Do you think schools will return as normal in January?

[LucozadeGirl]

Just that really.

I'm not trying to "gotcha" anyone. I'd like public services to be better funded and improve life for everyone. Giving money to some groups to WFH and not others isn't fair.

@Hercisback

I'm not trying to "gotcha" anyone. I'd like public services to be better funded and improve life for everyone. Giving money to some groups to WFH and not others isn't fair.

Like I said, I didn’t get given any money to WFH either. I still don’t think it’s reasonable to present MP caseworkers getting home-working equipment as MPs themselves getting loads of cash for their swanky home offices.

I’m terms of caring about education and mitigation - it depends on what exactly - reduction in class time?

yes, I don’t think it helps that so much of this discussion is about who is and isn’t in favour of ‘mitigations’ like everyone means the same thing by that.

Mitigations that will hopefully keep more children and staff in school are regularly testing, masks in classrooms and funding for air filtration.

MarshaBradyo

Close contact isolations DO still happen in schools sometimes I'm afraid. We had a whole year group out before Christmas because of a confirmed case of Omicron.

@Hercisback

Mitigations that will hopefully keep more children and staff in school are regularly testing, masks in classrooms and funding for air filtration.

We have all of those in Scotland and yet similar Covid rates in schools, so… maybe not.

To be fair, the funding for better ventilation isn’t directly translating to immediate action, but some of that is because it’s practically impossible to retrofit high-spec ventilation systems across the national school estate in a matter of months.

I meant £10000 not £100000 😂😂

Sorry I don’t understand, am I living on the moon, all the gps here only offer phone calls and that’s if your lucky to get through. Will only have 2 people in at a time. Couldn’t go in at all during lockdown. Need a lft first if you can get in. 😂🤦🏼‍♀️

What I really would’ve liked to see (and yes have asked local MSP about, not that it made any difference) would be some of the long-term things that might help mitigate the impacts of covid but would still be a good idea for education even if they didn’t.

Like better maintenance and modernisation of the school estate, hiring more teachers and doing better at retaining them once hired, a supply system that doesn’t run on schools desperately trying to magic up nonexistent supply staff with no money to do it. There was a time when the government was absolutely insistent that we couldn’t have all kids back because there’d be too many in a room and it wouldn’t be safe - sounds like a great opportunity to start resourcing those smaller class sizes we’ve been promised for years! But nope, ‘blended learning’ or shut up about it. Sigh.

@GoldenOmber my hubby works for the government he gets care in place and assess for disability aids. He got nothing 🤷🏼‍♀️

My children’s schools both go back on Tuesday so no time for head teachers to plan or react to whatever their staffing situation might be. Are schools supposed to just open on Tuesday morning and see how many staff turn up? Surely it would be better to have a couple of planning days added onto the Christmas holiday?

Re the 'my DC had 10 days off with covid and that was far less disruptive to their education than mitigation measures' argument - that depends on what you mean by disruption to education.

If you're looking at it from the perspective of your 1 kid being off and then back at school, that may seem to make sense.

From the perspective of people working in schools, it's not just 1 kid, is it? A massive workload goes into managing kids who are off school with covid, not least because they're supposed to be provided with education and checked up on. Those people should be doing other tasks.

Re teaching: it is incredibly disruptive to have pupils off on a rotation. As covid spreads throughout the school it's not all pupils off at once, it's a constant churn. The pupils left - you need to decide whether to teach them new stuff or not. Energy is spent catching up the pupils who were off. If you have the misfortune of working in a school where pupils who are isolating are supposed to 'dial in' to the lesson, well that's every lesson made worse for the kids in the classroom.

And that's before you get to the teachers catching covid and needing to be covered. Some pupils can end up going from supply teacher to supply teacher. Some end up in the hall being 'supervised'. Some end up being sent home.

And this drags on and on. But sure, your kid was back after 10 days so 👍

@ScottishTinydancer321

Sorry I don’t understand, am I living on the moon, all the gps here only offer phone calls and that’s if your lucky to get through. Will only have 2 people in at a time. Couldn’t go in at all during lockdown. Need a lft first if you can get in. 😂🤦🏼‍♀️

Mine is the same. Only offering emergency appointments. They aren't doing routine appointments at all.

@noblegiraffe

Re the 'my DC had 10 days off with covid and that was far less disruptive to their education than mitigation measures' argument - that depends on what you mean by disruption to education.

If you're looking at it from the perspective of your 1 kid being off and then back at school, that may seem to make sense.

From the perspective of people working in schools, it's not just 1 kid, is it? A massive workload goes into managing kids who are off school with covid, not least because they're supposed to be provided with education and checked up on. Those people should be doing other tasks.

Re teaching: it is incredibly disruptive to have pupils off on a rotation. As covid spreads throughout the school it's not all pupils off at once, it's a constant churn. The pupils left - you need to decide whether to teach them new stuff or not. Energy is spent catching up the pupils who were off. If you have the misfortune of working in a school where pupils who are isolating are supposed to 'dial in' to the lesson, well that's every lesson made worse for the kids in the classroom.

And that's before you get to the teachers catching covid and needing to be covered. Some pupils can end up going from supply teacher to supply teacher. Some end up in the hall being 'supervised'. Some end up being sent home.

And this drags on and on. But sure, your kid was back after 10 days so 👍

Absolutely this. Teachers need to think about their whole class.

@MarshaBradyo

I’m terms of caring about education and mitigation - it depends on what exactly - reduction in class time?

Dc catching Covid was not a patch on what was implemented in terms of case reduction. Two terms out, ten day isolation for one case - and that was low in terms of repeat close contact isolation.

The swing is towards in class time for students for many reasons so yes I do think the importance has been acknowledged, thankfully. I’m not going against the general grain.

I accept an omicron wave will happen. If I had dc with extra risk I might do as pp is and re look at situation.

But here is one of the problems.

“Ds catching covid was not a patch on what was implemented..”

You know me well enough to know exactly what I’m going to post in reply to that - that other kids aren’t so lucky. Ds has been impacted physically and educationally by the after effects of covid for over a year and a half, but making sure that doesn’t seem to happen to other children doesn’t seem to be a priority for you at all.

Downplay it by saying “it’s only a few kids!” It’s thousands affected for over a year by ONS stats. “But that’s self reported and unreliable!” You think people lie for over a year? You think doctors treating these children aren’t noticing the problems?

Schools must be kept open for vulnerable children. But any mitigations like masks or ventilation can’t be allowed, and any kids affected by covid or long covid now or in the future, well, they don’t matter. If they can’t access education due to health problems and doctors appointments, it doesn’t matter.

Why? Are they the wrong kind of vulnerable?

This is exactly what has happened in my dd’s school, exam year and they had supply after supply for almost a full term due to teachers with long term Covid and other absences in the English department. Led to the kids essentially being self taught exam texts from textbooks!

Staff absence has been at an all time high in my school. Last year we had 3 staff off in the maths dept long term with covid complications. There were children who didn't have a maths teacher most of the year and there was literally nothing we could do about it.

Here's a petition to the government to fund air purifiers in schools. Currently it's at just over 6000 signatures. 10000 are needed for the government to respond. I am happy to learn to live with Covid but schools need funds to take some mitigation measures.

Please sign and share
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/595205

Please also email your MP about it.

Of course ten days, well seven now, is better for dc than hit of isolation or lockdown. I don’t think that is controversial.

How does close contact isolation help with work load anyway? You’d get more situations with more students out. Delaying over a longer period - well they’ll still be out just not at same time as dc and friends were.

Beware I hope things are improving, or will, I know it must be tough. I don’t think it’s possible to stop dc getting Covid over a long period, eg years. if it is an issue for them as a group then we have vaccination. Ventilation I have never been actively against. How long would you keep masks for?

Of course ten days, well seven now, is better for dc than hit of isolation or lockdown

But what about the other mitigation measures you refuse to support?

Many thought that not isolating household contacts was bonkers.

And it's not seven days. It's seven days with 2 negative tests, which will not cover everyone.

Also omicron is so transmissible masks and ventilation may slow it marginally but any long Covid issue will still be there, just delayed.

If vaccination can help then go for that as it would help more than the above.

Re Beware’s post

How can anyone post "ventilation I have never been actively against".
I honestly don't understand the thinking.

I'd also prefer a lower viral load (if that's the right term) than a higher one. So that I and the pupils I teach have a similar "Covid experience" to your dc, Marsha.

@Mistressiggi

How can anyone post "ventilation I have never been actively against". I honestly don't understand the thinking.

To clarify it’s not something I’m against?

I think it’s expensive and don’t know the figures but I haven’t posted much on not doing it. At one point I thought it should be focussed on - at some point last year before it was highlighted

It depends on cost / benefit

Me freezing my arse off at work every day doesn't cost a penny. Zero sign of us ever having Hepa filters, never even been discussed where I work.