Coronavirus IT Staff PPE

[3s-gtech]

I’m strictly limiting the amount I go into classrooms while a lesson is on. I use a window at the beginning and end of the day (which is costing me 30-60 minutes unpaid overtime a day, but that’s going to wind down).

 

The reaction has been...well, if I’d mugged their elderly parents they’d have been less outraged. Tough - I’m moving around the school areas too much otherwise.

[psydii]

So is anyone going into classrooms during lessons to fix issues? We try to do things remotely but sometimes the issue is with the projector or requires a visit. We can wear a mask but that is to protect others. Are staff and students adhering to social distancing where you are for situations where you have to visit classes?

 

Yes.

True.

Good, we wear masks as soon as we leave our office.

More or less. I'm the one more likely to forget.

 

We are being quite religious about wiping down surfaces before touching them, and have hand gel back in the office for every time we leave or enter.

 

This is quite different than over the summer when there were very few people around. We are now operating in close quarters with colleages and students, so enhanced precautions are essential - the school cannot afford for anyone in my team to go down with it.

 

For what it is worth, most year groups contain at least one kid who lost close relatives, and two members of staff lost parents to it. Everyone, for now, is being sensible and many are being fastidious.

[DrBeaker]

So is anyone going into classrooms during lessons to fix issues? We try to do things remotely but sometimes the issue is with the projector or requires a visit. We can wear a mask but that is to protect others. Are staff and students adhering to social distancing where you are for situations where you have to visit classes?

 

 

Yes only when it actually stops something in a lesson e.g network socket issue the other day - purely as they've pulled the cable and broken the socket on the wall. Otherwise everyone has been told no - to reduce PPE usage etc.

 

I wear a mask whenever I'm not in the office.

 

Hit and miss and No.

 

New starters have been told this and given a sheet saying this as I created the sheet myself. No visits to IT office, must be emailed or phoned etc.

 

Yes.

True.

Good, we wear masks as soon as we leave our office.

More or less. I'm the one more likely to forget.

 

We are being quite religious about wiping down surfaces before touching them, and have hand gel back in the office for every time we leave or enter.

 

This is quite different than over the summer when there were very few people around. We are now operating in close quarters with colleages and students, so enhanced precautions are essential - the school cannot afford for anyone in my team to go down with it.

 

For what it is worth, most year groups contain at least one kid who lost close relatives, and two members of staff lost parents to it. Everyone, for now, is being sensible and many are being fastidious.

 

 

Yep the only place I don't wear a mask is when I'm in my office.

 

I have a bottle of hand sanitizer in the office and around the school sites/classrooms.

 

Exactly as yourself - skeleton crew in the summer and sometimes didn't see another soul all day. Bit different to last and this week.

[fiza]

Are masks being supplied or are you providing your own?

[Bionic]

Are masks being supplied or are you providing your own?

We have all been given 2 masks each. They are two layer masks (not the three layer recommended by WHO). They are also "one size fits all", no elasticated string to go around your ears, just cotton loops. I must have a small face/head because it slides down my face as I walk around. Meaning I constantly have to touch it to put it back in place!

Edited September 8, 2020 by Bionic

[Achandler]

You should get yourselves 5 or so reusable ones. The throw away PPE is not only expensive but stupidly bad for the environment.

 

I suspect if the school provide it, you are looking at getting 1 or 2, so you'll probably end up needing your own anyways.

[southhamster]

We have all been given our own visors.

[SteveB_NI]

I’m strictly limiting the amount I go into classrooms while a lesson is on. I use a window at the beginning and end of the day (which is costing me 30-60 minutes unpaid overtime a day, but that’s going to wind down).

 

Exactly same boat here - I’m the sole ict tech / manager so it all falls to me. Around 2 hours unpaid overtime each day at a minimum - it’s crazy!

 

Hopefully will wind down shortly too - it’s the initial teething problems.

 

Not a good year to introduce a new network lol.

[DrBeaker]

Exactly same boat here - I’m the sole ict tech / manager so it all falls to me. Around 2 hours unpaid overtime each day at a minimum - it’s crazy!

 

Hopefully will wind down shortly too - it’s the initial teething problems.

 

Not a good year to introduce a new network lol.

 

Has your risk assessment included IT though?

 

Surely the staff mixing through bubbles are the ones likely to be the spreaders?

[Achandler]

So people are wiping down the surfaces before they touch then, then not wiping them down after they finish... or you wasting resources wiping them down before and after.

 

Logic says, you fix the problem, wipe the surface and gel/ wash your hands. Leaving everything clean, sure wiping first means it is clean, but not if your the person with the virus, so you have to clean again after, so you are wasting wipes.

 

If you are doing unpaid overtime, then I suggest you speak to whoever your boss are, swap your working hours to come in earlier and leave earlier if possible (I say possible, not if it is "convenient" for the school, but for you to actually get to work) and make staff report all the issues, then each morning you fix the reported problems. So every day you are starting with working setups. This should avoid cross bubbles as well if everyone knows they can't use their classroom if they have reported a problem between this time and this time in the morning.

 

Bear in mind, I work in a business and we have been handling and dealing with hundreds of laptops etc since April, we make people returning laptop permanently clean them before handing them in. When we resolve an issue for them that requires us to touch the device and they are present, we clean out hands first, fix the issue, give them a wipe to clean there own device and then clean out hands again. This means the end user keeps "in control" of the device itself, so they know it is clean as they cleaned it.

 

 

Personally, I see teenagers getting off the buses and walking home, hanging around in the park etc in massive groups almost everyday. Even when there is only 2 of them, they basically spit in each others faces when they talk most of the time. So all the effort in a school although helps in that environment would be wholly undone by most people actions out in the wider public. However, I guess the risk is reduced while they are in school, so the overall transmission risk is lower.