Son’s school should be closed but not.

Sorry I got completely distracted by the fact that a primary school still had a caretaker, I thought they were extinct!
Yes, even in the small village primary! But she does do the cleaning as well. A very popular woman, always busy and never wanders around aimlessly!

Why couldn't they just have had a two week half-term, Bluebellwould?
I've lost track of what's going on in England, quite frankly. I'm too busy manning the borders.

Thanks maddyone, I see your point.

Fanny I absolutely take your point, it’s not just older people who are/were vulnerable. But that shows that teachers and doctors who are vulnerable too are nonetheless working and have to accept risk. However, there are people on this site who condemn them and say they were having an extended holiday. As with GPs. And many of the people who would condemn them and criticise them are the very ones who can stay safely at home. Armchair warriors!

My Dil has just been sent home,she has worked in3 bubbles (special needs) only one bubble sent home and her own DS at same school still there.
We are in tier 2 and can’t take or collect him not sure what happens next!

Some children in Windsor and Maidenhead were tested positive and the parents still sent them to school!

Why go to the expense of testing and then ignore it?

@quizqueen ‘laptops didn’t arrive’
( checked too late!)

Quizqueen do you know anything about what teachers did in lockdown? When not in school online learning had to be planned and delivered, checks had to be made that work was being done. Hours were spent phoning families deemed vulnerable and speaking to children to make sure they were ok. In some families teachers were trying to do online work with children on mum’s mobile...........with poor signal, laptops didn’t. Our family all work in school so I know!

maddyone, I can't agree with 'Schools must never be shut again.'

We are entering the second wave. It may well be worse than the first one.

There's every chance that there will be (at least) another lock down, with schools closed. It's a matter of saving lives and preventing the NHS being overwhelmed. What could be more important than that?

Bluebellwould, I've been thinking of getting a punchbag. I'm an optimist, but my friend, a retired science professor, said that the next pandemic will be far worse!

I have a lot of respect for my grandson's school, he is dyslexic and they have been very helpful, unlike his primary, BUT he had work sent via email no zoom or face to face during lockdown

So on one hand (quizqueen) teachers are lazy arses who did nothing in lockdown.

Whereas on the other hand, we teachers (who are selfish t**ts, remember) are required to go into work where there are active cases of a deadly virus (I have multiple risk factors) and risk our lives.

Which is it? Either teachers are not worth their pay, do nothings, or we are heros. I wish the British public would make their mind up, one way or another. It's bloody Shrodinger's teacher, except this isn't a theoretical argument, it's our lives.

Surely half term is an ideal time for a lockdown, why can’t we in England follow what other U.K. countries are doing!

My worry is for my grandson who has his GCSE's this academic year, if they keep sending them home how can they all compete in a level playing field

Thank you Wheniwasyourage Yes it's horrible. She has no symptoms so we're hoping for the best.

It is great that MOST teachers have worked hard during lockdown. including my grandson's partner.
Unfortunately there are a minority who treated it as an extended holiday as those at my GS's school. He had an email with a link to a web site and instructions to work from that. He had no contact with his school till the middle of August when his next teacher emailed to introduce herself. The family took over his schooling for 6 months.
Well done and many thanks to the hardworking teachers

Quizqueen. You are right, most teachers did not work full time; they worked full time and a half with bells on. Many had to learn new skills in a very short space of time to be able to teach online effectively.
I do understand, though, why most people think they know what a teacher's job entails as everyone has been a pupil. My DMIL believed her neighbour (a teacher) finished work at 4pm. I guess she didn't see how he spent his evenings.

maddyone it isn't just 'older people' who are vulnerable.
Teachers who are clinically extremely vulnerable and were previously shielding are now back in the class room.
Ditto teachers who have CEV partners, children and other family members.
It's not a black and white issue.
Schools are central to society and we cannot put school communities in a separate box.

Oh dear, Kate1949, you must be so anxious. We have 3 in the family who are primary teachers and are worried about them all the time. Sending best wishes for your daughter.

Our teachers all worked hard throughout lockdown, quizqueen, both with online teaching and on the rotas in hub schools, so please try not to complain about things you obviously know nothing about.

Totally agree Woodmouse people seem to be more than happy to blame everyone else. Everywhere is doing their best in an impossible situation. Health and Social Care,Education and many workplaces were struggling pre pandemic. I'm not sure how people thought things would magically be ok! Massive mistakes have been made by this government and lessons have either not been learned or ignored. It might be more helpful if we directed the blame at the root cause than bickering amongst each other!

WOODMOUSE40
Absolutely, excellent post. Schools must never be shut again. Pure selfishness dictates that children should be required to sacrifice their education, and opportunities to develop socially and emotionally. To be honest folks, it’s not all about you, there are others in the population who have needs which must be met, especially children. The medics are working their socks off to provide services and keep you safe. All older people are required to do is accept a level of confinement and behave sensibly until there is a vaccine.

Thank you maddy and GagaJo well said and I totally wholeheartedly agree with you both.

Yes good point maddy, I am not a teacher but work into schools. We dont use masks except when moving around. It's really demoralising to go to work and face risks whilst people are slagging off people in education.

I agree Bluebellwould. Our daughter works in a school and she has phoned this morning to say she has tested positive. She said a woman she works with was going into school when her son had the virus. She said it is going through the school like wildfire. Fortunately she has no symptoms and we are praying that remains the case. She has asthma.

I read all comments and it seems most want a total lockdown everywhere again.
It doesn’t matter what we are told to do as someone somewhere will be angry about it. Wales is now proof of this. Some areas have a really low number of cases and are none too pleased.

Schools are doing their best as many did during the big lockdown. There were enough threads on GN as proof of this. As for children gathering in the park after being sent home, whose going to stop them? Primary schools, sending children home, contact parents. Perhaps all secondary schools should ask parents to collect their children! What good would it be, educationally, to keep shutting a whole school when every time a positive test is reported?

I’m not fed up with all the measures being taken. I’m fed up with those moaning about it and deciding they will make their own rules to suit themselves.

Had to have my rant as I’ve just put the phone done after talking to a friend who thinks she can have as many bubbles as she wants ??

The school I worked in had a caretaker, he was called a site manager, and he had a team of other people who worked alongside him.

To be honest, I’m not at all sure what the guidelines/advice is for schools when cases of Coronavirus occur. Does anyone else know?

Thank you GagaJo for speaking up for teachers, and telling others who don’t have a clue about what teachers were doing during lockdown. I’ve also regularly had to speak up for GPs because some people who don’t have a clue are regularly telling anyone who would listen how they didn’t do anything during lockdown.

To be honest, if a person actually doesn’t know what teachers or GPs were doing during lockdown, I would suggest they don’t say anything at all. It’s ridiculous when retired people who could stay at home all through lockdown are telling other people that teachers and GPs did nothing during lockdown.

Bluebellwould please do lie on the floor, drum your heels, and have a shouting session until you are worn out. It is most cathartic. The only form of expression to release rage that I would advise against is lying face down on the bed sobbing - if you are anything like me it takes a week for the face to recover. Enjoy, as they say.