Quote Originally Posted by ramAnag View Post
Why would I ‘explode’, Ram? You and GP have become very fond of suggesting what ‘RA’ - and Swale or mista - will do/think etc but it’s invariably unfounded.

Do I think/have I ever suggested that teachers and head teachers are beyond reproach? Of course not. There are good and bad in all walks - and professions - of life. Simple as that and teachers are no exception.
I know of at least one teacher who has made the most of the opportunity provided for non attendance. On the other hand I also know that my daughter worked in school every single day of the last half term and that the two schools my wife and I worked in prior to retirement have remained open throughout the pandemic...even providing a ‘social service’ through the Easter holidays.

I don’t doubt for a moment that ‘opportunist heads’, as described by GP, exist and I share his contempt for them, however have most
teachers let down their students? I don’t think so.

I spent most of my career working with 14-16 year olds so I have to go back almost half a century to remember A levels. They were always, as with most exams, something of a lottery and that seems to be being replicated, albeit in another form, this year.

Much more important though than the ‘distraction’ of A level results is what will be happening in September. It will not be the fault of teachers if parents do not feel sufficiently confident in the physical ability of schools to follow social distancing rules.

The government, in the form of Gavin Williamson - aka Frank Spencer - has known about the problem for months but simply not tackled it. They love to take the credit for ‘building’ new hospitals so quickly back in March and April but in fact they did no such thing. They requisitioned certain buildings and equipped them as, largely and thankfully unused, hospitals.
Such action was worthy of praise but why haven’t they taken similar steps with schools?
Time after time we hear the mantra that all pupils will return to school as normal in September and hang wringing Frank tells us there’ll be fines for parents who don’t conform to this ‘moral responsibility’.

It won’t work...teachers, pupils and, above all, parents have justifiable concerns. You cannot safely fit a full class of pupils into a classroom with dimensions that defy all other ‘new normal’ rules regarding social distancing. Steps such as the acquisition of alternative/temporary buildings and the ’upskilling’ of teaching assistants should already be in place but unfortunately we have a Prime Minister and an Education Secretary who haven’t a clue and nothing has been done.

What I suspect you’ll see very soon is pupils on part time (50% at best) timetables and a great deal of online teaching for those with the equipment, parental support/capability, and motivation to make the most of it.

Ultimately the current A level fiasco will, I suspect, make little difference. What happens in all areas of schooling from September onwards will...but I don’t think you can blame teachers for the abject lack of planning.
Agree with most of what you say, but on children returning to schools, its got to happen, much worse for the children to miss more education and roam the streets not socially distancing and the risk to teachers? Got to be lower than medics, retail staff, transport staff et al who have worked through the pandemic without significantly higher death rates.

I accept there may be some particularly vulnerable teachers who will need special measures, but vulnerable staff in other employment such as retail and transport who meet hundreds if not thousands of different people everyday from different locations are back at work and seem to be coping, so managing far less pupils who are known and who come from the same place each day should be simple and in fact it is because other countries have done it.

However, doubt this government will be able to manage it!

If the government want to know how to do it, well there are plenty of countries who managed it in May, so go and see how Denmark (as one example) are doing it!