Reception and Year 1 teachers. Come and sit on the carpet for circle time.

[FlamingoAndJohn]

Hello all.
So, how do we think this is going to work then?
I’m year 1 but I taught reception for many years.
I cannot see how any kind of social distancing would be vaguely possible in reception at all.
It might work a bit in year one if we have extra breaks for them to run about.
I’ve only got enough tables for 10 children to be distanced. I don’t really have enough for the whole class in normal times.

What are your thoughts?

Reception here 🙋🏼‍♀️

I haven’t a clue. I am so worried this morning.

Wondering if we could spread Y1 across the Y1 and Y2 classrooms, and YR over the YR classrooms plus nursery. And have the Y2 and nursery teachers come back at the same time as us. Still definitely not 2m apart and no idea what we’d do when the others arrive though! I hope they won’t ban dining hall, playtime etc. Poor things need a bit of normality. What a nightmare this all is.

My guess would be you could spread the 3 years across all the empty classrooms and have a third/half your staff on a rota doing more days than they have been doing. Most schools will have at least 3 empty rooms with this plan so spacing out is easier. I don't think the Government is looking at social distancing with these choices just that it's harder for people to work with little ones at home and older children can be a bit more independent at home.

It's going to be impossible (reception here) also what about 1:1 chn??? It's very scary to think we're poss going to go back and be more focussed on social distancing then anything else.

I’ve got a few SEN children who can’t work independently and need small-group or even 1:1 in order to be produce any work. I’ve also got a couple of severe ASD. It’s going to be bonkers.

I think spreading across the empty classrooms is a plan for year 1. The only problem with that is that the chairs and tables will be too big!

What annoys me about this is that it’s purely for people to get back to work. No consideration for the education of the children at all.

I just can’t begin to comprehend how it will work. I work in a tiny village school, if I applied the 2m rule I would fit 4 children in my classroom! Also what about changing them, hugging them, taking them off mum and wiping their tears. Not to mention 99% of their learning is through play with others. I have one table in my reception classroom. I’ve never taught formal lessons at a table, have no idea how I would teach in this way?

I’ve only ever done ‘input’ with the children sitting on the carpet. I don’t think anything will go in if they’re all sitting spread out around the classroom. Plus they won’t all be able to see the board.
We do RWI for an hour every day and I can’t see hoW that’s going to work with distancing either.

I’m very worried about ASN. Our 1-1s will expect nothing to have changed and they cannot be reasoned with.

I think it will need to be small groups.

But what do we do about provision? CP is a free for all. They can play with each other but we need the adult in guiding them.

And what about the burden of cleaning? We have 3 cleaners for the whole building. They will not be cleaning toys.

Desks and chairs would be the most hygienic, we have to be honest.

And we can forget show and tell and story time!

We do RWI too.
The whole point is that you work in pairs.
We will have to re test all the children when they get back in as some will have shot up in RWI and some will have dropped back.

It will be interesting to hear more details about how the education committee suggest we go about doing this!

As an infant school, if we had ALL yr/y1 in, we don’t have enough classrooms to spread them out much. We also don’t have enough teachers (not shielding) to staff the rooms.

If they say forget about SD and just come in 30 to a class, we could probably staff that, but those staff members (and the unions) are not going to be confident that’s safe. We also have no 1:1s for the children who are entitled to that support as they are shielding.

Desks and chairs would be the most hygienic, we have to be honest.

Oh yes. Children sat at a table all day with their own pencil etc would be the much more hygienic option, but how miserable, especially in reception.

Has Boris actually said that they will have to socially distance?

I've been into school with a Year R child who has a 1:1. You can't socially distance with him. It isn't possible to socially distance with the children and in my opinion is pretty pointless if you're in a classroom with them all day anyway.

I honestly don't think that there will be any social distancing other than spreading them across as many rooms as possible.
They will not be able to be kept apart. How kids who kick off are going to cope is interesting. How can they be managed?

I don't think that the schools will go back then.
I hope that this isn't just wishful thinking.

This government is so appallingly and dangerously stupid. I'm ashamed to be British. I've not been this worried during this crisis before.
I'm not early years now, but I worked in ks1 for ten years in a very disadvantaged area, and an extremely challenging school. I know that it will be a shit storm there.

How kids who kick off are going to cope is interesting. How can they be managed?

That’s true. We have one who often requires a couple of members of staff to remove them from the classroom.

Completely and utterly miserable.

Even from 9am, they’d have to be dropped at the gate and walk into school alone. We had no criers in March but we will have now.

Sit at your table on your own and dry your tears please.

What’s scaring me is my own attitude. I don’t want to cuddle them or hold their hands. I’ve spent years with wee ones hanging off me but I am scared now.

We have discussed all staff going back, possibly full time for the time being, in order to teach attending classes split into smaller groups spread across remaining classrooms. SLT meeting this morning to firm up.
Not happy about having to send my own DC back to school as key worker's children (neither in R, 1 or 6) though. I suspect DC's school in leafy suburbia will be pretty empty; many families with a SAHP are saying they're not going to send their kids come what may, whereas parents in my deprived inner city school, who have been telling me they are also really worried, don't have the choice as they're scared of the fines, or won't be able to keep their kids home as will be expected to return to work in due course.
So frustrating.

It’s going to be miserable for the y6 teachers too. All the things that they’d usually do at the end of the year (residential trip, leavers play, leavers assembly etc..,) won’t be able to happen with social distancing.

I'm feeling stressed about this this morning too. I'm reception and no idea how on earth this will work. I also have a toddler who goes to nursery full time and I the idea of sending him in where he we undoubtably be in close contact with staff / children makes me feel terrified.

I also keep seeing posts about children regressing at home. Cold social distancing measures aren’t going to help them!

Year one teacher here.

I'm assuming Reception will have to come in in limited numbers each day.

Same for Y1, unless we spread them across the classrooms.

We're only a one form, but our Y6 class is a bulge year.

DD2 is in Y1 (in another school) and I am undecided yet whether I'll be sending her in.

Our LA is supposedly looking af teaching outdoors. Yes that will work well considering we had snow and hailstones yesterday.

Reception/ Y1 here.
I’m so worried about having to constantly tell children off for doing what comes naturally to them.