Schools

allule -how do you think "all this "could've been "sorted out before the decisions were made". We all feel for children who have lost so much security. One 7 year old I know came home from school asking if grandma was going to die. A four year old asked "if I get it will I bleed a lot". These fears were based on what was heard at school. No easy answers and we can't expect there to be.

We are in an unprecedented times, the government seems to me to be doing its best to manage an unmanageable situation. I'm no tory, I'm not a fan of Mr Johnson and I wonder when we will be instructed to stay home. It shouldn't be necessary but given the number of people refusing to believe the expert advice, maybe that's what has to happen.

I feel so sorry for the schoolchildren who must have lost so much sense of security. Particularly for years 11 and 13, who have been brainwashed for years that the only thing that matters is exam results, and were then ejected from school before any decisions were made about their qualifications, or which children would still go to school.
Surely all this should have been sorted out before the decisions were made?

Growstuff thank you for the information, I agree with teachers that it’s not clear what should be happening, probably because it’s all so fast moving.
My special needs DGS has been told it’s unlikely he will go back to school until September now.
The others have managed to get a few days at school, unless things change again.
It is what it is... just all got to do our best with it.

Where some of our family live, the free school meals are taking the form of packed lunches which can be picked up from the school whether the children are actually at school or not. Two teachers in our family; one is teaching online and the other has volunteered as part of a rota to go into school for the children of key workers and some of the more deprived children.

I am appalled at the attitude of some of the people on this thread. Some of them are obviously of the "Well I went to school so I know all about it brigade"
I wouldn't go back to teaching now. It is not what it was when the anti brigade were at school.
I take my hat off to those . like my grandson who are on the rota and who have volunteered to work through as long as they are needed, as well as working on line .

GagaJo I've been trying to teach online, but it's been a disaster. The connection keeps on freezing. Apparently my bandwidth is too low, which could be because the network is overloaded, but not helped by my equipment, which is fairly old. It's fine for browsing the web and what I usually need, but inadequate for video conferencing. I was advised to buy a new laptop, which I can't afford. Another option is to wire my connection, so I've ordered the cable (allegedly arriving next week) and will have to reorganise my house, so that I can work near the socket.

I really don't need all this stress!

I doubt very much whether they will be fed for free. I've just been reading my council's website about arrangements for those who are in receipt of free school meals. It's been left to individual schools and, quite frankly, the arrangements are chaotic. Some schools are going to issue vouchers (although there's a wait for them) for shops, where there's no food anyway.

Our DD is a teacher at a private school in London. Only a very tiny percentage of the children are coming into school next week because many of the parents are bankers, lawyers, IT workers, graphic designers etc. who can work from home. I feel slightly uncomfortable that the key workers are the ones left holding the fort so to speak when they are often the lower paid professions in the first place. I hope their kids will be fed for free without collecting dinner money.

Grandad's comments are bigoted. No two ways about it.

I'm a teacher. I'm not wingeing and whining about having to work from home. I'm very, very grateful I have a job where I'm ABLE to work from home.

Yes, I'm working everyday. Currently, we're setting work remotely and marking it as it comes in. This part is easy, although I'm lucky I only teach 60 students. IF I was still working in UK state ed, I'd be teaching over 200 students, at which point marking it all would be impossible.

However, what I would say is that I'm working everyday. I also worked most of Saturday and am working now (I'm skiving on here because I'm bored with working).

I'll need to work all of the holiday, preparing work for when the school 'goes back' after the 3 week holiday that starts for my school on Monday. At that point, I'll be expected to teach online lessons. I've never done it before and we had no training because obviously, the emergency shut down was chaotic.

I'm not complaining though. REALLY. I reiterate, I'm grateful I have a job where I can work from home. Many, many people don't.

And I'm not comparing myself to those in the healthcare profession either. Even if I were in school, what I do is NOTHING like what our medical professionals are facing.

Tweedle they’ll just have to make do in some way - there is no other solution. At least they’ll have an income.

Genuine question and not aimed at anyone. Just wondering how people working from home will be able to cope with home schooling as well. Surely one or both of those jobs will suffer? I am not talking about secondary school children who should only need supervision and the possible rare bit of help but, some of the younger ones will need a lot more than that.

By the way, I think the government has got it right about the schools closing. Didn’t someone say, “You can’t please all of the people all of the time.’ Everything currently has to be a compromise.

Eloethan, yes one of the couple works 4 days a week, 2 of them are home based, unless she's needed at an office/elsewhere. Her employer seems to be understanding of the pressures on parents and so far, is supportive. The suggestion is she's needed for a conference call, they'll try to give more notice so her husband can be on hand to distract the children.
I suspect the country may head for some kind of enforced stay home policy if so many people continue to risk the lives of others by congregating. Images in the press today show sea side proms packed with people, no possibility of the distance needed to keep us safe.

That’s a good idea M0nica I don’t think my DGC’s schools have done anything like that although the girls did come out with mountains of homework. They are lucky to have the use of a computer /internet though. Others are not so fortunate.

Iam64 I'm no expert and I don't know whether the current policy of allowing schooling for children of key workers is a wise move or not. On the face of it, though, it seems that it might be necessary. If key workers have to stay home to care for children, this may pose extreme problems for essential services. I really don't know what other options there are.

If the couple you refer to are not taking up the offer of schooling, does that mean one - or both of them - will remain at home?

Both my grandchildren start school again tomorrow - online -. Both the primary and secondary school will be providing work and teaching for the children online. Lessons and homework.

Some comments here are completely disregarding the strong medical advice that we should stay home so far as possible. The virus is spreading quickly, people are dying. Yes, we need to keep essential services working but we also need to minimise the spread of this disease.

In my family we have one couple who are both in key worker posts. They've decided not to take up the offer of continuing school because of the medical advice, the risks of groups of children coming together with the result this disease spreads. That's also the advice from their school, don't take up this place unless you have to, keep your children home.

I would agree that the government needs to think the key worker situation through more thoroughly. With the state now paying 80% of the wages and salaries of all those laid off from their regular places of work, there is no reason why those persons should not be "seconded" in areas that are key sectors in the economy.

By example to the above, someone who is laid off from the hospitality industry could easily be seconded into an essential distribution centre as a picker replacing a regular employee that requires school child care. In the foregoing, there would be less risk for the children, teachers and parents of infection.

Becoming a picker in large distribution centres usually involves training in manual handling and knowledge of the systems and they are away within a day usually. They would have to be fit though as you walk very many miles every day in those roles.

If carried out widely, eventually many schools may be able to close.

Grandad1943 that just shows how the general public view education and anything to do with caring for children. The "Oh they can just turn up and you'll get on with it" idea. Well yes they can and people will, but it isn't exactly ideal and it could just rebound. If the virus is active in a school one morning 25% of the children (which will usually be more than 50) could turn up to find one member of staff fit and well. So that member of staff will have to contact the parents or carers of the children to arrange their collection. Result none of those key workers will be in for work that day. If at all possible it would be best for key workers to arrange small group care for their children whilst they are working. Not only would it be safer as far as infection goes it could be more reliable.

Nearly twenty five percent of families in Britain today are single parent and many of those parents will fall into the category of being key workers.

Therefore, if on Monday those charged with accomodating the children within the schools ensure that category gain access then that I feel will be seen by many as a success.

All other problems can then be "sorted out" over the next few days.

When schools were closed unexpectedly , usually due to bad weather, staff were expected to report to their nearest school and offer their services. I don't know if this still applies but it would make sense.

The problems are compounded by the number of academy schools, which regard themselves as private schools and are quite literally a law unto themselves; run by business partnerships their first concern is money. How much they will co operate with other schools remains to be seen.

I'm not surprised the system isn't perfect - things are changing daily which is what I expect happens in any apocalypse. Everyone seems to be doing their best. My daughter was told yesterday she qualifies as a key worker (works in Utility water, gas etc) but she isn't certain she'll take up the place for various sensible reasons. School had asked for key workers to contact them before 2 but she didn't get the text about her status till 4. That doesn't feel like chaos it feels like people doing their best in an unprecedented situation.
We all have to be patient, work together and support each other.

I work in a school as a TA. All staff will be going in on Monday. If one parent is on the essential workers list your child can go to school. The school decides by consulting the government list if this is the case.

All children not going to school have been provided with online learning in the form of Google Classroom. This is a platform where teachers will post, mark and comment on the work the children do.

lemongrove As far as I can work out, teaching staff were prepared for organising online work via video conferencing etc. However, they weren't prepared for being seconded to a different school to work with age groups they're not familiar with, with no plans in place as to how the pupils should be occupied. They'll probably make them all watch a video, do a bit of running around and maybe art/crafts on Monday, but they can't carry on like that for months.

Most staff can work online, but there are others in high-risk groups (including pregnant women) who shouldn't be in contact with children. They've also been told that they will have to work during the Easter holidays. Teachers are as confused as anybody else. I don't think they've been refusing to do as they're told, but they want some clarity and I don't suppose it helps when a few members of the public blame them for the shut down and call them names.

I was talking to the headteacher of a large secondary school today. The school has no idea how many pupils will actually turn up on Monday. They don't have a list of parents' occupations. The staff had been expecting to work online and have been preparing materials. They've also been given, at short notice, the responsibility for awarding GCSE and A level grades. Now they have to organise rotas and activities for mixed-age groups of energetic children, with no clear idea what they're supposed to do with them. They're also putting themselves at risk of catching Covid-19.

Schools have been told to operate as hubs, although academies operate as private schools and don't have systems for sharing resources. Secondary schools will almost certainly not have many pupils because they are old enough to look after themselves. However, some primary schools in deprived areas are likely to have a very high percentage of eligible pupils. SEN pupils have priority. Schools have been told to sort it out themselves without clear guidelines. They also have the responsibility of issuing vouchers or providing food parcels for those children eligible for free school meals.

Not only that, but employers have been told to decide whether certain workers count as key workers. For example, care workers are listed, but not the admin staff responsible for organising rotas and payroll. Anybody involved in distribution is listed, so drivers are certainly on the list, but it's a the employer's discretion whether those involved with maintaining vehicles are included.

It's a shambles. I hope nobody will dare claim that teachers aren't working.

Typically badly thought out and confusing government decision which the teachers will have to sort out. There will also be some schools with large numbers of children who are deemed at risk or special needs who will need to be catered for. It is going to cause dispute and division.