Schools closed until February? (part 3)

jayo76

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Those who got copies of the TUI letter template emailed to them, did it come from school rep or branch secretary?

Co Meath branch secretary has not sent it out. Wondering why. I have a copy of the letter but if they are supposed to be emailing it out, a significant number of members won't have seen it

Not sure about TUI, I know that our ASTI Branch Secretary hasn't had anything sent to them yet from Head Office yet to communicate to stewards or members other than what is on ASTI website at moment.

Stateofyou

rob316 wrote: »

You can't teach special needs kids remotely, there needs go far beyond worksheets. Atleast in my sons case who has ASD and an ID

Maybe not. But during the worst pandemic of our lives, considering we here in Ireland are facing into one of the worst outbreaks in the world right now, parents are going to have to step in here more than ever before and hopefully sn teachers can support PARENTS of sn's children remotely however they can. I don't know what you're looking for here. It is not going to work out or perfectly work out for everyone. This is life. We've all had to take some hits. Education can be made up. Oftentimes health and certainly lives, cannot.

Stateofyou

scouserstation wrote: »

It seems you need the obvious pointed out to you, remote learning DOES NOT WORK for most children with special needs, this is why these schools have been kept open in most other countries

See above.

You can't seem to name those "most other countries."

deiseindublin

Is there any moderation on this thread at all? Teacher bashing and re-reg posters pulling facts out of their arse is ok it seems.

Neyite

TheCrank wrote: »

I just think it is sad that we can't extend the school year. Why insist on substandard home schooling and laggy zoom meetings when we could call it a holiday and use the summer for school?

I reckon we are going to miss 7 weeks. Make up one at Easter and keep going until mid July. Primaries will still be a bit short but it isn't that big of a deal at that age. Obviously my cunning plan falls apart if the closure extends well beyond 7 weeks.

Primary school age in particular start to get pretty ratty by the end of each term and need that week of mid-term along with the other breaks to recharge their batteries. The school breaks are for them, not the teachers.

hesaidshesaid wrote: »

Thank you. A great response. It really illustrates why the DES should have set out some kind of standard approach for remote learning so that we could follow that. Your real life examples above clearly show how teachers will struggle to please everyone. And I didn't know Seesaw worked on Kindles!

I should clarify it's a Kindle tablet (Fire for Kids) and not your usual kindle reader. Sorry!

jimmytwotimes 2013 wrote: »

A lot of principals push live lessons

They are often also the ones who think parents sit on their holes all day and can land up to the school at the drop of a hat to discuss the most mundane of reasons. Thankfully we don't have one of those at our school.

is_that_so

From the ASTI - genius negotiating tactics!

Mr Christie said his union "would not rule anything out" and that there was "plenty of opportunities between now and Monday for the Minister (for Education) to come to her senses".

combat14

numbers among young adults rising rapidly..

R value now above 2, how far above not estimated yet


its clear now that this govt is a disgrace sending young adults back into schools in this environment

The Wordress

rob316 wrote: »

You can't teach special needs kids remotely, there needs go far beyond worksheets. Atleast in my sons case who has ASD and an ID

Yes, a lot of what I do in the classroom is emotional regulation and meeting sensory needs, all of which require a huge amount of physical contact.

From my own pupils, none of them regressed during the last lockdown. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised when I thought they had come on a lot developmentally in September.

However, we all worked together as a team and had a great plan in place for each pupil during the Lockdown.

Stateofyou

is_that_so wrote: »

From the ASTI - genius negotiating tactics!

Indeed, she's just going to wake up and come to her senses out of the goodness of her heart... that she found laying around somewhere.

You'd want to see some strong language, if you do not provide scientific evidence proving the safety of teachers, students and the community and in light of this new strain, evidence that you've taken advice from NPHET/CMO, then our teachers will not be attending in person Monday.

One can imagine the stress and scramble going on in the meantime, though. Are secondary teachers preparing for full remote teaching in the meantime too? It's like double preparations are needing to be made here. Plan A and Plan B. Something the DES wouldn't know a thing about.

Ted_YNWA

deiseindublin wrote: »

Is there any moderation on this thread at all? Teacher bashing and re-reg posters pulling facts out of their arse is ok it seems.

Mod

Thread is fast moving & mods have real life responsibilities outside of Boards.
We are not here at your beck & call.

Report any posts you deem fall into the above and any other issues you see & they will be looked into.

KrustyUCC

Stateofyou wrote: »

What other "civilised countries' would that be? I have family in the US and Canada and they are all remote since September.

And I believe the answer to your "why" is we have one of the worst outbreaks in the world right now, our health system is challenged and only getting worse. Again, why do you always seem to need the obvious pointed out to you?

Well let's see

England

Schools and colleges: Primary schools, secondary schools and colleges will move to remote learning - except for the children of key workers and vulnerable children

https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-schools-close-immediately-how-new-lockdown-rules-affect-students-across-the-uk-12178833

Scotland

However, schools will still be open for the children of key workers who cannot work from home, and for vulnerable youngsters.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2021/01/04/stay-at-home-lockdown-and-school-closures-announced-for-scotland-for-january/

Wales

Will schools be open to any learners?
Schools and colleges will remain open for children of critical workers and vulnerable learners, as well as for learners who need to complete essential exams or assessments.

https://gov.wales/schools-coronavirus-guidance

Northern ireland

Schools
Pre-school education settings, primary and post primary schools will be providing remote learning to pupils until the half term break in mid-February.

Vulnerable children and children of key workers will have access to schools for supervised learning. Only one parent/guardian is required to be a key worker.

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-schools-colleges-and-universities

I'm sure that all those countries have one of the worst outbreaks in the world right now, their health system is challenged and only getting worse.

Yet their teachers and SNA's are working and have done since the Covid crisis happened

KrustyUCC

The Wordress wrote: »

Yes, a lot of what I do in the classroom is emotional regulation and meeting sensory needs, all of which require a huge amount of physical contact.

From my own pupils, none of them regressed during the last lockdown. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised when I thought they had come on a lot developmentally in September.

However, we all worked together as a team and had a great plan in place for each pupil during the Lockdown.

Fair play to you

That's an incredible achievement

Unfortunately that's not the experience of lots of kids and schools in Cork

Remote learning was next to useless

wirelessdude01

KrustyUCC wrote: »

Fair play to you

That's an incredible achievement

Unfortunately that's not the experience of lots of kids and schools in Cork

Remote learning was next to useless

Did you contact the school with your concerns?

KrustyUCC

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Did you contact the school with your concerns?

Yes we did

I have no faith that any additional online learning supports would be sufficient for this month not to mind any extension beyond 31st of January

ThunbergsAreGo

Given all it says it schools are closed.

Is there any reason to believe distance learning will be put in place at all? and it wont just be an extended holiday?

And thats not teacher bashing, thats as a partner of one who is trying to determine who minds the kids

Stateofyou

KrustyUCC wrote: »

Well let's see

England

Schools and colleges: Primary schools, secondary schools and colleges will move to remote learning - except for the children of key workers and vulnerable children

https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-schools-close-immediately-how-new-lockdown-rules-affect-students-across-the-uk-12178833

Scotland

However, schools will still be open for the children of key workers who cannot work from home, and for vulnerable youngsters.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2021/01/04/stay-at-home-lockdown-and-school-closures-announced-for-scotland-for-january/

Wales

Will schools be open to any learners?
Schools and colleges will remain open for children of critical workers and vulnerable learners, as well as for learners who need to complete essential exams or assessments.

https://gov.wales/schools-coronavirus-guidance

Northern ireland

Schools
Pre-school education settings, primary and post primary schools will be providing remote learning to pupils until the half term break in mid-February.

Vulnerable children and children of key workers will have access to schools for supervised learning. Only one parent/guardian is required to be a key worker.

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-schools-colleges-and-universities

I'm sure that all those countries have one of the worst outbreaks in the world right now, their health system is challenged and only getting worse.

Yet their teachers and SNA's are working and have done since the Covid crisis happened

So that's "most other countries?" I see one: the UK

lulublue22

ThunbergsAreGo wrote: »

Given all it says it schools are closed.

Is there any reason to believe distance learning will be put in place at all? and it wont just be an extended holiday?

And thats not teacher bashing, thats as a partner of one who is trying to determine who minds the kids

The headlines are that all schools are closed - this means remote learning from Mon unless special ed or LC

KrustyUCC

Stateofyou wrote: »

So that's "most other countries?" I see one: the UK

I'll look for more European examples later

Bit closer to home than your US and Canada examples

Stateofyou

KrustyUCC wrote: »

I'll look for more European examples later

Bit closer to home than your US and Canada examples

The other poster said "most civilised countries."

By the way, other examples you may or may not find aren't in the same situation we're facing into here.

TTLF

https://www.rte.ie/news/2021/0107/1188191-leaving-cert-reaction/

wonder what they'll achieve

KrustyUCC

Stateofyou wrote: »

The other poster said "most civilised countries."

By the way, other examples you may or may not find aren't in the same situation we're facing into here.

What's different about the situation we're facing here and the UK?

rob316

The Wordress wrote: »

Yes, a lot of what I do in the classroom is emotional regulation and meeting sensory needs, all of which require a huge amount of physical contact.

From my own pupils, none of them regressed during the last lockdown. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised when I thought they had come on a lot developmentally in September.

However, we all worked together as a team and had a great plan in place for each pupil during the Lockdown.

Well done and I do appreciate your efforts, I owe alot to my sons teachers and SNA's.

It just didnt work for us and the feedback from other parents was the same. I am deeply concerned at the prospect of him missing anymore school.

Pigeon Chaser

Are teachers getting paid their full salary for the period of closure or do they go on PUP?

alroley

Pigeon Chaser wrote: »

Are teachers getting paid their full salary for the period of closure or do they go on PUP?

Are people working from home paid their full salary or do they go on PUP?

JDD

rob316 wrote: »

Well done and I do appreciate your efforts, I owe alot to my sons teachers and SNA's.

It just didnt work for us and the feedback from other parents was the same. I am deeply concerned at the prospect of him missing anymore school.

A friend's son is autistic and is in 2nd class in a mainstream school. She got hardly any additional help from the school during the first lockdown. Her son is a lovely affectionate little fella, but you could definitely see the tantrums kicking in again and the fact that he was getting more withdrawn over the summer. I went to her house over Christmas and it was lovely seeing him back to his old self.

His school obviously won't be opening for him this time around. There's no way of avoiding regression in children with additional needs without face-to-face learning or a massive effort from the school's SNA's and without individual plans for each child, along with a parent who has the time to implement these plans. Unfortunately I can see most schools will just be trying to keep their heads above water, and won't have the resources to put into the kids with additonal needs.

History Queen

Pigeon Chaser wrote: »

Are teachers getting paid their full salary for the period of closure or do they go on PUP?

If working they will be paid. Just like every other worker.

Crocodile Booze

Pigeon Chaser wrote: »

Are teachers getting paid their full salary for the period of closure or do they go on PUP?

There's a subtle clue in the Acronym PUP.
You might not have noticed.

BonsaiKitten

This is one of the secondary schools I was talking about in my earlier post about the secondaries defying the Government. Good on them.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/alexandra-college-to-defy-government-decision-to-reopen-for-leaving-cert-students-1.4452315?mode=amp

Tippex

Pigeon Chaser wrote: »

Are teachers getting paid their full salary for the period of closure or do they go on PUP?

Why would they be on PUP they are working from home remote classes for all students. Unless DES gets their way and LC go in but wont happen imo. They aren’t on holiday or being temporarily laid off.

JDD

Alexandra College are reportedly the school that are not opening for sixth years.

Can the DES force them to open? They're a private school - would that make a difference?