Schools

How many pregnant or diabetic staff with heart or other serious conditions operate fork lifts in distribution centres?

No, I don't believe that you have seen teacher absence levels in individual school Jools, nor do I believe that you know the absence levels for other occupation levels as a comparison.

If you have seen any reports from individual schools and I were ever to find out which schools they are, I would have absolutely no hesitation in reporting the institutions to the ICO.

I'll never forget when my daughter first started teaching and she phoned me up one day to ask permission to not go to school and I had to persuade her that it would be bad for everyone else if she went in and infected them. After she'd been teaching for several years she spent a lot of time doing really good lesson plans so that anyone that did cover for her at short notice would find it easy. Like a lot of teachers the minute a holiday started she'd come down with something as if her body was finally allowing her to be ill. I don't think I've ever known anyone as dedicated to their job. She did, eventually burn out but said to me recently when we were discussing something I'd read 'mum; no one ever goes into teaching for the money; it's all about the children'.

EthelJ Only one parent has to be a key worker. Apparently, the list is being published today (Friday).

SueDuko The school got that wrong. Only one parent has to be a key worker.

Obviously a lot of people think schools are just babyminding centres and not there for education. I’ve got family who work in the nhs and who work in education. They both work bloody hard. The one who works in the nhs can still send her child to school Staff will be there. The one in education will be going in including in the Easter holidays. Neither of them are snowflakes or skivers. One of the problems with the nhs and schools is so many staff are off sick as per instructed and there is no testing so they don’t know whether they are safe to go back to work.

You are intoxicated by the exuberance of your own verbosity

What a wonderful phrase, May7!

Sums him up exactly, although he could scarcely be described as a 'sophisticated rhetorician'.

Well said Vegansrock.In our family a teacher and an ICU nurse.Before this crisis they never saw it as a competition as to who worked hardest.And most certainly don't now. It's all hands on deck to help at work and in the community in whatever way needed.The teacher will almost certainly be working through Easter.She has also told me of some of the fantastic community initiatives her teacher friends are setting up for the vulnerable in their communities. The nurse is going back early from maternity leave as required.I decided not to reply to Grandads last comment I was too angry.The last thing we need is that kind of stirring and division.

Yes well obviously it was tongue in cheek. It was what one of my English teachers used to say when we talked tcrap too much at school. Educators sometimes have a sense of humour they 'll need it after reading this thread

Getting back to the OP this appears to be a list of key services
www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/20/key-worker-official-list-of-uk-personnel-who-can-still-send-children-to-school

Can’t understand why only one parent has to be a key worker? Surely like the part of society that no longer seem to matter (the non key workers) the other parent can look after the children ?

And if all these key workers children are allowed in school are they all going to be tested? Or are they immune to this virus?

We are at risk of creating a them and us society.

Grandad does make some valid points (although I don’t agree with some of what he says) but it’s not fair telling him to “shut up”. He has as much right to an opinion as the rest of us.

Higher than average level of staff absence was one of the points raised in the Ofsted report of my DGS’s primary school. He did not have a permanent teacher at all last year (year 5) .

We could go on discussing the merits of each and every profession forever, but at a time like this every single person is vital. Today I feel so sad for teachers who are saying goodbye to their pupils for how long they simply do not know. Teachers invest a lot in their charges. We get to know them all so well on both an educational and emotional level, we delight in their success and pick them up when they fail, they really do matter to us. No training can prepare anyone for how a teacher will feel today. I wish those teachers in my family and every other teacher great strength.

gillybob Higher than average absence in one particular school doesn't prove that teachers are skivers or that the average national level is high - or, more importantly, why. In a primary school, one long-term absence will skew the statistics and could be caused by any number of reasons.

I don't think Grandad made one valid point about teachers. He obviously has some kind of issue and, in the current climate, it might very well be best if he shuts up.

So why the previous negative comment about lazy teachers Ellianne?

Where did I say that teachers were skivers growstuff ? Why would I say that? I said that in my DGS’s primary there is a high level of teacher absence. Nothing to do with Coronavirus.

Oops posted too soon. I think the point Grandad may have been trying to make is that there are good teachers and bad teachers just like in every other walk of life. They are not saints. I know there are a lot of teachers and retired teachers on Gransnet so daring to say anything even slightly negative and you get set upon .

Shalom

Growstuff just because they ARE lazy teachers it doesn't mean they are not human. There ARE those teachers who barely give 70%, I've worked with them. Maybe they too chose the wrong career but today is not the day to dwell on that.

I have no problem with anyone pointing out that there are some teachers who might not be up to the mark

Same as any profession

Haulage drivers for example.

What I do object to is patronising and pompous comments that demean the teaching profession

Making pointless comparisons and generally being unpleasant

I have already said this on another thread but, reading some of the vitriol aimed at teachers, I am going to repeat myself.

My next door neighbour is a foundation class teacher and high in the hierarchy of the school. She brought me some shopping yesterday on her way home from work. She looked exhausted. When I commented, she said it was due to worrying about ‘her’ children. She is going to work next week

What I did not say in my other post was that I have seen her working, as I go in to help with the little ones reading. The staff work really hard and, as an ex ward sister on a very busy orthopaedic/ trauma ward so I know what hard work is.

Key workers identified -

"Who are "key workers"? The full list includes:

Frontline health workers such as doctors and nurses
Some teachers and social workers
Workers in key public services including those essential to the justice system, religious staff, and public service journalists
Local and national government workers deemed crucial to delivering essential public services
Workers involved in food production processing, distribution, sale and delivery
Public safety workers including police, armed forces personnel, firefighters, and prison staff
Essential air, water, road and rail transport workers
Utilities, communication and financial services staff, including postal workers, and waste disposal workers"

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51972793

Quite a list there. In other words just about everyone except those working in Engineering or general industry.

So if all the children who have one parent in any of the above occupations they can go to school . Now tell me that this isn’t turning into a “them and us” society .

There will be teachers today who will be devastated watching the children they had regarded as "theirs" walk away without the support and work they had planned for the summer term. They will put a positive face on and accept that the children will see it as a holiday, but many of them will cry behind closed doors. Not just for the children they will miss, but also because they know that the children who most need their help, who should be coming in for food and help, will probably at some point stop coming, particularly as the weather gets warmer. Those children may slip into crime and alcohol and drug abuse and social services destroyed through the cuts will be unable to cope. Teachers have been picking up the pieces for a long time and they will continue to do so.

I so agree with you again Trisher. Teaching goes way beyond the classroom. It is just as important to give a child a soul as well as a brain and to guide them through life's perils. That is probably why teachers are needed more than ever now to step up to the plate and support those kids.