Back to school and Primary Bubbles

[JamMakingWannaBe]

Generally pissed off at my LA and the latest school guidance. This is a rant:

From Day 1 they have been saying classes resume on Wednesday 12 August. Great - annual leave is booked, along with a raft of appointments I couldn't do in lockdown with DC in tow. ONE week before, it is announced there is actually a staggered start and DC are not starting until Thursday! I'm still waiting to see if my holiday request will be granted and half my appointments can't be rescheduled Grrr!

Next is an email about Breakfast Club, giving us TWO days notice to book a place. Surely the school knew this would be an issue before now?

I understand the SD measures but to maintain bubbles, it had been confirmed DC will eat a sandwich lunch in the classroom (this was expected) but also that break times will be staggered. DD has been allocated a different P2 class to her two best friends in P1 and she's in a class with a known disruptive pupil. I'm just pissed off on her behalf she won't even get to see her friends at break.

I genuinely feel for the Council because at one time the guidance changed 3 times in the space of a week but since then they've had time to plan all these things so as to make the start of term as smooth as possible for both kids, AND parents.

You have had more info than us. My kids are in one day next week - but not the same day and then back on the 17th. No word on breakfast club, lunches or if they intend to do staggered starts/finishes.

I did guess that next week was not going to have any proper schooling despite the 12th being mentioned repeatedly so booked annual leave at the start of the summer.

Do you mean Thursday - a day later than expected or Thursday - a week later than expected?

I suspect that the bubbles element may be to manage staff breaks. We have around 30 staff and cannot possibly social distance in the staff room or 3 toilets we have if all breaks are at the same time. Children may not need to socially distance but the staff in schools do.
The original opening guidance said that schools could use the week of the 10th for inservice days and that the children should come in over that week, ready to be FT on the 17th.

I’m dreading this happening on our September return.

I’ll believe NOTHING until they’re through the doors and at their desks.

I’ve had zero communication from the school since 2 days before the end of term detailing the blended proposals.

Best assume that no school plans are set in concrete

I am just so grateful they are going back full time and for the nightmare the staff have had trying to sort this out. We’ve had a great service tho and I can see how hard they are working, personal calls, sending emails at 9pm etc, I’m confident it’s going to go well.

I'm really annoyed too. Discovered my kids are only going back on Friday 14th. This is a rural school with 60 pupils and no Covid cases for over 2months in our local authority!

It's not a soft start, it's a delayed start. Unless they meant a soft start for teachers?

Homeschooling has allowed me to see the work set for my kids, witness a couple of awful videos by my sons teacher trying to explain new concepts. I'm seriously worried by the standard of education they are getting. It's going to be a different parent the school gets this term....

@MrsAmaretto ours might be at the same place. 😁

Children with a surname beginning from A-M are in for a split start on Wednesday and Friday. Children with a surname N-Z are in on Thursday and Friday next week.

It all sounds like a bloody nightmare.

Monday is when staff will find out how things are going to work. So far we've to bring our own lunches in cool bags or flasks. Not allowed to use the staff room.

I should feel excited for starting a new job, instead I'm having a higher anxiety feeling at the moment as we know nothing so far.

But is Monday not when schools go back, how can you find out then?
What with the exam grading fiasco and now this, the Scottish government are really letting kids, parents and staff down big time. It all seems so unfair.

@ssd in Edinburgh, staff back Monday, first group of children in Wednesday. I won't meet my children til the following Monday due to my days.

Ours are just going back as normal, no bubbles, nothing. It's utterly awful.

One child in for a 2 hour session on Thursday afternoon, the other child in for a 2 hour session on Friday. Session will consist of telling them the new procedures/rules/timings of attendance and then they’re all in together on Monday 17th.

The main change is a one-way system round the school, designated staircases for going up and coming down and slightly staggered start times for S1-S4 and S5-6. No mention of masks but they have been asked to keep their distance in corridors which raised a mighty guffaw from my child.
I really feel for all the kids and teachers when they’re all in because it’s going to be pandemonium. Idiots acting up, deliberately going up the ‘down’ stairs, walking the wrong way down corridors, pretending they can’t hear what their teachers are saying (if they’re wearing masks?!), people screeching about ‘germs’, pretend coughing etc...

(I’m writing out the worst case scenario here in the hope that by putting it down, it doesn’t actually happen that way )

And then there’s the watching and waiting to see what happens if one child’s parent phones in one morning to say they’ve developed symptoms. Will there be a suspension of school until it has been confirmed that the child does NOT have Covid? Or will they wait for a positive result and then notify fellow pupils immediately and we all go into isolation for 14 days. Would it be the whole school, the year group (inc their teachers?)

It’s all such an unknown. I just hopemy kids get some quality teaching for the rest of the year. Fingers crossed!

@AudacityOfHope

Ours are just going back as normal, no bubbles, nothing. It's utterly awful.

Then the police will step in, surely

I really feel for all the kids and teachers when they’re all in because it’s going to be pandemonium. Idiots acting up, deliberately going up the ‘down’ stairs, walking the wrong way down corridors, pretending they can’t hear what their teachers are saying (if they’re wearing masks?!), people screeching about ‘germs’, pretend coughing etc...

I don't think you need worry about that, all schools I know have a policy of immediate exclusion for breaking social distancing or hygiene regulations

Will they @mosquitofeast ??

People can intervene in schools that are going by the rules set out by the SG in terms of social distancing? What would they be intervening based on?

Ds is in S5 and back thu /Fri next week. Other years are in different days during the first week . This is to allow them to tell the pupils the new rules.

Pupils enter at their year group door only (then mix with all other years in the corridors 🤦🏻‍♀️)

Each year group had its own outdoor space for breaks.

Lunch will be preorder via an app or packed and they will have it delivered to classrooms (think of the mess they will leave behind). Pupils strongly discouraged from leaving grounds for lunch.

No social distancing or masks for pupils, even senior/adult pupils. Classrooms have been changed so teacher is distant which means pupils are crammed more further back.

No masks on school buses. Hand sanitiser before boarding.

Hand sanitiser before entering school and cleaning equipment so each pupil cleans equipment before /after use in each class

Toilets one way, limited numbers and regularly cleaned.

Not sure what else they can realistically do in a 97% capacity school with 1400+ pupils

I feel so antsy about all of this and so do my secondary aged kids. The younger one not so much. It feels like a waiting game until everything closes. I desperately hope we get a run of 4 weeks. I swing between being all upbeat about it and feeling quite sad about how different and disruptive it might be.

Good luck to all teachers, I hope you get good guidance you're happy with tomorrow and you feel reasonably confident when your pupils return.

I hope we can all work together to make this the best it can be.

Had a chat with my kids about it today - they go back in Wednesday. The younger wants to take a packed lunch because he's scared to touch the lunch trays in the dinner hall. He said 'it just can't be safe Mum, to go back yet'.

He's 8. I showed him the rate of new cases in our region - which is basically one confirmed case per day - to try to reassure him. But it feels shit; the school is taking no special measures apart from encouraging hand washing regularly throughout the day.

If that's all it took offices the world over would have reopened.

Back to work today. 3 hours of the health and safety training.

Tough going but I feel happier. Our breakfast club isn't operating until later in the month as they are having to move them completely to a different building.

But the banter was good. No sharing of food allowed so none of us could bring the home baking that is usual 😢.

Edinburgh here -one child in on Wednesday, the other on Thursday then full time for everyone. One way corridors and try to have your lunch outside. God knows what it will be like when winter hits. I want them to be back for the routine and for time with their teachers, but I think I'd have preferred blended learning 50/50) at the start.

Son wants to wear a mask and not to wear his tie but the info from the school says normal uniform.