Schools reopening before May half term?

[Manchestertimes]

What's everyone's opinion on when the schools will reopen? I think they will reopen a few weeks after Easter.

September. Of course they will catch up, PRIORITIES

I love the people saying no they are closed until September. Nobody actually knows.

Of course nobody knows .

That’s why they are answering the OP’s question of...

What's everyone's opinion on when the schools will reopen?

With their opinion!!

Ideally if they go back for 6-8 weeks then everywhere stays shut for a further six weeks for summer it will cause alot less difficulty in regards to moving forward!

The benefits of schools having a final few weeks before summer means teachers can help the children prepare and finish for next year. They also can prepare for a new bunch of children starting in September. I've been told on here it's not essential. But there are huge books of forms to fill out and uniform needs ordering through some schools. All the details etc they need to collect from parents for the new children. school meal accounts set up etc.This would be another situation resolved through going back before the summer.

Yeah these things can all be written off due to this virus. But it makes teachers and parents lives much easier, rather than no preparation and hoping the kids just go into a new class and cope. I think the impact of never returning (even for a few weeks) will be huge. Just my opinion. I know alot of people don't agree and think the kids Nd teachers will cope. But it could well make things harder for a long time. Id rather if possible all kids got closure from this horrible weird time. If they get to go back to school before summer it's reassurance for them that life is still ok and things will be ok.

I wasn't expecting or saying that.

But lots people have been.

mochajoes
If I've misunderstood you then I'm sorry (I can't remember who I was replying to).

Easter sessions are usually linked to GCSE and A Level exams. Some schools pay but an increasing number don't.

Summer classes are unusual and not something I've come across other than holiday schemes.

I agree the whole 'risking our lives' responses seem quite over the top. I've taken them as people on the front line who are stressed that others aren't taking this crisis seriously so have been prioritising their desire for a quiet house over the safety of others. Ultimately for the school semi-closures to work, there needs to be as few people as possible on site to avoid passing the virus around via asymptomatic carriers. If the unreasonable parents focus on trying to send their children to school then they are increasing the risks to staff and other students. Given healthy people with no underlying health conditions have been seriously ill, and I think a couple have died, then people being selfish really is putting the lives of others at risk

Unfortunately the selfish side of the public will keep prioritising their wants and preferences.

@lolasmiles I don't think yours was a response to me, I was just clarifying my post & didn't mean it in the vein of teachers are twiddling their thumbs. I'm in London & these are secondary schools yes. Primary schools run more of the play style schemes in the Easter & Summer not teaching. I'm not saying it's the ideal situation but it's certainly not impossible & the government may struggle to "contain" a lockdown after a number of weeks when the sun is shining, so schools may be a method of containment. Who knows though?

And from my knowledge the number of key workers is vastly lower than the "predicted" thousands. Ideally everyone could stay at home & be protected but then how do we buy food, have electricity, receive medical treatment. 500k have volunteered to help the NHS, some of them will be voluntarily putting them self at risk.

i meant key workers children that are still in school

Article here stating peak could now be Easter.

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/coronavirus-peak-passed-easter-says-17982699.amp

Actually I can see a good reason to go back for 2 weeks before the end of term and then resume in September as it gets us back to normal as suggested above and means teachers have 2 weeks of normal teaching in July or earlier to finish things off.

I don’t think it will be until September which is really sad for my year 6er. I would love them to go back earlier. Even if only for a week or so, just to say goodbye. I’m not sure it’ll happen though.

I’m a teacher and have been told not to expect to return before my mat leave begins in early July. It’ll be September.

The year 6 pupils in my DC’s school celebrated together on Friday.

It really depends when the general public will get the antibody test. Obviously there's a hierarchy of people who need testing and self isolating kids will be at the bottom of that list.

Hopefully Scottish kids can return in August and all kids get to go out during the summer holidays.

But has the government told schools to expect it to be September? Or are headteachers just guessing? Because my daughter's school said they knew nothing and had no clue to time scale?

Anyone who says they’ve “been told” is wrong. Or misled. Nobody knows anything at this stage. We could be back to school in June if this thing calms down sooner than expected. No head teacher should be telling their staff not to expect to be back until September. It’s not in their hands to decide or predict this. They should be hoping and praying they can reopen well before that but preparing for a worse outcome.

Everybody is just guessing @JellyXWellies and this September guess is based on what the old predicted peak was. When we were told (up until this week, to be fair), that the peak was expected in late May/early June then I think a lot of people thought 'Well in that case the kids are not going to be going back before the summer holidays'. But with the lockdown being brought forward and the peak now due to hit around Easter, that changes the timings a lot. I reckon the schools could reopen around half term now.

The antibody test is due to be ready within days @strawberrylipgloss. I think that will be a game changer:

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/25/uk-coronavirus-mass-home-testing-to-be-made-available-within-days

@zafferana

Well, it would be a good thing for the kids, but I think it should be only if the antibody test is available. There would be too many vulnerable people at risk otherwise.

The antibody test sounds great if it proves to be accurate (still testing).

If half the class have had CV and the other half not what do you do?

I really don't know. I'm pretty ill myself with an illness that my DD2 (8) brought into our house, as I said earlier. I'd be worried about this if I don't know that we're both protected from COVID-19. (Say this turns out to be bacterial pneumonia rather than COVID.) I had a nasty virus before this, too. I would be at a lot of risk from COVID-19, and my DH has asthma.

As I said, there are people at a lot more risk than me. I wouldn't want any chances to be taken, so it's pushing it to think schools will be open again after the May half-term.

This time next year after the second wave, which I'm sure we'll have as people are dicks.
It will take that long to get through to the "whataboutme's"

DD's school has put our messages that the year 11 and 13 proms will be rearranged for a Autumn as a get back together event.

September and possibly even later

@zafferana at yesterday's press conference, Boris said that the tests needed testing for reliability first and that supply would go to frontline workers before general public

I think they'll be the open by June.