Planning whilst off with covid

[Picklesandbeans]

Who plans for your class if off with covid? I am positive at moment and sent planning as I was asked for it and had it done, didnt send any resources as hadnt made them yet. If I dont have a negative on day 5 & 6 which is next week am I expected to plan for the days I'm not in? I have MTP but not detailed plans and honestly feel too I'll now to start planning!

Secondary?
Our school policy is that you set cover unless you are in hospital.
All very well but I was fast asleep in bed with Covid. Every day got up for two hours, wept at the computer, sent in work and went back to bed to suffer in peace. Sixth form was the worst.
I wouldn’t complain so much If any of the cover had actually been done. My classes spent a week doing nothing. At least sixth form did theirs independently.

Oh @likeafishneedsabike I'm sorry for you!
I'm primary but I honestly feel quite generous that I gave them the planning for this whole week - only because it was mostly all done! Next week is very loosely planned! Might see how I am Sunday. Also need to read school policy! Never been off longer than a day!

I am seeing a clear divide primary / secondary.

Secondary - provide narrated lessons for every lesson. Rerecord if coughing too much or too breathless. As said above, continue to plan and teach unless in hospital.

Primary - if asymptomatic or mild symptoms, plan or teach from home in many cases, but not forced to. Ill = off sick and supply (if one can be found) sorts the class.

However, one teacher cancelled a Zoom meeting 'because I'm isolating', having told us they had no symptoms and had been amazed by their positive test. When we pointed out that we could go ahead, Zooming from home, they said 'But I'm off work - I'm probably not insured if I do any work'. Hmmm.

Interesting! We definitely dont have supply teachers covering! I'll see how I feel

@Scarby9

I am seeing a clear divide primary / secondary.

Secondary - provide narrated lessons for every lesson. Rerecord if coughing too much or too breathless. As said above, continue to plan and teach unless in hospital.

Primary - if asymptomatic or mild symptoms, plan or teach from home in many cases, but not forced to. Ill = off sick and supply (if one can be found) sorts the class.

However, one teacher cancelled a Zoom meeting 'because I'm isolating', having told us they had no symptoms and had been amazed by their positive test. When we pointed out that we could go ahead, Zooming from home, they said 'But I'm off work - I'm probably not insured if I do any work'. Hmmm.

Ha ha! Not in my school!

I had covid in the second week of term. Planning and resources etc expected to be emailed in every day, plus remote learning to be set for those kids also off (I teach KS1 so everything has to adapted or recreated for those at home because what we do in the classroom just doesn't work at home!!).

A collection of TAs covered my class - I don't think they even considered getting a supply in. My class didn't have a lesson with a teacher in over a week.

Finally on day 5 of my isolation did the SLT ask if I was ill and whether I was able to produce all the work.

There's always been an expectation to send in work in every school I've worked in. It's ridiculous that teachers are never allowed to be ill.

It really is a crazy expectation when you think of the disruptions due to this pandemic in all other aspects of life.
The expectation to provide cover work when caring for a very unwell infant directly caused me to take a decade out of the secondary classroom!
When I was on jury service years ago I had to plan, resource and mark. I was in court all day every day on a rape trial. Then the whole night working. Thank god that narrated PowerPoints weren’t invented then

I'm primary and was expected to have my usual planning done for the coming week and teach the online learners from home, apart from the two days when I was too unwell. I also set the homework from home.

My classes were covered by a mix of combining classes (3FE) and help from TAs.

To clarify - we plan a week or two ahead so the planning for when I was absent was already in place, and I was expected to plan for the following week when I was back.

I'm primary. When I rang in sick, the head gave my year group partners 2 hours both weeks to do my planning and never asked anything of me. I had already done the planning as I am always a week in advance so they only had a bit of photocopying to do and used the rest of the time for themselves.

I was primary and ill in hospital, still expected to have detailed plans and all resources sent for ALL lessons. Even with a sick note from the actual hospital. Depends on your school.

On this particular occasion I’m very grateful for Oak Academy. I’m currently off with COVID, and generally feel crap. Our policy is pretty much the same as our sickness policy anyway, and I actually think they’re reasonable, although I know some schools aren’t. If you’re feeling fine you teach (albeit over Teams if you’re isolating at home). If you’re too ill to teach but can set a bit of cover (pages from a textbook type stuff), you send that in. If you’re too ill to do anything the Head of Department sorts cover. That seems sensible to me, and we’re luckily left to decide what we’re well enough to do. I’ve heard of some schools who pressure staff to do things when they’re unwell (as previously said, if you’re not in hospital), which is bang out of order. I’m too ill to teach over Teams (very sore throat and banging headache, along with general tiredness), but I can manage to send a few sentences with instructions for textbook work, or Seneca work in a computer room if the class isn’t up to working just with textbooks. I don’t begrudge doing that, because I know what it’s like at the moment with cover, no one has any spare time to sort cover for me because there’s so many teachers off, I don’t want to make my colleagues lives more difficult if I am able to do something to help. Where it gets complicated is setting work for those isolating, as textbook work won’t cut it as they don’t have textbooks. In those cases I’m just sent a link to the relevant Oak Academy lesson (thanks Oak Academy, I’m very grateful that’s still a free resource!), and that will have to do. If everyone is trying their best, and doing what’s possible, that’s all that can be expected surely? It’s definitely not reasonable to ask staff to set detailed cover with resources when they’re ill, but it’s also not reasonable for staff isolating with Covid but otherwise well, to sit at home doing nothing, whilst others run around sorting cover work for them, as well as actually doing the cover!

@BuffyFanForever but it shouldn’t depend on the school because that’s illegal. If you’re signed off sick by a doctor, the school can’t make you send in work. Yes you might be able to do something to help, if you’re at home recovering from an operation you might be able to send in something when we’ll enough, but that’s voluntary. When signed off, they can’t make you do anything.

I'm secondary and expectation hs always been you send in cover and resources if off sick. My partner still finds it shocking 14 years in that teachers have so much work to do when they're off sick!

Wow, we don’t even include sick staff in group emails that need a response so that they don’t feel pressure to do so.
Asymptomatic or very mild covid - case by case and teachers would do what they felt they could. Absolutely no chance that hospitalised staff would be expected to produce work. Despicable management! Or it could also be a high martyrdom culture.

It depends on the school but there's a real culture in education where it's actually harder to be off than it is to battle through sickness. You end up forcing yourself in, just making yourself worse (and possibly making others ill) for lessons you can barely get through and so, ultimately, aren't even that effective.

All because prepping everything for someone else and then redoing the work anyway on your return is just so much harder.

I'm been off since last Friday, positive Covid test on Sunday. Feel pretty awful and sleeping most of the day.

Fortunately it's a one form entry private school and I'm doing a maternity leave - the planning from the previous teacher is all in place and any extra planning i always try to do a week in advance. Expectation is to provide cover which is fine and have been asked 'if you're well enough'.

The worse bit is always coming back to the marking as the schools I've worked in never get a supply. I intend to write 'cover work' and the dates I was off - refuse
to spend the entire half term marking a week's worth of work.

@Iamnotthe1

It depends on the school but there's a real culture in education where it's actually harder to be off than it is to battle through sickness. You end up forcing yourself in, just making yourself worse (and possibly making others ill) for lessons you can barely get through and so, ultimately, aren't even that effective.

All because prepping everything for someone else and then redoing the work anyway on your return is just so much harder.

This!!! With bells on!