Schools still a covid shitshow

[noblegiraffe]

"Schools have been forced to send year groups home this week because of "rapidly rising" Covid rates among staff and an inability to find supply teachers, it has emerged.

The removal of the need for Covid testing among staff and pupils was making the situation worse, with some schools now experiencing their worst absence levels of the pandemic, a headteachers' leader told Tes.

Heads warn that some schools are having to send year groups home on a rota or combine class groups in an attempt to protect exam year groups from more disruption."

www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/covid-schools-absence-send-year-groups-home-cases-spike

Some will claim that getting rid of testing would improve the situation, but clearly a situation where lots of teachers are getting ill and requiring a few days off school to recover, regardless of isolation rules, is not 'getting back to normal'.

The teachers that I know who have had covid recently would have required a few days off school despite it being 'mild' even without isolation guidance, even though teachers are well-known for dosing on Lemsip and turning up to school regardless of illness because setting cover work is worse.

Still, the covid catch-up effort has basically fizzled out, and it's looking like zero effort will be made by the government to support children in recovering their education from the impact of absences and lack of teachers.

Exams start in a couple of months for kids who are having an extremely disruptive time. The government has fixed the exam grades so that they will come out with better results than the 2019 cohort, this will basically cover up the impact on educational standards. How this will play out down the line at uni/college/sixth form is anyone's guess.

Secondary pupils experienced more learning loss in reading last Autumn when schools were open. Far from catching up they fell further behind. www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/secondary-pupils-suffered-more-learning-loss-reading-last-autumn

The "catch-up" plans seemed like another "jobs for the boys" scheme to me.

It is scary now how much the Government is asset-stripping our country.

Personally I think academisation has screwed schools over as they are now seen as businesses where all that matters is profit and high salaries for the top people.

Absolutely true.

No, no schools were struggling with staff and retention WAY before covid. It is really coming across like an excuse now.

Not all teachers will be ill all the time! Boosters…. Are you for real? When will you stop with that there’s been three vaccinations?

I don’t agree with staff being off repeatedly all the time when the likelihood is some infections will be asymptomatic (not all, some).

There absolutely is a staffing crisis within teaching but all the measures you’re proposing won’t fix that.

Surely Noble's reaction about closing schools was to the PP's comment that Easter would sort it out? As if we are all supposed to lurch from one firebreak to another constantly?

Or am I the only one with those comprehension abilities...

God this is boring.

Disagree with a teacher and they trot out the “comprehension ability” line.

Sweet lord.

Thought you worked in education.

You aren't disagreeing with me. You were disagreeing/debating about something that wasn't actually said because you wanted it to suit an agenda.

Go back and read Noble's post and the one before and you will see what I meant. You leapt on something that wasn't said.

Are you unpleasant to the teachers you work with too?

It finally caught me today after 2 years of avoiding. Has now taken out most of SLT and middle management. I have 5 out in my department today most of that due to long covid implications and related illnesses. Our department is on its knees. I have felt like absolute shit today yet have been glued to laptop all day due to the volume of communication coming through. I just need rest but I can't

@IgnoranceIsStrength

Sorry it’s hit you hard.

You do need to rest and you can, the world will keep spinning and if you don’t rest you’ll probably be off longer than if you do rest. Nothing is more important than your heath

@StarCat2020 my school has three computer science teachers. There are schools employing them - but you might have to be prepared to move

🤷‍♀️ it's like a brick wall. You're right. We are all wrong.
Teachers, you are not sick, get back to work. No one is sick with covid anymore, it's just a cold.
There you go. I'll reopen all year groups tomorrow. Problem solved.
If I want 100 boosters then I'll have them. No one making anyone else do so (but most teachers I know would like the option).

@StarCat2020 my school has three computer science teachers. There are schools employing them - but you might have to be prepared to move
Unfortunately I can't move but thank you for your advice.

@mumsneedwine

Think you're missing the point. Schools are closing to year groups today, again, because we have run out of staff. If you want schools fully open and actually teaching your kids then you need to ensure staff can do so. Boosters now. Ventilation sorted out (like private schools have done). V v easy to do but for some reason the government want to concentrate on schools hours, most of which are already 32.5 hours. We can't help students catch up until we have the staff to do so. There is no supply anymore . It's all a bit silly. In 10 minutes I'm taking over the 92 kids in the hall lesson. 3 different year groups covering 3 different subjects. It's not teaching.

I agree we, as society, need to do more to value education and those who provide it. I disagree with boosters for teachers until the vulnerable group get theirs. They are the ones most likely to need medical care. They are the ones who had theirs earlier so their protection will be waning for longer. Also, have we not learned anything? Unfortunately, Covid isn’t a ‘one and done’. People are getting it multiple times. I don’t know what the answer is. I agree about better ventilation. It’s ridiculous and unfair that it hasn’t been before now.

Sterilising vaccines would be the best hing but whether that is a possibility I don't know.

@Mickarooni I totally agree that vulnerable need to get boosters first. And front line NHS. But there are loads in stock and volunteers willing to vaccinate so could do everyone in a few weeks. Not ideal to keep needing jabs but until people are not getting ill (& therefore missing work) they work. Nothing is compulsory. Just allow those who'd like them to have them.
Keep staff well, keep schools open.

[quote mumsneedwine]@Mickarooni I totally agree that vulnerable need to get boosters first. And front line NHS. But there are loads in stock and volunteers willing to vaccinate so could do everyone in a few weeks. Not ideal to keep needing jabs but until people are not getting ill (& therefore missing work) they work. Nothing is compulsory. Just allow those who'd like them to have them.
Keep staff well, keep schools open. [/quote]
Front line social care too please. :) Yes, I would have no issue with teachers being in the same category though.

@Mickarooni 😊 definitely. Front line social care are NHS level for me. I'd also include bus drivers and any shop workers where masks are gone.

In 10 minutes I'm taking over the 92 kids in the hall lesson. 3 different year groups covering 3 different subjects. It's not teaching.

No, it’s not. But you’re a genius. It’s astonishingly good crowd control and behaviour management if you can manage to get them to do any work at all, and if at least some learning takes place.
I have no idea how you’re coping, and kudos to the children doing their best under the circumstances as well. But it needn’t have been like this, as has been said time and time again.

It is a joke that there is an attitude in the Uk that teenagers are "digital natives".

Whilst they may be great at some things, they are not great at even basic office skills let alone coding (in general).

Quite. In general, they’re digital incompetents. This is largely down to Gove and his deskilling agenda. He didn’t think that people need bog standard IT skills for most jobs, and wanted them all to be techie programmers instead. ICT enabled them to be productive and creative. Computing was hard and gave them headaches.

ICT enabled them to be productive and creative. Computing was hard and gave them headaches.
When I was training to teach I was the only person in the school with a computing degree.

HOD of computing department had a geography degree !!

It really isn’t that hard to see the link between the thread title (schools still a covid shitshow) and a focus on teachers’ health. If teachers are sick (and they are) then education is a shitshow. Your children suffer. Teachers lose their health. Children lose vital years of education.

On the topic of boosters, I would take as many as I am offered and they SHOULD be offered so I can do my job and not suffer serious illness as a consequence of doing that job. You don’t want one, that’s fine, but your choice shouldn’t impact on me - I may be significantly older than you, for a start,

@Eyedropeyeflop - you are clearly frustrated at the ‘crumbs’ of education your children are receiving. I will turn your question round and ask what do you think needs doing, bearing in mind that sick teachers can’t teach even if there is no official quarantine period? What is your solution to help your children receive even a ‘crust’ of education? I repeat again that the people who should be coming up with solutions are the (extremely well paid) MPs but I ask out of interest!

From reading this thread I can conclude that...

COVID does not spread in schools,
It's only a mild cold and it's fine to go to work and teachers should not be taking time off.
Schools should not shut and should not have shut previously,
Shutting for Easter holidays will help the situation so no mitigation needs to be done now.
Teachers get COVID from attending parties at the weekend, (gosh so much free time)
There is no increased risk of catching COVID from being in a poorly ventilated room with coughing , sick kids who have questionable hygiene. (Due to their age)
Teachers are work shy individuals who take advantage of the possibility of isolating for a weeks holiday.
Any current difficulties are because of before covid

I think it is traditional to post: "I knew it would be you op when I saw this thread" and "you've got an agenda"

Is this where someone shouts "house?"

I particularly liked the teachers are work shy wanting a weeks holiday. That's you lot told.

Don't forget doom mongering and hysterical.

Don't think you can say, 'house' till we're told we should all just quit if we don't like every detail of our working conditions.

@BlackeyedSusan

From reading this thread I can conclude that...

COVID does not spread in schools,
It's only a mild cold and it's fine to go to work and teachers should not be taking time off.
Schools should not shut and should not have shut previously,
Shutting for Easter holidays will help the situation so no mitigation needs to be done now.
Teachers get COVID from attending parties at the weekend, (gosh so much free time)
There is no increased risk of catching COVID from being in a poorly ventilated room with coughing , sick kids who have questionable hygiene. (Due to their age)
Teachers are work shy individuals who take advantage of the possibility of isolating for a weeks holiday.
Any current difficulties are because of before covid

I think it is traditional to post: "I knew it would be you op when I saw this thread" and "you've got an agenda"

Is this where someone shouts "house?"

I particularly liked the teachers are work shy wanting a weeks holiday. That's you lot told.

Now people are back in offices, unfortunately the crowded environments are true of everyone. So, for me, it isn’t that Covid can’t spread in school, it is just not different to the rest of us. Apart from improving ventilation and encouraging vaccination/boosters, not sure what else we can do?

But the point of the thread is who do you want to teach your child when their teacher is off sick? The caretaker? Double or trioke sized lessons? Or send them home? There are no spare staff in schools.

(No spare staff in offices most likely, either, so I'll just wait longer for my insurance claim to be processed, or whatever. Or the NHS, so they cancel appointments. Schools are unique in facing this staffing challenge.)