School Staff: Unsupported, unvaccinated, under-appreciated?
Teachers have been exposed on the front-line to not only COVID-19 infection throughout the pandemic but also huge educational challenges. We ask, have teachers in Portsmouth been treated fairly and received good enough support in this time?
During the initial lockdown in April 2020, we clapped for NHS workers on the front-line, we also appreciated those working in food shops who risked their lives keeping vital supplies available to us — but what about teachers?
Those in education have endured many risks and challenges throughout this pandemic from conducting online teaching to going back into the classroom and teaching whilst keeping to government guidelines on social distancing.
English teacher at Mayfield School, Portsmouth Sharon Shaw (51), spoke about her experiences.
‘There’s been no consideration at all for teacher’s well-being and that goes right from the top from senior leaders right down to learning support assistance, said Sharon.
Did you know? Teachers are now more likely to quit the profession after their first year since 1997 (15.3%), according to the TES.
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‘Now, looking back perhaps we over-reacted a little bit because we got used to working in those conditions but initially people were really, deeply concerned especially those with underlying health conditions because they knew social distancing just isn’t possible.
‘We were really concerned it was like we were being thrown to the lions we didn’t feel supported, we didn’t feel prepared, didn’t have the equipment we needed, so we were massively concerned when we first went back.’
“It was like we were being thrown to the lions”- Sharon Shaw
Sharon’s concerns were mirrored across Portsmouth and Hampshire, 36 schools across Hampshire remained closed when the teaching term resumed on 4th January due to safety concerns, according to HampshireLive.
Mayfield school did implement their own rigorous risk assessment before re-opening; however Sharon did not believe this was strict enough.
‘Initially with the mask wearing for the students they weren’t really given any proper direction around that and why it was necessary, so it was very difficult trying to get students to follow those rules when you didn’t really have the knowledge to explain it to them anyway.’
Sharon believes that the government should have communicated with teachers and students more clearly about the measures as well as spoke to more teachers in overcrowded state schools.
‘I think the main thing that I would have done is communicated with mainstream schools in this country and not assumed that they’re all like the private schools that most of our MPs attended, for example they’re not as big, not as well cleaned, the facilities are not as good and the IT equipment is not up-to-date.
‘I think that if they had a realistic view of what schools are actually like in this country and how many students are crammed into a classroom, I think quite a lot of people would be shocked if they saw it actually and to suggest that they could socially distance in any way was quite ridiculous.’
The other major difficulty that teachers faced during the pandemic was the shift from face-to-face to online teaching.
500 teachers were surveyed across the UK and studies found that 85% found online teaching a challenge, according to Computerweekly.com .
‘A lot of students didn’t have the technology or the internet so we had to sort that out, there were a lot of students who missed out on online learning because they didn’t have the resources.
‘For me, it felt as if the poorer families were massively disadvantaged.’
Despite this, Sharon believes that due to online teaching, relationships and communication between teachers and parents have improved.
‘One of the most obvious ones is parents’ evenings, because we started doing them online and a lot of parents using their phones have been able to access parent’s evenings that wouldn’t have been able to before.’
For some specialist school’s workers, they remained open during the pandemics peak.
Specialist behavioural school, Harbour School Tipner, Portsmouth remained open during the first lockdown due to students needing the school open for daily support.
Tania Boon (54), is a teaching assistant who worked on the front-line during this time.
‘I felt as if I had no choice as special schools had to stay open, if we showed anxiety over Covid we were made to feel inadequate, said Tania.
‘Pupils at special schools either don’t understand social distancing or will ignore it, putting us more at risk.
Did you know? Covid-19 infection rates are 1.9 times higher among teachers, according to SecED.
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‘Suddenly, the lowest paid members of society were vital but at the same time clearly expendable.
‘Not a lot of understanding or support was shown, let alone appreciation!’
Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education, Portsmouth City Council, Suzy Horton (55), gave her expertise on the subject.
‘All too often decisions were made too swiftly without the level of practical guidance and support that would be considered reasonable given the extraordinary circumstances, said Suzy.
‘This was reflected in the many U-turns that we saw, the most dramatic of which was the Monday after the Christmas holidays when schools were ‘completely safe’ in the morning and ‘vectors of transmission’ by the evening.
Despite this, Suzy is proud of the work that Portsmouth City Council have done.
‘I was glad that in Portsmouth we were able to get teachers onto the spare vaccine programme and I know that afforded them with an additional layer of relief.
‘I am pleased that we worked together, that we provided free school meals during the holidays, that we got teachers on to the spare vaccination scheme, that we gave out free PPE throughout, that we supported our early years settings with grants, testing kits.
‘I am so proud to have represented, championed and stood alongside teachers in Portsmouth. As a former teacher, I had no doubt that they would step up and prove the importance of schools as being at the heart of the community.’
