Turbine Times Reply

My witty concluding “just” and “barely” summarised my argument. Like @AScot and @little’olme commented below it is so easy to suggest solutions that penalise others with respect to their holiday entitlement; such is unjust. But in practice your “suggestion of losing 5 weeks” holiday is barely going to get off the ground as the Unions will fight it like they fought (& beat) John Swinney’s modification of CfE proposals.

My “ill informed quote” on the lockdown diaries in a North East local paper, at least can be verified. What “national figures don’t show that” do you refer to ? Children from poverty don’t have access to digital !! They do up here because I am watching another car load of chrome books leaving so that some multi child familes have one per child. This has been a steady & time consuming business with earlier deliveries to those particular in need. One local school has been converted into a “warehouse” where school computers are retrieved, and can be seen on Twitter.

You say: “Teachers, those who are working are grading children from 1st to last based on classwork for qualifications that’ll be even more meaningless than they are now” shows misunderstanding of Teacher professionalism. The collective rating of kids is core through out the education system with moderation etc “Corona Nat 5 no thanks” is not a worthy comment and your Head teacher friend would, I am sure, never use such a term which devalues education.

With respect to CfE, yes it has its problems. But it suits some (many ?) stages. My STEM nursery classes benefit from its philosophy. And skilled teachers can make it work.

Finally, I have been fortunate enough to meet Hugh Pennington and I see him on the local TV news most nights. He would appreciate my Health & Safety point that removing Teacher holidays would lead to such a degradation in their mental health that I am convinced that there would be fatal consequences. In very recent times in the north of this Town two Heads did not live to retirement, the average length of service at the local east end Primary is 12 months, the current one has been there 8 months, 4 years ago they were a Primary teacher. And don’t get me started on the (really) serious non fatal health problems of education staff.

Teachers until their recent pay rise, which they had to go one strike for were woefully paid at the lower end in particular — the holidays were regarded as fair compensation and enabled the profession to be a friendly one for women. Your suggestion of lopping off 5 weeks in the darkest months of the year is, as I said unjust, and has no chance of being implemented.But hey let’s wait & see what happens — my guess is the problems with social distance in the mainly old school estate is going to lead to an August start at the earliest.