How are teachers feeling now?

[ssd]

I've got an awful lot of sympathy for teachers in all this, I feel they've been hung out to dry. But hopefully the vaccine news and cases coming down will make them feel a bit better.
My kids have left school so I've got a general interest. .no bone to grind.

@noblegiraffe

DfE stats say: “ State-funded secondaries have an average of 24 pupils isolating per confirmed COVID-19 case on 10 December, up slightly from 23 pupils on 26 November”

any more recent figures? now theyre all being tested?

The numbers today are up on last week. You can say they have fallen since January. Saying they are dramatically falling is a bit disingenuous. I remember when 5k a day seemed a lot and people were alarmed.

But, as I said, not the point of the thread.

I am going to keep saying it : the OP asked how teachers were feeling. I said it is stressful and disruptive (I am sure I can add student behaviour is poor too) and that I feel sorry for the students who have just come back, only to have to SI and lose a week of holiday.

Today there were 5.5k new cases (not forgetting we are testing asymptomatic kids now).

And if you are in a school that has a large number of these new reported cases, this increases your workload (remote learning for those kids, covering the extra work from absent members of staff etc) and therefore entitled to feel that it is worse than Sept to Nov if your particular situation has changed since then.

I have absolutely no idea why each class isnt a separate bubble, it absolutely should be

Not possible in Secondary when form groups have different teachers (some sets in key stage 3 and picking different subjects in Key Stage 4 and 5) if that helps to understand? Hence it is more like ‘close contacts’ at secondary and not closing ‘bubbles’ as it is referred to in Primary.

Thank you chloe. Perhaps I wasn't being clear enough. I genuinely was speaking for myself. That's who OP was asking after!

I can perhaps say that most teachers in my schol are more visibly stressed. Mainly because of CAGs and the increased workload and responsibility.

Cases will show up next week and could come form any number of villages and town. I do hope you are not suggesting I am lying frazzled ??

And now we are down to posters accusing people of lying. I give up.

@ChloeDecker

Today there were 5.5k new cases (not forgetting we are testing asymptomatic kids now).

And if you are in a school that has a large number of these new reported cases, this increases your workload (remote learning for those kids, covering the extra work from absent members of staff etc) and therefore entitled to feel that it is worse than Sept to Nov if your particular situation has changed since then.

Yes I get that. I just guess I don't understand how when there is 5k cases now compared to 60k (that we knew about) before that it could be worse now. In effect then what you're saying is it's worse personally when it's your school that have the cases, whereas if a school has no cases it would be better for the teachers? But surely that's been the same throughout?

@ChloeDecker

I have absolutely no idea why each class isnt a separate bubble, it absolutely should be

Not possible in Secondary when form groups have different teachers (some sets in key stage 3 and picking different subjects in Key Stage 4 and 5) if that helps to understand? Hence it is more like ‘close contacts’ at secondary and not closing ‘bubbles’ as it is referred to in Primary.

I know it's not possible in secondary and close contacts seems a far better approach and should be the case in primary!

@ChloeDecker

And now we are down to posters accusing people of lying. I give up.

To be fair though @piggy did suggest I was lying when I pointed out that 90 kids or a while year group could be isolating!

Yes, because we were asked how we were? I am not speaking on behalf of the whole teaching profession.

However, the thread does rather suggest quite an accumulation of stresses, most unavoidable, some avoidable.

I expected a rise in SIs but many of my colleagues seem to have been a bit naive about it all.

I’m secondary and we had whole year groups isolating. It might have just been how my school did it though.

any more recent figures? now theyre all being tested?

No, because the most recent attendance data was on Tuesday and they said they wouldn't publish the average isolation figures until secondary schools had finished their staggered return.

I don't see why you would expect it to leap from 24/30 pupils isolating per positive to 90 as you suggest though. The procedures there haven't changed from December.

I didn't! I said it was an exaggeration by the media, as if it is always the case. I did make it clear I was talking about secondaries, too.

You didn't say it was from personal experience.

Personally, working in an area with many large schools, I ahve never heard of one case leading to 90 children out.

I am not sure if it is hypothetical at your schol, or if it has actually happened palace and don't want to pry. But some schol thought whole bubbles would shut and the then DfE intervened.

@palacegirl77 I work in a primary with 90 children per bubble. The TAs are shared between these classes and the music teacher teaches all 3 classes. All 90 children mix freely at break and lunch outside. No social distancing between children or children and adults but adults must SD. No masks allowed by adults or children.

When a child tested positive the other week, only their class was told to isolate by PHE and the teacher and TA who taught them within 48hrs of the positive test. School was told all 90 children didn’t need to isolate as their close contact was outside. The concept of bubbles is pretty much meaningless IMHO.

Hopefully most of them, if they have any sense, are glad to be back in the classroom doing their normal job. Certainly the teachers I know as friends or at DCs school, are.
'Teachers' on SM - who seem to be a different species - on are probably still shaking with terror at the awful disease vectors they are forced to be in contact with.

frazzled can you please stop doxxing me? Not comfortable with that.

If your DC attends, you will know that the schol shut a week early. That wasn't for a fun long holiday.

before that it could be worse now.

Because her experience in her particular school and department(s) is worse now than it was then? Not hard to understand really. Schools may have more reports to write, may parents evenings to do, may have more children SI so teaching them and those in school, may have more staff off sick or with Covid, may have Ofsted now, may have more pupils struggling, may have many more issues to deal with.
As I said, everyone is entitled to feel how they feel and write so, on a thread inviting them to, without having to repeatedly defend themselves to posters who have absolutely no direct experience. themselves.

Closed a week earlier because they are a private school who close a week earlier than state schools or closed a week earlier than normal @Piggywaspushed?

How on earth do you know where piggys DH teaches? [shocked]

@Chocolateoatmilk

I’m secondary and we had whole year groups isolating. It might have just been how my school did it though.

That changed around November time to close contacts not year groups unless there were far too many cases for close contacts to be used.

I was vaccinated at half term which made a huge difference to how I feel but I would say with masks and testing, it feels way better than it did in September. We have 2 full year groups out at the moment, however, and didn’t send home any groups up to Christmas!

I started maternity leave then so that’ll be why. I agree the bubbles are meaningless but it’s hard as you can only do what you can do.