Teachers: On the front line, in their own words

School workers can't trust the Tories, photo woodleywonderworks/CC (Click to enlarge)

Illness in pupil and teacher homes

I've been working from home this lockdown, looking after the virtual classrooms. Some of our pupils struggle to access the work from home, as their parents need to work too. And some have a lot of illness in their homes.

At school, we have a lot of children coming in - much more than the first lockdown. We had a serious and significant outbreak in the school before Christmas, and the school was on its knees.

Many school staff are still off work recovering, and some have lost multiple family members. Despite all this, meaningful social distancing in the school is still not possible, and the staff are still not required to wear masks.

East London primary teacher

Academies still don't care about safety

Working through all of this is like trying to brush our teeth while eating a bag of Wotsits. The continued changes to guidance mean no-one knows which way they're going, particularly with regards to the online stuff that's completely new to us all. But Ofsted deem themselves to be expert enough to begin inspections in the area.

Personal experiences are the usual from previous lockdowns. The academy trust appears to be more concerned about seeing staff in the building to see where their money is being spent, rather than actual safety.

There's no consideration of mental health and wellbeing of staff, with a list of moderations and scrutinies planned. Bubbles are only 'important' on an 'as and when it suits' basis.

Staff are spoken down to about social distancing, yet it's okay for a 'school improvements officer' to spread between two schools and then break the bubbles of an entire corridor.

In a word: shambles. In a less polite word: clusterfuck

Yorkshire primary NEU rep

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