Open evening in COVID a times

[Youreatragedystartingtohappen]

Hi all,

My SLT are keen for us to resume open evenings for our Y5/6s who are thinking of applying for our school. It'll happen in early October if it goes ahead as scheduled. Is this the norm for other schools? It makes me a tad nervous especially as I'll be 20 weeks pregnant by then- would I be within my rights to raise my concerns? It's such a great night snd I really enjoy it but it does, to me at least, seem like an unnecessary risk with the state of things being as they are.

The government has decided covid is no longer a threat and has issued guidance saying so, including children no longer needing to isolate if in close contact with a positive case. It's hard to present an argument to SLT when the government is saying we should ignore science. The best thing you can do is contact your union and present your discomfort with the guidance. After that, yes, if your SLT is reasonable,speak with them about your worries. Maybe they will say you can sit it out, though keep in mind all your colleagues will be exposed. Anyway, all your students will be mixing as if there is no pandemic and not having to isolate, so really, is there actually any reason this event is more dangerous than the dangerous situation you're already in?

We are doing open mornings, parents' evenings, inviting them to plays and concerts etc. as normal.

Our open evening is going ahead mid-September.

Everything round here is planned to go ahead asper pre-Covid.
With masks 'strongly encouraged' in corridors.

I think you need to have this risk assessed and refer to the latest Covid update from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Midwives which outlines the risks to pregnant women which are now evidenced as being higher risk of serious illness. I think it is reasonable to cautious! The school's responsibility is to ensure a safe working environment. Are they going to get these parents to wear masks or show a Covid pass?

Hello all and thank you for the feedback, I really appreciated you taking the time.

During inset my line manager came to find me to explain that HR were of the opinion it was safer for me to be doing parents evenings virtually, to avoid open evening and to then work from home from 28 weeks.

They're going to confirm as we're part of a massive trust but that's where they are at the moment. Whilst I'm double vaccinated they're expected several hundreds of families to attend the open evenings and no masks will be insisted on.

As my HR manager did say though, this is all dependant on open evening happening at all otherwise it's very much a moot point; she seemed to be of the opinion an imminent spike in numbers will lead to restrictions on event staging and numbers...but that's for another thread.

I'm glad open evenings will be going ahead for new y5/6, but why wouldn't they ask that people wear masks?! With so many people attending it makes sense to reduce risk and would make attendees more comfortable too 🙄