Teachers & Aug 11
Stuart Jackson/Donald Campbell/Moraigthefirst +
Paul Martin:
(19/5/20) 0*, 4 Replies: Aug 11 is a reduction of one week in our local school holidays. It may be more elsewhere. What about those staff who have: A) booked holidays in August because they will have to be busy earlier preparing that month because they will be unable to just turn up on the day. B) delayed or will have to delay their (July) holidays since as it stands many holiday “homes” will not be open til mid-July and possibly beyond. Will people have to forego their holidays. Second who has supported the extension of the longest term of the year. What did they get in exchange ?
John butler
- People like myself who are non unionised are being actively encouraged to take our holidays now….. non working teachers should be “asked” to do the same and then return fresh in august the last thing anyone should be considering is a holiday if they are truly concerned about the wellbeing of kids and their jobs but as I said I work without the assistance of any union
- 5*
Paul Martin:
Holidays are vital for school staff, and indeed for the working population as a whole. As I understand it most teachers in Scotland are in Unions. When I was younger and worked in a particular public sector I was not in the Union. But when they voted for strike action I was advised (by a manager) to join, for my own safety. Later when in the edu-business there was a strike and those who worked were eye-balled by the management; subsequently no pressure was applied, to me, when the voluntary cuts came. In the meantime though all the capable shop stewards had been promoted usually following negligible staff pay rises.
- Show all 6 replies
Ian Clinton
I think you are brave to post this! But the reality will surely be that schools open at whatever date their term actually starts, from the 11/8 onwards.
- 1*
P Martin
Time will tell. Mr Butler below’s experience may be an indication to the contrary, for some. I suspect that in the same way that Boris flew some kites in the media before the Sunday 15 minute briefing, the authorities are trying to gauge reaction.
Donald Campbell
- As one teacher to another, WISE UP!!
- 4*
- Pual Martin
- Thanks. You have prompted me to look through my Desk Card set entitled WISDOM from the company (?) School of Life. It is a set of cards that have extended mottoes. Permit me to quote from the back of the box:
- Crucially nobody is ever born wise. It is a skill that can be learnt, in part by knowing what we are aiming for.
Whatsmyname
Let me get this straight. The reason for delaying the return to school is because it’s unsafe but it it safe to go on holiday?
Pual Martin
- The current cliche is that nothing is safe. My point was that it was unfair to (potentially) reduce people’s holidays by a week or so when there is such uncertainty whether the holiday spots in the UK will be open for business. [Most accommodation is closed, currently, til July 3]. And worse have an extended winter term. My preference is to get some schooling in for some pre the holidays. There should be lots of space in the current open schools operating for key workers. The local paper talks of “dozens” of students being looked after by a huge range of staff from across the Local Authority. I wonder if that will last. The obvious issue in terms of safety is social distancing. The experiment as it stands in England only has a limited part of the Primary School Cohort returning and maybe even then only part-time.
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Moraigthefirst
“Scottish schools are expected to reopen on August 11 under plans drawn up by a Scottish government group … a senior education source told The Daily Record.” If true, and it’s appalling if it is that a newspaper is briefed before the Scottish people, waiting until August will be catastrophic for our most vulnerable children. Many of these children are not in school and no attempt has been made to rectify this. Hub schools are open for children of key workers, but sometimes these are in single figures, while the vulnerable are off the radar despite being known to teachers and social workers. Certain children with records of needs are entitled to taxi transport to school, paid for by the local authority. I’m sure taxi companies would be glad of the work at the moment, the parents glad to be relieved of the responsibility of caring for their children, and the children glad to be in supportive surroundings with a meal included. State educational provision across Scotland has been patchy during the lockdown, with local authorities and unions advising against video calls between teachers and their pupils in some areas, and in others odd worksheets here and there. Children in this vulnerable group won’t even have had that and by August they’ll have had no educational input for four and a half months. The attainment gap by that time will be a gaping chasm.
Stuart Jackson
(20/5/20) 4*, No replies : Schools are expected to reopen on August 11 under plans drawn up by a Scottish government group. The plan is dependent on medical advice, personal protection equipment for staff being available and an effective “test, trace and isolate” strategy. Oh dear. If the first para is conditional on the second then perhaps the omission of a year date in the first para is important.
3 recent likes have given me confidence to come back for 2nds.
Tonight in the NE local paper the issue of moving the holidy date forward from Aug 18->11 got some traction. The Edu Director of the shire said he would be getting in touch with the Scottish Govt about this and the City Edu dept who have recently gone thru a review of holidays said it was up to the Teacher Authorities. (I thought that that was them !)
There is a good article in the TES magazine by Emma Seith where Larry Flanagan vows that no teacher will lose their holiday entitlement. Crucially he says that they may have to wait til next June to get it. Those who claim they have weddings booked for that week will have their cases investigated.
Clearly it’s not just yours truly with a #beeinmybonnet on this topic
