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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Headteacher has posted this to facebook

580 replies

NameChangeAgain111 · 12/05/2020 23:52

The headteacher at my DCs school has posted this to Facebook. He says that social distancing is impossible and unless we would be happy to let our DC play in a supermarket for hours to 'not even think about' bringing them to school. I have 2 expected back on June 1st. AIBU to keep them off after this?

m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10222994594279008&id=1403891361

OP posts:
Thread gallery
8
Fairyliz · 13/05/2020 06:58

Well he might be going to the supermarket a lot more often when he’s working there stacking shelves. When the economy is fucked because no ones working, no tax coming in. Don’t expect the government will be paying headteacher salaries then.
As an aside if he really wants to save Children’s lives he should stop parents driving them to school. More children killed in car accidents than by Covid 19.

CrowdedHouseinQuarantine · 13/05/2020 06:59

I think he may need to eat his words.
He should not be scaremongering.
He should be assessing ways to achieve the back to school.
Although he does end with telling us to trust the school, which is a fair point.
I am sure the schools will work out how best to manage

InfiniteSheldon · 13/05/2020 07:00

Shameful really lots of us are still working there are no safe conditions. Either you are on board with trying to edge back to normal and start to save the economy or you want to stay at home 'safe' paid for by those if us still working.
This is a politically motivated post by a partisan Head Teacher

Meeda · 13/05/2020 07:05

Can anyone add a screen shot? The link doesn't work for me.

Starfish1021 · 13/05/2020 07:07

I am no fan of this government. It’s handling of this epidemic has been spectacularly wrong. I’m sure there has been insufficient liaison with teachers and their unions. BUT I think this post is incredibly unhelpful. There has been countless studies now demonstrating that children are not getting sick and are not ‘super spreaders’. Of course there needs to be careful consideration of how to protect teachers, particularly those that fall in an at risk group. But we can’t keep children at home indefinitely. It is terrible for their mental health. And we do need to find positive ways forward. As others noted, what about shift systems? What about certain days different year groups come in. My brother and sister in law are both doctors. So my nieces have been going to ‘school’ but it’s not school. It’s childcare, they have received NO education despite the fact that their parents are working flat out and can’t fit in home schooling. I honestly think based on these experiences that schools have in general been pretty reluctant to provide support during this pandemic and I think that’s a real shame.

Noconceptofnormal · 13/05/2020 07:09

Shameful really lots of us are still working there are no safe conditions. Either you are on board with trying to edge back to normal and start to save the economy or you want to stay at home 'safe' paid for by those if us still working.
This is a politically motivated post by a partisan Head Teacher

Completely agree, has he not noticed that a lot of people have been working throughout all of this, he just sounds like he wants schools to remain off indefinitely until it is "safe". Newsflash: it may never be, and it certainly won't be for a long time.

Flippetydip · 13/05/2020 07:09

Whoever asked about unions whipping up the teachers, yes, yes they are. The emails coming out of unions are shockingly emotive and seriously lacking in substance or indeed science.

DH is a teacher who also happens to think three weeks is plenty of time to organise this return, and also thinks that the risk are minimal and that the risk to mental health for children and parents is far more risky than the risk from COVID. He will be there on 1st June with bells (but no PPE) on.

Whoever stated that the risk from RTAs are far higher than from COVID - bang on. Thank you.

The catastrophic thinking and drama surrounding this is unbelievable. Deaths are tragic whenever they occur but the risks are so minimal to children. We let our kids get in cars and cross roads all.the.time. That is far more risky.

Annebronte · 13/05/2020 07:09

He doesn’t come across as very intelligent or professional. I’m glad he doesn’t teach my children.

Greenpop21 · 13/05/2020 07:09

Good for him. That’s a boss you want to have.

Flippetydip · 13/05/2020 07:10

And also, the magic "September" - Covid will still be there in September you know. It's not going to have magically disappeared between August 31st and September 1st.

There will be a second peak - the idea was never to stop us all getting it - it was to slow it down. Surely a peak in the summer is preferable to a peak in the autumn/winter?

OhTheRoses · 13/05/2020 07:11

A quick google of the person evidences two serious safeguarding incidents at the school where he is Head. Both hit the headlines. On reflection I'd have concerns about sending a child of mine to a school run by him at any time. He appears also to be a professional committee sitter who principally runs an educational consultancy.

All rather interesting but no doubt a union is backing him.

Greenpop21 · 13/05/2020 07:11

Adults have to teach the children , it’s not just about risks to children. Some of our staff are 60+!

Annebronte · 13/05/2020 07:11

Totally agree with Flippety and her DH.

MonkeyToesOfDoom · 13/05/2020 07:11

Why do people think the government stats and government scientists are trustworthy?
So far they've led us to the highest death toll on Europe. Ignored care figures for weeks to massage the figures. Only include people that have had a test done whilst performing very few tests to begin with.

OhTheRoses · 13/05/2020 07:13

Thread will be gone by noon I reckon.

Kickanxietyinthebeanbag · 13/05/2020 07:15

You have left the head teachers name in the link ...that not very fair of you

GreenTeaMug · 13/05/2020 07:19

he should be fired for gross misconduct?

Or is what he essentially doing whistleblowing. Maybe he could just disappear like those doctors in China who whistleblew about the virus.

But, call it unprofessional and tell everyone to keep quiet about what is potentailly hazardous as he explained really very well.

Pumpkinpie1 · 13/05/2020 07:19

I think he is putting children's , his staff and the public’s health first. It’s a shame the government has no understanding of basic safeguarding
Well done him !

PurpleFlower1983 · 13/05/2020 07:22

Brave and saying what the vast majority of headteachers are thinking. No way will the youngest children be back on June 1st.

Bluntness100 · 13/05/2020 07:24

Well there’s a bloke who was desperately hoping to be off till September....

lilgreen · 13/05/2020 07:25

Brave man. Not swallowing the government’s guinea pig approach.Its too soon. By September we might have the app and regular testing running, so much has changed since March and will in a another 4 months.

3cats · 13/05/2020 07:27

From an outside perspective, the situation in the UK is really scary. Currently, the UK has the second highest number of deaths of any country in the world (second only to the US, which also insists it's doing a great job in this crisis). Yesterday, there were over 600 deaths recorded. Again, only the US had more deaths recorded.

www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

The government never wanted to shut schools in the first place and only did so under immense pressure. I don't think the UK is in any position to reopen schools at the moment. I don't understand why anyone in the UK would feel happy and confident with how the government is coping. It's an utter shit show. Over 600 deaths yesterday!! That's not a good result. That's scarily high.

user1497207191 · 13/05/2020 07:28

I think he is putting children's , his staff and the public’s health first

Shame he doesn't care about the kid's education nor mental health nor social skills! How about HE comes up with a solution instead of rubbishing others?

LakieLady · 13/05/2020 07:28

Maybe its because I'm NHS and have gone to work/DC gone to school throughout, but I genuinely don't get the terror about something which is extremely unlikely to cause your DC real danger even if they do catch it

It's not just about the risk to the children. Children who get Covid seem (in the main) to get very mild symptoms, and could quite possibly asymptomatic. The risk of Covid infection in children going undetected is therefore higher than for adults, but the risk of them transmitting it to others is higher as a result.

Keeping children away from school until appropriate measures are in place to prevent them from infecting other children is for the protection of all of us. I don't want my MIL to get ill because the kids next door have gone back to school before it's safe.

GreenTeaMug · 13/05/2020 07:29

I think there needs to be more public comment about the 'plans' (I use the word loosely) of the government by people who can explian exactly nwhat it means in reality. Like this HT.

and tbh the comments that just dismiss this pandemic as overblown hyperbole- well we have the highest death rate in europe. every death is a tragedy. And it is pointless to say that it doesn't really effect children- it's not only children who are in schools.... just to point out the obvious.