How will schools be able to go back in September? (Continued)

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said there are contradictions in the advice essential given by the Government yesterday to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Sarah McInerney, he said he sees the contradiction in the advice that only six people can gather indoors but that schools can have indoor classes of 20-30 pupils.

He said the Government "is of the view that the return to school is essential."

facehugger99 wrote: »

If we were waiting for some of the posters on here to be “comfortable”, we’d be a long time waiting.

There will be uproar amongst the general populace if schools don’t go back and stay back.

Ours kids futures and educations cannot keep being sacrificed to keep the permanently hysterical placated.

You are probably right...then there will be an even bigger uproar when it all goes tits up......most of the posters on here think this is a dangerous ill thought out pile of horse**** plan for reopening thats destined to fail and are wondering why it couldnt have been planned with a little more intelligence and foresight rather than gung ho lets go for it and not even consider any alternativex because of the fear that the majority out there hold your view

Thing is public opinion is fickle...they will graduslly start to hold a different view if it causes a second wave or even coincides with one

The cynic in me thinks they kniw this but had staked too much political capital on appeasing seemingly more commonly held views like your own to back out and know full well they will be staging closures which they hoped would be on a regional county or jackpot local basis so they could transfer blame onto individual schools or areas ......look at the kildare, laois offaly bull**** for the strategy......

Of course it wouldn't be any different from the usual divide and conquer when faced with a problem with potential blowback strategy ...straight from the standard playbook

ShaShaBear wrote: »

I'm definitely at the "holding my breath" stage. Not optimistic in the slightest. The online approach I experienced over lockdown was definitely the very best the individual teacher could do herself (and she's in her mid 20s and fresh out of education herself) but there was so much that I wasn't comfortable with - namely having to download numerous apps to receive and upload homework, some of which involved recording my child "performing" songs and poems and reading books. She vehemently refused, and the school principal called me on it and offered to "speak" to my child about it over the phone. She was 5 at the time Not one bit excited to see them being herded back, but based on the online approach over lockdown, this is probably her best bet. I could take them both out and homeschool, but I am not prepared for that at present.

That is awful - my little guy in junior infants really struggled not being in school. Now the teacher was great - she sent homework every day and got access to the online resources and that was all fine and he engaged well with doing homework, Towards the end of term she started setting up google hangouts, once a week for an hour. The first one he jumped around the room not really knowing what was going on, the second one he reluctantly joined but would not engage, the third one he didn’t want the camera on and after that we just gave up. He was bawling before the class!
They are too young I think to really engage with online classes. I really need him to go back to a school environment and be around other children but no idea how it’s going to work. He has not spent time with any child other than his 9 year old brother since March, and it’s been a complete disaster for his mental well being and development. He didn’t attend preschool at the school so knew no one going in September and I had no contact details for any of the other parents in the class

Karmella wrote: »

That is awful - my little guy in junior infants really struggled not being in school. Now the teacher was great - she sent homework every day and got access to the online resources and that was all fine and he engaged well with doing homework, Towards the end of term she started setting up google hangouts, once a week for an hour. The first one he jumped around the room not really knowing what was going on, the second one he reluctantly joined but would not engage, the third one he didn’t want the camera on and after that we just gave up. He was bawling before the class!
They are too young I think to really engage with online classes. I really need him to go back to a school environment and be around other children but no idea how it’s going to work. He has not spent time with any child other than his 9 year old brother since March, and it’s been a complete disaster for his mental well being and development. He didn’t attend preschool at the school so knew no one going in September and I had no contact details for any of the other parents in the class

The poor pet! Our girl went to a different pre-school as well. She knows and is friendly with only one of the girls in her class and I know her mum quite well, but play time over the Summer has been off-limits (quite rightly) because of immunity issues on both sides. My girls have been in contact with each other (and are incredibly bonded) and 2 babies under the age of 3 months over the Summer. My youngest is a social powerhouse normally, she was friends with everyone in pre-school and great mates with most of the childcare workers too :pac: But you can definitely see a decline in her social skills that makes me feel so apprehensive about her starting JI. Especially now that we've found out she will be separated from her sister during morning and afternoon breaks on the yard where they can both see each other clearly. I've also found out that my eldest's class has been split, so there's a very good chance she will have no friends.

s1ippy wrote: »

My sister got a letter (because it's the 17th century) in the post today from her son's school (he's 7). They're going back next Wednesday and the letter opens by saying that the CIE haven't been in touch at all about transport. *It also specifically says that students will not be allowed to wear masks. * It reads like the principal is daring them to send their child in.

I am worried about this. Our daughter wants to wear a Mask as do we. Again, we would prefer this to be our choice and not the school's. She is used to it as we have vulnerable family members.

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Secondary school teacher here. Got my timetable. Close contacts? Numbers may change depending on subject choices but not by much. These are just students. Not staff I may encounter

Monday 120
Tuesday 200
Wednesday 140
Thursday 170
Friday 190

If any child comes to school with Covid even for one day contact tracing would be horrendous. The ‘bubbles’ for students in our school is really a year group due to options so ~150 people and up to 10 teachers a day. Worse if I get it but either way it’s mental

Those numbers are based of 24 max per class. We are not using masks, it’s visors that are compulsory.

That’s what the numbers mean in big secondary schools. We have around 800 students.

Visors offer very limited protection.

Simple Physics.

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Secondary school teacher here. Got my timetable. Close contacts? Numbers may change depending on subject choices but not by much. These are just students. Not staff I may encounter

Monday 120
Tuesday 200
Wednesday 140
Thursday 170
Friday 190

If any child comes to school with Covid even for one day contact tracing would be horrendous. The ‘bubbles’ for students in our school is really a year group due to options so ~150 people and up to 10 teachers a day. Worse if I get it but either way it’s mental

Those numbers are based of 24 max per class. We are not using masks, it’s visors that are compulsory.

That’s what the numbers mean in big secondary schools. We have around 800 students.

Yikes. The visors are next to useless.

Scotland have only been back for a week and a half and have had dozens of cases in schools already, though it appears they were imported rather than contracted within the walls of the school.

That's with low levels of transmission. Covid is going to be knocking on the door every day.

Scotland have mobile test centers that will arrive at a school if there are cases and test whoever is deemed necessary. Do we have similar?

Dravokivich wrote: »

The issue of education being lost for a year is not one of learning, but of putting the learning into consistent, regular, measured practise.

There's little to no point closing off with "If it was 35 years ago," because it isn't 35 years ago. In fact, I'll pivot the other way, if only it was 35 years into the future, then a lot of us wouldn't have to worry about struggling to work and home school our kids simultaneously today.

Bit of a shame that you seem to be leaving out RTEs proactive efforts to add school programming with a rather short turnaround before the summer break.

Despite the time travel I thought it wasnt a bad point that the impetus for the current course of action is economic rather than educational.

Bobtheman wrote: »

unless you you have a principal who takes charge

This is their main task, right?

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Any reason why they won't allow students to wear masks?

There are whinging parents out there who believe their child should not wear a mask. . . some even believe in conspiracy theories that there is no virus at all.

It's pandering to the likes of those people.

Peter Flynt wrote: »

There are whinging parents out there who believe their child should not wear a mask. . . some even believe in conspiracy theories that there is no virus at all.

It's pandering to the likes of those people.

But why not leave the decision up to Parents then ? (At Primary level)

SusanC10 wrote: »

But why not leave the decision up to Parents then ? (At Primary level)

Yes. Whatever about the rights and wrongs of forcing school children to wear masks, forcing them not to wear masks when they want to do so is downright bizarre and unacceptable imo.

SusanC10 wrote: »

But why not leave the decision up to Parents then ? (At Primary level)

Parents have their say but they will not be surrounded with hundreds, or perhaps a thousand or so, people in the same building all day.

Schools should be leading on this.

lulublue22 wrote: »

Just finished primary school induction training and dep have stated face masks are not to be worn by primary school children. Presume said school is following dep guidelines tbf to them.

Eta it is all face coverings not just masks.

Hey lulublue,

Was your training online? Still waiting to be given info on it by the school I work in and beginning to wonder when we're actually going to be receiving it. Is it a few days/hours? Just wondering what to expect ahead of going back next week. Would appreciate it if you could share your experience