Schools Open For Vulnerable Children

[mushroom25]

schools are closed except for vulnerable children, and those of "key workers". a very recent change to guidance means that "vulnerable" now includes children that don't have laptops.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-55565537
does this measure effectively un-close the schools?

[teacake44]

I commiserate with you NJ, the reason, over the lock downs, now and in the past on daily drives to my places of exercise, i pass 3 different McDonalds having no problem selling their junk, each one has had traffic queuing and blocking main roads and traffic islands for drive through food.

[teacake44]

Oh, and the other queue, of like you say school kids, waiting at the door for their crap to be bought out to them.

[sevenOP]

Teachers have been trying to get plans in place for safer schooling since early June, but have been ignored:

" 10 June 2020
Dear Prime Minister
The effects of COVID 19 on England’s education system are likely to be prolonged and profound. The majority of pupils will not be returning to school until September at the earliest, but we do not know how much time they will be in school because we cannot predict what measures will need to be taken, then, to ensure that schools do not become vectors for COVID.
Whilst we all hope that there will not be a second spike, or local spikes, we must plan for this possibility.
It is with these considerations in mind that the National Education Union has developed a 10 point plan for education renewal..."

https://neu.org.uk/media/10906/download

https://neu.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-06/Coronavirus%20national%20recovery%20plan%20for%20education.pdf

[bobbinwales]

Your reply puzzles me a bit seven OP as the 10 point plan hardly touches on safer schooling (eg how does free school meals in holidays make schools safer?) and all the others are general statements about supporting wellbeing or are things that done to a large degree

[jourdain2]

I'm trying to put myself into the position of my daughter (teaches maths. in a comp.). She has children at home (schools being closed) and is working her socks off trying to give on-line lessons to her classes and yet having to keep an eye on her 2 and ensure that they are doing the on-line work they are set. (One is a dolly day-dreamer and is only dragged down to Earth with an effort.) So what is she supposed to do if some of her 'laptopless' class members turn up at school. The answer is, of course, 'Nothing' - she can't.

So now what is going to happen to these children? Some senior members of staff will doubtless organise into supervisory groups, maybe in the hall - but any notion of normal education can be disregarded immediately.

It will go down as hindsight, but I did expect that in Sept. all schools would compile lists of pupils without learning technology/support (they all knew who they were by then) so that all that would be needed would be a requisition per school and that they would distribute and record laptops. (A lot will be sold by parents, by the way.)

Horribly mismanaged from whatever angle you look at it.

[bednobs]

i have to agree - our school have been planning contingency plans for another lockdown since the first one. They DID complile sucha list as you suggest and were ready to go. I's taken a day or two to get them out, but they at least knew who in advance

[sevenOP]

bobbinwales, "Your reply puzzles me a bit seven OP as the 10 point plan hardly touches on safer schooling"

Points 4,5, 7,8 (and less directly 10), specify manners to enable safer schooling.