Getting kids back to school

I’m really passionate about getting the kids back to schools and back to clubs etc

I am a key worker, I am working every day in an office practicing hand/desk/environment care has now become the norm and I do believe if the proper measures are put in place the kids will adopt this quickly

From a personal perspective I felt our daughters primary school in North Lanarkshire did a better job of managing hand washing etc than our high school - I don’t think it happened at all.

My suggestion would be
1) all kids school transport have anti bacterial at the front of the bus which all kids put on as they get on the bus

2) face coverings where at all possible
However this could pose a challenge as some parents will forget/neglect this - so not sure how you make this compulsory- would need to have these in school and a laundry service for those who need

3) upon entering school all entry doors have anti Bacterial product - kids use again on way to first class

4) every classroom fitted with anti bacterial upon entering - all kids use

5) all classes have cleaning paper towel and spray - each child wipes down their desk upon arrival

6) this would probably take away 5-7 minutes of learning, this is better than no face to face education

7) lunchtime- kids to bring in packed lunches - kids with free school meals provided, no leaving the school grounds , eat in last class attended- if this is not suitable I.e a technical classroom - kids moved to dining area

8) classroom sizes are going to provide one of the biggest challenges I don’t think many of our school classrooms are very generous

The option on 1 week in 1 week off sounds better than no school, kids attend classes as normal and given work for the following week to complete whilst at home -

Challenge with this becomes how do people work one week in one week off? I have a 13 year old who I would leave on her own but not my 10 year old, also not everyone can work from home

Not sure about the 2 days on 2 days off suggestion for high school kids this will be a lot more challenging as the curriculum is spread over 5 days and I can’t see how the kids would get all of their subjects covered in the 2 days providing consistently and continuity

Education is important to all of our children, our children are already at a disadvantage over those whose parent can afford to pay for a private education for their kids.

Some parent will be fearful and may refuse to send their kids back - thats fine it not against the law to home school however I don’t want to be dictated by other people fears, of this is our new normal we all need to learn to function in this new normal - in a way that’s works for us - for me I will send my children back as soon as I am able to do so

Routine is out of the window, not all
Kids are getting up at 8am and starting school at 9am, I personally find it challenging to do this, we’ve went from a family who’s daughter swims 12 hours a week in a swimming club very active, always attend school to sitting in her room all day, yes she is connected to friends by technology but this is not a way to live and I can see the impact on my children’s mental health, I have a 10 year old who just wants someone to play with, who normally goes to the local
Stables to help with the horses and goes swimming etc

School means more than providing a child with a sheet of paper and letting them get in with it, school is about engaging children getting them excited about learning, it’s about challenging, building confidence, character team work and that is not done whilst you are sitting on your own carrying out tasks set out on paper found on the internet

Life has to get back to normal at some point, at some point the benefit of the lockdown starts to outweigh the mental health of the nation

I will be really unpopular in this statement, but I’m at the stage where I look all around Scotland, people just suddenly from the end of March had no income, struggling to make ends meet, navigating furlough, redundancy business loans etc and I look at teachers on full salary and think how is that right that they get to keep their job -up load a document once a day and call
That teaching no way, I work in the public sector and my role was not deemed critical So I offered to be redeployed and I felt if I’m taking my salary I’ll work for it, yes some are open for key workers but not all