If workplaces are planning on a 25% absence rate then how on earth are we all expecting schools to carry on as normal ?

[Timetobuckup]

I have just been reading in the BBC website that the gov are telling businesses to plan for a quarter of their workforce to be absent .
There is no way schools / colleges will manage with that amount of staff out.

I work in a secondary school and had a pcr this morning , my teen ds is positive and I am keeping fingers and toes crossed I am negative but not holding out much hope.
We are doing mass testing on Tues and I am really interested to see how many have to go home.

UK will be back in lockdown as of Jan 10th.

I think there are huge differences between primary and secondary.

In secondaries

• there is regular testing
• students should be largely double vaxxed
• students will be wearing masks (and there is evidence that they work even if not perfect)
• most teachers have free periods in their day during which they can cover other lessons, I know it’s not ideal but it’s not forever and is an option
• there is less of a requirement for parents to provide “childcare” for secondary age kids who might have to learn from home if they are off for a few days. Again not ideal I know but it isn’t the same as having a younger child who needs support with everything … and I know there are exceptions

BUT

• they are much bigger than primaries
• kids mix for every subject
• some years are more crucial than others

In primaries

• Children are largely in one class taught by one teacher and a TA (again I know there are exceptions)… meaning that at least one can cover the other if they are off. Again not impossible but manageable. Overall however, much less staff meaning harder to spread the cover across people.
• less kids in “crucial” year groups but we all know impact of gaps widening over time if they are apparent when younger

BUT

• there is no testing
• children are not vaxxed
• there are no masks
• mostly they cannot distance
• kids need “childcare” from an adult if they are at home

I’m not saying one is better than another, just that they present a completely different set of problems and I personally feel we should stop bucketing every school scenario into the same bracket.

I feel like it will probably sweep through pretty quickly in the first month, I am worried about what happens after that though. Everyone is just assuming it goes away. But it doesn’t, herd immunity is impossible to achieve with a virus that can reinfect.

So what are we trying to achieve, or avoid, by opening schools in the way that we are?

@hunder

Education secretary has said today children don't need to be in consistent groupings, non-teaching staff can be used and classes can be combined. So I'd imagine if schools can't get supply teachers in, then they can look at other adults in the school to supervise a class. If that doesn't work then you can put handfuls of children into other classes that have absences. If all else fails put 2 classes into the hall with one adult.

This is brilliant. If I'm off, my three year 13 classes will all need cover. But they can't just slide into the parallel class because of the timetable. They could be "supervised" - but who sets the work for them? Who marks it? My colleagues who already have a full workload? Same with my year 11 class, and y10. My KS3 classes will get worksheets - which will never be marked. And the staff I support? Stuff them. It's not as if any other this could have been predicted and more effectively mitigated against.

@immersivereader

UK will be back in lockdown as of Jan 10th.

@herecomesthsun what about those who don't have graduate parents?

Yep. It can't work can it...

@Barbie222 doesn’t help if delivering to more than one destination though and most lorries would be full to capacity anyway. However, I was just using this as a crude example of sectors that will struggle to back up my earlier comments.

Zahawi's announcement today reminded schools that if they get really short of staff they can move online but still have to provide remote learning. Who he thinks will be doing this I don't know, if the whole reason for moving online is too many staff are sick. He is obviously assuming teachers will teach online whilst ill. I'm CEV and certainly won't be doing that.

*In secondaries

• there is regular testing
• students should be largely double vaxxed*

Only the sixth form. There's another 1200 students in my school who aren't.

most teachers have free periods in their day during which they can cover other lessons, I know it’s not ideal but it’s not forever and is an option
One of the many casualties of the financial pressures in schools is free periods. Most of my colleagues are at legal minimum. They can't be asked to cover.

Private schools have more staff, so expect in those schools the teachers will teach beyond their usual classes / specialism (in secondary) and that some supply teachers, senior leaders and unqualified existing staff will provide cover.

some people have to go to work

my bil is a keyworker and my sister a cleaner they cant work from home-sending kids home isnt a viable option anymore

@whynotwhatknot

some people have to go to work

my bil is a keyworker and my sister a cleaner they cant work from home-sending kids home isnt a viable option anymore

What would your solution be then if there are not enough teachers? What would happen if there were not enough cleaners where your sister works? Would the cleaning magically get done by itself?

not at primary level, but independent learning is a possibility at secondary, especially for older years.

@Abraxan

Who do they mean by non teaching staff?

And who will do their jobs when they babysit classes?

To be non-teaching staff means admin, caretakers, lunch time supervisors, etc. they can't surely be expecting those staff to supervise classes of children can they?!

That will be one of the 'robust strategies' which Boris Johnson has told ministers to come up with.

@gogohm first assumption that you can only get Omnicom once
second
there will be another mutation it will hopefully be milder but we.do.not.know.

[quote Waxonwaxoff0]@herecomesthsun what about those who don't have graduate parents?[/quote]
That wasn't a universal plan

But it might be an idea to let families who actually can teach at home do that if they want, if the alternative is going to be "the school caretaker in the hall with 100 kids"

Yes. I agree that home educating should be optional for parents who want to do it. That should always have been the case in my opinion. I think DS's primary have allowed this, his classmate with a CEV parent was pulled out of school before the Christmas holidays.

meaning that at least one can cover the other if they are off. Again not impossible but manageable

TAs aren’t meant to take whole classes, they certainly aren’t paid to do so. They should and could refuse to babysit these classes.

Just shows how clueless our education secretary is….they don’t need to be in “consistent groups”. Wouldn’t work in our school - how can you stick 2 or 3 different subject classes in the hall with one teacher (who teaches one subject not 2 or 3) 🙄. We have quite a few one teacher subjects.

Also, not all kids are double vaccinated - around here they only started with the first jab at the beginning of November so it’s too soon for jab 2 - and plenty of Yr7s are not 12 yet.

Also - as mentioned if you are off sick you can’t teach remotely as suggested also, as you are off sick so not working.

Education secretary has said today children don't need to be in consistent groupings, non-teaching staff can be used and classes can be combined. So I'd imagine if schools can't get supply teachers in, then they can look at other adults in the school to supervise a class. If that doesn't work then you can put handfuls of children into other classes that have absences. If all else fails put 2 classes into the hall with one adult
He has forgotten ratios especially in Early Years.

And he has forgotten the legalities set by the government to keep children safe.
The requirements and legal responsibilities of Keeping Children Safe in Education are huge, leaders are trained for this most serious of roles. This is even more vital given that schools have so many more supply staff and volunteers to keep them staffed.

If the safeguarding lead or deputy is ill unless really robust methods of contact and managing all of the expectations of KCSiE are in place, schools can't safely open. Governing boards are accountable for this and do take decisions to close for safety reasons. Having safeguarding leads absent puts children at risk.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachmentdata/file/1021914/KCSIEE2021Septemberrguidance.pdf

As many PP have said, it will be childcare rather than education.
If we are covering other classes as well as our own, when are we supposed to sort work for children who are off (if they want it?)
If I get Covid from work, I will NOT be working at home unless and until I am 100% well.
It is disgusting that it is being insinuated that we should.

It isnt workable. Why on earth couldn't they have learnt from last year and come up with something viable.

@MrsHamlet can I ask a few questions, I’m honestly interested not having a go so not intended as such:

If I'm off, my three year 13 classes will all need cover. But they can't just slide into the parallel class because of the timetable. They could be "supervised" - but who sets the work for them? Who marks it? My colleagues who already have a full workload? Same with my year 11 class, and y10.

I taught for several years, and when I was off I used to set the work for the cover teacher and then I mark it when back. Does this not happen, and would you not expect to have a couple of weeks’ classes prepped ahead in case of time off? At my DC school, all the teachers have been asked to have at least two weeks of materials available as mitigation ever since schools went back, in the event that they had to take time off. It has worked well, not perfect of course, but has minimised disruption. Friends who are teachers have said that they marked work from home when isolating, assuming they weren’t too unwell which most weren’t. Do you have these sorts of provisions or is every school different?

It's not as if any other this could have been predicted and more effectively mitigated against.

What do you think should have been done, I feel the same but am at a loss to know what more there could be… other than making sure full supply of materials are available?

Well.at my kids secondary they'll stuff as many classes as possible into the Electronic Learning Centre to complete pre prepared worksheets that no one will ever see. Tedious for the Y9, really bad news for the Y11.

Why is it so crazy to suggest teachers WFH if isolating? If you are very unwell that’s different, but myself and many others I know have had to isolate for 10 days and WFH the majority of it as symptoms were fairly mild.