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?

The whole point of Reception is that activities are designed for children to interact with eachother as much as possible.

I really hope they don't reopen with the understanding that the children will be socially distancing- they won't. 5 minutes after the children are through the doors someone will have hit/ bit/ generally 'touched' someone else and the parents will be up in arms asking how this occurred when they should be 2 metres apart.

I'm stressed just thinking about it.

I have no idea how this can work at all. And from experience of being in with key worker / vulnerable children up to now social distancing will be impossible.

The government will agree that social distancing cannot be possible. Eventually.
But that it's okay because it doesn't effect kids (much).
Unions will go beserk, as will all right minded folk.
Schools won't go back as expected.
It will be larger amounts of children than at present, but not all.
It will still be very difficult.

The best plan I can think of

• empty my room completely, more room and less temptation (😥)
• start off with some Cosmic Yoga/ Joe Wicks on a mat each
• do group music and singing
• some whiteboard work
• a worksheet?
• outdoor break? Standing on the spot, no contact?

We have very few plastic toys or I would have thought about individual buckets of Lego which could be easily washed down.

The schools going back is reliant upon the numbers going down. Johnson has sad this.
Well, that's not going to happen because of the VE day stuff and restrictions being lifted now, and the useless non advice.
The numbers will go up.
So the schools won't open.

The smaller the child, the cheaper the body bag?
I don't trust Boris.

What about the children of key workers that are currently in school, and teachers still providing learning for Y2 and above who are still at home?
At a guess I'd say you would need to split a class of 30 into 10s to ensure some degree of social distancing, so they will need 3 teachers plus 3 TAs. Most schools already have key worker children in, at my school they are split between 2 classes with 4 staff between them. We have 8 classrooms. We would need 9 rooms for the YR/3/6 children plus 2 for the key workers.
I'm assuming Boris didn't bother to do the maths of how this would work? The unions are going to have a field day!!!

I see it as the government aren't expecting us to social distance. They know it's not possible. Yes we will have smaller groups but that's it. It's all about getting people back to work and we are facilitating that. I'm not happy about putting my health at risk and even more unhappy that my own children will have to go to school and nursery whilst I go to work as they aren't in those year groups but that's what will happen. I hope the unions do step in but I don't have much faith

do group music and singing

I thought singing was a no-no due to spreading droplets?

I slept very badly last night-can’t imagine what this is going to look like. I also think a lot of yR/1/6 parents are going to be really pissed off that they aren’t all back as normal, Full time, with their ‘actual’ class teacher in their usual room, with all their friends, with breakfast and after school clubs running at capacity. Oh, and as they haven’t changed their reading book for weeks, they’ve been meaning to speak to you about that..

There won’t be social distancing with 4-6 year olds.

More likely you will have small bubbles of say 10 chn with the same adult every day - that group will eat together and play together and be kept separate from all the other children.

I love singing :(

We don’t have the staffing or rooms to facilitate bubbles....

Then you might have to do as other countries are doing and have different groups in on different days or weeks.

I don't think you will be expected to socially distance.

All the Government is doing is managing risk. The NHS has capacity, PPE and testing have ramped up to manage any small spikes and for the good of the economy we have to start sometime. Vulnerable staff will hopefully be able to stay out of the loop for the minute but the risk to the average person is low and so i'd say having this staggered return is the most sensible option.

Year 1 teacher her. Tbh I think Using spare classrooms isn’t the way forward. Because they will say the reopening is a success and then invite more year groups. So the plans in place will have to change again.

My idea-
Maybe 10 a group - 2 days a week could work in our school (aware that every school will be different).
Year 1 group a (10 from each of the 2 classes = 20) Monday & Tuesday
Year 1 group b (10 from each of the 2 classes = 20) Wed & Thursday
Year 1 group c (10 from each of the 2 classes = 20) Monday & Friday (on the double up day 1 class are based in hall & do outside stuff as much as possible - rotate this day between the three groups - possible lead by non- y1 teachers with areas of specialism (forest schools/pe)

On the days in class normal class teachers & tas (potentially increase ta ratios from other year groups and increase teacher ratio in key workers group) with ppe for adults. Adults responsible for cleaning equipment. Guessing lunch in classrooms with lunchtime supervisors. Playtime’s staggered with kids in your group. We’d have to group alphabetical or all hell would break loose with why can’t sound so go in so I’m so’s group.

Has anyone said you need to make 5 year olds social distance?

Wait4nothing
Not criticising your plan, but that's not going to go down well with a lot of parents.
It's not going to solve the problem of child care and going back to work.
But I think that there will be a rota system which will be hugely unpopular.
It will pose a lot of risk for little gain.

I think teaching outdoors during the summer months and cancelling autumn might be the better option.
Or my dh says marquees to create outdoor classrooms but again weather reliant.

I don’t think anyone will be expecting social distancing. I think the idea is just to get on with it. No proven link exists between child adult transmission. I don’t think there’s any need to worry unless you have a compromised immune system.

My reception daughter is going to school at moment (keyworker) in a class of nursery, reception, yr1 and 2 in London. It’s all fine, I wouldn’t worry about it. No-one has been particularly ill although a couple have been off at times.

I think you’re worrying too much.

Year 1 teacher here, surely the problem with different children on different days is cross contamination? They will all be touching the same pencils, pens, chairs, tables, resources etc? I think it could work for some schools if all teaching staff were in and YR, 1 and 6 were split across all classrooms and stayed in the same classrooms each day? Doesn't help when the government decide other year groups can come back, perhaps that would be when the R is low enough to combine children into bigger classes again?

I don't think having YR and 1 back first is at all sensible though and I feel like a guinea pig. It should have been 5, 6, 10 and 12.

It won't. I have woken up today thinking these year groups have been chosen to see what affect pupils who can't socially distance will have on the R.

I will be VERY surprised if schools open more than they have currently been open on June 1st - after all I saw people celebrating VE Day with parties they were NOT socially distanced and the roads are packed this morning so the R will be back up again before then!

There won’t be social distancing in schools and they know that. Some measures will be seen to be taken Ie lunch times, staggered play times etc but in general kids and staff will be mixing.
As unfortunate as it is, people have to get back to work over the coming months- June or September (or later!) The virus threat may be less, it may be the same by September but people must start getting back to work. The risks of still not working in the coming months are far worse than the risks of this virus for the vast majority of the school age kids and staff

Oh god. You should hear the teacher bashing on LBC.
Not Ferrari, the callers.