Pooh Bear (the wife) loves her teaching job and has been working from home on remote lessons for five months now. She is now being asked to return to work with lots of children and move around the school. So she faces the considerable risk of covid and difficultly moving around the school.
Anybody else in the same position. ?
Was there not some mention by Chris Witty today about schools - as a result of them realising rather belatedly that having done too little too late they had then done too much too soon and the situation has changed?
It’s understandable she is worried going back after a long time out.
The DfE guidance is actually very good but you need to be sure the HR people have read it. I discovered my HR team had not read it properly when I was discussing a pregnant teacher returning to work. The guidelines say that those who have been shielding are now classed as ‘clinically vulnerable’ which means extra safety measures have to be put in place and where they can’t be protected they should still be able to work from home. My HR had just heard shielding had ended. Theses were the guidelines in June and obviously they are changing day by day. However, they won’t have changed that much on disability.
I would recommend your wife Works with her doctor to create a clear risk assessment so that the school understand the risks. Having read and tried to implement the guidelines, having information In the clearest form Helps.
It maybe worth a chat to a union rep as they have up to date knowledge.
Your wife is able to wear a mask and gloves, whilst it is not recommended In the guidance it is allowed. I had a TA who wore them, I wore a mask to teach on a day that I was coughing but I found it tiring.
I work in an AR unit but link to an academy and have been into a few schools as they prepare. I have to say preparations are thorough and well thought out. I spent 3 hours in a meeting discussing every detail from marking, to lunch, play times and entry and exit. In our area, schools have got separate zones for year groups and done a lot to reduce the year groups in breaks etc.
It is scary but schools are making it safe. £15,000 has been spent on wipes and sanitiser alone in a local school. I have to a Say that the pupils that returned in June did follow guidelines and used the hand sanitiser and kept distances. They know why and they know the rules. They were still teenagers but were respectful of Covid.
Maybe get your wife to ask to go look round as not knowing how it will be can be more scary.
It was great being back with my children though.
Thanks Hamptons.
She is now thinking of going back - she loves her job but she likes living more.
When you actually look at the research lupus SLE does not in itself increase the risk of either getting it or becoming very unwell with it. However, immune supression has a big impact along with the other co morbidities that go with lupus like hughes, lung problems, kidney problems etc.
Not many professions are being expected to work in rooms with 36 people (the younger of whom think that if there's a hole, put your finger in it!) without social distancing or face masks.
Schools are doing their very best and trying to implement as many measures as they can but they just don't have the space or the staff to really make it safe. You can keep classes to a room but what can you do when the whole school has to use just two sets of toilets? We have one adult for 36 children in our junior classes so close supervision is impossible. Schools also cannot control what the children do once they leave school and many are mixing freely, making bubbles a complete nonsense. It's the age group of their parents which has shown the greatest rise in cases, which is particularly worrying. Even if a teacher wears a mask, the children won't be so there's not much protection for adults and teachers will be exposed to the same symptomless children every day.
The guidance starts most sentences with "where possible..." so is open to interpretation and some school will be better than others. I'm a primary school teacher and very worried about September. I have been into school now that it's empty and tried to arrange the tables in my classroom so they're all facing the same way. The children will have to sit shoulder to shoulder in rows as there isn't the room to allow any space between them (there aren't enough tables anyway!). Of course, they'll all be facing the front so that's really healthy for me!
Although I did receive a shielding letter at the start of all this, I fit into the middle category and so am advised to socially distance wherever possible as I return to a normal work situation in September. Whatever local lock downs there are, you can be sure that schools will return even if everything else has to close. The term "cannon fodder" springs to mind! I like Hamptons advice of having a discussion with a doctor and am planning to do this myself. Official medical back up will probably be required in the future so at least your wife will know where she stands.
Thanks tykie.
Yes it reminds me of black adder 4 with colonel melchit bravely sending his troops over the top while he is many hundreds of miles from trouble.
I think it is important to explain why you are at risk to your management team and where that risk will be higher during the day. Many are not medical and already juggling many guidelines. As I said my HR had missed that shielding was lowering to social distance with ability to work at home.
I can only assure that from my experience I schools were working hard and pupils did understand the rules. I wore a mask but found breathing and teaching tricky and then repeating everything as it was not clear.
I wish you all the best of luck and stay safe.
They reported in the newspapers about a week ago that no teacher has ever been known to catch covid from a pupil anywhere in the world. Prof Mark Woodhouse who stated this is an epidemiologist from Uni Of Edinburgh and a member of the SAGE advisory team.
I still think you need to take all steps to stay safe though but I hope this will lessen your stress.
Woodhouse is a lone voice in this I'm afraid. The vast majority of docs and WHO are saying any age group and can it and pass it on. There is so much misinformation being passed around sometimes by people who should know better (like Woodhouse).
Schools must do risk assessments and make environments safe for teachers and children.
An alternative emerging from the US is that teachers who can't teach take on groups of students and are paid privately.
Hi, The fact is no one can tell you where they got covid 19 from so the report is as right as it is wrong. Doctors nurses and care professionals cannot prove they got it in the hospital environment. But its strange that an awful lot of them have got it and many have become seriously ill.
Its kind of obvious that if you put 300 teenagers together they will share whatever they have got with all - including their teachers. This holds with flu, colds and covid19.
What to do when lupus interferes with working?
Advice needed: Going back to NHS after going private.
10 year old got lupus can she go to school
Trying to get used to this lupus thing.
Going on with life with lupus
