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With #KeepSchoolsOpen and #CloseSchools both trending on Edu Twitter... here’s a thread on my thoughts...
1. “There is no such thing as bad weather; only inappropriate clothing.” Sir Ranulph Fiennes - a quote I like to live by, and it’s true. The key here is knowledge, preparation, and responsiveness.
2. I’m writing this thread after receiving some direct and rather forceful mail from my union today - urging me to ‘click here to add my voice’ - but you didn’t want my voice. You wanted my name on your petition.
3. Let’s be clear, I don’t know a teacher or member of school staff in the land who *wants* to close schools. We all want schools to stay open- we know just how important they are 
4. What we need to make this happen is better knowledge. We might be heading into a national lockdown, but you wouldn’t shut the M1 if there was a pothole on the A52...
5. So we ask for turbo-charged knowledge of local context from our local public health teams; what’s happening? When? Where? Help our school leaders to interpret this information so we can prepare. Regularly!
6. Testing. We’re really happy to go to work (no sarcasm here - I love my job). But, if we had access to rapid testing, we solve staffing issues immediately, we know how long they’ll be off/when they’re expected back. Gov have got to prioritise this if we’re to remain open
7. It’s also safer for our staff and students to go to school, because everyone’s been tested! I long for this kind of relief for my colleagues and students, it’s so hard to keep being the reassuring smile.
8. I’ll move on to preparation now - with the knowledge acquired we essentially “know which roads to close” - and we can prepare for this. We might need more staff on a cleaning rota/remote teaching for a while/a plan B, C, D - you get the picture.
9. The point is, if we don’t have to spend valuable time combing through one size fits all data, we can be more prepared and develop well thought out plans to protect our staff and students in the best interests of everyone in our community.
10. Let’s be responsive - if the above is in place, along with hands/face/space, it’s likely we will be able to stay open. Maybe we’ll need some split groups on a rota at *some point* - thoughts on that below.
11. So, when thinking about the expedition ahead... I’m packing local & regular contextual knowledge from public health, rapid tests for schools from government, more staff - to cover and clean... so, that’s more money please - that’s you again government! @educationgovuk
12. Classroom level decisions may need to be made by leaders. And finally, less teacher-bashing in general; because my colleagues are amazing...There’s a mountain to climb and we’re ready to do it, but we need help. 
13. School leaders; it’s a long trek ahead, remember to stop regularly and reflect - you’ll get there. When you see those children tomorrow or next week, remember to some you are their everything...
14. Musings on a rota system: Keep the same timetable, same teachers, same continuity where possible. Half the students each week. Think about how to support families and remote learning at home especially with siblings...
Justification: Bi-weekly contact, regular checking in/better safeguarding, staff workload supported, families supported. Won’t work for all... might work for some. Good luck Edu colleagues!
