School reopenings -current plan WAS McHugh's plan

km79

maynooth_rules wrote: »

Saw a post I think on twitter that wellbeing was mentioned 4 times as much as safety in the document 🀦*♂️
Wellbeing has been overused to the point that teachers roll their eye at the mention of it now.

And the ironic thing is schools can reduce their wellbeing hours to 300 (or not increase to 400) if they wish

Rosita

FishOnABike wrote: »

It's totally unworkable for second level students to remain in a room and subject teachers move from class to class.

With the number of subject choice and level combinations it is quite possible that there would be no leaving certificate pupils who would remain in same room as each other.

Practical subjects need their own room. Even purely academic subjects need resources that can't easily be lugged around from room to room.

Pupils have moved from room to room for each subject because it works. Trying to turn a system that has worked for years on its head makes no sense.

Yeah, there's a lot in this. With the amount of paperwork and materials schools will need to provide the equivalent space for teachers elsewhere and it's hard to see where that's going to be found.

They seem to have, in effect, decided that social distancing is not required at Post-Primary (with classes of 24) and with that being the case I can't see what is to be lost by students moving from room to room. The only advantage was to promote physical distancing but that's no longer happening anyway there's only disadvantages to it.

mirrorwall14

Rosita wrote: »

Yeah, there's a lot in this. With the amount of paperwork and materials schools will need to provide the equivalent space for teachers elsewhere and it's hard to see where that's going to be found.

They seem to have, in effect, decided that social distancing is not required at Post-Primary (with classes of 24) and with that being the case I can't see what is to be lost by students moving from room to room. The only advantage was to promote physical distancing but that's no longer happening anyway there's only disadvantages to it.

I agree. 24 in a class and no proper social distancing other than that. And it’s not even 24 in a class with sufficient teachers to support that, it’s 30 in a class with 6 somewhere else and the class teacher will be responsible for their learning too....

My hope is that we just don’t get it in the schools. Because if we do, particularly in the larger overcrowded ones, it is going to spread with this plan

Rosita

abacus120 wrote: »

What’s going to happen to transition year, work experience, day trips?
I’m guessing that will all be cancelled, there gonna Loose out big time

Just had a look at the document and it would rot your brain reading it with all the intro nonsense about the "benefits of TY" (presumably cut and pasted from elsewhere to make to document look long) rather than just getting to the point.

It recommends organising work-experience if possible but if not then organising school activities as an alternative. In other words the brain-dead solution.

It doesn't mention that, under those suggestions, if the attempts at acquiring work experience fall through they'll have to be timetabled for the rest of the year afterwards. I presume in practice that schools will have to assume they won't have work experience at timetable them for those days from the start.

titan18

Rosita wrote: »

Just had a look at the document and it would rot your brain reading it with all the intro nonsense about the "benefits of TY" (presumably cut and pasted from elsewhere to make to document look long) rather than just getting to the point.

It recommends organising work-experience if possible but if not then organising school activities as an alternative. In other words the brain-dead solution.

It doesn't mention that, under those suggestions, if the attempts at acquiring work experience fall through they'll have to be timetabled for the rest of the year afterwards. I presume in practice that schools will have to assume they won't have work experience at timetable them for those days from the start.

Since lots of places aren't back in offices, there's very little chance for work experience. Company I work for would usually have 3/4 in but we're not in the office. Of course, it's usually February/March time they're in so maybe things might be ok by then

Treppen

Postgrad10 wrote: »

“There are 2,000 teachers who are currently registered with the Teaching Council but not working in the education sector, so we will be looking at that as a res“

Where’s that info coming from? Are the teaching council giving out data?

Inspectors / JC facilitators / NCCA
All back to classroom, it'll be like an inspiring Hollywood moment like School of Rock or dead poets society.

Joe Kane

shesty wrote: »

The problem is that as parents we don't have much choice now.The teacher won't provide online learning (and I don't expect her to) and they have missed so much school and could stand to miss more over the winter, that I feel mine really have to go in.

If your child had a medical condition where if they contracted Covid it would be curtains well then one might have to make a choice.

Does anyone know if there is a plan in place for children in a situation like that. All I seem to be reading is plans and ways to protect the Teachers. Teachers according to Ciara Kelly & her teacher callers on the radio being the main concern...

lulublue22

Joe Kane wrote: »

If your child had a medical condition where if they contracted Covid it would be curtains well then one might have to make a choice.

Does anyone know if there is a plan in place for children in a situation like that. All I seem to be reading is plans and ways to protect the Teachers. Teachers according to Ciara Kelly & her teacher callers on the radio being the main concern...

Well I would look at that as if there were robust plans in place to protect teachers then that would also protect the children. The current public narrative / gov stance ( as far as I can tell ) is that children are not vectors nor do the get the disease. So net result no SD in schools or use of face coverings. I understand your frustration and indeed the frustration of those who have health concerns but will not fall into the high risk category but as a group they are not large enough or vocal enough to count.

km79

https://www.rte.ie/news/education/2020/0728/1155936-education-ireland/

She was a teacher herself they said. Be grand they said ......

Bobtheman

My principal is a practical man. He never had us running around like maniacs to get " plans" ready as he knew they were largely works of fiction. I have seen inspectors in tears because they couldn't get him to take them seriously.
Thus I pray he won't have 40 odd teachers booted out of their rooms for social distancing purposes because it's totally impractical and of dubious value.
What I mean is that even teenagers won't respect SD once unsupervised. The rooms would descend into Lord of the flies during classes. We used to move around and the rooms were strewn with rubbish

Bobtheman

km79 wrote: »

https://www.rte.ie/news/education/2020/0728/1155936-education-ireland/

She was a teacher herself they said. Be grand they said ......

I don't blame her personally. She is only there a, month. Its the set up of the department. They have outsourced running schools to the voluntary sector and now its coming back to haunt them.
Instead of bull**** programmes the last ten years a real effort to get class sizes down would have been better.
I really wonder where schools will get builders?

am_zarathustra

Treppen wrote: »

Inspectors / JC facilitators / NCCA
All back to classroom, it'll be like an inspiring Hollywood moment like School of Rock or dead poets society.

This would get my support. Like OTs stepping up and doing covid testing etc. These are qualified teachers, apparently amazing ones so let's get them to "Don the green jersey" and get back in the class. Specifically inner city DEIS schools if possible

Rosita

Just heard then on Radio 1 now. The guy from the TUI sounds like a government spokesperson. Thinks it's all a great idea.

Icyseanfitz

You would want to be a superhero to come back and opt into this farce, I can see a mass exodus of teachers because of this.

r93kaey5p2izun

Joe Kane wrote: »

If your child had a medical condition where if they contracted Covid it would be curtains well then one might have to make a choice.

Does anyone know if there is a plan in place for children in a situation like that. All I seem to be reading is plans and ways to protect the Teachers. Teachers according to Ciara Kelly & her teacher callers on the radio being the main concern...

5.2 Supporting students ‘at very high risk’ to COVID-19
There may be some students for whom return to school at the end of August/ early September may not be appropriate because the relevant public health guidelines indicate they are at “very high risk”. Overall responsibility for ensuring that such students receive appropriate support to engage adequately with learning remains with the school in which they are enrolled. Regular and ongoing communication between school and home will be essential to support the student’s engagement with their learning and their continuous connection with their classmates and school community.
Additional supports will be provided for these students from within the staffing resources of the school. It may also be possible to utilise support from teachers who are assessed as ‘very high risk’ and who are available to work from home. Schools will have discretion to manage and redistribute their support resources in order to best meet the learning needs of their students, including students at ‘very high risk’ to COVID-19.
Under the direction of the school principal, the relevant support teacher should:
• Liaise with the relevant subject teachers, class tutor/year head, and Special Education Team (SET) where relevant, regarding curricular content and classwork
• Access relevant learning resources, including those produced by the subject teachers as well as other externally produced resources such as those on Scoilnet
• Provide the student with individualised support for his/her learning; this may include devising of an individual support plan for the student in cooperation with the relevant subject teachers, class tutor/year head and, where relevant, the SET
• Increase the student’s autonomy, motivation, agency and wellbeing
• Improve the student’s capacity to become a self-directed learner
• Support the development of the student’s digital competence where necessary
• Avail of the communication / learning platform used by the student’s school to ensure ongoing contact between the student and his/her school and to facilitate some engagement with his/her subject teachers and classmates.


https://assets.gov.ie/81946/bdd8a450-5d8b-4211-a219-5d6102089df2.docx

alroley

I worked in accounting for a few years before teaching to save up for the PME. I am seriously thinking about leaving teaching and trying to find a job where my employer would at the very least follow public health guidelines, because the department of education are not. I knew the government undervalued teachers, but I did think they'd care for our safety. Joke's on me I guess.

pandoraj09

Another thing that has come into my head about all this: Every September kids in our school head off on holidays. No doubt this year there will be some that will still go regardless of advice not to. Can they just turn up at school a couple of days after they return?? Nothing in the Roadmap about what to do there.

wirelessdude01

pandoraj09 wrote: »

Another thing that has come into my head about all this: Every September kids in our school head off on holidays. No doubt this year there will be some that will still go regardless of advice not to. Can they just turn up at school a couple of days after they return?? Nothing in the Roadmap about what to do there.

I was wondering if I had missed that in the document. Assuming this will be coming in the public health document for schools which is meant to be coming later in August.

djemba djemba

When the 1,000 teachers are employed in 4 weeks, who is going to replace the retirees in October.

Rosita

Simeon Mysterious Minibike wrote: »

5.2 Supporting students ‘at very high risk’ to COVID-19
There may be some students for whom return to school at the end of August/ early September may not be appropriate because the relevant public health guidelines indicate they are at “very high risk”. Overall responsibility for ensuring that such students receive appropriate support to engage adequately with learning remains with the school in which they are enrolled. Regular and ongoing communication between school and home will be essential to support the student’s engagement with their learning and their continuous connection with their classmates and school community.
Additional supports will be provided for these students from within the staffing resources of the school. It may also be possible to utilise support from teachers who are assessed as ‘very high risk’ and who are available to work from home. Schools will have discretion to manage and redistribute their support resources in order to best meet the learning needs of their students, including students at ‘very high risk’ to COVID-19.
Under the direction of the school principal, the relevant support teacher should:
• Liaise with the relevant subject teachers, class tutor/year head, and Special Education Team (SET) where relevant, regarding curricular content and classwork
• Access relevant learning resources, including those produced by the subject teachers as well as other externally produced resources such as those on Scoilnet
• Provide the student with individualised support for his/her learning; this may include devising of an individual support plan for the student in cooperation with the relevant subject teachers, class tutor/year head and, where relevant, the SET
• Increase the student’s autonomy, motivation, agency and wellbeing
• Improve the student’s capacity to become a self-directed learner
• Support the development of the student’s digital competence where necessary
• Avail of the communication / learning platform used by the student’s school to ensure ongoing contact between the student and his/her school and to facilitate some engagement with his/her subject teachers and classmates.


https://assets.gov.ie/81946/bdd8a450-5d8b-4211-a219-5d6102089df2.docx

You just have to laugh at the 'official speak'.

Liaise with the relevant subject teachers, class tutor/year head, and Special Education Team (SET) where relevant, regarding curricular content and classwork.

Translated: Find out what the homework from the teacher.

Access relevant learning resources, including those produced by the subject teachers as well as other externally produced resources such as those on Scoilnet.

Translation: Use the notes and google anything you don't know.

Improve the student’s capacity to become a self-directed learner

Translation: You're on your own, son.

Support the development of the student’s digital competence where necessary

Translation: Actually accept the teacher's invitation to join Google classroom and find out the class code.

Avail of the communication / learning platform used by the student’s school to ensure ongoing contact between the student and his/her school and to facilitate some engagement with his/her subject teachers and classmates.

Translation: Use Google classroom.

F5500

Treppen wrote: »

Inspectors / JC facilitators / NCCA
All back to classroom, it'll be like an inspiring Hollywood moment like School of Rock or dead poets society.

Sales in flip charts and Post-Its set to sky rocket.

teachinggal123

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

You would want to be a superhero to come back and opt into this farce, I can see a mass exodus of teachers because of this.

Where would we go?

teachinggal123

shesty wrote: »

The problem is that as parents we don't have much choice now.The teacher won't provide online learning (and I don't expect her to) and they have missed so much school and could stand to miss more over the winter, that I feel mine really have to go in.

This exactly.

There is no choice really.

wirelessdude01

teachinggal123 wrote: »

Where would we go?

Earlier than planned retirements are happening. People going on sick leave(occuring in my own school).

shesty

Joe Kane wrote: »

If your child had a medical condition where if they contracted Covid it would be curtains well then one might have to make a choice.

Does anyone know if there is a plan in place for children in a situation like that. All I seem to be reading is plans and ways to protect the Teachers. Teachers according to Ciara Kelly & her teacher callers on the radio being the main concern...

Yes sorry, I was obviously saying that in the sense that my child has no underlying conditions.I see no allowances yet for kids or teachers that are already immunocompromised.

mirrorwall14

Has anyone started to wonder what we do for our prep classes or for lunch? Every square inch of space is to be used for classrooms. We won’t fit in the staffroom socially distanced. Do we work in our cars assuming you have one? Will we be expected to supervise on lunch?

jimmytwotimes 2013

Going on the drawings of classroom scenarios, walking the room isn't possible anymore.

Homework will presumably be submitted by email, a picture of their copy page or whatever.

Dunno where an SNA will fit, or else they arrive in full PPE.

Any photocopied notes would have to be photocopied (handled with sanitised hands) and placed on desks before they arrive to the room

Don't know if desks also have to be wiped down in between each lesson

Postgrad10

Treppen wrote: »

Inspectors / JC facilitators / NCCA
All back to classroom, it'll be like an inspiring Hollywood moment like School of Rock or dead poets society.

Yes “but not working in the education sector” means working in areas unrelated to education.

wirelessdude01

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Has anyone started to wonder what we do for our prep classes or for lunch? Every square inch of space is to be used for classrooms. We won’t fit in the staffroom socially distanced. Do we work in our cars assuming you have one? Will we be expected to supervise on lunch?

That will be the 'bespoke' arrangements that Leo spoke about last month.

Treppen

Postgrad10 wrote: »

Yes “but not working in the education sector” means working in areas unrelated to education.

I know :pac: