The Teachers’s Republic Refuge - solidarity comrades!

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

So continuing on from our boycott/flowers we need to continue to defend our profession. This is teacher/school staff chat - if you do not fall into that category please start you own thread elsewhere.

#solidarity

Oh, yes, that Parentkind survey is interesting...

I agree with the point about sport - mine aren’t especially sporty but like the courses like Hockey Heroes and Cricket All-Stars - so they can go to school and presumably do PE etc but then can’t go and join a group of basically those same children outside on a field for a non-contact sport?

Talking of surveys, really weird one in the ST today that said 61% of people think the govt is handling this well, and only 19% think Keir would be better than Boris (REALLY??!?) but something like 67% thought the government had messed up in their decisions. I don't get how this makes sense.

Is it the old,'oh , yes, Boris, he's a disaster, but aw , bless him' stuff, still??

gravity, I have read so much that I now can't remember but think it is Germany where on return , music and PE lessons are to be suspended,which is really sad : and no ball sports or contact sports allowed at all. Not publicised much, but singing is high risk and the expert was quoted as saying 'children are risky because they tend to cry more and sing more' Which actually made me well up

Another consideration

Teachers with young children.

IF schools reopen on a rota basis presumably the key worker childcare provision will end.

So I'm back at work full time - small school and not all staff will be back so I assume I won't just be teaching year 5, what do I do with year 3 DS if it's not his day at school - do I hope my secondary school aged daughters are off, some teachers don't have older children to provide childcare.

What is interesting for me, is that we have some children with significant behavioural challenges (mainstream). Children who run the corridors 90% of the time. Chances of them sitting at a desk, or staying in a room etc etc is nil.

Our school has a different approach to this sort of behaviour by the way, which is not to exclude. The risk assessment for those kids is interesting anyway, but I can see situations where they wouldn't be able to come back to school at all.

I’m worried too that wraparound care won’t be open - I’m a single parent and their dad is abroad so can’t help. I have a DP but it’s a bit much to expect him to homeschool someone else’s kids while I work! It might come to that though. The only other people I could ask are 70+ and again it’s a big responsibility for days and weeks on end.

practicallperfect a very good consideration. I have a 6year old and 3 year old. 3 years old nursery currently closed due to lack of children attending. If I got back to work at my FE college it will likely be full time. How on earth do I then find somewhere for both DC to go if older is only in some days/ 1/2 days and the nursery doesn't open??? Quite honestly wouldnt feel ok sending them to friends either

Our after school and breakfast club are run by TAs who are both in the shielding group-they won’t be back any time soon.

Are we envisaging that the KW childcare will stop if we reopen in a reduced way-eg 12/15 per class, or would key workers be entitled to a place every single day? This would reduce the places available to non-KW but might mean a lot of repetition for them??

If not, and KW children are only back eg three days a fortnight like everyone else, would that mean NHS staff would actually rather things stayed as they currently are?

Do you think the question will be asked or avoided at the briefing?

Kevin Courtney, General Secretary of the National Education Union, the largest teachers' trade union for England and Wales, says talks about a June re-opening are 'very premature'.

would that mean NHS staff would actually rather things stayed as they currently are?

I think quite a few people currently sending kids to school have expressed panic about this.

I don't think it will be long before the issue of the 6 week break rears its head again.

Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman today backed the plans, saying there is a 'great deal of logic' in targeting younger children to return to the classroom.
Speaking on Sky News this morning, she said 'normality' for younger children is important, saying that the younger they are 'the more they need routine'.

Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman today backed the plans, saying there is a 'great deal of logic' in targeting younger children to return to the classroom.Speaking on Sky News this morning, she said 'normality' for younger children is important, saying that the younger they are 'the more they need routine'

Had anyone had any info from SLT about what their school will look like if we return pre summer? I haven't but trying to imagine social distancing in a school with my small classroom, small hall and narrow corridors. I'm thinking 15 children per classroom and one way walking around the school in a loop. No assemblies due to lack of space and no PE, music, art due to cross contamination. Lunch times will be impossible! I hope Boris is listening to teachers and unions about the realities of how crammed schools are and how difficult this will be to manage

And who cares what the routine is like, eh, Amanda?? They need nurture and play and stuff like that.

I don't know how she was made Head of Ofsted.

Amanda Spielman also said on Sky news that suggestions (Adonis) that Ofsted should inspect schools’ online provision and make judgements when the guidance from the DfE was that there was no expectation of schools providing an education was just wrong.

She said that there should be more guidance, but that it wouldn’t be that teachers should be doing video lessons.

I’m shifting myself at going back. I’m 56 and work in a huge huge secondary. The corridors at changeover are unreal.

How much effect does anyone think the unions will have?

It’s ridiculous to go back now, it’s just going to set it off again. 13% of the population are in schools. That’s more than 10% of the country.

so they can go to school and presumably do PE etc but then can’t go and join a group of basically those same children outside on a field for a non-contact sport?

Quite. My DS's play tennis. They are currently not allowed to use the tennis courts (the club is closed) yet the social distancing in a tennis match (against each other) is far greater than in a school PE lesson.
Even the free courts in the local park are closed.

If the schools go back then social distancing will be next to impossible for the 1:1 support workers.

To be fair, riga she is a hell of a lot preferable to Wishaw

Wilshaw

Here’s that polling. Boris doing a good job, the government doing a good job. But also the country was badly prepared (that was the government’s job!) and lockdown came too late (Boris’s decision!).

Mad. I also saw this polling data putting the Tories way ahead.

I see people playing tennis every day in our rec. Someone has pulled on of the football goals out and there is always someone on the skate park too. 😟

To be fair, riga she is a hell of a lot preferable to Wishaw

True but it's best of a bad bunch.