Thread for all of us in school from 23.03.20 - How did it go?

[PhoneTwattery]

Well, here we go!

Happy to do my bit but not exactly looking forward to tomorrow.

For anyone who is interested I'll report back here tomorrow with numbers of students, numbers of staff and generally how the day went in terms of activities and behaviour.

Good luck everyone!

Less than 2! But the one we have is an absolute sweetheart and I'm going to make sure they have an ok time as they'll have not seen their friends for a bit. I'm going to cook with them (I'm the FT teacher) in my enormous kitchen, lots of space for social distancing. Will use the ingredients in the kitchen stock cupboard.

Found out our rota today. Two teams, one full week on then one full week off. I am down to do the same as the full timers despite my contract being for 3 days, but I kind of think bringing that up under the circumstances might be a bit twattish.

Honestly, I don't want to go in. But I will.

My worry is for the kids been left home alone because they have been guilt tripped into not sending kids to sch. A friend of mine (who has sent her child to school.) wrote a note telling other parents off.

How effective actually is this? How many key workers who otherwise wouldn’t be able to get to work are now able to because schools are open from 9-3? It’s hardly normal working hours is it?

We got our rota for this week today. I am on as a ‘reserve’ which is really annoying as I’m going to be on tenterhooks waiting to be called up.

DD' teacher at secondary school of over 2k pupils expecting 70 in today. 6 came and she was sent home. She is very relieved.

We had 17 from 5 to 11. Divided between 2 halls, spaced out with a mat each.
Joe Wickes, Reading, drawing cherry blossom then collaging it. Drink and snack. Ebook making on iPads (enough for one each). Sing up. Lunch. Reading. Skipping + hula hooping + silly races. Watch a Steve Backshall Deadly 60. Cosmic Yoga. Home time.

Have allocated kids their own iPad, skipping rope, pencil case etc.

All equipment anti bac. wiped when they’d gone. Cleaners did hall + mats.

Our plan is to run the same timetable each day, with whoever is in choosing 2 activities. I wasn’t due to be back until Wednesday, but have just had a call to say our deputy head has a temperature so am about to head in.

@kingscotestaff, that sounds like a good day.
I'm on rota today. Good luck everyone.

Joe Wicks, Is he some kind of motivational speaker? I was wondering why i'm rota'd in with Foundation AND key Stages 1 and 2 in the library at 9am and was told under no circumstances to join the ladies in the hall for his session as i wouldn't understand it?

He’s just doing a keep fit video for kids! It’s fab we did it yesterday.

Has anyone else been left off the staff rotas? I'm wondering if it's because I have a toddler and my childminder isn't opening.

I believe the DfE are looking at merging schools with very low numbers and children will attend a school in their locality.

Also, I’ve been taken off the rota!
We did have a 3 week rotation but has changed to 5 weeks with fewer staff.

I think the mad school across the road my have slightly fewer children today, hopefully.

Can I ask a cheeky question as don't want to start a thread for members of the non teaching public to launch on us and call us shirkers...

If there are any PE teachers on here (especially secondary as less likely to be going on site) what are you doing with regards to working from home?? I am genuinely curious. I know there might for some be GCSE PE etc.

We were down to 12 pupils today (after 24 yesterday) Still no rota, and am expected to be in all week. 🙄

I don't think a rota is a good idea.

Suppose one person is in at the beginning of the week. They could transmit the virus to any of their contacts eg family or at the supermarket or pharmacy. A person working at the end of the week could also pass the virus on to their contacts. So you increase the number of transmission routes and possibly the number of deaths.

We talked about this at school today. Those of us who were in thought that it made sense for us to keep going in. It made sense for people working from home to keep doing so and to be held in reserve in case any if us or our families show symptoms and need to be replaced.

I know what you mean Piggy (I think) - I was in with a PE teacher today and my emails were constantly pinging with queries from kids/ parents and hers, um, weren't. Not a dig, it's just the nature of the subjects, but it did make me feel a bit less guilty about sitting out the energetic table tennis etc that was going on .

Our PE teachers all have other roles. Heads of House and Sixth Form. As well as their classes they have pastoral calls to make for dozens of students.

Ah, yes, of course. Our pastoral staff aren't PE teachers : science, English , history.

It certainly wasn't a dig as it makes up for all those cold extra curricular fixtures over the years : it was more curiosity over what PE staff might have expected of them.

It's a funny old time for everyone and soon, I fear, so many people will find school the last of their concerns

I read of one head on Twitter who has all 50 staff in and told them if they go home (10 students are in) he will not pay them.

I work in an EBD school and all of our children have EHCP plans in place. We have 60 on roll and have approx 20 in. It’s really difficult to be 2metres apart!

DH's school could have expected 120, they planned for 65 on the basis of returns from parents. On Monday 11 turned up, today 4 turned up.

It is what we thought would happen. Deprived area. Teenagers with low motivation, lack of parental support. Teenagers will not come to school if friends are not there. Parents of children with EHCPs have kept them at home because they do not want them supervised by staff they do not know well.

In total across the whole local authority he works in there were 57 children in secondary schools yesterday - one school had 2- and 29 today. That does not include primary schools or special schools but they were low as well. The local authority is going to amalgamate the supervision in each locality - which will mean numbers fall even more.

Our children have been extremely well behaved and brave. We are working on a rota and I'm part time so I'm not in until next week now. It's a very strange atmosphere.

Very low numbers at my school. Set to be more next week. We had a few families manage childcare for this first week but they’re NHS and supermarket and can’t cover it all at home. After the first day we have got it down to the families with two key workers. Just as it should be. Children with EHCPs have been kept at home. Teachers and TAs are split into groups on a three weekly rota. They work one week then have two not in.

We are not asking any teacher or TA to come in if that means their own children would have to go to another school for childcare. That’s just silly if that’s happening (unless they parent works in a specialist role like in a special school of course or their school has no one else available).