In my opinion teachers have not been militant enough over the years allowing themselves to be walked over by Governments. It is why teachers are leaving in droves due them being constantly monitored and made to work excessive hours.You're in the wrong place for that; try Twitter
I think most people realise that the number of teachers that are 'militant' is very small indeed, especially on this forum!
FWIW I agree with you on this.I wonder if the DfE can actually make any decision without it turning into a complete farce?
In summary, the DfE created a whole load of aggravation for schools for little discernible benefit. Plus ça change.
English school leaders despair over new rules on Covid tests and masks
Teachers concerned that measures are unenforceable and some parents may withhold consent for regular testingwww.theguardian.com
For the avoidance of doubt, I don’t support the use of face masks in school at all and I don’t support lateral flow tests in school either. @farleigh has previously pointed out that I sometimes change my mind on things, so to save them time in dredging up old posts, I’ll admit that I’ve previously thought both might help in keeping schools open/reducing the spread of the virus. Having seen the practicalities of both, I’m less convinced.
And before @theironroad pops up with another post to tell me I’m a danger to transport and shop workers, I’ve been doing the LFT twice a week as encouraged by school, wear a face mask in areas where it is recommended and I follow all of the guidelines at all time (I’m still awaiting an apology for the outrageous outburst back in January!).
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No hard feelings, we live and learnFWIW I agree with you on this.
I now regret pulling you up on a previous post you made - disgraceful behaviour no?
I really feel for you here. There's enough trouble enforcing everyday rules in the classroom without this. No doubt there will be someone ensuring compliance and it'll be YOUR fault if not.No hard feelings, we live and learn
I have to say, mask compliance at my school was really good on the corridors. I’m dreading being put in the position of having to enforce them in the classroom
I can answer that one already, staff briefing this morning made it perfectly clear the teacher is held responsible. This would be half reasonable if there were some backup but there won’t be.
That sounds familiar!
Interestingly it turns out it's not actually compulsory.No hard feelings, we live and learn
I have to say, mask compliance at my school was really good on the corridors. I’m dreading being put in the position of having to enforce them in the classroom
What are they holding you responsible for?
I do not believe this would be lawful.
I can very easily see the whole thing being yet another major stress. It’s easy to foresee a situation where a student claims (possibly with good reason) they are having trouble breathing and asks to leave off their mask. Allowing the student to leave their mask off would then doubtless lead to others claiming the same. Which is all fine until a clinically vulnerable parent writes in and asks why on Earth I allow students to be in class with no mask.
I expect it has been replicated in schools up and down the country! Do you know what the instructions are for masks in your own school?
Direct quote from the staff briefing: “We will be holding you, as classroom teachers, responsible for ensuring that students are wearing their masks at all time in the classroom.” There were then some exceptions given, such as with small groups where it is possible to seat students 2 metres plus apart.
Indeed masks are not compulsory, as was confirmed by Nick Gibb in a tv interview.
I’ve put my points together, along with a few other observations, in an email to the Head. I strongly suspect I won’t get anything meaningful or helpful back. That was certainly my experience in the Autumn and then a colleague ran into difficulties on exactly the points I had made.
We've been told masks are mandatory for everyone unless exempt but they want a note from a doctor for exemption!
Many thanks, Richard, greatly appreciated.
I'm surprised they are not insisting on the fabled "exemption certificates"!
Fine, provided the doctor is willing to write one:-
This is from the BMA so schools might not find GPs uncooperative https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-s...ctices/reducing-covid-19-transmission-and-ppe
All of which is very true, but of little help to the teacher in the classroom who has been told that they must ensure students are wearing masks.
Absolutely! One of the problems is that many schools now are part of Trusts where the Executive Head is so far from the whiteboard face that they don't understand the consequences of their actions, but it is all about image (hence my edit in #555). If a school is going to enforce this, the action (not just the words) must come from the very top. If you are a classroom teacher, there are a load of battles to fight; this is not your battle, not your war, and they don't pay you enough to fight it!
Absolutely fine, have an official looking form, headed paper, with a load of bumf about what government 'advice' is, that there are exemptions (such as) and if a parent feels that their child fits this, they can sign. Give them the opportunity to indicate the reason if they so wish (useful because schools are not always made aware of these, which is one reason why pupils fall through the net), but not necessary. Indicate that the forms will be held as evidence should the school's decision be challenged - I bet its the sort of thing Ofsted would jump on. Don't allow some note written on a piece of paper, torn from an exercise book. Lost the form? Give them another. Dead right about GPs, there are now NHS ads going on about potential for missing cancer sufferers. We need GPs checking out patients for potential serious conditions, not filling in stupid forms because the government or whoever can't get its message straight.
But surely if something isn't necessarily going to be workable in the classroom, teachers should be communicating this back to head teachers?
Absolutely but some head teachers are more likely to listen than others (and some are more approachable than others!)
... and hence my earlier post:
Many see changing course as a weakness or will simply say ‘just try your best’.
Sorry, I think I missed that earlier post of yours. Its good to know that at least you are trying, not so good that the Head may not listen. Any good manager ought to know that taking on feedback, both good and bad from the front line is vital. If as teachers it becomes difficult & stressful to try to enforce something that is not legally binding, and that may cause teachers additional stress on top of all the pressures being placed on them, Heads should be standing by them not insisting on something like this.
There are Academy Trusts with over 30 schools, decisions will probably be made on a Trust basis, even if the Head of the school listens, there is no guarantee that the Executive Head of the Trust will.
Either way, whoever is responsible for the decision making should be listening. The single most important thing is the education & physical / metal wellbeing of our children, not the whims of politicians or worse people entrusted to deliver the best possible learning environment.
Absolutely, but the further those in authority are from the coal face the less, I find, they hear what effect their decisions have. Too many academic institutions now pay attention to their image, they listen to Marketing, how is the institution coming across. I spent my working life in education, latterly in a small FE institution, that merged with first one, then another, much larger institution. I was about half way up the food chain which meant that those at the top knew who I was but we were not listened to, I gather that after I left it got worse, new broom and they wouldn't have known me. That is why I took early retirement. With the changes in management structure in schools I just feel that there will be more attention paid to how things look than what effect it has on the students and pupils. There are heads who are still pupil-facing (particularly at primary level) who will put them first but increasingly the person who gives the talk at open day is not the person who ultimately makes the decisions. I went into education because I wanted to help those from the same background as me (working class) do the best they could and get on in life, I left education because I was less and less able to do that.
I am waiting for my children's schools (secondary) to confirm the full regimes for return after the 8th; details are still emerging. If I look back at what happened in the autumn, both schools made masks part of the uniform, and set rules on when and where they had to be worn in the school; I expect a similar policy to be applied now. There were provisions for exemptions but, as neither of them are eligible, I paid no attention to the details.
Actually it can. Schools can make up rules for whatever they like. Whether it be a school jumper, type or colour of hair or a mask they could be asked to go to a separate room or sent home if they don't comply without good reason.
Except the Government has specifically instructed schools not to do this.
Nope; if they did, schools would have to change their policies in this regard.
@nedchester answers most of it for me, but I'll add two points. The first is that schools are generally expected to follow government policy, which may extend beyond what is legally mandatory; the Department for Education provides copious guidance to schools which is not law, but which schools must generally comply with. "Advice" from government on mask wearing to schools will be within that category; including masks within uniform policy is a straightforward way of implementing that requirement and making it effective throughout the school.
