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

[AntiMaskersAreTwats]

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

And experienced less stress and more 1:1 feedback. We needed to start thinking about those children, too. Not just say 'school is absolutely always the best place for ALL CHULDREN NO MATTER WHAT THE SITUATION IN SCHOOL IS LIKE'.

Caps weren't deliberate....

This term has been by far and away the most chaotic, piecemeal and disrupted term I can recall in my entire career. Next term, I suspect, could be even worse. Given I teach students exclusively in exam years, that plays on my mind constantly.

Even the jabs programme was completely mismanaged and chaotic.

@MarshaBradyo

They did !

Still not a reason for closure.

marsha I did not say it was.

Maybe some classes have many ‘dicking around’ but it’s not reflected in reports about dc being behind.

Not as relevant and doesn’t support closure, as if it were that many we’d see them doing ok not behind.

@DanglingMod

I think if lockdown happened when I was a teen I would have thrived. I left school with zero GCSEs.

Left school and then completed an OU degree (as no GCSEs/A-levels) and then a masters. On balance yes I agree, it’s much better for schools to be open, but no politician seems to acknowledge the fact school is very pointless for some kids.

The government wants you to look away from austerity, underfunding, cuts, constant damaging educational 'reform', retention crises in teaching. They are succeeding.

I do wonder if part of the reason the government refused to countenance hybrid schooling was that may actually have been successful which would have opened a massive can of worms!

I don’t care what they want the damage from closed schools is obvious.

All the what-about is just deflecting from that painful reality for so many dc.

So push for what you want to fix the other problems you see - go for it.

As long as people recognise damage and therefore will most likely see they should be open.

I’m not arguing that nothing else should be asked for - voted for / campaigned on

In addition to open schools.

@MarshaBradyo

Agreed. Schools need to be open for all, and other issues like underfunding need to be sorted etc. I guess the latter being quite difficult when people keep voting for these numpties but that’s another issue entirely.

Fingers crossed they remain open 🤞.

The thing that I struggle with with this Government - and with many of its supporter - is that they see stating that something ‘should be so’ or ‘must be so’ as exactly the same as ‘actually being so’. As a result, they put absolutely no effort into any of the underlying thought or action that are needed to bring their wish about, and seem puzzled and bewildered when the thing they have stated doesn’t come about.

Yes, sometimes the thing they state DOES happen, through the immense effort of other people - the vaccine rollout, for example. However, in other areas, this ‘wave the magic wand and say the magic word’ approach fails, because it entirely ignores the complexity (or tbh in some cases the blatant obviousness) of the underlying issues that need to be addressed.

I had to laugh this morning at an interview on the radio. An expert on Covid said they would cheerfully drink and meet people outside, would at the moment be ok to go inside a pub, was planning to meet family and friends at Christmas, but sounded genuinely terrified by a recent experience of going briefly into a school for a visit!

If you want schools open please petition government to put some, any safety measures in. Windows that open, masks in rooms, screens, the things other work places have. Because staff are getting sick and schools can't open without staff.
Get teachers boosted now (had mine as I'm old).
Bleating about schools staying open won't stop them closing. Putting some mitigation measures in will.

PS I believe staff have been saying this for over a year now. But still no one listens. No staff = no school.

‘Bleating’

Yeh it’s not that important really.

Whatever, insults will get you everywhere.

@Piggyinblankets

Define incredibly deadly??!

Playing devil's advocate I think it is overlooked how much school contributes to mental health issues. Especially , actually, the catch up panic narrative, even amongst teachers and educators of very young children. Oasises (?) of calm schools are not.

Honestly, I wouldn’t waste your breath playing “devil’s advocate” with someone who spent every day picking up the pieces from lockdown.

During lockdown, the members of my class who were at home were pretty down. Obviously some of them probably loved it! But loads of them didn’t, and they missed school and socialising. I also don’t even teach in a deprived area, and my kids were mostly all well looked after at home. The children who I had in school fared better, but anxiety and mental health issues cropped up in them too. My class this year have really suffered due to it all, with parents saying that their child is struggling in a way they never have before since March.

There’s a lot of room for improvement in the current education system and I believe there is too much pressure on young children in many ways, which is why I try my best to counteract that in my classroom.

Until you’ve actually taught children throughout and after a series of lockdowns, I don’t think you are entitled to comment about the impact it’s had on their learning and mental health. Apologies if you are a teacher - in that case, I would have to say we’ve had very different experiences.

Parents can comment on the impact of education and social interaction in RL have been stopped or very limited, on our own DCs.

Interested in mention of research with respect to school staff covid risks vs other occupations, anyone have more info on that?

Well I know of 15 school staff off on Friday with Covid in my school alone. How many do other people have off in their workplaces ? Not a v scientific study I agree.
I once again feel like my life means nothing, just as long as schools stay open. Unhappy, scared, tired teachers are not the best. But I expect I'll just be told to resign if I don't like it. Which is exactly what I plan to do in July sadly.

@mumsneedwine

Personally I think yes you should resign. There’s plenty of teachers and support staff who aren’t scared of covid. Tired and exhausted yes, but not necessarily, directly scared of covid. I will happily keep working in schools as long as they remain open of course. I’m a fully vaxxed 33 year old.

@HariboMaroon good for you.

@mumsneedwine

Well I know of 15 school staff off on Friday with Covid in my school alone. How many do other people have off in their workplaces ? Not a v scientific study I agree. I once again feel like my life means nothing, just as long as schools stay open. Unhappy, scared, tired teachers are not the best. But I expect I'll just be told to resign if I don't like it. Which is exactly what I plan to do in July sadly.

The list of people i know who have tested positive in this week has been extensive and included many who have been very cautious and worked from home throughout.

The problem here is we have a high contagious virus and merely the number of people in one place is going to be an issue against omicron in particular.

We are seeing multiple reports of double or triple jabbed groups, where 50+ people are being infected by one person.

Ventilation might have been worthwhile at one point. Against that level of transmission, you are pissing in the wind.

I just can't get my head around calls for it at this point. That ship has sailed. Omicron is a game changer is many respects.

@HariboMaroon just a quick thing. How many of your colleagues died of Covid last year ? Or your parents ? Or your students parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles ? How many kids have you had to counsel over grief because there are not enough services available to help ?
I'm beyond tired of the 'I'm all right' attitude.

@RedToothBrush it does seem a bit King Canute at the moment. Let's hope we make it to Xmas 🤞

Boosting teachers in the next week or 2 would be a helpful step, though might not be enough to prevent, say, a delayed reopening of schools.

Of course, as a general principle, no one would want to see schools shut, just as no one would want many of the other measures we have had to take, unless there was a good scientific / medical rationale.

And if/ when schools do shut, it should be for as short a period as possible, as this will mitigate damage.

School staff don't want schools shut, never have done. But I can't teach in 2/3 rooms at the same time. Last week we had to put 120 kids in the hall as only one teacher available. We are prioritising 11 and 13, but it's getting tougher every day. Already seen 3 more positive cases today from staff who have tested. Most of us do them tonight so I'm expecting more. There are no supply staff (& we have permanently booked 3 every day until end of term in advance - but there are not always 3 available).
I just don't understand why parents aren't more angry. Schools are open but lots not functioning as normal. This could be prevented. Masks in indoor spaces (except schools). Negative LFT before entry (except schools). Ventilation, screens, social distancing (except schools).

I do not care about my individual risk - I have long known that I WILL catch Covid, and have made my peace with that and the restrictions that it poses on e.g. my contact with elderly parents.

The thing that I find deeply corrosive in terms of my motivation to do my work as well as I possibly can - and I have always been a deeply committed teacher, absolutely passionate about meeting every child's needs - is the realisation that, at a population level, nobody cares about whether the teacher in front of the class does their work well or badly; whether they are well or ill; whether they are replaced by a TA or lunchtime supervisor or 18 year old apprentice from the office.

What causes me to consider my position - and certainly my dedication to go above and beyond - is not in any way a fear of Covid. it is a realisation of in just what low esteem I, and my profession, are held by those in charge and those who use schools.

@mumsneedwine

Can’t answer those questions as over the pandemic I’ve worked in social care/community MH, but now I have returned to supply TAing.

I’ve worked with many, many people who have been directly and indirectly affected by covid. I have provided personal care to active covid patients even prior to vaccine, so me personally I am not frightened of covid. That’s not an I’m ok Jack attitude, I’m not sitting here WFH demanding for people to get back out there and start working.

I’ve got three kids myself, one in secondary. Neither of their teachers have died, not very scientific I know but in my opinion not all staff are directly afraid of this virus.

@mumsneedwine

And whilst I’ve not directly counselled young people, I’ve most certainly been in that position with adults during this crisis working in community MH. You can’t tar all staff with the same brush, we are not all scared of covid.