New: teachers’ extraordinary work during Covid-19 undervalued, says academic group, as it describes government’s September re-opening plans as “unrealistic”. https://www.educationuncovered.co.uk/news/147101/teachers-extraordinary-work-during-covid19-undervalued-says-academic-group-as-it-describes-governments-september-reopening-plans-as-unrealistic.thtml

A national campaign should be launched to thank school staff for their hard work during coronavirus crisis, educationists including Helen Gunter, Pam Jarvis, Liz Todd and Terry Wrigley,who have advised the “alternative SAGE” group,recommend in this report. https://www.educationuncovered.co.uk/news/147101/teachers-extraordinary-work-during-covid19-undervalued-says-academic-group-as-it-describes-governments-september-reopening-plans-as-unrealistic.thtml

“We ask for resounding national gratitude,” they say. Hear, hear.

This group says the government has not been “open-minded” enough on how schools could be re-organised to minimise the risk of infections, suggesting teaching changes to reduce the number of movements between classes in secondaries and cutting class sizes in primaries.

This report is packed with observations on both the crisis itself and the background against which schools are operating, such as criticism of Ofsted for not speaking more on the possible impact of the emergency, and of the impact of accountability “surveillance” in schools.

Another group of academics, including Simon Burgess and Anna Vignoles, by contrast is backing the government’s school re-opening plans, arguing that evidence suggests that the balance of risk of infection outbreaks vs learning loss from school closures points this way.

This second group is also likely to face controversy as it advocates another set of tests for pupils, recommending a sample of them be assessed at the beginning and end of the coming school year to measure the educational impact of lockdown.

Both reports are interesting in their own right and could provide a useful exercise in compare-and-contrast: https://www.educationuncovered.co.uk/news/147101/teachers-extraordinary-work-during-covid19-undervalued-says-academic-group-as-it-describes-governments-september-reopening-plans-as-unrealistic.thtml

Oh, and another compare-and-contrast: could lockdown have had some positive effects, for some pupils? Or is its impact unremittingly negative?...

Comparing assessments of this, in these two recent expert reports on school re-openings, I find myself siding slightly with the more nuanced take of the first one, than the much-less-so verdict of the second.

Is that right? Or does any acknowledgement of any possible positive aspects of lockdown, for any pupils – and perhaps not just “middle class” ones - take our eye off the ball of the educational and other damage no doubt being wrought in general?...

For me, nuance has to be good. There may also be elements of learning for policymakers (yes, I know, good luck with that one, in England…) and educators in any positive effects, as well as the bad.