Guilt Free Railing 17

[WouldBeGood]

Happy New Thread, Railers!

DD will be doing S3 options soon and is thinking of one of the college options but they say 'online' so I'm trying to point out to her that there isn't much point because she won't get any of the experience the course is meant to give and its not relevant to her career idea either but will she listen

@WouldBeGood

Chris Musson on Twitter saying he’d asked them about masks in schools, and the response was “as the position hadn’t changed there’s no update at present”.

Not good enough!

Cheeky gits. The situation HAS changed, though. A whole load of restrictions were lifted yesterday, and some that weren't (hospitality keeping customer details, masks in public places, recommendation to work from home etc) were spelt out as still remaining...the situation hadn't changed for those. So it wouldn't have been a ridiculous expectation for her to mention masks in classrooms alongside those, as it is something pretty major, affecting a lot of people.

Either it was a deliberate decision not to, not to draw attention to that "protection" for anyone not directly affected who may not realise it was still in place. Or it was a non-deliberate omission, suggesting it's not top on her mind...though she could at least have apologised and clarified in that case!

I have said on these threads before, but it's a fucking SCANDAL that the person who is holding the government to account and challenging them is a journalist for the Sun.

Jamie Greene is challenging them on the exams situation. I've just seen it on his Twitter.

@heelforheelandtoefortoe a friend is a college lecturer and all her school classes are in person. Don't know if that helps. Might be worth checking with the college.

The annoying thing is FMQs will just be moaning about Boris tomorrow so none of these actual issues will get discussed

Yes that's her! I realise I sounded a bit rude to put "expert" in inverted commas! She is undoubtedly an actual expert - a virologist

Who, Devi? No not at all. I think her degree is in philosphy or something! She is indeed in inverted commas expert only.

Haha! No, not Devi. Christine Tait-thingy who was talking about masks going earlier. I don't think she deserves the inverted commas ... Devi, I couldn't possibly comment... I'm sure she's an expert in whatever her expertise is in, but I'm not sure that's zero covid and everything tangentially relating to zero covid, public- health or not.

And I totally agree that it shouldn't only be journalists (for any paper) who are questioning on this. Though I do wonder if she's as snippy to anyone from the National or similar who asks questions (if they even do!) as for the Undesirables from the Sun or that chappy from the DM who got his head bitten off for daring to ask if there was any thought being given to reducing the isolation period (for that to happen a fortnight later, after being dismissed as a "totally stupid idea and you obviously haven't been listening to a word I've been saying" when he asked). No one from the opposition mentioned schools on Tuesday, so it's only reasonable for an interested journalist to ask...

ResilienceWanker ah yes her. Yes she's at least carrying relevant qualifications tbf.

Yes completely agree that the press have been woeful in the main. I know the Herald run some questioning stuff but do they actually have anyone there to ask her questions? Sorry I have avoided most of the press conferenes and just rely on you lot to fill me in so my ignorance is showing.

There are 3 exam scenarios. We know what they are but not which one they are going for (PT English here)

Option 1 - exams as normal with the slight reduction in courses announced ages ago.

Option 3 - totally cancelled and same as last year. Teacher grades with some quality control.

Option 2 - my sources now say this is what they are likely to go for. This option is that we are told exams will go ahead but, about 6 weeks before (to avoid courses being narrowed too much too early) we get further modifications or guidance for what to revise. We don't know what this means. In English maybe a focus on fewer texts, some types of questions guaranteed / won't be there.

This is what we are expecting.

They will have already decided what the modifications / information is and it is just a question of when they go to 2. And when they then release the information.

And masks. Really furious about that.

So Devi has changed her mind. We need to live with covid now. Wow. Never thought I would see the day.

@Cismyfatarse why do they do this? I know you don't know just getting the info when the rest of us do but it is so annoying.

It will forever baffle me how Larry Flanagan is basically in charge of Scottish education. I cannot understand how my English teacher is part of the reason kids wear masks all day.

I am utterly baffled by masks. I don't understand why it is apparently such a small thing. It isn't at all.

I am so fed up.

We're also not allowed to sit the kids in groups, which I feel is taking something away.

@Haudyourwheesht

We're also not allowed to sit the kids in groups, which I feel is taking something away.

Wow, in primary we're back to normal.

Our primary still have staggered starts and finishes, 8.45 and 9.00
Ours is split P1-3 and P4-7 but I've heard other schools doing it alphabetically.

Our gates are alphabetically so people are walking past one gate to get to another - work that out!

Yeah, most definitely not back to normal in primary.

I’m stayed off railing for the sake of my sanity, but today seeing everything changing in England and NS not due to review anything else anytime soon makes me so angry. The mask issue is just ludicrous, but particularly so re schools who were due a review last year- tomorrow, no child has to wear one in England. It’s just so wrong we’re still different with this.

Add to that the ‘dentist of doom’ has been speaking up on state controlled STV news tonight, it’s not over, we’re still in dangerous times chat, blah, blah, blah.

Give our mental health a break, Jase, FFS.

What really pissed me off was hearing in the radio that England have freedom coming. No masks, passports etc

Then also in Scotland restrictions are to be lifted next week. Em well no they aren’t. Yes nightclubs can open etc but we still have masks, poor kids stuck in masks all day, passports, adverts treating us like kids, constant doom messaging of caution

So actually no. Scotlands restrictions aren’t being lifted. 😡

I never thought I’d see the day where England is more appealing that Scotland

Our primary is still staggered starts, breaks and lunches. No classes mixing (which means ds can't play with the rest of his year group or his cousin).
The staggered lunches means that the kids get hardly any time to eat in the lunch hall and ds often tells me he didn't have time to finish as they need to leave when the next class are lined up to come in. He's often starving when I collect him.
Staff wearing masks to greet children in the play ground. Zones that they're allowed to play in outside.
I've never seen the inside of the school or met any of the teachers except his class teacher briefly outside.

Oh and only p1 parents are allowed in the playground. Everyone else has to drop kids at the gates.
Which is fine in theory but it also means they're collected from the gate. The other day when I was taking ds1 home there was a 6yo we vaguely know standing outside the gates looking lost. I asked him if he was ok and he said he couldn't find his dad so I said we'd wait with him. His dad was 5 minutes late. The boy could have easily wandered off. 6yo's aren't known for their decision making skills.

@shouldistop were are in the same boat I haven't stepped inside the school in the last two years.
The P1 visit was 40min in the playground even the kids didn't get inside the building. And that was apparently better than the previous years introduction.

Nurseries are the same parents dropping of at the door.
I bet there were babies 1year olds who's mums were due to finish maternity in spring / summer 2020 who've still never been in the building. Those children are coming up on 3 now.

Let's not forget the college and uni students who are barely settling foot in the buildings little opportunity to make friends or really engage on their course.

I do get it's difficult and teachers need some protection too but we have access to rapid testing etc. Education needs to become normal.

Yeah it was only a playground visit for ds1 too, parents had to wait at the gate.
Ds2s nursery allow parents in the building, I think they don't strictly follow the rules tbh. They're an attachment led setting so there was a couple of months of settling in sessions and I was allowed in for them too.
It would be so hard to hand your baby over at the door to strangers

@Cismyfatarse

I am utterly baffled by masks. I don't understand why it is apparently such a small thing. It isn't at all.

I am so fed up.

Again, it comes down to lack of understanding from the Scottish government front bench team.

Sturgeon doesn't have children, Humza Yousaf's are wee and preschool/nursery age. Kate Forbes doesn't have children yet, Angus Robertson's are too young, Swinney has kids but no idea how old they are (and who listens to Swinney anyway).

The MSPs are going into work, not wearing masks in the chamber and living their lives very normally. It's just not on their radar where it very much should be.

I can only hope that as seems to have been so often the case, she waits to see how restriction easing goes in England before easing things here on a few weeks. Pleased to see that masks in schools is starting to make the headlines.

There's something in The Times this morning about pupil absences due to covid anxiety, I can't help but think that it is no wonder some children are anxious about school after almost two years of lecturing about what dangerous laces schools are.

The MSPs are going into work, not wearing masks in the chamber and living their lives very normally. It's just not on their radar where it very much should be.

Yeah, they don't have masks on for very long at all. I'm having to take painkillers every day that I'm working due to wearing a mask, it gives me a thumping headache. My skin is all sore and broken out.

There’s no reason given either as you why this must go on here. Just waffle. And masks in schools not even mentioned.

I also agree masks are not a small thing: it’s what everyone in real life moans about and wants gone