Likelihood of schools closing again before summer...

[confuseddotcomma]

I know noone knows what will happen. But I feel this is increasingly more likely every day... Fingers crossed we can hold out until the summer holidays!

I think the KW provision wasn’t consistent. Very poor at our school March - July. Worksheet in morning (no help with work provided to the extent my DD wrote 3 words the entire morning as she was stuck) and film in the afternoon.
Although tbf they only attended a few occasions as we juggled days as I was keen not to put teachers/other children at risk.
Yes I did raise with the school and yes I appreciate the provision was childcare only.

PomRuns, You do realise that the Government suspended the entire curriculum from 23rd March last year?
Initially, schools provided "ticking over" activities whilst they waited for further guidance. None was forthcoming, so bit by bit they began upping the provision.
If your daughter was stuck, could you not have helped her?

Yes I do realise that. Of course I helped her later that night when I was home from work.

I really hope not, I know I m only thinking about myself and my family but I want my son to finish year 6 in school, it’s already a much reduced experience! He is also going to secondary where he knows no one so I want him to have a smooth and as normal as possible transition. I know this is self centred but my DC are my priority!

@PomRuns

Yes I do realise that. Of course I helped her later that night when I was home from work.

Are you saying that she didn't ask anyone in her bubble to help either? Or is the implication that everyone refused to help or something?

The school were clear they wouldn’t help with the worksheets for the kw children.
I do understand that they didn’t want to give the children an advantage but actually it meant they were disadvantaged as school had to be done in the evening once we were home.
It’s generally a great school. Difficult times for all.

Zero chance.
But what will happen is that many school bubbles are going to burst and will have to isolate as the virus becomes more common in the community.
It’s not going to be pretty.
There is nothing to stop it from spreading in the younger age groups. I’m expecting a messy couple of months.
And I’m really not looking forward to homeschooling. 😩😩

dapsnotplimsolls
No way will they close again. Boris' backbenchers will flay him alive if he closes schools again.
Exactly.

Of course the unions may threaten the government with legal action again for putting their members in unsafe conditions. Section 44 could be cited again.

Oh blimey.

What will happen is:

1. There will be lots and lots of positive cases in hotspot areas, leading to huge disruption for affected children who have to SI while their teachers once again work themselves into the ground trying to provide for them and teach the rest of the class simultaneously.

1. Schools’ budgets will be further decimated trying to continue to run the bubble system with the hefty additional staffing and resource requirements.

1. The government will continue to ignore the fact that one of the single best mitigations that can be provided is proper ventilation, something that the vast majority of schools can’t provide without urgent investment.

1. The ‘lazy teacher’ narrative will be upped in the media, and union statements from back in January asking for two weeks closure to put mitigations in place and ensure that schools could STAY OPEN FULLY will be buried.

@pomRuns that seems ridiculous. Not that I don't believe you but that really would not have been something that happened at my school.

It was ridiculous- poor leadership.

as I've said before I'm just jealous that schools have been closed and teachers have been more protected than us! We haven't had the choice to be at home through the worst months

A lot of teachers haven't had that choice either though?
I'm a teacher, myself and my colleagues came back to work on June 1st 2020 and have worked throughout ever since. Been wee'd on, spat at, bitten, changed underwear, cleaned up vomit.

I'm not complaining, it's my job but it does grate on me slightly when people assume that because "schools were closed" that teachers were sat tucked up at home.

@SausageFrog

"yet, my colleagues in real life are reporting little difference in attainment this year to previous years"

Same. You wouldn't look in the children's books and think bloody hell what's happened to the world. Looks like normal work.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-57357663.amp Anecdotal stories based on wishful thinking is not evidence

@GiveMeNovocain, How about posting the full quote? I actually also said, "Not disputing the experts' findings, just talking from my own experience."

@confuseddotcomma

I assume you have a degree if you're a nurse? simples ... retrain, you can crack out a PGCE in less than 12mths and be a teacher 🌟

A quick glance at the actual report that that article refers to (but conveniently never explicitly talks about) shows that this was only on early years settings in private, voluntary or independently run places (specifically states childcare and places where they furloughed staff or made them redundant) ) so not state schools in primary/secondary:

The survey was conducted with early years settings across England, Scotland and Wales between 4th -18th February and was open to all private, voluntary and independently run providers. The survey asked providers about the period covering the past three months since our last survey was conducted in November.

They’d better fucking not close, that’s all I can say.

The next nearest primary school to ours is shut. For at least a week. No keyworker provision at all as everyone is isolating.
I think employers and especially big ones like the nhs need to be prepared for this on a bubble / local level.

Also, OP, of course you have been more highly exposed to covid in your healthcare job. It would be frankly very concerning if teachers were exposed to covid at higher rates than nurses who are working with known positive patients.
However, I’m interested in your claim that we’ve had the choice not to work, when I haven’t had a single day wfh (other than one inset day). 13 kids in the class opposite mine caught covid before the schools closed. Not sure how my class avoided it as they share a bathroom; clearly my kids are hugely hygienic 😂 It has been difficult for everyone who is working outside the home and working with members of the public of any age. Frankly I think teachers and NHS workers get a lot of the attention over people working in shit conditions in factories, for example.

Absolutely agree plus supermarket/ transport workers and many others who continued to work F2F throughout.

@year5teacher

Also, OP, of course you have been more highly exposed to covid in your healthcare job. It would be frankly very concerning if teachers were exposed to covid at higher rates than nurses who are working with known positive patients. However, I’m interested in your claim that we’ve had the choice not to work, when I haven’t had a single day wfh (other than one inset day). 13 kids in the class opposite mine caught covid before the schools closed. Not sure how my class avoided it as they share a bathroom; clearly my kids are hugely hygienic 😂 It has been difficult for everyone who is working outside the home and working with members of the public of any age. Frankly I think teachers and NHS workers get a lot of the attention over people working in shit conditions in factories, for example.

Just to also make the point again from my earlier post that health professionals were far far down the list of occupations most likely to test positive for Covid19 back in Feb (from Sept to Dec), where teachers were fourth on the list (and supermarket workers not on the list interestingly) but the OP is obviously not coming back and putting her ‘money where her mouth is’.

@stairway

I thought the data showed teachers weren’t more likely to catch covid then any other worker of a similar age. It doesn’t matter now anyway as those vulnerable are vaccinated.

Apparently so but how do you then explain situations like in my school where 75% of staff caught could within 6 weeks despite adults not having close contact with one another, and most of us not doing a lot of mixing elsewhere and many people very careful.

It didn't help the stats that school staff were divided into categories either so the true picture was by really show .

Abraxan just to say again that teachers weren’t more likely to die than other similar occupations based on data from March to sept 2020 and later transpired were actually more likely to catch Covid based on data from September.

I mean, the government spiel and media reporting has really done well to make everyone believe teachers, schools and children in schools are completely safe. Hats off to them for that I suppose. That’s been a success at least

They break up end of June so can’t see it myself

[quote CallmeHendricks]@GiveMeNovocain, How about posting the full quote? I actually also said, "Not disputing the experts' findings, just talking from my own experience."[/quote]
Well your 'findings' aren't backed u by actual evidence. I know you'd prefer that shutting schools made little difference but it's impact will be felt by the most vulnerable children will be felt for the rest of their lives without a willingness to face up to the damage done. Children have lost education, safeguarding, opportunity to develop and play normally. Children have gone through crucial development isolated with abusers. If you think every child in your school is absolutely fine you haven't looked very hard.