What actually is going to happen with schools next week?

[KindergartenKop]

I feel like Gove's statement today was an attempt to sow the seeds of doubt about kids returning to school. Anyone got any ideas?

Schools have no idea. No emails or communications yet. We are expecting to receive the info around midnight on the 3rd for implementation by 8.30 am on the 4th.

You’ll probably know at the same time as we do. I’ve found out how/ who/ when I’ll be teaching from watching TV.

All we can do at this point is guess.

We need to bring back Mystic Meg.

My daughters secondary school had already said on the Tuesday before they broke up that only years 7, 8,9,10,were to go back on the 11th January.
BUT they have to remote learn from the 5th January only opening for children of key workers ,, children , in care , foster care , with actual learning
Something to do with mass testing of secondary school students
The Headteacher spend about 7 lines telling us how unacceptable it was 😁.. my daughter is a child of a critical worker , he doesn’t want her to go back . She REALLY REALLY wants to go back as she struggles with remote learning ( but loved it in March ) , I want her to go back so instead she’s going to work with my husband as I struggle to teach her as well

My dd's school and the school I work in other knew on the 18th of December that only year 11's would be in.
I thought that was a countrywide edict and am surprised people are surprised.

It’s going to be a shit show, that’s what.
Primary, and secondary (years 11 and 13) will be back on the 4th, and all other secondary years (7 -10 and 12) will have remote leaning at home for a week before returning on the 11th.
Schools will be responsible for mass testing, along with doing the job of track and trace, with little or no extra funding or resources.
My son’s secondary school is asking for parent volunteers to administer Covid tests to pupils from 7.30am each day. I mean WTF?
It’s an absolute shambles and a disgrace.
Children need to be in school, of course they do, but only if it is safe enough to be there.
How the fuck is it not safe for me to see other members of my own family at Christmas (tier 4) yet just a week later it is ok for thousands of children, teachers and TA’s to mix in school.
This government need to make up their bloody mind.
The scientists and medical experts are saying the only way to get abs keep the R rate down and avoid the NHS being overwhelmed is to keep schools closed for a few weeks, yet the government is pressing ahead anyway.
I give it until Feb half term when hospitals are at capacity and countless more people have died before the announce inevitable school closures.

I don't think we'll know until the eleventh hour but for once I actually agree that the government should wait... today is 10 days since kids were in school, we really need to look at the transmission rates over the coming days to see if schools being closed has done anything to stop the spread (although Christmas mixing will make this data much harder to read.... Christmas mixing may well negate the schools being shut and we'll not actually know the effects of school closures )

As others said I think we’ll get told via the BBC news on Sunday. That’s how we’ve been told about all the other school policies. My Y11s asked me in March about their exams... I explained any big changes would need lots of consultation with teachers/exam boards etc. That same evening the PM announced on TV that schools were closing and exams cancelled!!! The next day we got 90 mins training after school on how to do online teaching. No one ever believes me when I say that school leaders don’t get told anything in advance anymore.

Good question.

Our school, the day of break-up, said, January 6 years 11and whatever it was (not my kids years, so didn't take a lot of notice), would be back on site. January 11 for the rest. It was said in a thinly veiled tone of absolute fucking breaking point at the lack of notice, and the expectation that everything would just magically happen without resources or guidelines.

At this point, the way the Government are firstly saying, yes, schools will open, and secondly, back and file about schools going back before mid-February, I'm expecting a notice to appear in the media on January 5 that no, schools won't be opening after all until the middle of St Never, and it will all be the school teachers and their unions fault.

No, I'm not a teacher. Just a natural born cynic, who notices patterns.

Schools will stay open the government will insist then people will protest so the schools will be closed pretty much what happened the last time

We've been told years 7 to 10 will be staggered start from 4th. But details to follow on 31st.
Year 11 in as normal

@PoptartPoptart

It’s going to be a shit show, that’s what. Primary, and secondary (years 11 and 13) will be back on the 4th, and all other secondary years (7 -10 and 12) will have remote leaning at home for a week before returning on the 11th. Schools will be responsible for mass testing, along with doing the job of track and trace, with little or no extra funding or resources. My son’s secondary school is asking for parent volunteers to administer Covid tests to pupils from 7.30am each day. I mean WTF? It’s an absolute shambles and a disgrace. Children need to be in school, of course they do, but only if it is safe enough to be there. How the fuck is it not safe for me to see other members of my own family at Christmas (tier 4) yet just a week later it is ok for thousands of children, teachers and TA’s to mix in school. This government need to make up their bloody mind. The scientists and medical experts are saying the only way to get abs keep the R rate down and avoid the NHS being overwhelmed is to keep schools closed for a few weeks, yet the government is pressing ahead anyway. I give it until Feb half term when hospitals are at capacity and countless more people have died before the announce inevitable school closures.

Excellent post Poptart. I couldn't agree more.

It seems like the secondaries will reopen under the cover of 'testing' which in reality turns out to be manned by volunteers and people with an hour's training to deliver and of course, will be a shambles.

And primaries? SEN? Preschools and nurseries?? Business as bloody usual.

The rates will continue to rise, people will continue to contract and spread this virus and hospitals will crack under the inevitable pressure.

I just don't understand. Shut the schools now for a short, sharp lockdown to really have an effect. Yes, it's a bloody pain in the arse and I know childcare is a nightmare.

But nothing compared to the nightmare if we do nothing and face months and months of continued disruption, increasing infection rates and deaths.

Why can we see it but the Government can't???? Or refuses to???

I have asked the tarot. It says now is the time for honesty in our dealings, that we have the strength to do this and we will reap a rewarding harvest as a result.
So yes I think the schools will close, it will work and Spring will be better.

I just wish the government would give us time to plan this stuff! Tell us if they're shut!

@laudemio

I have asked the tarot. It says now is the time for honesty in our dealings, that we have the strength to do this and we will reap a rewarding harvest as a result. So yes I think the schools will close, it will work and Spring will be better.

I really hope you are right Laudemio. I don’t usually believe in things like tarot but I am prepared to keep an open mind. Or possibly just to grasp at straws.

@laudemio

I have asked the tarot. It says now is the time for honesty in our dealings, that we have the strength to do this and we will reap a rewarding harvest as a result. So yes I think the schools will close, it will work and Spring will be better.

Perfect!

Glad we got that sorted

@Truelymadlydeeplysomeonesmum

We need to bring back Mystic Meg.

I think this pandemic is probably more a time to revive septic peg!

It beggars belief that we're all being left to guess and speculate about this. Including the schools who will be expected to implement any decision at little or no notice.

It's less than a week till the schools are due to open, and the nearest we have to information is Gove saying he "hopes" schools will be open. That was literally an item of news on the BBC website... Gove talking about what he "hopes." Because it's the nearest anyone has to information.

Just take a fucking decision and give everyone time to plan for it (well, not much time, but 6 days is better then nothing).

Stop treating us all with contempt.

I'm so fed up of this. I work in a school and have 2 kids of my own - one in secondary who'll be remote learning and one in primary who I'm assuming will be in one way or another. Does the government give a shit about the pressure they're putting on families? We needed a lockdown before Christmas and now it's even more important but yet again we have to wait for the government to make an announcement. Personally, I'm going on strike if they say we're starting back on 4 January. It's mental to do anything else.

I absolutely hate not knowing.

Its infuriating.
If they're staying shut, fine, we understand why. Just bloody tell us!!!

Big announcements due on Wed re further restrictions.

Whatever happens with the secondaries, it’s pretty clear that the primaries will be staying open...

With everyone mixing over Xmas it makes sense to close all the schools

Primaries will close I should think, even if just for a couple of weeks

Otherwise we will limp through 2021 like this, moving through tiers

Non parents I work with are fuming schools and nurseries are all open still