Schools

It's not all children of key workers will be able to use schools though. Both parents have to be key workers to be eligible. If one isn't they are expected to care for the children. Not that easy if you are working from home!

I understand that drivers will be classed as key workers, so will be able to send their children into school, and some of the supermarkets have already started a recruitment drive for new staff, especially those who have been laid off from coffee shops, etc.

Same with the teachers I know Sunlover. The teachers who aren't infected, self-isolating or in a high risk category have been told to go into work next week. Some will be supervising the group of pupils in school. Others will be operating a virtual school.

It's a secondary school, so they're not expecting many pupils, but all pupils have been set up with virtual classroom log ins. They will be expected to log in every day and their work will be monitored and assessed. Teachers not in school will be expected to do similar work, but from home. A few pupils have already indicated they don't have internet access at home, so the school library will be open for them, provided they are infection-free.

There will also be provision for those entitled to free school meals. Food parcels are to be delivered to those pupils not able to attend.

The school was anticipating this move a couple of weeks ago and had already started making contingency plans. The school has over 2000 pupils, so was a major source of potential infection in a small town.

Sparkling in regard to your post @18:37 I do not believe that anywhere in my posts in this thread I have ever stated that I feel I have "all the answers" in this crisis.

However, as this unprecedented emergency increases, it is obvious that Covid-19 can infect many in Britains schooling system, but the same applies to the United Kingdoms medical establishments and also essential industries such as the road transport industry and its supporting distribution centres.

In the above, it will be imperative that those capable of functioning within Britains working population are able to carry that out. Therefore if schools are not operating then a means must be found to allow essential workers to attend their workplaces and in that not prevented by having to attend to child care.

As stated I do not pretend to have the answer to all the above. However, I do realise that essential industries have to be maintained at the maximum possible output. Therfore perhaps it will have to come that the government will have to "requisition" workers in professions and trade sectors that cannot operate because of the crisis into essential industries that have to be maintained.

The above happened throughout the second world war and was very successful.

Just a thought?

The school I taught in has told all the teachers they need to be in school next week.
Not sure why Grandad is anti teachers. They are just doing their best in a s* situation.

Grandad
Have you read my previous post.?No way are teachers being stood down.They are providing education,activities and basically going to be supervising breakfast dinner and after school for those children in school.Vital for key workers.Then preparing lesson and activity packs for those at home.As well as all the safeguarding and liasing with social services for those deemed vulberable
They are not going to be on holiday. Far from it !A small number have genuine childcare problems of their own eg if their partner is a doctor doing overtime and their childminder is ill or the nursery has closed.As is happening.

Just out of interest Grandad were you educated at school by teachers or where you home schooled?
No need to reply really......I'm just having a bit of fun with you as you seem to be having with the education professionals

Living opposite 2 schools, one for primary school age, the other a senior school (can't be bothered with this Academy nonsense), selfishly the OH and I are looking forward to the peace and quiet that we get in school holiday times, I have never known the amount of noise that eliminates from the school property when the final bell (or in our neighbourhood, tannoy messsge) is heard at the end of the day, they all stream out of school, shouting pushing, swearing, 'play fighting', throwing each others backpacks about......it's almost an alarm clock. That's the older school, then the younger ones stream out of school 40 mins later, usually with their parents on tow (not the other way round !) and the shouting etc starts again.......I know kids can be noisy, I've had 3 of my own and now GK's but it just grates, I don't remember all the screaming and shouting. The other thing DD reminded me of was that we won't have cars parked outside our house randomly at school start and finishing times. Rant over, keep well everyone, and suppose we've got to learn to do as we are told for the foreseeable future xx

Grandad, as others have mentioned, teachers are not being stood down

My daughter is having to go in next week and during the Easter holidays to have online learning training.

She will also be on the rota to go in to school to assist with those children who are still going to attend

This isn't going to be some jolly

There is work to be done

Sorry for typos, I press send and everything changes.

Grandad it seems you have the answers. I prefer the knowledge if the experts who have as much to lose as you and I, no one has the answer, this situation was unthinkable 6 moths ago.so support those doing their best.

Maybe it's a good job that, when this is over, there will actually be teachers to step back immediately into their roles. Even though some people seem to find them totally expendable.

Grandad They will not have three months off. They will have however as many weeks it takes for it to become possible for 500-1000 children (who are not all that good at keeping 2 metres away from each other) to mingle together without ALL catching the virus at once and accelerating the spread of it to the rest of the population. Throughout those weeks, they will continue to set work online for those children and to try to teach them online.

How much experience do you have of just how teachers operate? Or of how a virulent infection spreads? About as much as the average poster on here has of how the haulage safety industry works - probably less than that.

You see the effects on the haulage industry Medical workers see the effects on the health sector. Teachers and ex-teachers see the effects on the education sector.

Let us hope that those who make the regulations and decree what is to be done can see ALL sides of this emergency and can steer a course through it. It is a multi-dimensional problem.

The part that you are failing to grasp Grandad1943is that teachers are not being 'stood down" any more than people who are working from home are 'stood down' You seem to have a rather odd view of what the role of a teacher in 2020 looks like

It would seem that those within the education profession and others wishing to defend that profession are out in strength on this thread bringing forward any number of explanations as to why teachers must be allowed at least three months off with full taxpayer-funded salary in the middle of this unprecedented health crisis. However, let us take a look at just how the above action (or perhaps that should be inaction) will impact on very many or even all of us into the future.

Road transport food and other essential distribution centres are a key element to preserving daily life to as near normal as possible for as long as this unparalleled crisis continues. Those distribution centres are exploiting every option possible at this point in time to maintain ultimate output to supermarkets and other outlets which involves having staff operating at maximum numbers due to panic buying in the last week.

Large distribution centres work seven days a week, twenty four hours per day, but the peek of output by way of the picking and product handling is between 08:00 and 17:00 daily. Many of those in those picking operations are women who work between the above hours while their children are at school, but many are already stating that they will not be able to work in the coming weeks as it is likely they will have to remain at home looking after their children.

Many of those workers in those distribution centres are indirectly employed by the supermarkets and other organisations by way of employment agencies and in that receive nothing or minimum state benefit if they are unable to work. Therefore unless they are designated as essential workers the above prospect hangs very heavily over very many of them.
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We have several of our Assignment team members working within two large food distribution centres on Severnside this week training up existing staff to enable them to operate forklifts, powered pallet trucks and even HGV shunting operations within the centres should those that normally carry out those duties become unavailable. However, two of those being trained may not be able to attend their employment on a regular basis if they are not designated as key workers.

The unscheduled absentee ratio for both the large distribution centres is approximately eight percent over the last two weeks we are informed which is not above normal for the workplaces. However, serious questions are being asked in regard to the resilience of many of Britains large distribution centres should Covid-19 become endemic within the workforce. Of course, the above will impact on the output of those distribution centres, which may become even more impacted if fit staff are not able to attend their employment due to child care obligations.

Therefore we have now in Britain an unprecedented crisis situation were the effects on one large group of workers will be that they will be stood down on full taxpayer-funded salaries for so long as the crisis last, while that same group of workers are ensuring that other vital employees in an essential industry may well be unable to work, and due to that, will receive no wages whatsoever.

what also requires to be thought on should be, that loss of output from those distribution centres could very well effect all who reside in this country when it comes to what is to be had from supermarket shelves etc.

My daughter owns a nursery which will close on Friday. She will open for key workers but next month her staff (and herself and her husband) will have to take annual leave and the reduce their hours by 50 percent. She can sustain this for 3 months only. This includes stopping the cleaning - the staff and we will do it ourselves and making the tax man wait a bit longer to be paid. I still work part time (3 x 12 hour shifts) for the NHS so can help a bit with childcare but it's the uncertainty for her, her staff and the parents / children that she provides care for.

Our DD has just explained how it's structured in her school.Out of 400 children about 60 will be in school. The rest are being home school packs and teachers will liase with the children and parents.Normal lessons s such won't be taught to those in school.Some education, but also activities.The head has asked which teachers can come in -DD has no children so will be there every day.An even longer day in fact. Those with their own children won't have to come in if they have no childcare.Some are making arrangements to come in as they can and help.
She's working flat out preparing the packs.Ironically a parent who often fails to attend parents evening and she knows never reads with their child has got very belligerent today because they haven't got their pack yet!Other parents are being lovely and supportive.
It's a school in a quite deprived area and she's very concerned about the ones who don't fit the criteria and basically whose parents let them do whatever.A boy whose parents said they were keeping him off as self isolating 2 days ago was in the playground this afternoon waiting for his mates thinking it's all a big joke.She told him in no uncertain terms to get back home.

This is an unprecedented situation and the Government is having to learn as it develops from other countries who were fighting this virus before it came our way.

I can totally understand the issues regarding childcare ext when children are not at school but they are super spreaders in that, although not affected too badly usually themselves, while they are all together, it will pass from one to another like a forest fire. Look how quickly it has already grown here. We only know the tip of the ice berg as those not in hospital are not being tested, so at present the quoted gov. figures only include the most seriously ill.

If any big group is a real danger, with theatres ext closing down and everybody encouraged to stay away from restaurants even, it seems obvious that leaving the schools totally open would make things considerably worse.

Nobody wants the kids off school at a loose end for weeks/months on end but they don't take these measures lightly. They take advice. The gov. know the effects these issues will have. The economy is spiralling out of control and it will take many years to recover from what is going to be a world wide recession. The measures they are taking are happening all over Europe and indeed the world. I don't know what other choice there is.

As a sideline. younger son who is a teacher in an international all age school in SE India has emailed to say they are on complete shut down too. Children have all returned home.
Staff expected to continue teaching online in prep for exams.
As my husband remarked - at least no discipline problems .

As I am only early 60s and in good health I'm going to carry on looking after my 2 dgc 3 days a week as long as I'm well. I'm quite looking forward to the challenge of home schooling. As I live on my own I would go crazy just sitting at home!

'What "measures of control" are you thinking of?'
….I don't know, trisher. I know that in my village and my daughters nearby people will be keeping their children at home and it was only seeing the boys on their bikes that brought it home to me what gillybob was saying about what was happening in her area. I guess I'm somewhat cocooned where I live. I've always said, after seeing what happened in Yugoslavia all those years ago, how easily society can break down and it scares me now.

That's the short and long of it, yes.
Certain situations will always have those who are hit hardest, in one way or another.

We just have to grin and bear it, for all our sakes.

Let's imagine that there was no NHS, no government health measures, no social distancing, no local authority schools to be closed, no public money of any sort for those affected in any way by the pandemic.

What would be the outlook then? The rich holed up behind barricades with all the food? The roads full of refugees fleeing the "plague" and taking it with them? The bodies of elderly people piling up behind locked doors? Everyone for himself and the devil take the hindermost?

Decisions are being taken because they are thought to be the best actions in an impossible situation - they absolutely cannot be right for everyone

What "measures of control" are you thinking of?

Just walked the dog and, as we were walking back a group of teenage boys sailed past us on bikes. This is actually going to be happening all over the country so I do share the concern as to what all the older children will do if measures of control aren't put in place.