Coronavirus: General discussion (see opening post for rules)

[mikeprice]

EU not closed to UK citizens though @mikeprice - you need a clear statement from the FO that you SHOULD NOT travel to the country before most insurances will pay up

(ps - can you learn where the apostrophe is please - if you use another semi-colon where it should be an apostrophe I may have to go all amphibian on your "£$%£$)

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

 

I also fall into the "should get a flu vaccine" category.

Hmmmm

 

 

dunno what you're on about

I know exactly where the ' key is - right next to the ; key

 

actually I was hoping I would stop doing that on this new laptop - don't do it on the desktop upstairs 'cos it has a proper keyboard

[E_G_R2]

All gone here but then we are closed

[Dos_Box]

I suppose it makes sense, if anyone in the house has symptoms then chances are (if they are sensible), everyone will be isolated. There is also the fear that schools will be an ideal place for the kids to pick it up and pass it on, so keep them at home.

At any rate, I think that this trend of staying away will increase over the next week or so.

[witch]

Turns out a friend I walked dogs with yesterday has a sick husband who works with someone who may well have it..and she feels ill this morning.

So I am going to have to go - after I have finished building a new laptop.

 

Cant do much from home - boss has manager password so I could give him instructions on what to do if I know the answer to a problem I suppose

[paulkerton]

European closures:

Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine.

 

Announced closures:

Germany

 

No closures:

United Kingdom.

 

The United Kingdom is now the only major country in Europe that hasn't either announced, or has actually closed their schools.

[witch]

Tell 'em you're self-isolating!

 

Forgot this one for me: Mme LeMarchand has suggested that if Bonus Daughter #1 contracts the virus, she should come to stay with us. BD1 is older that many of the members here and has a toddler and a fiancé, as well as her own house.

 

Hell no! Tell her that would be dangerous as you have this previously undiagnosed underlying health condition...

 

 

New annoying thing

Just imaged a Dell laptop

No touchpad function

arrrggghhhhhhhh

Edited March 17, 2020 by witch

[RLR]

We're being told to come to work unless we have symptoms, even if someone at home has been tested positive for corona. I don't understand how they think this is a good idea.

 

I think this may change over the next day or so though.

 

Edit: This has now changed and we are being told to stay home for 14 days.

Edited March 17, 2020 by RLR

[paulkerton]

We're being told to come to work unless we have symptoms, even if someone at home has been tested positive for corona. I don't understand how they think this is a good idea.

 

That is directly contravening the Government recommendation. If you, or anyone in your family is showing the symptoms (not even positive test) then you stay at home for 14 days. All of the family.

 

You can't test positive for coronavirus, unless you're hospitalised, because the only testing they are doing is on people who have had to go to hospital with it.

 

This is the problem with a lifetime of Senior Leaders in Education who've failed upwards, leaning on a teaching degree as some kind of proof that you're capable of leading an organisation.

 

Speak to your union.

[witch]

Terms and conditions say FO has to say not to travel..

[Vegas]

We had a teacher self isolate last night but needed work from school, so decides its a good idea to come in this morning to logon and get some work! I've told my staff to avoid the building and classroom he entered and also informed my union rep. Crazy.

[Andrew_C]

Out of interest, are any of your schools now seeing a portion of the pupil population not attending? If so, what kind of percentage?

One housemaser said 10% gone yesterday. We had a week-end off, so many just didn't come back. One little **** 'coughing' got hauled into matrons room, parents phoned, and off the premises PDQ. "Oh, but I need to pack" - "No you don't sonny Jim, you are NOT going back to your dormitory to spread it about. Tough if you have to leave your laptop full of games behind."

 

Two teachers that I know of, out of a dept of 10.

[LeMarchand]

"Tough if you have to leave your laptop full of games behind."

 

Probably not the games he was worried about .

[Vegas]

We've lost a total on 12 staff in the last 24 hours, 3 from one dept. Business Manager has just said that they'll possibly have to close the school for earlier years and prioritise Yr10, 11 & 13.

[Linfit]

15 staff off here, 8 of them teachers out of 60. We are starting to shutdown by year group, starting with Year 9 tommorrow.

I suspect in most schools its the lack of staff that will force closures before the Govt enforces it nationally.

[mikes]

we have 3 staff off isolating, but we are running assemblies as usual. Yesterday I was stuck in the middle of the hall surrounded by 200 year 7's. Now I am about to do it with 200 year 8's.

So I've pretty much just accepted I'm going to get sick with this BS and I'm just glad I'm not fat or old. Feel bad for those staff that are...

[paulkerton]

and I'm just glad I'm not fat or old.

 

Well, I'm not old. :puke:The Government are absolutely losing control here.

[CHiLL]

It appears that our school will do everything in their power to keep the school open, even if he government announces closures. So if the call is made, our students without symptoms are still expected to come in. Failing that, just year 11 students are expected to come in with a 'skeleton staff'.

So to expand on that; our stance appears to be:

Staff and students who don't have symptoms are expected to be in as normal.

If school closures are announced, we will seek clarification as to whether it's an advisory or compulsory. If it's compulsory, then the outcome is obvious - we shut. If it's advisory, then Year 11 are expected in for effective revision sessions, a skeleton staff to look after them and catering staff, with the school being open from 8am-12pm. We would also open the canteen to any student that qualifies for Free School Meals (even if they're Years 7-10 and not in - they would come in for their meal if they want) as "it's often their best meal of the day". Support staff are expected to rota in to cover.

 

Not sure I agree with that to be honest - the head seems hell bent on keeping things running without care for he health of students and employees.

 

We've also heard through the grapevine that those close to maternity leave are being asked to take it early. Presumably because it means they'll come back to work earlier and it saves the school paying both sick/isolation pay and maternity pay.

Edited March 17, 2020 by CHiLL

[FishCustard]

That plan seems reasonably sensible as long as exams are going ahead - if not, then there's no real point having Y11 in.

[haddsman]

We've had 3-4 teachers stay home and teach using video link to their classrooms - which we've had to go around and set up.

84% student attendance yesterday. It's even lower today apparently but no accurate figure. We've been on a hell march setting up local accounts + VPNs on staff laptops so they can remote onto the server from home.

We've made another push for more teachers to use Google Classroom (only DT used it prior to this) and we've had tonnes of staff and students struggling to adopt it, forgetting their passwords, not knowing the layout or being stubborn in general.

The school hasn't really done any serious planning or set any form of contingency up and have kind of just left IT to create our own solution.

 

If attendance is even worse tomorrow we're apparently going to be closing. Everyone except the IT team has been told what they need to do by SLT so we're kind of just winging it and adapting as things happen.

 

I'm not sure how this will effect my apprenticeship, especially since I have only a few months left to go before it would normally be coming to an end.

[paulkerton]

So to expand on that; our stance appears to be:

Staff and students who don't have symptoms are expected to be in as normal.

If school closures are announced, we will seek clarification as to whether it's an advisory or compulsory. If it's compulsory, then the outcome is obvious - we shut. If it's advisory, then Year 11 are expected in for effective revision sessions, a skeleton staff to look after them and catering staff, with the school being open from 8am-12pm. We would also open the canteen to any student that qualifies for Free School Meals (even if they're Years 7-10 and not in - they would come in for their meal if they want) as "it's often their best meal of the day". Support staff are expected to rota in to cover.

Not sure I agree with that to be honest - the head seems hell bent on keeping things running without care for he health of students and employees.

I've got no doubt it'll be compulsory with the proviso that schools will still open the canteen for FSM, and cover any students of NHS and police parents should they need it. All staff who can work from home, should work from home as is the government recommendation. Other than that it was all going kinda well until...

 

We've also heard through the grapevine that those close to maternity leave are being asked to take it early. Presumably because it means they'll come back to work earlier and it saves the school paying both sick/isolation pay and maternity pay.

 

They are absolute monsters. :shocked:

[mikeprice]

I'm not sure how this will effect my apprenticeship, especially since I have only a few months left to go before it would normally be coming to an end.

 

I suggest that you contact whoever is in charge of the apprenticeship and check - also contact your union - if you have one

If you don't have one - JOIN ONE - you can't be working in a school without one just in case something happens - pick one, join it - then ask them for advise!

[thimon]

I don't know if we're just well prepared, however we're oddly quiet today... Probably jinxed it now!

[elsiegee40]

Kent coronavirus: Aylesford School shuts to Years 7, 8 and 9 as staff and pupils self-isolate

 

A secondary school has shut to half of its pupils as many choose to self-isolate at home due to coronavirus fears.

 

Aylesford School in Teapot Lane has told parents to keep their child at home if they are in Years 7,8 or 9.

 

Pupils in the years above are still able to go into school as normal.

 

This is the temporary measure put in place for the rest of this week, as the school admitted it would be "untenable" to run the site at full capacity.

 

The school's head teacher Tanya Kelvie said there had been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on site at the moment.

 

She said: "I can confirm that, at this current time, we have no reported cases of Coronavirus (Covid 19) in school, however, we have a number of students and staff self-isolating and as such it is untenable to run the school at full capacity.

 

"We therefore have taken the difficult decision to close the school for Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 students for the rest of this week.

[Lonix]

Sorry, but that's just crazy. Let's put them all together, that'll help stop the spread!?

I know but when you have 30 different kids every lesson using the same tables in a classroom, moving around the school, assemblies still taking place.. hell.. schools still open.. when more and more staff are calling in sick or self isolating..... we are living in crazy times. All because our Prime Minister didn't close schools.

 

I feel for my technicians that can be coming in to contact with a keyboard that's being used by 6-7 different kids every day.

[FishCustard]

Ofsted pauses routine inspections (SchoolsWeek)

 

 

All routine Ofsted inspections will now be put on hold, Schools Week can reveal.

 

The watchdog has halted inspections following prime minister Boris Johnson’s announcement earlier today to scale up coronavirus prevention measures.An Ofsted spokesperson told Schools Week they are “putting a hold on all this week’s routine inspections of schools, social care, early years and further education providers.

 

“We are in discussions with the DfE about the longer-term picture.”

Edited March 17, 2020 by FishCustard