So when are we going back to school?

[RaraRachael]

I was under the impression that NS had announced that all schools in Scotland would start back on August 11th. I have had surveys from my local authority asking when we would like the week's holiday in lieu and if we want 1 or 2 in-service days before we start back in August.

Last night a colleague posted a piece showing all the start dates from the different authorities - some were 10th August, !1th, 12th up to the 18th and 19th.

I am totally confused

Place-marking. I am a single, working parent.
One primary school aged child, one in S6.

The National Parent Forum of Scotland are hosting a live Q&A with John Swinney, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on Tuesday 16th June, 7pm – 8.30pm. The Q&A will focus on the current situation and efforts to get back to school in August with questions collected from parents beforehand. If anyone is interested then register at
www.npfs.org.uk

I have registered a number of questions. Copied and pasted here-

I work in a hospital full time and my husband also works full time in a non key worker role and cannot work from home until August. My primary age child usually attends school and then an after school club to allow us both to work. What provisions will be in place for childcare when schools return part time in August when my child will have full days off school each week?

How can part time/blended schooling be justified? At the moment in the U.K. the risk of being in contact with someone with Covid 19 is 1 in 1000. As around half of these cases are in care homes this figure is probably closer to 1 in 2000. Therefore statistically many, many schools will have no-one with the virus. As thankfully numbers are falling on a weekly basis is part time schooling the best the Scottish government can plan considering children will have already missed months of education?

What can be done to reduce the attainment gap which will likely increase further the longer children are not in school? For example private schools in Scotland are providing Zoom lessons daily and this doesn’t take place in state schools.

Trumpisaflump great questions and I will be listening in. The IK government announced yesterday that it's now 1 in 1700 people that are infected with Covid 19 in the UK just in case you want to tweak that one

@redsky75 wow really? I emailed them last week when the numbers were 1 in 1000 and can't change it now I don't think.

Here in Dundee we've been told nothing, not a thing not even a hint at what might happen, my ds is now in S4 doing his Nat 5s and not coping with no face to face learning. He is usually a top of the class kid and is failing the online work he's being sent!

Oh I tell a lie we've been told to buy a £50 blazer as he is now a senior!

Oh I tell a lie we've been told to buy a £50 blazer as he is now a senior

My primary school kid has been told no ties or blazers, no schoolbags, pencil cases, lunchboxes or toys from home.

I don't understand the problem with blazers, hardly any primary kids wear them anyway, but maybe don't buy one just yet!

@Pootle40 I'm in Fife and got the letter referencing pupils still getting 190 teaching days this year - they will be lucky if there is 100 teaching days! I cannot understand for the life of me why we can't bring the term end date forward for this year. Kids are struggling as are the teachers with this online learning. Let's cut our losses. But no instead we get another weeks holiday next summer.....

That would have been a sensible idea @tigger1001
I would have been really happy to have a week less of this home school torture.

I am also wondering how they can justify part time schooling if the case rate / infection rate drops so low

If we are following the science then the facts and statistics are giving us lower numbers every week

Also plans for “ outdoor learning “ ... in Scotland
Yes wonderful for EY where it’s all about learning about trees / weather etc but by the time it’s higher primary classes P5 etc
My DC know plenty about nature & outdoors and are out exploring / walking / cycling at weekends with us. The 2 days they are in school I don’t want them hanging around fields and playgrounds in the cold , I want them them indoors doing reading , writing , maths .

I am hoping that the government reduce social distancing measures within all society and this then translates to schools.

@RoseDog i have friends in Dundee who have been told what their schools plan is from August - they were told on either Wednesday or Thursday, so might be worth chasing the school for info

It's just a shitstorm.

So in Fife primary schools will be 2 days/cleaning/2 days with 50% in at any time, and secondary schools will be lucky to get 2 days - think it's 33% of the time, with zero idea how to get to school ( we live brutally and son gets a school bus). If we end up having to take him to school I've no idea how to juggle one at primary, one at secondary and working. We have already had redundancy notices at work so don't want to rock the boat.

All of this, and my understanding there was only 2 or 3 (can't remember which now) new cases in Fife this week and all have been in either hospital or care home so no new community based cases.

I really worry about my children's education - the online learning so far hasn't exactly covered neither the schools or the education system in glory so how will this improve by August?

I’m a HOD in a large secondary school and staff are frustrated and concerned. We are planning in a vacuum, things are changing day to day, and there are so many unanswered questions. I’m missing my classes terribly and the thought of returning with all the nuances of my job lost, however temporarily, is really frustrating. It’s not going to be teaching as I know it.

Lizzoflute I think that's it, it's not going to be teaching or school life as we know it. I'm a teacher in a secondary school and my dd is due to start s1 in August, what kind of introduction is it going to be for her...sat in the same room all day with no resources and not being allowed to mix with new people or move around the school - alll the fun and exciting things about being in s1

Has anyone heard anything about new term dates in Aberdeenshire? We don't get a September long weekend normally, but if we are back a week early, it's a long time until mid-October.

I wondered if they might move the November long weekend to September. (Maybe that's local occasional days, rather than shire wide?)

I think it's good that they are planning for the worse case, rather than hoping for the best.

I think even two days per week will be so beneficial for my DS, starting P2. His P1 teacher added a voice-over to two power point lessons for the first time this week (I normally have to read it), and he was so thrilled. He listened to it with a massive smile on his face. Anything will be better than nothing.

(Easy to say when both parents WFH completely flexibily, though, I do realise.)

@Lizzosflute sorry just worked out how to mention someone

Aberdeen City realised something yesterday which said classes with be split into thirds so we're anticipating 3 days a fortnight for children.

@CaptainMerica Aberdeenshire back on the 13 leg August for pupils (10th/11th are inset days). Inset days in November

@mrslol yes looks like Aberdeen city will do 3 week rotation...in 4 days, Friday cleaning, off for 2 weeks

@tigger1001 thanks! But I'd be wasting my time I think, I'm still waiting on a phonecall back from his guidance teacher who I have called twice, so I won't hold my breath!

The school are good at sending communication through the school app, text and email constantly but its the same stuff sent to everyone and you've got to work out if it's for your child or not 🤷‍♀️

@RoseDog I've enquires as to whether it's really necessary for me to spend money on uniform (going to high school) for my giant, growing child to wear for a few hours a week. What a waste of money. And it's just rubbing salt in the wounds!

Thank you to all the teachers; I can see that you are in a hideous limbo waiting for direction from the powers that be and you should be able to do your job like before. I mean the old normal, none of this "new normal" bullshit.

Someone already posted the link but just to reiterate, if you are on Facebook please join the Us for Them Scotland group. The number of members has sky rocketed in the last few days which is really heartening. Our children should be in school without social distancing. They deserve a proper education. Nothing in life is risk free but the risks of covid 19 are now so tiny that pursuing "blended learning" cannot be justified.

Tweet from NS this morning, surely if this was to happen before August then we've a good chance of getting schools back in as normal??

if* we can effectively eradicate COVID - and then control through Test & Protect & policies to mitigate against cases coming into country - we can restore much greater degree of normality. Decisions then about, eg, 2m v 1m are more possible. But first we must suppress/eradicate.

Tweet was from yesterday actually, don't know my dates anymore!

@redsky75 thanks!

I'd check with school re uniform - our parents have been told no uniform and staff are also being encouraged to dress down to allow for easy laundry.