Covid in Schools

km79 · 20-09-2020 10:25am

gaiscioch wrote: »

If, among the artists, etc, we could get some inspirational speakers and practical philosophers into schools that would be greatly appreciated.

So many kids drifting, and others not inspired to put their hearts and souls into the final two years. Somebody to give them an inkling of how tough life can be, and how education is the most empowering thing they'll ever engage with. That this, right now, is their moment.

And how their freedom in so many respects will rest upon their educational achievements and all the doors it will open. That it's worth it to focus, to give their all. Empower them with belief in the reality that they are the greatest force in changing their lives and today is the start. It should be the easiest sell but we all need to remind ourselves and our students how uniquely empowering education is. So many kids need that hope, inspiration and empowerment. These years don't come back and these are the years in which they have the power to build foundation stones for their future freedom.

The point still being missed by the poster I originally responded to is this z
Schools spent months planning for the safe return of school communities .
TY programmes (which is the most likely place for this ) have been altered accordingly.
Huge work went into that by school leaders and teachers. There was constant changes having to be made over that time as the govt flip and flopped on various issues . Lots and lots of long nights and frustration during our “holidays “.
NO CONTACT numbers for any department area. Email only. No response to email .
Now , a month into the new term, the Taoiseach decides that schools might be able to solve another societal problem that the govt has ignored for months .
Schools expected to jump again in the latest hair brainer scheme which clearly has NOT BEEN PLANNED.
No.
Come back to schools next spring when we start planning for next year. If it’s a good idea now then it will be a good idea then .

khalessi · 20-09-2020 10:30am

gaiscioch wrote: »

If, among the artists, etc, we could get some inspirational speakers and practical philosophers into schools that would be greatly appreciated.

At the moment we have been advised no visitors to the school due to Covid, so that means no Judges from Intel for Young Scientists exhibition, no Rugby, GAA, no bike safety training, Cricket, Tennis, Badmintonm GAA coaches, no visiting Authors, no Dublin Fire Brigade. Nothing so why suddenly are artists immune to Covid? I suppose if they could get a Covid test but having someone wandering school to school is not the brightest idea when this is a viral spread.

Sardonicat · 20-09-2020 10:37am

amacca wrote: »

it really doesn't look like that in the clip......the victim looks like an adult woman in a skirt suit of some kind...doesn't look like a school uniform, however she got back to her feet pretty quick.

She looks like her head was slammed onto a desk. Whoever she was that's appalling. Is her assailant still in school?

no.8 · 20-09-2020 10:49am

Sardonicat wrote:

She looks like her head was slammed onto a desk. Whoever she was that's appalling. Is her assailant still in school?

I hope that fella gets expelled and also endures a dose of harsh reality for his act. What a scumbag

Treppen · 20-09-2020 11:00am

jrosen wrote: »

There is lots to be gained from experience, its seems really stupid to me to rule out something without trying it. Its not all about the 4 walls of a classroom.

You (and the Taoiseach) don't realise there are already those artists and other extra curricular purple who work in and with schools. But they've been temporarily laid off in many places.

It seems really stupid to me to suggest trying something which is already in place.

Millem · 20-09-2020 11:18am

no.8 wrote: »

I hope that fella gets expelled and also endures a dose of harsh reality for his act. What a scumbag

https://mobile.twitter.com/stoliverscc/status/1306922775718789120?prefetchtimestamp=1600593700697

The school are saying it wasn’t a teacher.
It’s absolutely shocking.
Maybe it could be an sna or a teaching assistant?

Murple · 20-09-2020 5:26pm

khalessi wrote: »

At the moment we have been advised no visitors to the school due to Covid, so that means no Judges from Intel for Young Scientists exhibition, no Rugby, GAA, no bike safety training, Cricket, Tennis, Badmintonm GAA coaches, no visiting Authors, no Dublin Fire Brigade. Nothing so why suddenly are artists immune to Covid? I suppose if they could get a Covid test but having someone wandering school to school is not the brightest idea when this is a viral spread.

The other small detail would be who would pay them? Would it be up to schools to find the funding? Would parents be expected to pay? Would the artists etc. be paid out of the DES budget?

km79 · 20-09-2020 8:11pm

Murple wrote: »

The other small detail would be who would pay them? Would it be up to schools to find the funding? Would parents be expected to pay? Would the artists etc. be paid out of the DES budget?

Yeah it’s a really well thought out solid mid year school plan
As the poster said we would be stupid not to just try it
Sure chance it
400 cases today
Chance it
We don’t have enough to be doing and worrying about in schools without introducing external agents that we were specifically told to plan without by the govt less than two months ago .
Things have improved dramatically since then obviously ....

man_no_plan · 20-09-2020 10:15pm

If we all calmed down a bit we might see what they mean by it. An artist in residence or writer in residence could be an excellent addition to a school.

If the govt are paying the pandemic unemployment payment anyway they might as well fire another few quid at them and let them in. Once it wouldn't be a half a day here and there it could actually bring a lot to the school.

kippy · 20-09-2020 10:19pm

man_no_plan wrote: »

If we all calmed down a bit we might see what they mean by it. An artist in residence or writer in residence could be an excellent addition to a school.

If the govt are paying the pandemic unemployment payment anyway they might as well fire another few quid at them and let them in. Once it wouldn't be a half a day here and there it could actually bring a lot to the school.

Look, all that's going on here is kite flying and/or distraction.
The government have no idea or vision of what artists in schools look like.

Treppen · 21-09-2020 12:43am

man_no_plan wrote: »

If we all calmed down a bit we might see what they mean by it. An artist in residence or writer in residence could be an excellent addition to a school.

If the govt are paying the pandemic unemployment payment anyway they might as well fire another few quid at them and let them in. Once it wouldn't be a half a day here and there it could actually bring a lot to the school.

I'll eat my hat if the department are going to fund artists in residence for any school in Ireland. maybe some pilot scheme to give someone something to do and a few pr photos to boot.

Treppen · 21-09-2020 12:45am

Class Action News
·
APP DEVELOPERS REALLY FECKED UP BIG-TIME
An inquiry is being held after it emerged that the much lauded Covid tracker app was found to have a serious malfunction in its design. This glitch came to light in recent days when a number of teachers were found to be close contacts of a Covid-positive person in their school. However, officials from the HSE and the DES were quickly onto the case and confirmed that ‘no’ the teachers were not in fact close contacts, the app had got it wrong.
The government has criticized the developers of the app, stating that they were specifically instructed to build a teacher-blocking feature into the app. “Our line has always been clear on this. Schools are to remain open at all costs, and by hook or by crook we’ll keep them open.”
In a statement, a DES official said public health officials had reviewed data from the app and had come to the conclusion that, the app had indeed ****ed up and that data gathered from teachers could not be deemed to be reliable. “Everyone knows that teachers are a bunch of whingers who would do anything for a day off. Didn’t we give them six months while we tried to get our act together. What more do they want?”
Contradicting the data from the app, teachers were being told “you were never that close anyway” and have been instructed not to bother getting tested and to go about their business as normal.
It is believed that the government is now considering directing all teachers to delete the app from their phones. “We really don’t want to find ourselves in a situation where people will think that this virus can be spread in schools. We’ve given schools loads and loads and loads of money to make themselves immune. Ffs can’t they get anything right?”
Meanwhile, the DES are readying an army of inspectors to invade schools and to report back on any real or imagined non-compliance with guidelines. ”We have to be prepared, when all this goes wrong for us, at least we’ll be able to blame the schools.”
© Class Action News, September 2020

Even though its a spoof I found it very hard to contradict anything !!

mirrorwall14 · 21-09-2020 2:48pm

In the middle of a bad asthma flare up and on sick leave. Its so difficult to read everything about not testing teachers etc and all the stories being shared that the media aren't covering. How do you know whats real and what isn't? Contact tracing doesn't seem to be working and as a high risk (or very high risk in a flare up I don't know??) I want to know if there is a case in my class. Cloth masks are not enough to prevent the spread of the virus and are students going to admit or even remember if they took their masks off to drink, to scratch etc etc.

And from an education perspective, surely we should be ramping up the online side of our work if students are isolating at home? If you don't tell us how the hell do we know?

mirrorwall14 · 21-09-2020 10:21pm

Is anyone else having issue with ETB's saying that being advised by the HSE to restrict your movements because of living with a suspected case (while they await testing) is not covered by the circular and insisting that staff have to take unpaid leave or other leave for this? They seem to be saying that 8.5 only applies if you are a contact of a confirmed case. But that isn't the only time you are advised to restrict?

If staff have to take unpaid then honestly part timers are just going to come to school even if there is a suspected case in the house. They won't be able to afford unpaid leave everytime one of them is waiting for a test particularly if living in a household full of teachers. Same scenario for parents with kids. Mortgages have to be paid. Its far more likely people will just say "ah its almost certain to be negative I'm not taking unpaid"

Millem · 22-09-2020 1:32am

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Is anyone else having issue with ETB's saying that being advised by the HSE to restrict your movements because of living with a suspected case (while they await testing) is not covered by the circular and insisting that staff have to take unpaid leave or other leave for this? They seem to be saying that 8.5 only applies if you are a contact of a confirmed case. But that isn't the only time you are advised to restrict?

If staff have to take unpaid then honestly part timers are just going to come to school even if there is a suspected case in the house. They won't be able to afford unpaid leave everytime one of them is waiting for a test particularly if living in a household full of teachers. Same scenario for parents with kids. Mortgages have to be paid. Its far more likely people will just say "ah its almost certain to be negative I'm not taking unpaid"

Unbelievable. What unpaid leave do they expect staff to take? The only leave I know of is “unpaid personal days”? They need to be approved by the BOM and you get 10 per year.

From my experience with covid testing that could mean 3 days off

Why can’t staff work from home? My niece was doing her schoolwork online where she had contact with a suspected case.

s1ippy · 22-09-2020 1:33am

https://twitter.com/V4PIreland/status/1308103629203742720?s=20

Might as well share this here too. They are among us.

mirrorwall14 · 22-09-2020 7:39am

Millem wrote: »

Unbelievable. What unpaid leave do they expect staff to take? The only leave I know of is “unpaid personal days”? They need to be approved by the BOM and you get 10 per year.

From my experience with covid testing that could mean 3 days off

Why can’t staff work from home? My niece was doing her schoolwork online where she had contact with a suspected case.

I quote “ All other COVID 19 related scenarios, eg. where a child or other family/household member is directed to self-isolate or restrict movements, and the teacher also self-isolates or restricts movement, are not covered by the Circular Letter and approved paid special leave. Other leave must be applied for, e.g. unpaid leave, sick leave, family leave.”

That would be a complete mess imo

History Queen · 22-09-2020 7:59am

s1ippy wrote: »

https://twitter.com/V4PIreland/status/1308103629203742720?s=20

Might as well share this here too. They are among us.

Saw that on Twitter. Absolute disgrace, futher down the thread the principal says when he pointed out that this was against guidance, the parent felt totally justified as the test was negative anyway ....obviously this type of attitude will only be the minority but it could potentially cause massive problems in schools. One thing I've come to conclude during all this is that, as a nation, we are incredibly shortsighted and selfish.

wirelessdude01 · 22-09-2020 8:25am

History Queen wrote: »

Saw that on Twitter. Absolute disgrace, futher down the thread the principal says when he pointed out that this was against guidance, the parent felt totally justified as the test was negative anyway ....obviously this type of attitude will only be the minority but it could potentially cause massive problems in schools. One thing I've come to conclude during all this is that, as a nation, we are incredibly shortsighted and selfish.

The weak link in all of this are us humans. All the procedures and processes in the world can be put in place but we humans are where it falls down. As a race we are inherently selfish.

lulublue22 · 22-09-2020 8:26am

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Is anyone else having issue with ETB's saying that being advised by the HSE to restrict your movements because of living with a suspected case (while they await testing) is not covered by the circular and insisting that staff have to take unpaid leave or other leave for this? They seem to be saying that 8.5 only applies if you are a contact of a confirmed case. But that isn't the only time you are advised to restrict?

If staff have to take unpaid then honestly part timers are just going to come to school even if there is a suspected case in the house. They won't be able to afford unpaid leave everytime one of them is waiting for a test particularly if living in a household full of teachers. Same scenario for parents with kids. Mortgages have to be paid. Its far more likely people will just say "ah its almost certain to be negative I'm not taking unpaid"

Take a look at circular 0024/ 20 - it seems from that , that once u are medically advised to self isolate u are covered. if you are well enough you are expected to work from home.

Had to get tested and entire household was medically advised to-restrict movements ( doc adamant no work / school for anyone in the house) from the time I rang the doc until a negative result came back.

ETA - I would flag that with your union. You are requested not to go to work if you live with a suspected case.

History Queen · 22-09-2020 8:26am

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

The weak link in all of this are us, humans. As a race we are inherently selfish.

Agreed, did you see Niamh Horan onClaireByrne last night? Selfishness embodied.

wirelessdude01 · 22-09-2020 8:28am

History Queen wrote: »

Agreed, did you see Niamh Horan onClaireByrne last night? Selfishness embodied.

I didn't but what did she say? NH is very self entitled at the best of times anyway.

History Queen · 22-09-2020 8:37am

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

I didn't but what did she say? NH is very self entitled at the best of times anyway.

Oh just populist rubbish about how unfair it all is. Basically giving out about the imposition of restrictions and lifting and reimposing. Unfair on people, impossible to follow rules, vulnerable should mind themselves and let everyone else at it.

No consideration for the fact that that will lead to exponential growth of virus, complications in people previously healthy or the strain on our health services.

I mean we all know it is crap and unfair but listening to her you'd think the Government and NPHET were trying to make us suffer rather than protect us as a country.

mirrorwall14 · 22-09-2020 11:06am

lulublue22 wrote: »

Take a look at circular 0024/ 20 - it seems from that , that once u are medically advised to self isolate u are covered. if you are well enough you are expected to work from home.

Had to get tested and entire household was medically advised to-restrict movements ( doc adamant no work / school for anyone in the house) from the time I rang the doc until a negative result came back.

ETA - I would flag that with your union. You are requested not to go to work if you live with a suspected case.

Yup. Union contacted by multiple staff across the school as far as I know. This is exactly the situation. If I’m waiting testing everyone in my house is to restrict their movements. ETB say they won’t pay them Covid leave even though they are available to work from home

History Queen · 22-09-2020 11:42am

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Yup. Union contacted by multiple staff across the school as far as I know. This is exactly the situation. If I’m waiting testing everyone in my house is to restrict their movements. ETB say they won’t pay them Covid leave even though they are available to work from home

that ETB are a disgrace. Hopefully Union gets it sorted soon

jrosen · 22-09-2020 1:58pm

Yes once you are medically advised to isolate you are covered. Going through it myself at the moment. I do believe its only for people who wouldnt be paid by their employer though. I had read all public/civil servants need not apply as they are paid for sick leave anyway.

mirrorwall14 · 22-09-2020 2:12pm

jrosen wrote: »

Yes once you are medically advised to isolate you are covered. Going through it myself at the moment. I do believe its only for people who wouldnt be paid by their employer though. I had read all public/civil servants need not apply as they are paid for sick leave anyway.

But if working from home (and in my school teaching from home is an option) then why would I use my sick leave if I’m working and not sick just on restricted movement? Isn’t that the whole point of the covid leave circular

jrosen · 22-09-2020 2:24pm

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

But if working from home (and in my school teaching from home is an option) then why would I use my sick leave if I’m working and not sick just on restricted movement? Isn’t that the whole point of the covid leave circular

Apologies, I think I mis read your original text.

mirrorwall14 · 22-09-2020 2:25pm

jrosen wrote: »

Apologies, I think I mis read your original text.

Possibly. I think there's a lot of confusion over this and our ETB have just taken the least teacher friendly option to be honest

mirrorwall14 · 22-09-2020 4:41pm

Its been reigned in again. However we need a letter from the GP/HSE with our name on it saying we need to restrict our movements because of a potential case in the house. Except the HSE don't issue them, they direct you to the website. Some GPs outright refusing to write them saying its not their responsibility and others happy to take the money. So essentially we now have to pay to work from home

lulublue22 · 22-09-2020 5:07pm

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Its been reigned in again. However we need a letter from the GP/HSE with our name on it saying we need to restrict our movements because of a potential case in the house. Except the HSE don't issue them, they direct you to the website. Some GPs outright refusing to write them saying its not their responsibility and others happy to take the money. So essentially we now have to pay to work from home

I would not be happy with that - you are following public health guidelines and the mechanism is there for leave. I would be contacting the union. Our GP practice is very clear no cert under any circumstances as it is following public health guidelines and means too much additional work fir the practice.

ethical · 22-09-2020 5:08pm

The ETB are a fcuking disgrace,a bunch of cnuts,they have no problem paying their Golden Circle to work from home on fully expensed gadgets.
They do not give a damn about teachers.

Alex86Eire · 22-09-2020 6:32pm

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Its been reigned in again. However we need a letter from the GP/HSE with our name on it saying we need to restrict our movements because of a potential case in the house. Except the HSE don't issue them, they direct you to the website. Some GPs outright refusing to write them saying its not their responsibility and others happy to take the money. So essentially we now have to pay to work from home

My school is a dept school and are just looking for a copy of the text the person who is being tested gets with their result. Makes a lot more sense.

mirrorwall14 · 22-09-2020 6:34pm

Alex86Eire wrote: »

My school is a dept school and are just looking for a copy of the text the person who is being tested gets with their result. Makes a lot more sense.

And thats what it should be in my opinion. But ETBs seem to like creating paperwork for us

lulublue22 · 22-09-2020 6:35pm

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

And thats what it should be in my opinion. But ETBs seem to like creating paperwork for us

Seems more like creating hassle than paperwork tbh

wirelessdude01 · 22-09-2020 6:36pm

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

And thats what it should be in my opinion. But ETBs seem to like creating paperwork for us

The mandarins working from their newly renovated and safe home office's need something to do.

deiseindublin · 22-09-2020 6:46pm

Alex86Eire wrote: »

My school is a dept school and are just looking for a copy of the text the person who is being tested gets with their result. Makes a lot more sense.

I'm a large ETB and they're accepting this text also, after some initial confusion.

My friend working down in Tipp ETB and their ETB also have flexible interpretation of this.

TheValeyard · 22-09-2020 8:06pm

I see our inspectors are now 'Covid Inspectors'

They can come out to schools to make sure Covid restrictions are been adhered to.

joebloggs32 · 22-09-2020 8:11pm

TheValeyard wrote: »

I see our inspectors are now 'Covid Inspectors'

They can come out to schools to make sure Covid restrictions are been adhered to.

Better to be foing something.....otherwise they could end up being redeployed to the front line; teaching, as happened to many in the healthcare sector

History Queen · 22-09-2020 10:17pm

Seriously...what the hell is going on with contact tracing and schools?!

TheValeyard · 22-09-2020 10:21pm

History Queen wrote: »

Seriously...what the hell is going on with contact tracing and schools?!

We are expendable. Your job is just to babysit and keep schools open at all costs.

mirrorwall14 · 22-09-2020 10:21pm

There’s no proper system being followed for anything. Contact tracing seems to be a phone call where if the principal says all is ok they are taken at their word. Parents sending kids to school ill or when they supposed to be restructuring movements. No consequences. Child sent home coughing, back in school the next day. No consequences

If they don’t test then they don’t ‘know’ it’s spreading in schools

amacca · 22-09-2020 10:43pm

joebloggs32 wrote: »

Better to be foing something.....otherwise they could end up being redeployed to the front line; teaching, as happened to many in the healthcare sector

They should be redeployed to the most difficult schools you can find for a minimum of three years

In addition they should be forced to implement the most hare brained of methodologies they champion witb minimal disciplinary back up

Might start to develop some understanding of what teaching really has become

rainbowtrout · 22-09-2020 11:09pm

History Queen wrote: »

Seriously...what the hell is going on with contact tracing and schools?!

Contact tracing seems to be applied to everyone except teachers. If you take a test as a close contact of a student and test positive you are out of action for 2 weeks. Add to that your close contacts on staff.... and the school shuts down. If you're not tested you won't be off work.

amacca · 22-09-2020 11:18pm

rainbowtrout wrote: »

Contact tracing seems to be applied to everyone except teachers. If you take a test as a close contact of a student and test positive you are out of action for 2 weeks. Add to that your close contacts on staff.... and the school shuts down. If you're not tested you won't be off work.

And of course they can't come right out and say thats the strategy

rainbowtrout · 22-09-2020 11:20pm

amacca wrote: »

They should be redeployed to the most difficult schools you can find for a minimum of three years

In addition they should be forced to implement the most hare brained of methodologies they champion witb minimal disciplinary back up

Might start to develop some understanding of what teaching really has become

Maybe they should act as supersubs in schools that have teachers out due to covid. They are the experts after all.

Newbie20 · 23-09-2020 9:36am

Sorry to go a bit off topic here but wasn’t sure what thread to post it in. We have no marking on our floors for where students desks should be. We have complained that there should be and the principal has said that it is a disaster in other schools with tape lifting straight away etc. I don’t think this is a good enough reason not to have markings. What are people doing in their schools to mark out the distance between desks?

mirrorwall14 · 23-09-2020 10:17am

Newbie20 wrote: »

Sorry to go a bit off topic here but wasn’t sure what thread to post it in. We have no marking on our floors for where students desks should be. We have complained that there should be and the principal has said that it is a disaster in other schools with tape lifting straight away etc. I don’t think this is a good enough reason not to have markings. What are people doing in their schools to mark out the distance between desks?

We have tape. It got us three weeks but it was crap plastic tbh. However honestly it needs to be proper duct tape and it needs to be pressed down firmly initially. This was not done for ours.

And I agree. It is absolutely needed

Alex86Eire · 23-09-2020 12:28pm

Newbie20 wrote: »

What are people doing in their schools to mark out the distance between desks?

Spray paint.

scrubs33 · 23-09-2020 1:03pm

http://https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/school-with-1-500-pupils-closes-after-covid-19-cases-confirmed-1.4362350
Massive school shuts in Tyrone. From reading it there seems to have been 4 confirmed cases

Covid in Schools

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