

Remote learning is fine. Primary and secondary kids in my house, and one with SEN. Rotas sound like the way forward, plus masks as much as possible - and teachers should be vaccinated but that won't protect the community of course.

I know a few teachers though who also don't ideally want masks.

When my children were in reception, they had a teacher who loved to take them tramping through the outdoors. Off they would all go on adventures, with several parent volunteers, pretty much every week.

We were very lucky that there were parents who could do this, and we are quite rural. Obviously, they didn't need all the parents to go, just enough to keep the ratios safe, alongside the teacher and TAs.

It was great for the kids. It would be wonderful in a pandemic in many ways, as outdoors. Great exercise and great for mental health.

But a pain to organise, I can see that.

Don't they have a lot of emphasis on outdoor/ forest education in the Scandi countries? very successfully?

(to move away from the needs of secondary to the needs of primary school children).

That’s fine. Those teachers could ask the children who wish to do so to take masks off in their lessons. I wouldn’t mind!

@donewithitalltodayandxmas

I know a few teachers though who also don't ideally want masks.

Ideally I don't want to teach in a mask. Will do though to keep myself, other staff and children safe

So much more could be done and it costs nothing to get the dc out of a room and to air it for 10 mins every so often.

Sd however is an absolute no no. They can't do it, it can't be done in UK schools.

Masks should definitely become mandatory and I think more breaks should be allowed to air rooms and give kids a break from masks.

@Tryingtryingandtrying

Remote learning is inadequate. It occupies some time, but children can not and should not be isolated this way for much longer. Play and socialisation is essential to their development. It's not something they can take or leave.

I agree. Remote learning is not adequate. It is not even a full school day and the children are missing out on valuable socialisation and development. I think the teachers at my son’s school have done an amazing job at the home learning programme and it is no criticism of them but it is not enough. Honestly do masks on young kids really work? I am not an anti masker by any means but any time I have had my kids wear them, they are always playing with them, they get wet from the constant talking...I just question their efficacy from my (admittedly limited) experience of this.

@Tryingtryingandtrying

Herecomesthesun Very very soon the majority of teachers will be vaccinated. Once that happens Covid is not a danger to them and should not prevent them from doing their work.

It is really not about the teachers specifically (although I am glad they are vaccinated) but about the spread between children and into families!

It is also hardly about teachers being prevented from doing their work by Covid... ours have certainly been full-time in school teaching keyworker and vulnerable children PLUS also managing the remote learning of those at home. Pretty sure most would love to get back to a semblance of normality!