Schools from September

[DinosaurDiana]

I was working in a school yesterday and the lady helping me said that all staff are in next Monday Tuesday to put the school back to normal.
All stickers are being removed, all classrooms and rooms put back to the way they were pre Covid.
So are all schools going back to normal ?

The ventilation issue is driving me mad. At the last press conference with whitty and valance, literally as a forgotten tag on right at the end did he valance bumble out "oh yes and ventilation"

Ventilation is so quick and easy to do, it's mostly free... It's driving me mad.

Our school have said government currently says X but we will let you know what the final government and school decisions are by the end of the summer holidays. Email seemed to suggest that school thinks that masks could remain as that's a decision made by heads rather than government. (yes we have masks in school)

@Tal45

Apparently the gov expects all secondary pupils to have had 2 in school tests before returning so not very normal.

Tests are not mandatory. LFT don't need to be done over the summer holidays according to our school

I'm not a fan of "ventilation"

DS said classroom was freezing last winter.
We had whole MN threads about kids wearing lycra leggings & skins under their uniform.
Heating is probably already one of the school's biggest non-staff costs.
Ventilation means wasted heat out the windows. Climate change be damned, I suppose.

Local school had kids being taught outside under leaking tents.

September will be an absolute car crash as cases will be way higher than there are now. Enjoy your summer as much as you can & try and gather your strength while staying safe and trying not to catch Covid. The autumn will be a total nightmare for school aged children and their parents.

and teachers of course.

just had an email from our kids primary that suggests they will still send close contacts home in september - which will drive me mad as a) there will no longer be a govt. requirment to isolate for children as close contacts after aug 16th b)how many kids will already have had covid by then...can't face another winter of pointless isolation periods.

@lljkk

I'm not a fan of "ventilation"

DS said classroom was freezing last winter.
We had whole MN threads about kids wearing lycra leggings & skins under their uniform.
Heating is probably already one of the school's biggest non-staff costs.
Ventilation means wasted heat out the windows. Climate change be damned, I suppose.

Local school had kids being taught outside under leaking tents.

There are other means of ventilation - other countries have implemented these measures since covid.

It's worth remembering that heads have an obligation under health and Safety law:

"It is an employer's duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees and other people who might be affected by their business. Employers must do whatever is reasonably practicable to achieve this.

This means making sure that workers and others are protected from anything that may cause harm, effectively controlling any risks to injury or health that could arise in the workplace."

This over-rides discussions on what is 'legal' or 'not legal' in a Covid sense - if the Head says that something is required to control the risk to health in the their staff's workplace, then it can still be required.

They can't, basically. No one can. So the choice is to stay at home forever or accept that every interaction carries a risk. It's not a great choice but that's they way it is. Expecting there to be zero risk is unrealistic.

This is an atrocious comment... what you are saying:

Expecting your child to be safe in school is unrealistic.
Expecting your child to survive childhood in 2021 is unrealistic.
Expecting your child to ever leave the house is unrealistic.

I'm not a fan of "ventilation"

As a teacher in a classroom full of unvaccinated people with no requirement to wear masks and who don't understand social distancing, I'm a fan of ventilation.

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot

I'm not a fan of "ventilation"

As a teacher in a classroom full of unvaccinated people with no requirement to wear masks and who don't understand social distancing, I'm a fan of ventilation.

Same here - it’s all we’ve got.

We are planning everything back to normal from September. Even a full staff meeting in person for 100 staff. Assemblies, no bubbles, no contact tracing…. All sounds great and very appealing after 18 months of disruptions…. However within a month I think a lot of staff will be off sick and things will start to fall apart.

I try and voice my concern but falls on deaf ears

Well according to all the teachers on here they have been normal all along so I guess few will make changes but ours hasn’t which has meant no practicals, no moving classrooms, no after school clubs which I thought was normal but since it isn’t I think it’s great that schools like ours are getting back to the same normal everyone else has had all year!!

So are all schools going back to normal ?

Not if they follow the LEA advise in a number of areas.

I know that my school will still have class bubbles indoors and year group bubbles outdoors. There will still be no whole school assemblies or events. Parents evenings in autumn term will still be virtual. There are no planned indoor large parent meetings etc inc for new starters in reception. Parents still won't be coming into school very much in September and behind - drop off and pick up remains playground based (this may well stay ongoing anyway.) lunches will still be main served in classrooms, with hot 'grab bags' rather than full meals in the hall. There will be minimal stuff allowed in from home. Staff meetings remain virtual and shared spaces, such as staff rooms, can only be used by one year group at a time. Some things will remain online I going such as reading records, etc

Main changes back are:

• parents don't need masks during pick up/drop off
• staff and visitors don't need to wear masks in communal areas
• a small number of staff will be able to work between different year groups
• equipment can be shared between groups
• within year groups there can be mixed class intervention groups

I'm not a fan of "ventilation"

So your expectation is that teachers work in close proximity to an almost 100% unvaccinated population with no masks, social distancing or anything else? And we shouldn’t even be allowed to keep windows open? Are you fucking kidding me?

@ineedaholidaynow

They will be until the Government send out a last minute updated Guidance at 11pm one night!

@ineedaholidaynow

🤣 abso-fucking-lutely!
believe nothing, hope for the best, expect the very worst!
and they will still surprise you

The lack of empathy for CV and CEV children and families is horrifying.

I'm not a fan of "ventilation"

You’re in luck then. Many classrooms have either no proper windows at all, or some with safety catches that only open a couple of inches.

Other countries have invested in other, more effective methods of ventilation for their classrooms…

"I'm not a fan of 'ventilation ' "

Oh I can't breathe

Our primary hasn't sent out guidance yet.

Secondary is keeping the five seperate entrances, staggered lunch times, ventilation, masks are allowed if pupils and staff wish, testing will take place twice in school and then twice weekly lateral flows until Oct half term.

Pupils back to doing a full day but lower years finish 15 min before older years.

Pupils will now move around the building to set classes rather then stay in tutor groups

After school clubs are returning.

My school isn’t going back to normal. We are still keeping the one way system, staggered breaks and lunches and sanitising hands and desks each lessons.

Not just for covid reasons but the corridors are so much calmer when it’s only one year group moving around. As for hand sanitising, hopefully it will keep general everyday bugs down.

beentoldcomputersaysno Fri 16-Jul-21 19:20:40
There are other means of ventilation - other countries have implemented these measures since covid.

Can you please state which countries and explain specifically what they did, and when they did it?

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot

I'm not a fan of "ventilation"

As a teacher in a classroom full of unvaccinated people with no requirement to wear masks and who don't understand social distancing, I'm a fan of ventilation.

I agree. And let’s push for boosters for teachers at the same time as NHS staff and care workers or you will find schools aren’t open as the staff will be absent. This term should act as a wake up call for all of those whose favourite mantra is that teachers are no more at risk than any occupation.

@lljkk

This is an example of helping with ventilation
ny.chalkbeat.org/2021/6/23/22547814/all-classrooms-to-have-2-air-purifiers-next-year-new-york-city-officials-pledge