The Return to School

[Darandio]

Just wondering what other parents have experience on returning their kids to school.

Our youngest went back to his Primary yesterday and it was absolutely fine, he had gone back for two weeks before the summer holidays so everything that was practiced then has managed to continue on their return.

Secondary school on the other hand, it was my daughter's first day back in year 10 this morning. Wear masks in all corridors and other communal areas along with bringing all your own stationery because the school won't provide any like they used to before, they would give everyone a full stationery kit on the first day back. You will probably agree that whilst annoying, that experience is unsurprising.

However, i'm livid right now with the message she has just relayed from the school. Each year group has lunch separately and is only given 30 minutes to get to the dining hall, queue and have lunch. The school anticipates this might not be enough time so has asked all children to bring back up snacks just in case they cannot be fed! So not only hundreds of kids are going to be fiddling with masks, they are encouraging them to bring all manner of snacks to mess about with as well.

I must have dreamt the whole Marcus Rashford movement before the summer holidays when meals were the most important thing in the world for children, now we have a school saying they might not give my child one.

 

[greyman42]

However, i'm livid right now with the message she has just relayed from the school. Each year group has lunch separately and is only given 30 minutes to get to the dining hall, queue and have lunch. The school anticipates this might not be enough time so has asked all children to bring back up snacks just in case they cannot be fed! So not only hundreds of kids are going to be fiddling with masks, they are encouraging them to bring all manner of snacks to mess about with as well.

That is not going to help kids regarding a healthy diet, but i don't suppose it matters if they end up fat as long as we keep the deadly virus at bay.

 

[Mojo]

My partner is a teacher and it just looks like a complete mess.

Students are not allowed to share textbooks or other resources such as paper handouts, even though two students will be sharing the same desk (and their elbows practically touching). If resources are handed out then they cannot be used for another week and must be quarantined. Teachers are being told to use hand sanitiser before handing things out, but are being told to supply their own.

In order to minimise traffic in the corridors, the lessons and breaks start at different times for various year groups, and breaks are staggered. So three year groups are in block A and two + 6th form in block B (all lessons and break are the same time for your year group/block).

There is now a two week timetable, and all lessons are double periods. However because of the staggered break times, the second lesson of the day (periods 3 and 4) is split by the mid-morning break for half the year groups.

Some teachers can end up with no lunch break, if their period 3/4 lesson is in a different year group to their period 5/6 lesson.

 

[thejuggler]

Daughter went back yesterday and the main changes are they are now in a year bubble. All lessons are held in one self contained part of the school.

Set routes into and out of school.

Lunch is now four sittings across 2 dining rooms and her year is last at some time after 1pm.

She didn't have any complaints.

 

[Bantamzen]

My niece was back at school on Wednesday. Her first lesson of the day was P.E., and the school instructed all students taking P.E. must go to school in their P.E. kits as the changing rooms are closed. So she had to travel for 40 minutes each way, on a day when the weather was quite poor, then spend the rest of her school day in P.E. kit. I am fuming.

 

[Mojo]

So apparently late yesterday they realised how stupid it was to ban sharing resources between two students sat next to each other, so that requirement has been dropped.

However, all windows and doors must be open in classrooms and staff areas when lessons / meetings are taking place. With the cold weather early mornings this week, there was lots of shivering going on! Certainly will lead to more colds if people are cold!

 

[Bantamzen]

So apparently late yesterday they realised how stupid it was to ban sharing resources between two students sat next to each other, so that requirement has been dropped.

However, all windows and doors must be open in classrooms and staff areas when lessons / meetings are taking place. With the cold weather early mornings this week, there was lots of shivering going on! Certainly will lead to more colds if people are cold!

That will be fun in the middle of winter. Do the people making up these "rules" actually think things through, or are they just in a hurry to be seen doing something?

 

[Mojo]

That will bee fun in the middle of winter. Do the people making up these "rules" actually think things through, or are they just in a hurry to be seen doing something?

It’s for the benefit of the senior leadership team, they are seen to have been doing something.

 

[Bayum]

My partner is a teacher and it just looks like a complete mess.

Students are not allowed to share textbooks or other resources such as paper handouts, even though two students will be sharing the same desk (and their elbows practically touching). If resources are handed out then they cannot be used for another week and must be quarantined. Teachers are being told to use hand sanitiser before handing things out, but are being told to supply their own.

In order to minimise traffic in the corridors, the lessons and breaks start at different times for various year groups, and breaks are staggered. So three year groups are in block A and two + 6th form in block B (all lessons and break are the same time for your year group/block).

There is now a two week timetable, and all lessons are double periods. However because of the staggered break times, the second lesson of the day (periods 3 and 4) is split by the mid-morning break for half the year groups.

Some teachers can end up with no lunch break, if their period 3/4 lesson is in a different year group to their period 5/6 lesson.

We’ve been told the same in primary. Children should try not to share paper resources if possible otherwise we can share resources within the same class. Reading books, reading records, homework books or resources to be used elsewhere in school etc must be quarantined for 72hrs before being handled.

It’s for the benefit of the senior leadership team, they are seen to have been doing something.

We’ve been told that all rooms have to be well ventilated and doors/windows open to provide it.

 

[adc82140]

Not exactly school, but we have pulled our son (6) out of swimming lessons. The teacher is now not allowed to be in the water with them. I think the chances of a water safety mishap are higher than anyone getting covid.

 

[Bayum]

Once the school is in operation, it is important to ensure good ventilation and maximising this wherever possible, for example, opening windows and propping open doors, as long as they are not fire doors, where safe to do so (bearing in mind safeguarding in particular). Advice on this can be found in Health and Safety Executive guidance on air conditioning and ventilation during the coronavirus outbreak.

DfE, 2020. Estates. Full Reopening of Schools. https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...eak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools#estates

Not exactly school, but we have pulled our son (6) out of swimming lessons. The teacher is now not allowed to be in the water with them. I think the chances of a water safety mishap are higher than anyone getting covid.

Interesting. Hand on heart, I’ve never known any teacher be in the pool teaching children from the age of 4+ unless significant needs.

 

[adc82140]

All swimming schools now have teachers in the water for the young ones. It's the recognised way of improving water confidence quickly. Gone are the days when an ex army PT instructor threw you in the water to see if you floated.

 

[yorkie]

Being 'Covid Secure' trumps pretty much everything else for a school right now. The needs of children do not come first any more.

The reason is because there is huge pressure from individuals who seek to keep children at school for the foreseeable future and who lobby others to do so; their message is that schools are "unsafe".

The Government believes they have to be seen to be doing something to allay these fears, and that has resulted in guidelines that don't have many "musts" in them but do have a lot of "shoulds"; many schools then try to implement as many of these measures as possible.

My niece was back at school on Wednesday. Her first lesson of the day was P.E., and the school instructed all students taking P.E. must go to school in their P.E. kits as the changing rooms are closed. So she had to travel for 40 minutes each way, on a day when the weather was quite poor, then spend the rest of her school day in P.E. kit. I am fuming.

I am surprised at that decision!

However it is true that many schools are not allowing students to get changed for PE, but this usually involves remaining in uniform for PE, rather than the other way round.

Some schools are doing only "light PE" (the obesity crisis is not considered important at the current time as it's been trumped by a requirement to reduce Sars-Cov-2 transmissions) meaning they can do non-physically demanding activities in their uniforms without getting too sweaty.

The WHO say that young people aged 5-7 state:

• Children and youth aged 5–17 should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity daily.
• Amounts of physical activity greater than 60 minutes provide additional health benefits.
• Most of the daily physical activity should be aerobic. Vigorous-intensity activities should be incorporated, including those that strengthen muscle and bone*, at least 3 times per week.

Before the pandemic, many young people got nowhere near these amounts and now we are going to be even further from these recommendations.

However, all windows and doors must be open in classrooms and staff areas when lessons / meetings are taking place. With the cold weather early mornings this week, there was lots of shivering going on! Certainly will lead to more colds if people are cold!

One of the biggest aims right now is to be seen to be doing something. Until anyone can demonstrate that adding ventilation in colder weather is actually more harmful (I've no idea either way), it will probably continue to be done.

There is some thought that contracting another virus could actually help reduce transmission of Sars-Cov-2 but we don't have enough information to say yet (and you may get different results with rhinoviruses and the four 'cold' coronaviruses; it may also make a difference whether a 'beta' or 'alpha' coronavirus is caught).

What we really need is more research regarding whether or not adding ventilation at cooler temperatures is more likely to be beneficial or harmful; until we have that research I suspect schools will be more erring on the side of adding ventilation even if it makes people cold. Whether this is the right thing to do is highly questionable.

That is not going to help kids regarding a healthy diet, but i don't suppose it matters if they end up fat as long as we keep the deadly virus at bay.

It's been decided at several schools that reducing opportunties for transmission is more important than students health, because that's what the guidance appears to encourage, though it does not mandate this, so schools are free to put the genuine needs of children first, though they are reluctant to do so as this is seen as going against becoming 'Covid secure'.

....the second lesson of the day (periods 3 and 4) is split by the mid-morning break for half the year groups....

Yes there are split lessons at some point in the school day in several schools, though this may only affect certain yeargroups.

The staggering of start/finish times is being done differently by different schools; in some cases the staggering is 5 minutes apart, which appears to be a 'box ticking' exercise (students will still end up travelling to school with their siblings/cousins/friends from other year groups)

And what about extra-curricular clubs? I hear some schools have banned them for the first few weeks. This will be devastating to the students who attend these clubs.

Schools are also cutting back on opportunities to visit the school library, denying students who have friends from other year groups the opportunity to see each other, reducing lunchtime activities, and eliminating leadership opportunities and other responsibilities.

It's not the schools leading this; ultimately the people to blame are the extremely vocal individuals on social media who are desperate for students to be kept at home indefinitely, and the Government feeling that they have no choice but to pander to those people. The unions don't help but this is not led by teachers or other school staff, the majority of whom do want students to be put first.

 

[Bantamzen]

Being 'Covid Secure' trumps pretty much everything else for a school right now. The needs of children do not come first any more.

The reason is because there is huge pressure from individuals who seek to keep children at school for the foreseeable future and who lobby others to do so; their message is that schools are "unsafe".

The Government believes they have to be seen to be doing something to allay these fears, and that has resulted in guidelines that don't have many "musts" in them but do have a lot of "shoulds"; many schools then try to implement as many of these measures as possible.



I am surprised at that decision!

However it is true that many schools are not allowing students to get changed for PE, but this usually involves remaining in uniform for PE, rather than the other way round.

Some schools are doing only "light PE" (the obesity crisis is not considered important at the current time as it's been trumped by a requirement to reduce Sars-Cov-2 transmissions) meaning they can do non-physically demanding activities in their uniforms without getting too sweaty.

The WHO say that young people aged 5-7 state:


Before the pandemic, many young people got nowhere near these amounts and now we are going to be even further from these recommendations.

Not half as surprised as our family. We all remember how, well to put it bluntly sweaty we used to get as teenagers during PE, so the thought of kids sitting in whatever uniform they used all day is quite frankly appalling. Needless to say, a very strongly worded complaint has gone to the school, the local education authority and local MP / Councillor.

 

[scotrail158713]

My goodness there’s some OTT changes in some of the schools mentioned here. I asked my Dad recently about restrictions introduced in the school he teaches at and they don’t seem too unreasonable.
- keep doors and windows open for ventilation (although I’m not sure how well that’ll be received in December)
- one way system round the whole school
- no sharing of books etc
- staggered break and lunch times (S1-S3 (12-14 year olds - don’t know the English equivalent years ) at one time, then S4-S6 (15-17 year olds) after)
- recommended face covering if they are going round the class checking on pupils work and can’t keep a distance

 

[adc82140]

We have staggered start and finish times, year group bubbles, and lunch eaten in the classroom. The lunch options seem to be limited, and we're feeding the boy a hot meal in the evening as a result. We're fortunate as we can afford to do this, some parents cannot, and they will be the ones having problems. I don't see a pizza slice and a few carrot sticks followed by a biscuit as a full balanced meal.

Incidentally it has become very obvious that a fair proportion of the class have had no form of education since March.

 

[yorkie]

None of the following are a priority at the moment:

• Ensuring students get sufficient exercise
• Providing opportunities for responsibilities and leadership roles to students
• Providing a positive, constructive, enjoyable environment that results in students enjoying, and wanting to go to, school
• Providing extra-curricular clubs, which enable students to develop skills, friendships, and much more
• Providing an environment in which students who have few friends in their own yeargroup can make friends who have similar interests
• Ensuring students eat healthily
• Ensuring students are not too cold
• Ensuring gifted, talented or hardworking students are not held back by being in mixed ability groups that are below their level
• Ensuring struggling students are kept engaged and not frustrated by placing them in mixed ability groups that are beyond their level of understanding (if you don't do this, their behaviour can deteriorate, which ultimately can lead to exclusions)
• Providing an environment that is conducive to good mental health

Instead all of that, and more, is very much on the back burner, due to the need to placate and pander to the extremely vocal and authoritarian "students must stay at home" brigade to make schools "Covid secure".

My prediction is that schools and MPs will (hopefully) receive many complaints by parents stating that the schools need to get back to normal as soon as possible. In about a months time schools will review these measures and the Government will realise that the vast majority of people do not agree with the over-the-top measures which are only in place due to an incredibly vocal and downright nasty overly-authoritarian minority of people who don't have the interests of young people at heart.

But, for the next few weeks, schools feel they have to put these measures in place. Please don't blame the schools themselves, please blame the Government for pandering and, ultimately, the authoritarian doom-mongers who infest social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. The Unions also need to share a portion of the blame, but most Union members do no not want these measures.

 

[Jamiescott1]

I work in a school and genuinely most restrictions and options put in place I agree with and staff are working hard to provide.
- there are less pe lessons per pupil as year groups usually mix in pe, but the school is offering evening and Saturday morning pe lessons (voluntarily) for year groups that have less pe lessons
- all lessons are also on zoom for pupils self isolating
- lunch runs longer to keep year groups separate, all pupils recieve a hot lunch in their fees
-
There all a lot I also disagree with but as I post in my actual name, I'll keep quiet

 

[Richard Scott]

It’s for the benefit of the senior leadership team, they are seen to have been doing something.

To be fair I think a lot of those in senior leadership are also fed up with these rules but have to follow them. They are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

 

[jumble]

To be fair I think a lot of those in senior leadership are also fed up with these rules but have to follow them. They are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Indeed the SLT have to placate the Labour Unions

 

[adc82140]

And many of the membership are embarrassed by the unions. I think it was the leader of the NEU who suggested spraying children with disinfectant.

Children 'should be disinfected at school gates if they have to return'

'They're doing that in South Korea and they have a minuscule number of new cases.'

metro.co.uk

Dr Bousted also called on children to be disinfected at the school gates, adding: ‘In China, children stand outside the school gates and are sprayed front and back with disinfectant, their shoes are sprayed, they wash their hands with sanitiser, they must take off their mask and replace it with a new one, and their temperature is taken remotely.’

Edit: Thanks to whichever mod added the quote. You can type quicker than me!

 

[Bantamzen]

And many of the membership are embarrassed by the unions. I think it was the leader of the NEU who suggested spraying children with disinfectant.

Children 'should be disinfected at school gates if they have to return'

'They're doing that in South Korea and they have a minuscule number of new cases.'

metro.co.uk

Edit: Thanks to whichever mod added the quote. You can type quicker than me!

I remember seeing this, and just how angry it made me. Spraying kids with chemicals just to go to school, its pure insanity. Goodness knows what that would do to them in the long term, both physically and emotionally.

 

[thejuggler]

My niece was back at school on Wednesday. Her first lesson of the day was P.E., and the school instructed all students taking P.E. must go to school in their P.E. kits as the changing rooms are closed. So she had to travel for 40 minutes each way, on a day when the weather was quite poor, then spend the rest of her school day in P.E. kit. I am fuming.

So they had to go to school in just a T shirt/polo shirt and shorts/skorts? Nothing else? No wonder you are fuming.

 

[Bantamzen]

So they had to go to school in just a T shirt/polo shirt and shorts/skorts? Nothing else? No wonder you are fuming.

Yep, exactly that. Its shocking considering that there are relatively simple mitigations they can undertake, such as cleaning changing rooms after each use. Yes it might restrict just how many PE classes can be taken, but it is possible with a bit of forethought.

 

[jumble]

To be fair the SLT in schools have to deal with people like Adam Woodward.

I would not have wanted him anywhere near any of my children.



Labour supporter Adam Woodward, 23, who is starting teaching at Horizon Community College in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, tweeted: 'I'm about to begin my career as an NQT (newly qualified teacher) English teacher.

'I will be teaching with no PPE, in an environment where social distancing is impossible. I am scared and so are the students. This Government has failed me and every child in every school. Shame on them.'

Majority of schoolchildren in England and Wales return to classes

Parents tried to socially distance as they queued up outside schools across England and Wales today with their children as millions of pupils returned to classes from the coronavirus lockdown.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[thejuggler]

Surely the most sensible mitigation is to let the pupils wear a tracksuit to school over the PE kit.

Take tracksuit off for PE, spare T shirt in bag to change into after PE if required and put tracksuit back on.

 

[Bantamzen]

To be fair the SLT in schools have to deal with people like Adam Woodward.

I would not have wanted him anywhere near any of my children.



Labour supporter Adam Woodward, 23, who is starting teaching at Horizon Community College in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, tweeted: 'I'm about to begin my career as an NQT (newly qualified teacher) English teacher.

'I will be teaching with no PPE, in an environment where social distancing is impossible. I am scared and so are the students. This Government has failed me and every child in every school. Shame on them.'

Majority of schoolchildren in England and Wales return to classes

Parents tried to socially distance as they queued up outside schools across England and Wales today with their children as millions of pupils returned to classes from the coronavirus lockdown.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Oh for the love of all things sane. Will someone please go around and tell him to get a chuffing grip!

 

[adc82140]

He is in a position of authority, and supposed to be a role model. Gawd help his students.

 

[takno]

To be fair the SLT in schools have to deal with people like Adam Woodward.

I would not have wanted him anywhere near any of my children.

Labour supporter Adam Woodward, 23, who is starting teaching at Horizon Community College in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, tweeted: 'I'm about to begin my career as an NQT (newly qualified teacher) English teacher.

'I will be teaching with no PPE, in an environment where social distancing is impossible. I am scared and so are the students. This Government has failed me and every child in every school. Shame on them.'

Majority of schoolchildren in England and Wales return to classes

Parents tried to socially distance as they queued up outside schools across England and Wales today with their children as millions of pupils returned to classes from the coronavirus lockdown.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Pretty standard Mail-fodder to point out that he's a Labour supporter. You might as well mention his football club for all the relevance. As to the comment, he sounds like quite a lot of NQTs tbh - give them couple of years of vocational training and a shiny new union membership, and they think they know everything and the union top brass are on their side. A couple of years of dealing with kids in Barnsley will be a valuable life lesson for him.

 

[Richard Scott]

Oh for the love of all things sane. Will someone please go around and tell him to get a chuffing grip!

Exactly. To be honest most pupils are not scared or remotely bothered by the virus and no-one needs to pretend otherwise. Comments like his are just political nonsense.