I'm a teacher currently isolating with Covid. Given that I didn't get it from my own children, I've caught it from work, and I'm going to be isolating for Christmas. I still don't think schools should close. I think schools should be made safer, ventilation and air filtration systems would be a good start, like has been done in other countries. We're nearly 2 years into this, other countries have been working to make schools safer since spring 2020, but our government have done nothing. I really don't want to go back to online teaching, my job needs to be done face to face. But I also know that my vulnerable colleagues aren't protected, there is no shielding for CEV teachers because apparently if they're double jabbed they're safe. I have a colleague with Long Covid who cannot work yet his sick pay is about to end. Getting retired on medical grounds with Long Covid is virtually impossible as noone knows what the prognosis is. It's a massive fight he doesn't have the energy for at the moment, so he's living off savings. The impact of Covid isn't even being factored into Ofsted inspections FFS, so not only do schools get no thanks for soldiering on through, with barely any staff, they get told that actually they're doing a shit job and should be doing better because "Covid is over and Ofsted don't want to hear about Covid".
Teachers, like lots of other front line workers have been treated like crap, and even if schools don't close, the culmination of that over time will be schools that just don't have enough teachers to staff them. I know so many colleagues leaving at Christmas, this never usually happens, my school don't have a high staff turnover and resignations mid year are usually incredibly rare. They're going to work in private schools where class sizes are smaller and the pay is better so the job is more bearable, or they're leaving teaching all together.
No teacher wants schools to close, but the fall out from this in terms of staffing will be immense. In the short term, in Jan/Feb, everyone will be off sick so I can't see how schools can possibly stay open. Even if they're vaccinated so not too ill, they still won't be in schools when Covid positive. In the long term the effect that Covid has had on schools, and the demoralised workforce, will really hit recruitment and retention, and that was at crisis levels before Covid. I don't think the Education secretary understands that we've been trying to get anyone and everyone who could possibly come in to provide cover for us since this first kicked off, but we just can't persuade them. We don't have an army of retired teachers willing to work for us in Covid times. In past years they would come back for a couple of days a week if we were short staffed, and we've been short staffed throughout this pandemic and no-one will come back. Teachers are retiring early to get away from schools. It's a car crash and the government have not helped in any way, when there are things they could do. Scrap Ofsted inspections for a few years (it may seem trivial if you're not in education, but the stress caused by Ofsted is a big driving factor behind teachers leaving). Put proper safety precautions in place. Protect vulnerable teachers and support those with Long Covid, so teachers don't quit for fear of being unable to feed their families if they do get Covid. What we're actually left with is a very hostile working environment, which means teachers leave, which means schools are short staffed, more pressure on remaining staff, so there is no spare capacity and they're more likely to close. Supply teachers don't exist, even if schools had the money to pay them they just aren't available. I'm sure it's the same in hospitals and most of the public sector though. Everyone working in the public sector desperately wants it to function, and to function well. But the government have done nothing at all to help it function, to prepare for this kind of eventuality. In fact after more than 10 years of austerity we're less prepared than ever before. E