Schools to close again.. Covid

History Queen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118303154#Comment_118303154

Many schools have sent and are still sending students home, or telling them not to cone in due to shortage of teachers. That situation is ongoing, so I'm not sure what you mean about "got short shrift " in that context.

Dr Fred

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118274275#Comment_118274275

You could be onto something

History Queen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118304253#Comment_118304253

Oh do give over 🙄

P2C

Not a teacher but have a few kids in school. I am hearing that classrooms are ranging from 5-15 degrees depending on the time of year. My kids are wearing a extra fleece. The recommendation for a office temp from the HSA is 18-23 degrees depending on physical activity levels. We are nearing the 2nd year of these restrictions and by looking at the literature and listening to some experts it is looking like it will be with us indefinitely. What has me baffled is that the school community are accepting of kids sitting in a environment that is not conducive to learning and that teachers and unions are accepting of a working environment that is not healthy. Natural ventilation is a fallacy in Ireland for the winter months. It is a complete and utter cop out by the department of education and government that they are not addressing these issues long term by installing mechanical ventilation systems. We will be talking about this again next year. The whole school community should be agitating and on one side and the government won’t be long turning

History Queen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118304410#Comment_118304410

We (teachers) certainly aren't accepting of it. It's utterly ****. We are sick of agitating for better and constantly being gas lit, bitched about and condescended to.

Random sample

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118304410#Comment_118304410

It is parents who need to complain. We all know the government are not going to listen to teachers, they have no interest in our working conditions. Parents have more voting power and should use it.

HerrKuehn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118303234#Comment_118303234

For most of the unvaccinated it is a choice at this stage, so I am not sure what the issue is. They know the increased risk they are taking. There are of course some who for various reasons can't get vaccinated.

lulublue22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118304410#Comment_118304410

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118304420#Comment_118304420

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118304514#Comment_118304514

Classrooms are freezing - highest ours has been this week is 14 - 15 degrees which is below the recommended level but conversely not the coldest our classes have been. I agree with you re ventilation but both History Queen and Random Sample are spot on - teachers have been raising this issue along with the miss use if SET in primary , the removal of bankable hours , the sub crises , the removal of contact tracing etc etc all of which effect educational provision since the outset with vitriol , media bashing , gaslighting and general teacher bashing being the response.

You can’t have a reasonable discussion re covid in schools and the knock on effects to educational provision with out this level of stupidity -

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118274275#Comment_118274275

which incidentally was thanked - or a stock response of you want to close the schools / we can’t close the schools . Highlighting issues which are a concern does not equate to wanting the schools to close - contrary to public perception online teaching is a pain in the hole - takes hours of work , is very difficult to get proper engagement and no matter what you do **** is your thanks - you’ve uploaded too much work / not enough work , expecting children to be online all day is not feasible with working parents/ what is she doing all day she should be online , 3 zoom calls a day are not enough / 3 zoom calls are way too much etc etc

Perhaps if teachers concerns re mitigation measures and the call for HEAPA filters had been listened to we wouldn’t be in the position we are now - where the conversation is echoing last winter - should the schools close early for xmas , will they reopen in January. At this stage , two winters in , it’s up to parents to agitate for better mitigation measures for their children in schools.

History Queen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118304787#Comment_118304787

You put that much much better than I did!

Laszlo Cravensworth

I am a teacher in a DEIS band 1 school in one of the most disadvantaged areas in the country. Our school is riddled with covid. At any one time we have at least 25% of our staff out either with covid, isolating or waiting on some aspect of testing.

I am a learning support teacher and work primarily with the senior classes. About 60% of our senior students are out sick. We have CO2 alarms in every classroom and Air filtration devices in almost all of the smaller size support rooms. The dept of Education is practically throwing money at us. We have the heating on full blast but its pointless unless you are lying against a radiatior. Most of the radiators are underneath open windows so it doesn't take a genius to see the problem there.

Lately, the kids are freezing all the time, as are the teachers.

I firmly believe that the government are just hoping covid rips throught the school going population as quickly as possible. They know the vast vast majority of kids will not get very sick. They know any teacher who is of sane mind has been vaccinated and will most likely not become dangerously ill. The major worry is that the kids will spread it to older more vulnerable family members.

I feel sorry for some of my older colleagues who are close to retirement age. One or two of them have contracted covid and been very sick, despite being fully vaccinated.

Don't be fooled by government spin. Despite their claims that transmission is primarily happening in the community because Covid transmission is rife in schools right now. How could it not be?

I want our school to stay open for the following reasons:

• Selfish reason - I have 3 kids under 3 and my wife already works from home and cannot stand the thought of adding teaching from home to that pressure cooker. As other parents know only too well it is horrific.
• Our students have already fallen so far behind it is frightening. They need to be in school. In 6th class last year over 40% of the class fell below the 10th percentile in their Maths. Normally it is a fifth of this amount. Similar drops were observed at all other class levels.

IT's a really sh1tty situation, but I hope schools stay open.

lulublue22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118304901#Comment_118304901

Turned into a bit of a rant I’m afraid.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118304906#Comment_118304906

Totally agree re online provision - it does not suit our cohort of children at all - we had a substantial disengagement ( school wide) during remote learning despite emails , phone calls , dropping laptops and or work packs to houses. Those that engaged did their best but we can see the educational fallout. I know not every school has a similar cohort but personally I really hope we don’t close.

Rosita

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118304234#Comment_118304234

Short shrift is a reference to two schools that closed about three weeks ago because of Covid outbreaks and were told the day after by the Dept of Ed to open up again. Like I said, under no circumstances (based on what we have seen so far anyway) will the circumstances within a school or schools cause closure. Of course schools will by local arrangement choose to send a class home but that is a long long way from what I am talking about. Try to close the school and they'll quickly get the aforementioned short shrift from the Dept of Ed.

Rosita

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118304710#Comment_118304710

What the in vaccinated do or their reasons for doing so is a different matter. All I'm saying is that there are no guarantees about vaccination in any specific teacher or parent group.

History Queen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118305136#Comment_118305136

Ah sorry, I picked you up wrong.

solerina

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118304410#Comment_118304410

Am a PP teacher, it’s on average 11 degrees in my room everyday, we are all freezing, windows wide open constantly. There is nopoint in any teacher complaining as the spin will be ‘moaning teachers just don’t want to work…….’ We are literally the only profession working indoors in these conditions

lulublue22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118305448#Comment_118305448

We are at the stage where we consider 14 - 15 degrees a good week. We’ve had days where it’s not gone over 10 🥶

History Queen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118305499#Comment_118305499

It's awful isn't it? Students and staff are all fed up in our place and counting down to the holidays.

cmssjone

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118305499#Comment_118305499

Our designated H&S teachers complained to our principal with regards to the cold working conditions. They were told in no uncertain terms to shut up unless they had received any mandate from the union regarding this…

lulublue22

snor

And the worse of the weather is typically Jan-March. Not looking forward to my classroom then!

lulublue22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118311952#Comment_118311952

Was only thinking the same during the week - we haven’t hit the really cold weather yet 🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶

Deeec

I think we are in a worse situation this year than we were this time last year in relation to schools - covid transmission, absenteeism, and cold classrooms is a disaster.

I think serious consideration should be given to closing schools for January - and by closing I mean holidays - no home schooling as it's a shambles for all concerned. The time could be made up in July and Summer holidays for August. I know this wouldn't be ideal for many but it's the best option we have in the circumstances. I don't think any of us would like to go back to home schooling.

I'm speaking as a parent though not a teacher.

Eoinbmw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118312241#Comment_118312241

Thats a sensible option!

So it will never fly!

History Queen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118312241#Comment_118312241

July may not be best time to make up time for second level as correcting of state exams happening at that time. Would nearly have to be August, which realistically means starting next school year early.

Edit: a serious attempt at installing mechanical ventilation/hepa filters, reinstating track and trace in schools and an investigation in to other possible mitigations that could be introduced should all be done before even talking about closing schools in my opinion.

Bobeagleburger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118312241#Comment_118312241

Great idea if we get people to look after all the kids! Most households have both parents at work.

Deeec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118312301#Comment_118312301

Yeah I know there are complications.

Your right regarding ventilation/HEPA filters but at this stage realistically this couldn't be done in every school by January. Dept of ed should have had this done last summer. Track and trace is a no brainer and should be bought back immediately. I really hope schools won't be closed but I fear that's where we are heading to again.

Deeec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118312316#Comment_118312316

I know it's a huge problem ( me included) but realistically we could be facing school closures again so I prefer not to have to face the home schooling issues as well as the childcare issues.

History Queen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118312336#Comment_118312336

I really hope you're wrong about schools closing.

The ability of the Department of Education to avoid wholesale criticism is unbelievable. They are disgraceful, yet again and again and again they undermine the education system, students, parents and teachers and get away with it. They have gone out of their way to demonstrate their inability to react to the needs of the sector for years, even more so since covid, and still no calls for investigations or reforms of a Department that is, at best, incompetent. The mind boggles.

Bananaleaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118312241#Comment_118312241

Absolutely no way.

I'm not working my summer holidays, end of.

If it safe enough for us to be there in the run up to Christmas, it will be safe enough for us to be there in Jan.

If adults suspect it might not be, then the onus is on you lot to behave yourselves over Christmas so that a closure doesn't happen.

If a closure does happen, then sorry lads, but ye will just start having to make a real go of the online stuff- teachers and parents. I'm not changing my holidays to accommodate this virus. If we are demanding that we should be let live with C-19 in other areas of life then ye can do the same for school.

So, to summarise... no!

Teacher2020

Ive always thought that our long holidays should be 8/9 weeks starting at Christmas. Would be beneficial for people to head off for a bit of winter sun. It would alleviate the pressure of having to travel in the 2 worst months of weather. However, with the current climate, I think the last thing children want is to be stuck in school in July. After the 2 years they have had it would be a most unfair punishment for them.