Bottom of The Pile

Today I woke up and scrolled the news with a cup of tea as I typically do most mornings, always holding out hope for some brighter announcements as to be frank, recently I have been feeling like I was one depressing headline away from throwing in the towel when it came to faith in the future of my long lost London life.  It’s hard to get yourself motivated for the day if you start on a downer but with Monday’s announcement signalling a hint of a return to life as we once knew it, I’ve been feeling more optimistic this week.  However I was given a rude awakening today with another reminder of the lack of respect that is given to teachers in this country as it seems that once again, they are at the bottom of the pile.  Spoiler alert, I’m going to be writing about the Covid 19 vaccine in this post so anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists will probably want to terminate reading here.

This morning I was astounded to see that teachers, along with other essential workers who all risk their health daily to offer service have still been left off the priority list for Covid 19 vaccinations.

According to government statements and announcements from recent months, schools have always remained top of the priority list in all areas.  They were the last buildings to close and will be the first to re-open when it is deemed to be safe and this was absolutely the right decision.  Whilst I commend the efforts made by schools and teachers to keep learning going remotely, we can all see that young people need to be back at school, they need social interaction and to be given the opportunity to catch up on the many months missed.  And let’s not forget those who have struggled with barriers that have affected their ability to even access online learning.  One of the government's priorities that the majority seem aligned with is that we need to get pupils back safely into the classroom as soon as it is possible.  So with this in mind, why on earth have teachers and support staff, the glue that holds schools together, been left off the vaccine priority list when it is a physical impossibility for them to do their jobs properly whilst socially distancing in a completely effective way?  They are at risk from the moment they set foot in school buildings just based on the number of people in shared spaces before you take into consideration any of the other factors. To be clear,  I am not questioning the importance of those who are deemed to be vulnerable based on age, health, ethnicity or any other valid reason being prioritised for vaccinations but why can’t teachers also be offered the same courtesy?

Only yesterday I read an article where Education Secretary Gavin Williamson was quoted saying that in the upcoming weeks teachers will essentially be required to put their lives on hold in order to support the young people in their care from falling behind upon their return to school in much the same way that the phenomenal NHS and other healthcare workers have slogged tirelessly to support our society throughout the pandemic.  A bit of a kick in the teeth if you ask me.  He seems to have no problem with holding teachers to these challenging and debilitating expectations but it seems too much to ask to offer them the common decency of the one thing that may well be the answer to keeping them safe.

One of my old colleagues spent much of September to December feeling anxious due to the fact that he lived in his family home, an environment where everyone else was able to effectively socially distance and work from home thereby minimising their risk of contracting Covid 19 whilst he was the weak link, potentially bringing the virus home to his older and more vulnerable parents at the time when new and highly contagious strains were popping up left right and centre and infection amongst his students was rife.  But for the colleague in question, there was very little he could do about it whilst school was open.  Now with the UK boasting one of the most successful vaccine rollouts in the world, you would think that his concern could potentially soon dissipate if he were to be offered it as he should be?  However, in yet another government blunder, unfortunately this will not be the case.  The vaccination could be the answer to keeping him and his family safe.  But as a healthy man in his late twenties he will likely be the last in line. I am baffled that they will put so much money and effort into regular mass testing for school pupils but don’t deem it worthwhile to protect staff who are at the forefront of the fight against the virus.

But it’s not just about keeping teachers safe.  By vaccinating them it could be beneficial in lessening periods of self isolation which before school closures regularly involved large groups of pupils and teachers being sent home for fourteen days at a time causing a great deal of disruption.   And this isn’t even the worst of it.  It is also worth sparing a thought for the mammoth task and extraordinary pressure that is now looming following the recent announcement that teachers will have sole control over the exam results for GCSEs and A Levels this year.   Gav doesn’t seem to do too well in terms of compromise does he?  Last summer was a complete car crash as the exam algorithm played with the lives and opportunities of thousands of young people, at the same time disregarding any teacher judgement and professionalism as the predictions that we had been asked to give (and had spent weeks poring over in the aim of being as fair as possible) were casually dismissed.  So his response this year?  Leave teachers to it.  The promise that there will be “absolutely no algorithms” was a welcome message but I can’t help but feel that by giving teachers the sole responsibility for deciding grades, somehow they are being set up to fail.  Whilst there is no doubt that last year's method was disastrous, to completely wash your hands of all responsibility, which seems to be the underlying feeling about what is taking place this year, takes the situation to another extreme.  Optional supervised test questions are being offered but are not compulsory so they don’t feel like exams and grade appeals will be welcomed but where is the basic moderation from school to school?  Of course recognising that the way in which pupils learn best varies from person to person is a great move forward and this certainly provides some hope that a one size fits all assessment approach will be scrapped. But what about just a little help so teachers know that they are all aligned and fair from school to school?  Just as exam papers are moderated by a team of unbiased, external professionals, couldn’t there be a similar arrangement this year?  A bit of real human involvement, not a robotic computer generated algorithm.  I miss being a teacher often but I am grateful to be away from the classroom during this challenging time.  So once again, let’s spare a thought for the wonderful teachers working in this incredibly tough profession, who will go back to school on March the 8th, without being vaccinated, many of whom will go the extra mile and will temporarily put their lives on hold to support the young people who they care so deeply about.  But not because Gavin Williamson told them to.