Yes my local high school was closed before the official deadline. There were mixed messages but it seemed the staff had pretty much decided to close saying they were scared and working was dangerous. As someone who from the start of this knew I would have to work, possibly more than usual to cover for others I didn’t find too acceptable.
I’d have liked to hear more concerns for the kids education rather than concerns about the staffs health. This is a serious situation regarding kids education and future. If this was my year for starting Uni I’d have been beside myself with worry.
Are you trying to convince us that you are working in a cramped room with absolutely no social distancing measures in place?
Are you seriously saying that teachers with underlying health conditions should have ignored the letter from their GP and remained in work? Do you think that the government guidance to stay off work if you had either a continuous cough or high temperature should have applied to the rest of the population but not teachers? You might like to reflect upon what you’ve written there and apologise.
My observation was that several other public services struggled with staff numbers. Certainly the railways had become even more of a lottery than usual. Also, many parents working from home still sent their kids into school coughing and spluttering all over the place.
Anyhow, for what it’s worth, I would be astonished if schools were not open by early May at the very latest. You bemoaned the exam classes leaving early but that will likely be the key to relieving any staff shortages.
I'm a teacher and the schools would have had to have closed anyway. There was a real staff shortage starting to happen. A number of teachers were either self-isolating for themselves or a family member and there was a huge demand on supply teachers, who themselves were increasingly self isolating. Also supply teachers are very expensive. Schools simply don't have enough money to hire that many supply teachers for that long.
I'd say in my school at least a quarter if not a third of pupils were in self isolation in the week before the school closure so I was having to do remote teaching anyway (on top of physical teaching).
To whoever said the priority should be kids education not staff health - how many people are you willing to risk for your or your child's education? Just one teacher getting affected from a pupil can lead to potentially hundreds getting affected and quite likely some deaths.
Like it or not teaching/learning can be done at home. It's not like the health/food industries where people need to physically go places.
You make some excellent points, that I notice
@Mogster has chosen not to reply to.
Just out of interest, did your school find it possible to implement any social distancing rules? My guess is that such a thing would be pretty much impossible in any school setting.
I do wonder if international comparisons mentioned in the articles are fair. I have a friend who teaches at a secondary school in Taiwan, where the schools have remained open throughout. Her description of the very well ordered and respectful environment there doesn’t match what I know of many schools in the U.K.
I do see, of course, that workers in some sectors have belatedly had some protection put in place e.g. Perspex screens at tills in supermarkets. I hope that when schools do re-open at least some thought is given to the safety of the staff and students. It’s hardly going to help things if the kids of key healthcare workers pass the virus between themselves in school and then infect their parents...
I wish you all the best in your work.
Isn't one of the considerations here the health of the teachers? It is all very well saying that it won't affect the pupils but we expect teachers to stand in front of them and help pupils with their work. Is it reasonable to put teachers at risk of their health?
The death of a class teacher would be quite troubling for young pupils from a mental health point of view.
You make some good points, though I suspect that just as schools closed after many other people were working from home, they will also re-open a good while before a more general return to work.
