Bubbles?

The theory is that the teacher is always at least 2 metres away from students, therefore transmission is not possible, ergo no-one needs to isolate, bar the teacher.
How this works in practice is of course a different matter.
The college will have its own guidance which they will be following.
There are no across the board measures.
This is how I understand it.
There are a lot of folk on here who work in FE and HE who will hopefully have more clue than I do! (Common or garden teacher.)

Unfortunately transmission is possible beyond two metres. The chances of transmission are less the greater the distance. It has been shown that particles can travel more than six metres if someone infected coughs or sneezes without wearing a mask. The teacher should wear a mask at all times.

School "bubbles" can be huge. In my DGC's school the bubble is the whole year of over 300 pupils and of course many have siblings in other years and mix on transport to and from school.

varian - teachers are not allowed to wear masks in England.
The government has decreed that they are unnecessary.

That is, in schools. As I said previously, I don't know how this pans out in FE and HE.

My GD says that the teacher does not generally wear the mask when she is at the front of the classroom, (more than 2m from anyone) but puts it on if she goes closer to a pupil. Everyone has to wear masks in the corridors.

FannyCornforth

varian - teachers are not allowed to wear masks in England.
The government has decreed that they are unnecessary.

All staff wear face shields in GC school.

My daughter works in a college for 16 -18 year olds.

The classroom is supposedly fine as she is 2 metres away from her students but she says the corridors are crowded with no social distancing and even though they wear masks they are close together and can infect each other and teachers.

The cases of Covid are rising rapidly in that college.

The measures in place, inadequate as they are, were not intended to prevent transmission.

All we have is an effort to 'control' or reduce the spread of infection, a slowed-down herd immunity. The children themselves are mixing with friends and family - often siblings in different schools.

Another example is the 14 day 'quarantine' (so called). It probably doesn't prevent all cases as incubation periods of up to 27 days have been reported.

www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-incubation-period/

Thank you Hettie
Imagine being a teacher who was previously told to shield, or likewise a teacher with a close family member in that situation.
They are all back in the classroom with no PPE (bar corridors).
But it is perfectly acceptable for 30 plus people to be in an enclosed space for a prolonged period of time with no SD and no PPE.
I think that most people don't really know what is going on in schools.

My DD2 has worked in a classroom throughout the pandemic, firstly with a small group of students whose parents are keyworkers and from Sept. with 30 children. A Victorian building where the windows are high & rooms small. Masks & PPE only if caring for a child is showing symptoms. Complicated drop off/ pick up to spread out congestion at school gates, limit use of play ground apparatus.etc etc. 1/3 parents grumble about insufficient protection for kids, 1/3 grumble about their kid not being first for something & 1/3 who don't believe there is a pandemic....

Thank god I’ve retired ! So complicated on top of the already taxing (but yes rewarding !) job of teaching

PECS same in here in secondary. Masks only for First Aid.

AGAA4

My daughter works in a college for 16 -18 year olds.

The classroom is supposedly fine as she is 2 metres away from her students but she says the corridors are crowded with no social distancing and even though they wear masks they are close together and can infect each other and teachers.

The cases of Covid are rising rapidly in that college.

It's not great, is it?

Lucca

Thank god I’ve retired ! So complicated on top of the already taxing (but yes rewarding !) job of teaching

Yes, our DiL, a Science teacher, is exhausted having to think 10 steps ahead all the time. The kids she can handle, but the worst bit she says are the two hourly staff meetings each week all crammed into a room with very little social distancing!

Teachers in some schools have been told to turn off their NHS apps in school.

The reason is that a number of them have had positive tests and pupils with the app have then been contacted and told to self-isolate/test.

If the app is working properly that must mean that the teacher has been less than two metres away from pupils for more than fifteen minutes, which isn't supposed to happen, Ha ha!

Headteachers don't want pupils and other staff to be sent home. They're more concerned about the school's reputation and having to buy in supply cover than they are for the welfare of their pupils and staff.

There are currently over 2000 schools with staff and pupils at home as a result of infection. In my little town, there are currently only four active infections - all of them seeded by a single pupil, who caught it when outside the area and infected other pupils. Their families are all self-isolating and waiting for tests, so there could be more.

Bubbles in secondary schools only work when the number of infections is in single figures.

I’m a nursery teacher I couldn’t do my job with a mask teaching 3/4 year olds. It would be hopeless.

A teacher colleague of my DH's had a fever and cough, and could hardly get out of bed for aching. The school sent her for a test which came back negative. The day after they phoned her to see why she wasnt in! Seems you are now supposed to recover instantly if it's JUST flu. More germs to add to the mix.

Harris I totally agree! And my DD would not want to wear a mask..indeed tried to resist seating in rows for 6 yr olds. If they are in the same small room for 3 hours at a time a row or around a table will make little difference.

My sister and I were at traffic lights waiting to cross the road. A young man in front of us was ‘vaping’. We were both fascinated watching the vapour as he exhaled. It travelled far further than two meters,

PECS

Harris I totally agree! And my DD would not want to wear a mask..indeed tried to resist seating in rows for 6 yr olds. If they are in the same small room for 3 hours at a time a row or around a table will make little difference.

It would help if the children could be taken outside a few times a day - maybe every hour - and the rooms are well-ventilated. Facing each or in rows might make a marginal difference. It might also discourage chatting.

Secondary schools face much bigger problems because year groups usually have several hundred pupils and options and setting means that they can't stay within a bubble of 30. The pupils are also physically bigger, so there is less circulating air and they are closer together than in primary schools. The teachers and TAs have to move between bubbles.

All the modelling and promises before schools re-opened fully was done in primary schools before the summer holidays when very few schools had full classrooms.

Everybody agreed it was important that education resumed, but the decision makers just stuck their heads in the sand, shrugged their shoulders, stuck their fingers in their ears and hoped for the best. They ignored calls for blended learning, which would have allowed for a combination of online and face-to-face learning, which would have allowed for smaller classes. That would have cost money because it would have involved ensuring that all pupils had online access at home and actual support (maybe the money which is supposed to be spent on catch-up tutors) for those who weren't engaging. Ironically, that's what is very possibly going to happen anyway - but too late.

Tweedle24

My sister and I were at traffic lights waiting to cross the road. A young man in front of us was ‘vaping’. We were both fascinated watching the vapour as he exhaled. It travelled far further than two meters,

Exactly! I'm sure we all remember the days when smoking was allowed in pubs and restaurants. I couldn't stay in one for long because the smoke used to get in my eyes and make them sting.

"growstuff" they are 6 yr olds.. they need care and nurture. Of course they go outside..but you need to appreciate the practical logistics of getting 180 4- 7 yr olds in and out of a building , formerly a workhouse, without bottlenecks & bubble bursting! It has become a military exercise. It is easy to be an armchair expert but each school building will have its own complications / limitations/ benefits. Do not think school staff & governors have not spent a huge amount of time in August trying to get their schools as safe as possible.

Facing each or in rows might make a marginal difference. It might also discourage chatting.

Chatting is what one of my GDs goes to school for!