Return to school

I can understand that secondary schools can cope and protect more easily

What are reception children going to be doing? All soft toys, play equipment, water, sand, books, etc have been removed from classrooms I am reliably informed.

That's good to hear, Elegran.

School toilets are disgusting places.

One of my children once had tapeworms, which horrified me. The GP told me that the walls of most school toilets are covered with tapeworm eggs because children don't wipe their bums or wash their hands properly.

Each school really would either have to ban children from using toilets or have somebody on permanent duty checking they wash their hands and then sanitising every surface they could have touched.

There will be duplication of users, of course - there aren't enough loos for each group of fifteen to use a separate set.

At my daughter's (secondary) school, each group is to be allocated to a different set of toilets and are not to use any other, (teachers similarly) and the toilets are to be cleaned every hour. The whole school is to be thoroughly cleaned twice a day. I don't see how more frequent cleaning could be done, unless each set of loos had an attendant to swab down with disinfectant after each use. Their cleaning bill is going to rocket anyway, as the cleaners will have to spend all day in the school instead of cleaning in the early morning and then going home. At least the cleaners will benefit from the extra pay!

The pointtrisher made about the toilets is a very pertinent one.

Unless there is a cleaner on permanent toilet sanitizing duties, social distancing will be totally irrelevant.

The children's hands were red raw from using the school soap before schools shut. I wonder, where do they find such terrible soap?

Is that what you call it GL

Had to laugh this morning. I received a post telling me that Stockport Primary schools are not reopening on June 1st Wow! Defying the government?
It could be something to do with the fact that they are on half term from May 25th and don’t return till June 8th.

If it was my post you were referring to @furret, you have misread it. School have been working on the strategy since lockdown, the few adjustments are to precisely meet guidelines. It's called great planning and leadership. They will be opening on June 1st and my grandchildren will be going.
Laugh all you like.

Hilarious that someone on this forum has so little idea of the reality of life in a primary school that she thinks a few minor adjustments will sort the problem.

Having just read that a primary school in County Durham has had to close for 14days because a teacher has been confirmed as having contracted Covid19, I believe it is still too soon for very young children to start school.

Time will tell how many of the pupil families have been infected with the virus.

My daughter's school (secondary) has been planning their return to having children in school (or rather more children - they have already had the children of key workers)

The logistics are horrendous, as described in the NS piece, and that is only for what is expected to be a limited restart. This is a well-organised school with excellent teachers and support staff in a fairly "civilised" catchment area, and they are finding it very difficult. How a school in an area with multiple problems is managing, heaven knows.

I was talking to someone who works in an office but has been home working. Some people in her building have gone back but she hasn't yet. She had to go into the office for essential work and said that altough only about 200 people are working there she couldn't see how more would be allowed back (there should be 3000) because social distancing just wouldn't work with more people. And that's in a huge building with several floors, how on earth can a school do it?

Thanks for sharing Elegran, that's a really interesting piece.

The NEw Statesman has a good article on the logistics of reoening schools.
www.newstatesman.com/politics/education/2020/05/reopening-schools-question-logistics-not-risks-teachers

Granulaine that’s brilliant

Those are really lovely ideas too Sunlover On a slightly different tack, our children school has a Friday morning Achievement Assembly promoting positive behaviours and which family are invited to. My son in law does a homeschooling version which is hilarious, We are invited to attend on Zoom. Awards are in similar categories to school, so attendance (100% so far) sporting achievements, lunchtime award, Teachers award and there's usually one for the dog "always being ready for exercise" was the last one. He is brought through to receive his certificate personally.

Where are these wonderful schools? My DGS (year one) has only been given a guide as to what he is expected to learn this term with a few work sheets. Very little contact from his teacher with his parents and none with him. An only child, he’s not good at mixing and doesn’t want to go back to school.

That’s such a lovely idea. I’ve been very impressed by the attention my 5 and 6 yr old grandkids have received from their teachers.

In addition to the daily online work that’s been sent to them to support their parents in home schooling they have both received a few pre arranged phone calls from their teachers, as have all their classmates.

A nice chat with mum and dad to see how they were doing. And the kids were delighted to chat to their teachers who they are missing terribly in addition to their little friends.

At that young age their teachers are more than “just” teachers.

I can think of many occasions when my own 2 were little and had a slip of the tongue and called me by their teachers names.

It makes me so sad to think they will be expected to be physically distant from each other when they return to school.

The school I used to teach in has an assembly on line every Monday morning a bedtime story read by one of the teachers 2/3 times a week. There are also videos of all the teachers chatting to their classes and saying how they are looking forward to seeing them all again soon. Excellent. ???

Granny what a lovely idea

Our local primary school has been working on this since lockdown, using a range of scenarios. Some slight adaptations to protocol will be needed to meet guidelines but they are well prepared. They have also produced a truly lovely video within school to tell all the pupils how much they have missed them and how much they are looking forward to welcoming them back, whenever that may be. A really important message for the children to hear I feel.

Yes trisher Of course the discussions should have started weeks ago.

suziewoozie have expected a list of criteria from the centre as to minimum standards - including cleaning intervals, lunch arrangements and so on
I think that's the problem there hasn't been anything but very basic stuff. I know that there is such a wide variety of school buildings that it would be difficult but the government could have said that the school staff and parents must be happy with the standards in schools before the school was allowed to open.