Student movement

[PenOrPencil]

Pondering how it is all going to work post lockdown makes me think about what school is like here as opposed to other countries.
It has always struck me as a bit eccentric that secondary schools in the UK think that moving 1000 students is preferable to moving 100 teachers. When I was in school classes stayed in their classroom for everything but PE, music, art and science. The teachers moved around from class to class. This obviously only works if classes are taught in forms, but there would be a lot less trouble if the teachers instead of the students moved classes...
Just as an aside: I didn’t have my own classroom for a year and absolutely hated it!

They do this at one of my DC's schools. Not sure whether it's a good thing or not normally, but will make things easier now I imagine!

But I teach science in a lab. MFL use language lab. DT needs specialist static equipment as does art. Text books are heavy and would need a set if each in every class ? And what about setting ? In science we gave lots of mixed ability, some taking higher and some foundation and some triple. Not sure you've thought this through 🤓

Lack of your own classroom is really difficult. Staff in my school operate between two sites. Lugging everything to the site across the road is really a pain. Though they try to timetable it so you mainly move at break and lunch there’s always a few at change of class and the corridors can be chaotic as you try to get your own class settled and supervise two others on the corridor. Would be the same problem every period if you were moving around a big site and pupils would be unsupervised in classrooms which is a recipe for disaster.

So true about switch over. So I'd have to stay until next teacher arrived. So I'd be late to next lesson and the teacher waiting for me would be late .....
Can't leave 30 teenagers alone in a room with gas taps. Or chairs. Or each other.

I think it's definitely an adaptation to consider when making plans to reopen. I'm a teacher, I understand the issues. But I'd be surprised if SLTs weren't considering it and whether it would work in their setting.

From September that’s exactly what we are considering doing with years 7-9. It’s quite a drastic solution though and would have serious implications. It would mean no setting in subjects that normally teach in sets and having science, technology subjects, IT, art and drama taught outside of their usual rooms would have a serious educational impact. The more we look into it the less likely it looks that it will work.

We think that we might be able to reduce movement and we are considering dropping setting to help this, with classes having a “base” for most subjects and some movement for specialist rooms. We don’t want students not to have any practicals for however long social distancing lasts for though. We are only expecting to have half of our students in per day for a good chunk of the next academic year anyway, which will help with corridor movement.

It’s not something we’d want to become permanent. The history classrooms are where the history textbooks are kept, the french rooms are where the french dictionaries are, the maths classrooms have supplies of graph paper and protractors. Teachers moving around sounds simpler but it’s also about the equipment in each room.

'Can't leave 30 teenagers alone in a room with gas taps. Or chairs. Or each other.'

They do at my DC school and it's fine. Not in the science lab though - they do move for science!

I suppose it depends on the school.

At my school we aren’t going to be having more than 15 kids in a class until social distancing is over. In any class with a TA the limit will be 14. For NQTs or trainees who will need to have an observer in regularly, either the limit will need to be 14 (or 13 with a TA) or lessons will need to be observed via a video link.

@NuffSaidSam then your school is not insured. Students should not be left alone in a classroom as if something happens school would be sued and the last teacher in their would be liable. It's safeguarding 101.
I'd love to go back. But it if it will cause just one death.

It's an Ofsted outstanding school.

I will confess I did not look into their insurance before DC started there so you may well be right! But you would think Ofsted would have raised it as a concern!!

Maybe they only started this since their last inspection. Or changed the system during the inspection and told the kids to keep schtum! Who knows.

@NuffSaidSam I have a feeling it did not happen while OFSTED were in the building 😜.

My DCs school don't set Y7-9. The students move around though, staying in their form. It's perfectly doable and their results are good.

But moving around will mean they are close together. Most of our corridors are not 2m wide. So we would have 100s of kids walking single file up and down stairs. They just won't do it. Some of my year 10s will think coughing on each other is hilarious.

What about course choice? Our pupils pick courses and start dropping subjects from S2 (I think Y8?) onwards. Especially in S5 and 6, they are often in classes with unique groupings of children depending on the subjects they’ve chosen. If one of the pupils in the group of 15 (or whatever the social distanced class size is) has dropped my subject, what happens then? They’ll be missing out on the teaching which is going on somewhere else.

There is a real risk of vital particles building up in a classroom. This American associate professor of biology explains the risks better than I can. Well worth a read:

www.erinbromage.com/post/the-risks-know-them-avoid-them

PenOrPencil

Those schools that have pupils that move around
Only have some years in.
Smaller classes
And have set pathways around the school.
They exit and enter classrooms though fire exits and from outside the school and the corridors are kept as free as possible.

Teenagers will not keep to the rules. Some will but a minority just won't, and it doesn't matter how many stickers we put on the floor or how many one way systems. Some will just not comply. If I need to tell a student off guess what they will do. Cough on me. Breathe on me. Yes we can the exclude them but I may already be dead. They are kids and it's what some do.

Are you at a high risk mums?

I think if not, then the chances of you dying from someone coughing on you are extremely, extremely small.

If you are high risk, then I agree you probably shouldn't be in school.

We're never going to reduce the risk of death (from all causes) to zero though. You're always at small risk from death while at work. That's always been the case.

@NuffSaidSam I'm 54, have a mild heart condition (but not bad enough to get me off work) & am a bit chubby. Everyone is at risk. Fit and healthy people in their 20s have died - I knew one of them. Not many I agree, but one is too many. I understand getting the economy going, that is needed, but sending groups of kids into schools without providing adequate protection is ridiculous. No one has any PPE.
Anyone wanting to take my year 10 classes is v welcome. I'll pay you.

You couldn't pay me enough to teach a class of year 10's even before coronavirus!