Schools in meltdown. Put your kids in masks

[0None0]

Long story short

First case May 10.
By May 17 th, half of all year groups at home. Many staff sick. Some departments have no staff at all. Some students sent home for lack of staff, rather than quarantine.
20th May. School closed. Half term brought forward one week
31 May. Reopen.
1 June several more cases identified
3rd June. All lower school sent home. Year 10 and 12 kept in only. Masks, which had been optional, are now made compulsory again. Too late
7th June. School closed again. I am now teaching online

So in the last few weeks, I have spent 3x longer on COVID related activities than on teaching. Including trying to get students home when classes close, and they can’t use public transport. Teaching doubled up classes, 30 online, and 30 in front of me, because there are hardly any staff in. Administering tests. Taking students to and from the testing site. Recording results. Cramming information in subjects I know nothing about, but have been told I am about to teach. Much of the time students have just been told to read in silence, while we get on with our main business, as a covid testing site.

So please put masks on your children. There is no reason for a secondary aged child not to have a mask on their face, and a spare in their bag, and a spare spare.

And please support what’s schools are trying to do to enforce masks.

I see so many posts of mothers up in arms about masks. We are desperately fighting to keep education going, and we need your support

I belong to a MAT composed of 3 large secondary schools. Within our 3 schools we have:

A 15 year old boy who developed type 1 diabetes when he caught Covid

An 18 year old girl who lost most of her hearing through covid

A 14 year old boy whose heart has been left so damaged by covid he might need a transplant.

It’s heartbreaking.

@laserlsy
If you've had it and didn't even notice why are you worried. Your immune system did it's job

Yes our schools 3 cases all pandemic.

So no thanks

How is it more risky now than last surge? Not being goady I just genuinely don't understand why you would be more worried now than in the autumn?

Barefoot. Yes me too - currently doing Year 12 exams

@Wherediditgo the OP explains (in her OP and later) that the school is shut

@CarrieBlue

"Either way, anecdote isn’t evidence."
Precisely my point to your original point that your school had had a case since masks were dropped.

@Pieceofpurplesky
Are schools not doing online teaching when they are forced to close?

@BarefootHippieChick

I am worried for the 10s and 12s (not at our school) and their exams next year. I hope a decision is made soon.

As a parent whose child did GCSEs last year, and is now doing A Levels, I'm with you on that one.

Things that worry me about these 2 year groups:

• they already had one set of results decided outside of their control
• they have been constantly assessed since September as if they were taking continuous assessment subjects, when in fact they are taking subjects with curricula that were designed to be 100% exam (in most cases)
• this continuous assessment has been inconsistent and different across all schools, but will be used to allocate grades for the same exams if exams get cancelled again
• bizarrely, like last time, this can actually be to the detriment of clever kids at good schools, because schools don't feel they can award a lot of top grades or the bar is set too high at good schools but set lower at less good schools
• there has been no change to the content of the subject curricula even though the kids had no education from March-Sept and online learning only from Jan-March
• another set of results that is allocated by a third party under circumstances beyond their control is totally crap

That was rather specific to year 12, but some of it does apply to year 10

And specifically to the year 12 exams: it is total crap to be taking a set of exams that might be the last you get to take and will be used to decide your actual A level grades, but because they are internal exams, you get zero study leave so have to take an exam that is external-exam style and probably at year 13 standard with no allocated time for revision while knowing it might count as your actual A levels.
Thanks Gav.

I agree with you OP. My dc's school is still keeping masks on. Especially the cases are rising again, better keep safe than be sorry. And we had no case in my dc's school year, only one case in other year group since Sept last year.

Where are you?

bojotheclown I pretty much agree with everything you said there. One of the subjects my dd is doing is mainly assessment anyway, but the other 2 are decided by final exams. She's in the middle of exams now, so far the ones she's done apparently were pretty easy, but doesn't mean next weeks will be. And yes, their only revision time was over half term, along with a ton of actual homework and, you know, actually having a break and getting out somewhere while we can 🙄 I have no doubt that next year will be a shitshow one way or the other.

just because your school is shoving 30 kids into classes with no social distancing or masks, doesn't mean all schools are the same

All schools were literally the same until December, lots continue to be (albeit with a period of masks Mar - May).

If there is a local reason for concern then fine, otherwise mine are learning far more when they aren't being suffocated for 8 hours a day (they use public buses to travel).

Takingabreak I am sure the OPs school is - however she is likely to have a short break from kids at lunchtime which does not happen at school!

OP I’m sorry you’re having to go through this at school.
And I’m sorry there are too many replies from covidiots, no sympathy, no empathy, just me me me. Selfish disgusting attitudes.

@bojotheclown you are so right. I am devastated at some of the TAG results this year as they are not indicative of what the pupils are capable of and have a short window of assessments shoved in to get marks. Some schools are over generous but some students will end up disappointed.

My DS's last year were bizarre. From a 9 to a 4. He got lower in subjects he had excelled in and higher in those he didn't. Bonkers. I am so worried about his A Levels as it will be the first formal exam.

I just hope a decision is made for September so that we can plan and teach to what we know they need rather than the exams that they didn't do!

@Pieceofpurplesky

Takingabreak I am sure the OPs school is - however she is likely to have a short break from kids at lunchtime which does not happen at school!

OP was posting for over an hour which is why myself and other PPs were confused as to whether she was at work or indeed whether actually a teacher

My DC is wearing a masks voluntarily and so are most of his mates. They are also testing regularly. school is working fine.

[quote palacegirl77]@CarrieBlue

"Either way, anecdote isn’t evidence."
Precisely my point to your original point that your school had had a case since masks were dropped.[/quote]
@palacegirl77 - precisely why I pointed out that my son’s school had had a case since masks were dropped when your original point was that your daughters school hadn’t and that masks might not have been needed (from the ‘evidence’ of one school). Both examples are spurious in terms of determine the need for masks.

@CarrieBlue completely agree. As has my been my point with masks on kids from the whole time. So much anecdotal evidence or "they might work" but no consideration for all the kids that dont use them properly, not medical grade, being reused etc. No research done on how effective they are with all those things considered.

My children's school have said no more masks. I have 4 children at school, none complained or were "suffocated " by wearing a mask all day. I would have been happy for them to carry on with them.

0None0

It's utterly chilling.

I wish I knew if you were for real.

@tootyfruitypickle

How is it more risky now than last surge? Not being goady I just genuinely don't understand why you would be more worried now than in the autumn?

Because this is out of control like nothing I have seen to date.