Coronavirus: General discussion (see opening post for rules)

[robyholmes]

Students off ill for non-covid reasons can't get out of lessons now either, you simple learn from home! I wonder if schools will have to start re-thinking when a student is absence? If they login from home when sick, is that a absence or are they learning offsite?

[Andrew_C]

Depends why you're off.

 

Busted foot? Log on and learn.

Real flu - no chance!

[LeMarchand]

I agree. The world changed in 2020. Online working from home for a whole host of reasons will remain in to the future. This needs to be embraced, not resisted.

 

Unfortunately there will be bosses like the guy in the news who has installed "spy" software who don't think you're working unless they can see you and staff who constantly need their hand holding (metaphorically!).

[foofighterjim]

Students off ill for non-covid reasons can't get out of lessons now either, you simple learn from home! I wonder if schools will have to start re-thinking when a student is absence? If they login from home when sick, is that a absence or are they learning offsite?

 

Goodbye snow days

[sonofsanta]

Students off ill for non-covid reasons can't get out of lessons now either, you simple learn from home! I wonder if schools will have to start re-thinking when a student is absence? If they login from home when sick, is that a absence or are they learning offsite?

 

 

We're only offering the live-streamed lessons specifically for self-isolation while awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test. If you're ill for any other reason, usual rules apply, catch up when you get back. SLT decision, but I guess they don't want to (a) create extra work for staff (b) encourage kids to stay home for the slightest reason.

[mthomas08]

Why don’t all schools get most support staff working at home?

 

Wouldn't work well for us.

 

Some staff need access to on site software/facilities. You have a domino effect...

 

Kids on site = teachers = support staff

With people on site eating = restaurant

Cleaners and caretakers need to be on site

 

Who here can get away with working all day at home? I possibly could but the school will need on site support. And due to all our kids being here = all teachers and support staff.. with how busy it's been to create bubbled areas this has doubled our day to day workload. That means we can't get away with just one person on site.

 

Finance still need access to the paper work.

Our office is fully open with printing, reception, dealing with day to day on site/student issues.

SEN are needed on site.

 

I understand what people are saying and yes some of our jobs can be done off site.. but some can't.

[jthompson]

There aren't many candidates for working at home here, at least nothing more than a day or two a week, perhaps. Reception, catering, pastoral, lab techs, TAs and site staff are all definitely required on site if the pupils are all here. That kinda leaves IT, finance/lettings and PAs to SLT, which doesn't total all that many people here. Some of those PAs are designated first-aiders, too.

[paulkerton]

There aren't many candidates for working at home here, at least nothing more than a day or two a week, perhaps. Reception, catering, pastoral, lab techs, TAs and site staff are all definitely required on site if the pupils are all here. That kinda leaves IT, finance/lettings and PAs to SLT, which doesn't total all that many people here. Some of those PAs are designated first-aiders, too.

That depends on your job. I'm G Suite Coordinator. The entirety of my role can, and is being delivered remotely. We have two IT Techs who are on the ground who are on-site for physical issues. I'm off-site. Our HR are off-site. Our finance team are rotating.

[hardtailstar]

Why don’t all schools get most support staff working at home?

 

That wouldn't work at our school, most support staff here are required when kids and teachers are in.

 

I think only about one or two could actually work from home full time.

 

During lock down, I was only doing 5% of my job.... blooming password resets!

 

90% of my job is on site.

[mikeprice]

Went to Tesco today - getting close to the door I realised my mask as buried in my pocket - so I stopped 20 yards to the left of the door - away from normal routes

as I was getting my mask out and sorting out the elastic and metal bit a bloke walked past me and said

"You should be wearing a mask"

 

WUT - I was still outside and I was putting it on - and making sure I was well over 2m away from other people

 

Oh - and to do that he walked 1m away from me

 

 

AND HE WAS NOT WEARING A MASK HIMSELF - OR MAKING ANY MOVES TO PUT ONE ON!!!!!!!

 

I'll say it again

When we came down from the trees someone should have checked who came with us - some seem to have slipped through the net

 

in fact - maybe we should have checked before crawling out from the oceans

[DrBeaker]

People should work from home whenever they have a cold too

 

With colds and flu you can be mentally and physically compromised, so one view would be you'd be a risk to staff, employees etc.

 

Generally with staff sickness I don't understand the "logic" behind essentially staff being forced into work when they're feeling crap. You're not going to be efficient etc. It's like running a RAID array with a degraded/failed HDD.

 

I agree. The world changed in 2020. Online working from home for a whole host of reasons will remain in to the future. This needs to be embraced, not resisted.

 

Some employers want 21st century working but with a 1960's attitude towards employees wellbeing.

 

Went to Tesco today - getting close to the door I realised my mask as buried in my pocket - so I stopped 20 yards to the left of the door - away from normal routes

as I was getting my mask out and sorting out the elastic and metal bit a bloke walked past me and said

"You should be wearing a mask"

 

WUT - I was still outside and I was putting it on - and making sure I was well over 2m away from other people

 

Oh - and to do that he walked 1m away from me

 

 

AND HE WAS NOT WEARING A MASK HIMSELF - OR MAKING ANY MOVES TO PUT ONE ON!!!!!!!

 

I'll say it again

When we came down from the trees someone should have checked who came with us - some seem to have slipped through the net

 

in fact - maybe we should have checked before crawling out from the oceans

 

 

You can't fix stupid dude. Once I realised that I gave up trying.

[Localtechie]

With colds and flu you can be mentally and physically compromised, so one view would be you'd be a risk to staff, employees etc.

 

Generally with staff sickness I don't understand the "logic" behind essentially staff being forced into work when they're feeling crap. You're not going to be efficient etc. It's like running a RAID array with a degraded/failed HDD.

 

Worked at Sainsbury's yonks ago was 3 strikes and your out. I worked in a small store and being sick even for a day was massively frowned upon in your return to work interview you had to have. I went in with colds, even one actually was sick at work and the I could get sent home so they couldn't question why I was ill.

[mikeprice]

With colds and flu you can be mentally and physically compromised, so one view would be you'd be a risk to staff, employees etc.

 

Generally with staff sickness I don't understand the "logic" behind essentially staff being forced into work when they're feeling crap. You're not going to be efficient etc. It's like running a RAID array with a degraded/failed HDD.

 

 

Good analogy!!

 

many years ago I was working for a school

My doctor swapped the tablets I was on - and after a while they started to 'upset my tummy' - use your imagination no details needed

 

so once every few weeks I would be up several times at night and would feel 'insecure' in the morning

At the time I was a full time teacher - with a form group - so first thing in the morning I was expected to be able to supervise and teach a class for nearly 3 hours in total (reg plus 2 lessons) with ZERO adult backup if I needed to leg it to the loo

 

so I ended up taking a few mornings off over a few months

 

and as a result ended up on several levels of written warnings from the LEA due to violating their attendance policy

 

I was literally looking at dismissal while my doctor tried to sort out tablets that required several weeks of wind down

 

I felt sorry for the Head who was required to read out the warnings from HR and then follow it with genuine sympathy and support from herself

 

 

 

total madness

 

sorted it out in the end - but the HR Policy just got in the way and increased stress - which made the problem worse

[PoorMiles]

Hello all,

 

My apologies if I'm posting this in the wrong thread. I have something of a query:

 

My school has been using antibacterial wipes for some time now for use with cleaning keyboards. We have been asking the students to wipe the classroom's keyboards down at the start and end of each lesson to try and minimise any potential spread of infection.

 

However, our Mac Graphics room has seen multiple keyboard failures in the last week, with 4 failing in total. Several keys at a time fail. Could it be because they are using Mac keyboards? The keys are small and, when pressed, are flush with the frame of the keyboard which could let liquid easily seep in. We also have a suite of Chromeboxes in our IT lab with standard Dell desktop keyboards and they don't seem to be affected.

 

My other thought is the alcohol content of the wipes; the wipes themselves are alcohol-free I have discovered.

 

I would greatly appreciate any advice anyone could offer in this matter.

[jthompson]

My other thought is the alcohol content of the wipes; the wipes themselves are alcohol-free I have discovered.

 

Alcohol-free is not necessarily a huge problem. It doesn't make the wipes useless. The alcohol substitute (I can't remember the name) is not going to be as effective at killing the virus, but it will still do it to a degree, and the general cleaning action of the wipes will be doing something as well.

[bald_pig]

Alcohol-free is not necessarily a huge problem. It doesn't make the wipes useless. The alcohol substitute (I can't remember the name) is not going to be as effective at killing the virus, but it will still do it to a degree, and the general cleaning action of the wipes will be doing something as well.

 

I think it's more the fact that a water-based product can damage the keyboards!

[jthompson]

Ah, okay. I'd have thought that even alcohol-based ones will still have some amount of water in them, though. A lower profile keyboard design will allow fluids to reach the gubbins more easily than a keyboard with more traditional chunky key caps, especially if it's a laptop style one with scissor mechanisms rather than a single sheet of rubber domes. Maybe give the Mac keyboards a different cleaning regime, from somebody who's going to not slop too much over them.

[mavhc]

just give everyone their own keyboard to carry around.

 

Crazy using shared rooms without completely replacing the air inside them

[mikeprice]

Have you been forced by Covid to wear glasses and a mask at the same time?

 

 

You may be in line for condensation.

 

 

OK - slightly off topic - but not totally and I thought this thread needed some lifting

 

On another note - we are now locked down more as we come under Liverpool City Region

 

so we can;t see the grandkids except in places like parks

wife is not impressed - especially looking at the weather forecast for the next few weeks

[Duranis]

Hello all,

My apologies if I'm posting this in the wrong thread. I have something of a query:

My school has been using antibacterial wipes for some time now for use with cleaning keyboards. We have been asking the students to wipe the classroom's keyboards down at the start and end of each lesson to try and minimise any potential spread of infection.

However, our Mac Graphics room has seen multiple keyboard failures in the last week, with 4 failing in total. Several keys at a time fail. Could it be because they are using Mac keyboards? The keys are small and, when pressed, are flush with the frame of the keyboard which could let liquid easily seep in. We also have a suite of Chromeboxes in our IT lab with standard Dell desktop keyboards and they don't seem to be affected.

My other thought is the alcohol content of the wipes; the wipes themselves are alcohol-free I have discovered.

I would greatly appreciate any advice anyone could offer in this matter.

 

It may be worth just taking of a few keys and checking the contacts. It may not be broken so much as the residue buildup from the cleaning liquid in the wipes is stopping the keys from making proper contact. A quick wipe off on the contacts with Isopropanol or acetone might fix it. Maybe a thin smear of dielectric grease over all the contacts will protect them but that is a pain to disassemble and treat multiple keyboards.

[LeMarchand]

Have you been forced by Covid to wear glasses and a mask at the same time?

 

 

You may be in line for condensation.

 

Please, miss.

[StevieM]

On another note - we are now locked down more as we come under Liverpool City Region

Are we?! Is this in addition to the measures introduced last week?

[Garacesh]

My other thought is the alcohol content of the wipes; the wipes themselves are alcohol-free I have discovered.

 

I would greatly appreciate any advice anyone could offer in this matter.

 

I've had to do some digging on this because my school also bought alcohol-free wipes. It all depends on what their active ingredient is.

 

Quaternary ammonium cations ('quats') should be effective because they disrupt viral envelopes, and SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped virus. However, massive emphasis on the should, I haven't actually found any studies/tests to confirm.

No idea about polymeric biocides, though.

[mikeprice]

Are we?! Is this in addition to the measures introduced last week?

 

Yup - just been announced - details in the Echo

confirmed on BBC website -'cos trusting the Echo can be risky

 

whole City region - including Halton (us) and Warrington

 

 

so - you can go to the pub with the dog - but not family unless you live with them

(by dog - I mean dog - not an insulting name for a female person - just to be clear for aquatic purposes)

[mavhc]

Parks need really big gazebos for safer gatherings