Poll on if you would send your (primary) aged dc back to school on 11/5

[THATscurryfungeBITCH]

Would you be happy to send your primary aged dc back to school on 11th May?

Yes - YABU
No - YANBU

No (and I’m a teacher!)

@PicsInRed We have masses of people not working. This would be easy to solve if the government was not afraid to. Sure some will have childcare responsibilities, but a lot won't.

Yes.

There's not going to be a vaccine until 2021 at the earliest. Even then, it may be a flu style vaccine that may not be fully effective.

We can't all stay in our houses for the next 12-18 months so we may as well start living the new normal sooner rather than later, as long as the NHS won't be completely overwhelmed.

@Schoolchoicesucks You are stating things as fact that are pure guesses. Some firms have said a vaccine will be available in a few months time. Some firms have said it will take much longer. You don't know who are right, neither do I.

DS 1 is in year 7 so if hes off I may as well keep DS2 off until half term. Not convinced May 11th is long enough. The plateau lasts a few weeks before dropping. Maybe after may half term.

Yes because schools have limited impact on spread and closure was only ever due to political pressure.

@OneandTwenty it depends on how you look at it and what the point was of it in the first place.

Transmission was escalating exponentially out of control the infection rate meant that numbers would go up and up and the NHS wouldnt cope. School closures (and lockdown as a whole) was to get that under control. It is under control and infection rates are dropping.

Now the danger with rushing too soon is that is not suppressed enough and is bubbling under the surface like a pressure cooker so once you open the lid it will go back up again. This is why I dont think the 11/5 will be a full scale opening and will be a gradual process to ensure that doesnt happen.

We need to be comfortable in the fact that transmission has been suppressed to the point where we can go forward with containment methods (and this is where I agree with @alloutoffucks our Gvt have been useless at getting this bit in place so far)

We should have a gradual reopening from the 11th through to July of things checking at each stage it doesnt impact figures alongside a testing programme and antibody testing. I would be thinking personally mine if it goes ok will be going back mid June time (after the 12 weeks) as that makes sense for me to be hopeful we can contain it.

Absolutely not ! Planning on September and not before.

Not if schools are only being opened to appease people. If there's good reasons to open schools then fine. If they remain closed but extend childcare to those who can't work from home but under loosened restrictions could go to work ( eg smaller independent shops), then fine, let people have the option. But don't take away the option from those of us who can work from home and keep them off and would rather do this until there's clear evidence this is ok.

@Schoolchoicesucks Also no vaccine is 100%. That is not how vaccines work. But it is about turning a high risk into a low risk.
Personally I am not even waiting for a vaccine. I would be happy it was low risk if there was mass testing, contact tracing and forced isolation. The only thing stopping that is political will.

DD has been going to nursery for the duration as I'm a key worker, so yes, she'll continue to go and I'll feel better when they're back to normal opening times and she has children her own age to play with as she's the youngest by quite a lot at the moment.

A second (smaller) peak in summer is much better than a second peak in winter, and if kids going back to school creates that then that’s good. The government have to look at the big picture and make choices on a population level. I’m glad I’m not having to decide.

Clearly if your family’s particular risk profile means going to school or work is a bad idea you should act accordingly but everyone else needs to get the country going again. Half of the excess deaths were non covid on the ons figures, people are dying due to lockdown as well as lives being saved by it.

I should add it shouldn't be compulsory for anyone who doesn't feel comfortable sending their kids back irrespective.

This is why I dont think the 11/5 will be a full scale opening and will be a gradual process to ensure that doesnt happen

Am I missing something? Who has said there is going to be any sort of opening on 11/5?

Yes

As mentioned before, a spike needs to be happen in the summer months - rather than wait for September and then a surge happen in the winter when the NHS is already stretched as it is due to winter pressures.

It's impossible to say because we don't know figures yet for coming weeks leading up to it.
Secondly we don't know how close we can are to a vaccine.
This virus isn't going to magically go away when restrictions are lifted. I would rather err on the side of caution.
I think very small business should open first, controlling amounts of people in shop, masks... Maybe... Older years at school...

I can't see the sense in sending back the most unhygienic, irrational group of dc though?

Depends. Both me and OH are furloughed. If our work places were open we would, if we are still at home then no.

@HoffiCoffi13 it's being quite widely reported that lockdown will lift 7th May with schools returning 11th. Obviously not official but reported by a lot or sources.

@HoffiCoffi13 I think the rumours are lockdown will end on the 11th May and things will start to reopen including potentially schools. But that is why I said what I have because I think the 11th will start the process but wont be a full scale opening.

My son is at nursery just like every other day. So no change here.

Nope, I very much doubt this has peaked yet. Perhaps if they ran a reduced timetable so that students only went in for an hour or two a few times a week and had enough space to observe social distancing I’d think about it. I agree we have to adapt and the current situation can’t go on for ever, but adaptation means adjusting to the new situation, not going back to what we were doing before.

Really,

There could be any numbers of peaks, and we don't even know if catching it once makes us immune... This is the huge worry.
We don't know if it lies dormant...

We just don't know.

But what is going to happen between May and September that will make it safe to return then, whilst it not being safe in May?

Cases may continue to drop between May and September if lockdown continues. But this started with 1 infected person in Wuhan. If there is still 1 infected person in September and we lift lockdown then the exponential growth just starts off again then.

BreatheAndFocus

If someone isn't medically vulnerable, there isn't any reason for them to remain shielded.

To those saying that school with social distancing would be mentally damaging to the children:

1. I doubt they would practice social distancing. We will all get coronavirus and must get it, otherwise we will be a vulnerable country from a national security standpoint;
2. Surely more damaging to detain children at home indefinitely. Remember that most children don't have their own lovely bedroom, sitting room, rumpus and a spacious sunny garden. Some live crowded, deprived (and depraved), grim lives.