Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Scotsnet

Welcome to Scotsnet - discuss all aspects of life in Scotland, including relocating, schools and local areas.

When are we going back to school 2

561 replies

RaraRachael · 15/07/2020 20:46

New thread as the last one was getting full. Feel free to discuss, moan, speculate on anything to do with Scottish schools and what may/not be happening.

OP posts:
Arkadia · 20/07/2020 21:32

@Lidlfix, well the ineptitude of the SG and of the all important ERG really shines.
A bit like with the distance learning... They had three months to get it going... Now they have had another 6 weeks to get schools organized, but no... All energy was spent on part time schooling, and since then, nothing.
Sigh!

Mascotte · 20/07/2020 21:33

It's a total shambles.

Lidlfix · 20/07/2020 21:36

Agreed Mondaywine. And it wasn't classroom teaching delivering a curriculum it was child care for the DC of key workers or the most vulnerable pupils. Where I live and teach many teachers were never called up for the hubs they volunteered for .

Mascotte · 20/07/2020 21:38

So, what do teachers want to happen?

Lidlfix · 20/07/2020 22:07

I want to return safely. I want to know what protocols are in place and my role in their implementation. I want to know what the rationale for all that I am doing (or not doing) is. Because then when pupils, parents or randoms in the pub ask me I have clear answers and explanations to offer. I want to be able to reassure worried pupils and to challenge "Corona coughers ,personal space invaders, or chewing gum gobbers" alike . I want to know what the exams will look like preferably before I start to teach. I want to what happens if there's a localised spike and what happens if that coincides with exams ? I want to know what workwear stands up to washing at 60* ? Or can I dress down somewhat. I want to know about appointments with parents and how that'll work. I want to know about the young people with significant support needs and who I will (in ordinary circumstances) work closely for extended periods .

Are these not questions that parents have too?

Arkadia · 20/07/2020 22:26

@Lidlfix, as my kids are in primary, I don't have many of the issues you mention.
As to the others, I have to confess, I don't really care, as long as the school looks somewhat normal and not something out of "The walking dead".
I do understand what you are saying though, but you shouldn't get upset with parents, but with the SG. The mess is wholly theirs (and parents, children and school staff are asked to pick up the pieces).

Lidlfix · 20/07/2020 22:29

I am not upset with anyone Arcadia. I am just replying to questions. Any upset tone is this thread is directed to teachers not coming from them. I am a parent too.

LoadsaBlusher · 20/07/2020 22:33

Are any teachers on here going to refuse to go back full time ?

Mascotte · 20/07/2020 22:35

I'm much more worried about my child being out of school any longer than I am about the virus tbh.

I feel that the plan of teachers so socially distancing and pupils not seems reasonable and in line with the science.

If schools don't go back society will crumble and the economy will be trashed and children's welfare gone.

It's disproportionate to the threat posed by the virus in my view.

LoadsaBlusher · 20/07/2020 22:35

Agree mascotte

Arkadia · 20/07/2020 22:37

Me too.
They have to prove that the benefits outweigh the harms.

WaxOnFeckOff · 21/07/2020 00:14

Not that I have any DC in school, but the question about senior pupils (amongst many others) hasn't been answered. Everything talks about transmission rates in age 15 and below but doesn't address the fact that there are many 16, 17 and 18 year old DC in schools. So, are these then adults who should be distancing from other adults, including teachers, in a different way than the younger DC?

Mistressiggi · 21/07/2020 01:01

As it stands, Wax, those older teenagers will be sitting in classrooms with no form of social distancing from eachother (will be cms away from the next student) and with a teacher standing at the front attempting to stay two metres away.
Oh and a bucket of hand sanitiser, hopefully. That's it.

WaxOnFeckOff · 21/07/2020 07:54

To be fair I'm sitting in the very very low risk corner, but it's the inconsistencies in it that just make me frustrated. So that 17 year old might travel on public transport and pop into a supermarket and has to wear a mask but is magically fine in a school?

LoadsaBlusher · 21/07/2020 08:11

So could a solution be that 16-18 year olds wear masks ?

Onebabyandamadcat · 21/07/2020 08:24

What I want to happen:

To be allowed the same distancing and safety measures as anyone else returning to work. Those coming into contact with lots of people, such as in shops etc, have PPE, distancing, limited numbers, screens etc. If it's not safe for them to be featuring to normal it can't be safe for us to be. What measures are going to be taken to keep us safe in the same way as everyone else?

To be told how to teach primary children while maintaining 2m distance. It's been a long time since "chalk and talk" where the teacher stands at the front and lectures a class. Teaching methods today do not fit with distance. What are we expected to do? If it's to return the the lecture style then we need support/time for both us, our pupils and parents to adjust.

Ventilation and air flow sorted. As a safety measure windows in my school can only open a few cm, not nearly enough for proper ventilation. But if we remove the safety features surely we're swapping one risk for another?

Resources. Schools are underfunded. This isn't a new thing but it is a fact. We share resources like text books, concrete materials for maths, art supplies, projector and lighting remotes, science resources, ICT etc etc etc. Are we still to share these things? Not use them? Be given funding to get more?

Cleaning. Funding was so low that desks were only cleaned every second/third day in my school. Will this be increased? Will I be expected to do it?

Start and end times, breaks etc. Will these remain staggered as planned or be back to usual? If back to usual, 400 children and staff will be using a dining hall within a 45 min period. How is distancing and hygiene maintained here?

Parents. Will meetings be going ahead as normal or will there be another way? If there's another way how will it work? Are they allowed into the grounds? If not, how do we safely get 200 infant children to and from their parents at a single gate at start and end times?

Testing and outbreaks. How will testing work? If one person in a class has symptoms do they all need to be tested? Is it just that class? that class plus siblings? The school? If they school has a pupil who tests positive does it close? If it closes do we return to home learning? If so when do we get the chance to set this up?

Return in August. The day before finishing when this new announcement was made I was in my new classroom, setting it up for 12 pupils and new ways of working. Desks had been removed to other buildings, soft furnishings and books (books!!) Had been removed and I had my class list. Now everything has changed. When is there time to get it back to "normal" - the inservice day before pupils return is filled with things like child protection and fire training that is required by law. Classification of our school takes weeks. Our leadership team worked flat out to classify into classes no more than 24 with two groups for blended learning. We can't fit these classes into the building if all pupils return together so reclassification needs doing. When do we get time for that?

In normal times I cover ncct - time out of class that each teacher has for planning, marking and preparation. This means I don't teach 33 children - I teach 240 aged 4-12 a week, moving between classes. Is this going to be allowed? If not, how are teachers going to get this time?

These are just a few of my questions and concerns, off the top of my head. There's other issues like helping younger children with shoes etc, water fountains, first aid, behaviour and I'm sure a million other questions. This is not the same as returning adults to an office - for one I don't know any office where the members will occasionally wipe their snot on another person's leg or instinctively climb onto your knee for comfort.

Onebabyandamadcat · 21/07/2020 08:25

Sorry that was long! It was also paragraphed before posting!

SockYarn · 21/07/2020 08:26

In Scotland, the rules say that everyone over 5 must use a mask. As we progress out of this the rules are changing constantly and getting more and more inconsistent.

I think one thing to bear in mind is that certainly for S5 and S6 the classes are often smaller - DS took Higher computing this year and there were about 10 of them. Different from a large Nat 5 Maths class with 30. Yes it's inconsistent to say kids don't have to wear masks in some situations and they do in other but I think inconsistency is something we all have to get used to!!

SockYarn · 21/07/2020 08:35

On the hub thing - yes the numbers were smaller but you could argue much "riskier". Children of parents who were out and about in the community at the height of infections because of their jobs - because if they weren't on those sorts of jobs their kids wouldn't be in hubs.

So although the numbers in classes may be bigger in August, that has to be balanced against the fact that in April/May the prevalence was so much higher.

Also agree that there has been total radio silence from the Councils and the government which has been rubbish. We're supposed to be back on 11th August and they are doing their usual of leaving it to the last minute. Parents are worried and confused and incorrectly directing their anger at teachers.

AlaskaThunderfuckHiiiiiiiii · 21/07/2020 08:40

@SockYarn mine have been at the hub for w large chunk of this and there was no problems, it was quite busy as well, I would say busier than their rural primary school this why I want mine back full time

Arkadia · 21/07/2020 08:45

In fairness I don't see any social distancing in supermarkets from (now masked) staff. I have a selection on my doorstep and it is always the same scenario.
Actually just the other day I had to go to A&E. There was a big song and dance as you go in (mask and hand sanitizer, if you please) and then you were told to sit only in certain spots. However, in the hours I was there I saw no cleaning going on. Once in, I have noticed that the staff kept no social distancing at all. Only masks, and they were coming and going constantly. The patients, me included, in the end did away with the mask. I think I put it back on when I was leaving. Nobody batted an eyelid.
There was social distancing among patients, but there were very few of them.

@onebabyandamadcat, I suspect that the "soft start" was introduced to allow reorganization of the school premises.

LoadsaBlusher · 21/07/2020 09:31

I’ve still not heard a teacher say on here that they are fully up for a full time return to school

I’ve asked if teachers would refuse to go back full time - radio silence

I’ve asked if teachers have been asked to strike or refuse the full time plans - radio silence

All I am reading here is resistance

The previous posts regarding “ how will my workwear stand up to 60degree washes “
I mean is that a serious question - the answer will be “ exactly the same as millions of other workers over the last 5 months “

Unless you are teaching dressed in a gown of hand beaded silk every day I’m sure your clothes will be fine

The thing about cleaning of desks - how long does it take to wipe desks down with a packet of anti bac wipes ? I had to clean my workspace down at the end of a shift even before coronavirus , what is the issue with this ?

Also the thing about moving desks about , at our work place we would move desks/ tables to set function rooms up / conferences etc
It doesn’t take long - less than half an hour and we moved desks ourselves - 2 of us and these were adult sized desks , not small children’s desks . Is the moving of desks back into rooms seriously another bone on contention ?

Lidlfix · 21/07/2020 09:49

And there's the reason.

Onebabyandamadcat · 21/07/2020 09:51

@loadsablusher I want to go back full time IF the questions I raised are answered. If it's unsafe, yes I would reluctantly strike - as should anyone else being forced into unsafe working environments.

Yes moving desks for a meeting takes minutes. Moving desks from across the city and back into rooms, adjusting them to the appropriate height and finding chairs for them takes a wee bit longer. Happy to help out doing it but that's be slightly hard while also teaching the class that are in front of me. Teachers don't return until one day before the pupils and that day is filled with legally required training. So when do I do it?

Wiping down a desk with anti bac wipes do nothing against the Corona VIRUS. We need anti viral/strong cleaning materials - will we be provided with them? If it "only takes minutes" why are the cleaners in my work only doing it every couple of days? Because that minutes multiplied by all the surfaces actually adds up to a bit more. That's time taken away from the time I'm supposed to be spending doing my job - marking, planning, calling parents creating resources etc.

Again, yes other people have also had to adapt and change. We will - remember we did with about 3 days notice at the start of lock down. However the workplaces should be "covid secure" - the first minister herself has said so. Until we are given hard facts and numbers showing how it'll be as secure as other work places I for one will resist a return.

LoadsaBlusher · 21/07/2020 10:18

So looks like teachers will be the only part of the UK workforce resisting going back to work

I am genuinely concerned for my children’s education and wellbeing after reading this