Education Guidance for Education and Childcare Settings

[BertNErnie]

It's arrived.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings

What a s**t show! DfE should be ashamed sending out such drivel!

My favourite line:

"Parents will not be fined for non-attendance at this time."

There is just so much... I’m a secondary HOD in an inner city school and so far I can see:

Reduced class sizes to 15.
Year 10/12 having face to face teaching from June 1st but NO full timetable
No mention of years 7-9 - think they are left at home until September
Year 10/12 to just come in and continue work at home - set by your school.

Oh, and they are being advised to not get public transport to school.

What a mess.

My Y6 DD could definitely have written a clearer document.

Anyone got any ideas how to deal with options and setting for year 10 if we are supposed to be keeping children in the same classroom all day?

I want to cry. This is such a load of bollocks.

I’m confused about the class sizes. Is that 15 a week? A day? Half day?
Is that up to schools to decide?

Why no face masks?

Who cares for the children of key workers (so that their teacher/ TA parents can teach their classes of 15? And where?

@OceanOrchid the bit about them remaining in the same classroom has completely got me?! How is this going to work?!

@ImperialLeather00 15 in one classroom. Maximum. Obviously could be repeated x however many rooms you have. But the guidance says they cannot move around and they are to stay within the same group.

Too many conflicting messages between this and what the government may or may not be saying. Do the government departments not communicate with each other?

I think if people are going to work at the DfE they need to have worked in schools because this just shows that they are a bunch of nit-wits.

"stay alert, control the virus, save lives" And
Stay alert will mean stay alert by staying home as much as possible, but stay alert when you do go out, by maintaining social distancing, washing your hands, respecting others in the workplace and the other settings that you'll go to

BUT NOT IF YOU ARE IN EDUCATION

Who cares for the children of key workers (so that their teacher/ TA parents can teach their classes of 15? And where?

Another one here who would like to know this.

Also I couldn't see any mention of before / after school provision.

So we are an infant school so have 2/3 of the school returning - 181 children over 6 normal classes. So that's 12 classes of 15 (one will have to be 16) if they all return, plus at least one group of key worker children.

So 13 classes of 15ish.

We have 9 classrooms and a computer suite we could use. I guess we could divide the hall into two classroom perhaps using dividers. Outdoor lessons aren't going to be practically based on our normal summers!

Our classrooms are old Victorian ones so not large (we currently have up to 8 in each room for key worker children.) The windows open minimally.

It also says that it isn't going to possible to socially distance and that masks in schools aren't appropriate.

It says the extremely vulnerable should stay home completely, but also clinically vulnerable staff should work from home of at all possible or offered non contact roles in school if safe. But that they can choose to ignore the guidelines if they want but that means many places may be short staffed even using TAs to lead half classes.

It also doesn't take into account that year 6 isn't the only transition year in a number of areas - it can be year 2, 4, 6 or 8 from what I can gather.

Did l read rightly, that canteen can be used to eat and then used by another group. As long as it has been cleaned first! Ffs!

What a fucking mess.

They’ve basically abandoned all responsibility and washed their hands of us.

The second peak is coming and it is going to be enormous.

I want to cry reading that. No attempt at making staff safer.

Loving the advice to stagger assembly group times. Only the DfE can put out a document that talks about the need for small groups only being in contact with each other and then put that in.

How about class assembly only or scrapping it altogether?

Let’s hope the unions get their act together.

How is this going to work?!

Mixed ability classes in core subjects only?!

I loved the bit about giving vulnerabke staff other low risk roles. There arent really many roles in my school. Maybe the catetaker wants some help with leafblowing?

Bloody crazy

How about class assembly only or scrapping it altogether?

Perhaps because coming up with a solution like that requires common sense.

I'm pretty sure most schools had cancelled assemblies before they were asked to close anyway.

The person who wrote that document has never been to a school when there are children in it.

I’m seriously thinking about quitting. I can’t take the stress of this.

How about class assembly only or scrapping it altogether?

Forever. I don't need an act of collective worship or reflection, god doesn't exist and I don't want to reflect while wallowing in the fart smell of 400 children.