Secondary’s - what does it look like?

[Whatelsecouldibecalled]

My headteacher has just released a ‘walk through’ video of the school ahead of opening for y10 next week. 20 pupils on site at a time 10 in each bubble. Desks 2m apart single exam desks style areas taped off tape on floor showing 2m hand sanitisers stations everywhere. Whilst I think school have done their very best in terms of following the guidance my heart just broke watching the video. It’s absolutely awful for our children and even though they are secondary they are still children. It’s like some dystopian nightmare come true. We have lots of vulnerable children at our school and I can’t imagine how upset and scared they are going to be in this situation. I’m currently on mat leave and not due back until Feb but I feel so sad for the pupils and my colleagues. Selfishly I hope to god we are back to some sort of normality when I return but fearful this may be the ‘new normal’. I just can’t see how it’s sustainable for the future. We would normally have 1200+ pupils on site each day. What’s everyone else’s like?

Honestly, I think they'll be fine. Why is it heartbreaking? Surely the fact that they're back in the building will be enough for most of them. I teach 6th form and we are desperate to get back. Some of my group have been able to meet each other in parks this week and they are just delighted to see each other! I think we all know that children (of any age) are perfectly capable of talking to each other across a 2m gap...

I have no ida why you think that secondary kids will be scared of exam desks and hand sanitiser stations.

I guess it’s because now look like those isolations type ones. One desk one chair around the edge of the room and two in the middle. All areas taped off. Corridors shut off with big warning signs etc. Maybe I’m being hormonal and need to get over it and obviously I will when the time comes I just feel sad for some of our y7s they are still quite young and anxious and not sure if the set up signs and rules will make them more fearful. Having said that i have read reports of primary kids totally taking it in their stride and often kids adapt and overcome very quickly. I guess it was just shocking to see when i haven’t been in the loop as such as I left for mat leave the week before lockdown.

You’ve only got 20 y10s in? How many do you have?

Honestly I think all the pearl clutching about kids being damaged by their classrooms/schools looking different are ridiculous. On one hand people insist that kids are resilient and will be fine being off school totally for 6 months and then on the other people insist that the same kids will be distraught at the school looking different.

FWIW I don’t think the same rules will apply in September. Distancing won’t be possible with full secondary schools.

FWIW I don’t think the same rules will apply in September. Distancing won’t be possible with full secondary schools.

I'm not sure about this EvilTwins. I think many schools are preparing for things to be different - maybe a year group a day, perhaps. I know our secondary is certainly not thinking that they will fling open the doors on 3 September (or whatever day we're due back) to the entire almost 1,000 student school.

I put this on another thread

Bless - it depends very much on how things go. September is still a long way away. If we're still in this mess by then, I think that we, as a country, will have bigger things to worry about than whether or not our children are in school every day.

Our Y1s sit 2 metres apart and are having grand old time. They love being in a small group.

Children are going to get used to being in small classes. Will be a nightmare when they go back to being 30+ in a class.

@worldsworststepfordwife 210 in a year group which is why i definitely don’t think the current situation is sustainable. 20 a day on a rota system currently.

Our Year 10s are all due to have English as their first lesson back. My department colleagues are very aware of how important it is that we get the right balance between ‘normal’ and ‘reassuring’. We’re working hard on planning those lessons. I think (hope) it will be odd for the pupils for the first few minutes but that we’re all good enough teachers to adapt, and therefore reassure them. If they arrive scared, I hope they’re not by the time they leave.

@mrsjane are they all in at once or staggered etc?

I can’t imagine how upset and scared they are going to be in this situation

It’s absolutely awful for our children and even though they are secondary they are still children.

I'm starting to get irritated by comments like this to be honest.

We had Primary age SEND children back in last week with a very similar set up, yes they were thrown and we had a few tears to start off with. But we were positive and upbeat, we told them all the fun things we'd be doing, talked about their feelings a lot and about how change is scary but not always bad, all of them were fine by the end of day one.

Please stop referring to 14 and 15 year olds like frightened little toddlers. They will be fine if staff are positive and matter of fact with them.

Also, why only 20 out of 210? Do you not have the space or staff for more?

Ok I’m happy to admit that maybe I’m being a bit hormonal, I guess because I’ve been in bubble of Mat leave and not been in the thick of it perhaps my perspective is skewed. I certainly didn’t mean to come across as pearl clutching and sorry if that’s annoyed others.

I’m not sure why they have gone with 20 at a time. 10 in each classroom. I think they can only fit 10 in a classroom to comply with social distancing. Why they haven’t opened more classrooms I’m not sure. Maybe to do with site traffic eg arrival and social times not enough space? They are rotating with an it space too so each classroom is cleaned twice a day. It’s definitely not sustainable for 10 in a classroom with a pupil number of 1200 normally.

After reading comments I’m sure you’re right once they have got over the fact they might not be in same bubble as their mates I’m sure they will be fine and I hope they will. Thanks for the perspective that’s why I posted on here.

Would be interested to know what other schools are doing? How many have you got in? How many in a classroom. How are you managing social times? What ‘lessons’ are being taught and by who eg if it’s English are English specialist in or is it staff on a rota covering different subjects even if not your specialism?

I went in for training last week and actually do get where you are coming from , it was unnerving and uncomfortable. There will be a line at the front of the classroom and we can’t cross it, kids will be helped remotely using mirroring software on their iPads. We all stood in the classrooms as if we were the kids to get an idea of how they want them to come in and out and it felt very wrong. There are big taped crosses on half of each desk so only one child will use it. Yellow and black warning signs everywhere etc. It was really good that they got us in early to have a proper look and get the initial shock of the change over with. SLT have actually been really good, worked very hard to adjust the whatever is pulled out of the bag at give ent briefings and been supportive of staff. I’m sure we will get used to it very quickly and for now this is just for an expanded group of key workers and vulnerable students. Kids are in bubbles of 8, we are in staff teams of about 12 with several depts represented , including TAs, doing one day a week per team. After the 15th the plan is to get year 10 in , 25% of cohort at a time , once a week for some core subject teaching. Will need to be very generic content as mixed ability mixed exam routes so no one really knows how it will work. Most of my dept are shielding or have some other issues which means there are only 3 or 4 of us who will be in. I’m not looking forward to it at all but I hope once I get going it will be ok.

That should say ‘To adjust the plan to whatever is pulled out of the bag at the government briefing’ Clearly the stress is making me incoherent!

I would have thought for a number of students the biggest shock will be having to be up in time for school.

Not just the students, @ineedaholidaynow

Definitely ineedaholidaynow I’ve got the very first slot back at 9am in my school. It’s going to require a lot of coffee!

I don’t know what our school looks like but we have just seen the timetable for year 10. There’s one subject per day, with 2 classes in. Each class has up to 30 kids plus 1 teacher for a four-hour lesson. So each pupil will get one day for each subject before the end of term.
Parents haven’t been told yet - we don’t actually know which classes are coming in on Monday.

How can they do 30 kids? In a hall? A 4 hour lecture would be hard for adults to focus and behave in. I’m hoping for a carousel arrangement where the kids stay put and we rotate so I would see 3 or 4 classes in a day and deliver the same content to each . The kids would see up to 4 teachers and get 4 lessons in the same room to save cleaning issues. Then the next day same thing but a different quarter of year 10

Yes, in the hall and another large space.

We would have preferred something like your suggestion Cathpot but in practice the timetabling doesn’t work because of differences in groupings for sets and subject options. We will have fixed groups within a given day, but completely different groupings from one day to the next.

We don’t know how we will use the four hours productively!

I've been told I might have to teach the same lesson for six periods in a row to small groups. I already feel sorry for the period 6 group!

Oh god fuckweasel that’s going to be awful. I struggle when I have two similar lessons in a week! “Did I just tell you that? Or was it my other year 9s? Have I shown you this? Does anyone remember seeing this slide?”
We’re doing one day of core subjects then one day of options. Kids stay in one room and teachers pop in for their subject. Seems reasonable to me so far.
I’m not seeing my own classes though which is a shame because I think I could do a better job of supporting kids I know.

Kids who hate large crowds, noise, rowdiness might love the small numbers and the relative peace and quiet. Model coping and resilience. Remind them they are more than able to manage this and that (hopefully) it won’t be forever.