Email from DfE to Headteachers. Schools prepped to shut again?

[AntiMaskersAreTwats]

Do you think this means it likely schools will shut again?

Covering their backs. Means nothing,

@mrshoho

What sort of company is that *@Waxonwaxoff0*? No covid mitigations in the workplace during the pandemic would have been illegal surely?

They were there on paper but it really isn't possible to actually do them in that sort of environment. You can't social distance really.

We got a similar email about 2 weeks ago. I think they're preparing in case. They should do as the first week of the first lockdown in our school was a shambles, nobody could log in and no one knew what they were doing.
If anything does happen then we're all prepared. It doesn't mean it will though

Our monitors turn red and no one does anything?
People get too cold (people wearing clothing that they will feel the cold in 🤔) that apparently trumps the pandemic.

Sorry to say this guys, but we too have been asked to prepare and identify families who need hardware to access online learning.

Schools are already shutting or have been shut where I live.

@Dinosaurhearmeroar

I teach in a secondary school and the impact of lockdown on these students has been very hard to see. So much anxiety, depression, self harm and just lack of socialisation and development. We had a number of our students develop severe tics which has been very upsetting. I was all for the first lockdown (March 2020) when we weren’t vax etc but if schools close again the effect on children will be devastating. There is a mental health crisis going on and school feels like triage at times - we get pupils telling us their GP told them to speak to the school to get counselling when we advised them to see the GP as per safeguarding procedure. Schools are at breaking point and teachers are not trained to deal with major mental health issues. It’s really scary and really sad.

Absolutely this, in my Ds’s class alone there’s at least 3 children who have become school refusers, the school have had to implement a system of d/w panic attacks, using quiet areas, breathing and mindfulness exercises. Anxiety has got so bad there’s incidences of dissociation/out of body experience as coping mechanisms. Teachers are d/w a growing mental health crisis in schools and in our case doing a fantastic job!

The kids are 9 years old! If the nhs thinks it’s under pressure now wait til they get hit with an even bigger mental health crisis

If no staff they can remain open being taught by TAs and it's generally back to normal in a couple of weeks.

There have been massive cutbacks in TAs, all but 1 of our Junior TAs now support high needs children 1:1. A few years ago we had at least 1 TA supporting each year group. This meant TAs could be used to cover, now we have to get supply teachers in which is more expensive (and difficult to get at the moment).

@Remmy123

Schools shouid never be allowed to close and I doubt they will. If no staff they can remain open being taught by TAs and it's generally back to normal in a couple of weeks. May not get great teaching but the interaction with peers is crucial for mental health.

This happened in my case anyway when there was a outbreak.

Which TAs would those be? Will they ride in on their unicorns?

@Remmy123

Schools shouid never be allowed to close and I doubt they will. If no staff they can remain open being taught by TAs and it's generally back to normal in a couple of weeks. May not get great teaching but the interaction with peers is crucial for mental health.

This happened in my case anyway when there was a outbreak.

TAs are staff.

@FreeBritnee

Directly the schools shut furlough comes back into play. The government will be trying to avoid that at all costs.

And so they should be.

I'm preparing for the worst at the restaurant but the staff don't think it's because I have inside info, they just think it's sensible to plan because who knows what the hell is gonna happen on this rollercoaster

@Mybalconyiscracking

I will March this time, enough is enough! What is the bloody end game here?

I'll be marching with you.

Remmy are TAs somehow immune??

Not sure what you’re hoping to achieve by marching. If schools have to shut it will be because the NHS will collapse otherwise. There will be no alternative at that point. If parents had marched earlier to get proper Covid measures in school then we might not be in such a mess. Maybe spend the time helping your child homeschool instead of marching if schools shut? Or is that too much of a hardship

Ah I see @Waxonwaxoff0
Just like in school.

As others have said - what TA's

We have 2 in our small primary. And for what they are paid, why the hell should they have to step up?

You are of course assuming they won't have caught Covid too...

@AntiMaskersAreTwats

Not sure what you’re hoping to achieve by marching. If schools have to shut it will be because the NHS will collapse otherwise. There will be no alternative at that point. If parents had marched earlier to get proper Covid measures in school then we might not be in such a mess. Maybe spend the time helping your child homeschool instead of marching if schools shut? Or is that too much of a hardship

Actually: school is only an issue for me in the abstract, as my youngest DC is in Year 13 at an independent school which has excellent online provision, should the need arise, and will in any case be on study leave before long. It doesn't stop me feeling empathy for people trapped in tiny flats, trying to WFH and ensure that their younger children have some kind of education (and the people who are struggling themselves are more likely to have children who really, really need a proper education).

Please don't make assumptions.

I am anti-lockdowns and anti-schools-closing for reasons which are not directly related to myself, surprising though it may be.

Hello ProMaskersAreTwats & AntiMaskersAreTwats,

Can we politely request you both alter your usernames as your current ones are doing little to help us keep these debates civil....

Thanks a lot!

The only TAs in some of the local schools are 1:1s, how do posters feel if they are being used to take classes instead?

@FlissMumsnet

Hello ProMaskersAreTwats & AntiMaskersAreTwats,

Can we politely request you both alter your usernames as your current ones are doing little to help us keep these debates civil....

Thanks a lot!

Will never use it again.

Was so pissed off with the Anti-Masker one that I couldn't resist. Sorry.

Oh come on MNHQ, the OP has had that name for ages. The other name was adopted for this specific thread to specifically goad the OP.

Anti maskers are indeed twats. Pro maskers have science on their side. Not sure pro maskers exists as a phrase . It' not A Thing. They just wear masks as per advice . And science.

Yep! I’ve had mine for probably 6 months! And I firmly stand by it. Never had a problem with it before until ^^ above jumped on the bandwagon. @mnhq so I’m not changing it! Ban me if you wish.

@Llama33

I work in a school. We get so many dfe emails, most of which this term have referred is back to the contingency planning framework. I wouldn't read too much into this. At work we've had to use our contingency plan - so far that has meant advising one class to all take a pcr. It isn't all about closing

I agree. Basically it's a prompt to ensure that schools are on top of their risk assessments in case alternative arrangements have to be quickly deployed. Schools are unlikely to close unless there is a major outbreak and there aren't sufficient staff on site to supervise the children.🙂

Well my friend’s school has only had this email twice before…and both times schools closed. I think schools will be closed after Xmas.

They should be.able to.take their textbooks home, surely?