To think schools should not reopen in Sept?

[SusanFrimp]

I think that schools should not fully reopen in September and instead be partially reopened to some years. It is just not safe enough to reopen yet. I'd say December at the latest for full reopening. If they can't reopen other smaller places, how can they reopen schools with 1000's of kids? AIBU?

(I'm so ignorant I didn't realise terms were at different times in Scotland to here, can't imagine school in August)

My children in England (state school) go back in August too. The whole county does.

@chillie

I'm assuming all those with kids going back to school are not wearing masks then? If bubbles of 120+ kids with no masks and not social distancing for 5+ hours together are safe then I'm guessing that standing next to a couple of strangers for a few minutes in a supermarket without PPE must make us all safe then, no need for us to have masks if the kids don't. I'm also assuming that the lack of symptoms in many people is also false reporting, we will know' if anyone has it, this has helped stop the spread of it so far , hasn't it? I have both yr11 and yr13 doing exams next year. There is no good solution at the moment, our going back does however look very very different to other countries version of going back to school. Do have a look at the Korean report of kids returning to school. It makes very interesting reading and they are much better set up in so many ways than us.

Most people in England are wearing masks because it is a legal requirement to do so, not because they think there is any real risk of them catching the virus if they don't. (Masks don't do that anyway - but the only way to make this thread more painful would be to turn it into a mask thread).

Fuck me. Another schools thread. Deep joy.

You are being UTTERLY unreasonable

HTH

@chillie I'm wearing a mask only because it's a requirement. I'd be perfectly happy and comfortable not wearing one. I don't wear one at work.

How much of an education do you think our kids are really going to get?
All go back in September. Fine.
How long before individual staff are quarantining due to exponential community spread due to the rest of society thinking we all have to get back to normal?
My DD's school was forced to close a week before official government guidance because they couldn't mainitain a skeleton staff. Sure we weren't the only ones.
I would rather we could have used the vast resources and time over the summer to build on an increasingly impressive online resources than ploughing money into making schools Covid compliant.
Surely even the most ardent 'get them all back' supporters must recognise that teachers are people too. Just think how close to the bone schools have become in recent years, there is not the budget to have excess staff to just cover those staff who may be vulnerable or having to take time off due to their own children having to self isolate.
And as an aside I cannot tell you how sad I feel for parents who say their kids have to go back because they need the childcare.
FFS my DD2 is about to being yr 11. I don't think for one minute that she will receive a thorough education approaching her GCSEs because it just will not be possible

@Hobnobswantshernameback 🤣

YABU, it's getting ridiculous now, and no more deaths, was there one recently?
We have to get on with life, what a load of fuss about a bloody virus.
Yes, people have died, we knew this would happen, strange that combined deaths of everything are down this year.

@Parker231

For those who don’t want their DC’s to go back (yet), who will provide online or other teaching materials. The teachers will be back full time in front of their classes and not available to produce materials for those staying at home?

I'd happily do this myself as we did before the summer break. Yes it's hard, yes it's not ideal, but weighing all up would for now be our preference. This doesn't mean I want to deregister, I don't think that's a solution at all. Obviously school would be best but for many reasons for our D.C. just not now on present figures- just makes zero sense

@Hobnobswantshernameback

Home school your cherub and shut up whining And post threads like this in the coronavirus section so we can hide it Ffs It's too ducking hot for this

Charming!!

Not sure why people are coming onto a thread to complain about it, when it was very obvious what it is about! Fine to give your opinion about schools going back but to simply say they don’t like the thread seems very pointless. You can hide it if it annoys you.

@drivinmecrazy and who would be setting and marking this impressive online education? Teachers? And who would be educating the teachers children while they were delivering this???

My children are too young to learn independently online. Who should be supervising them? It’s also incredibly demotivating for a lot of children to sit all day alone learning at the kitchen table.

Not open for certain years only no! It needs to be equal ops for all, if that is part-time then so be it but at the end of the day all children have mental health wellbeing needs and all will be doing the same exams and need to have experienced the same education

I get where you are coming from OP, I have sever asthma and I am scared but I also simply cant manage home schooling as a single parent who works full time. I've been barely coping trying to keep DS occupied while I'm trying to work and he starts reception in September, I cant carry on like this much longer so he needs to go to school.

ODFOD. Just keep your kids off school FFS, more space in the school for the other pupils. If you are fined, lose your space etc - it's your choice.

@SusanFrimp LIFE is a risk ... Jesus Wept. Do you plan to wear full hazmat as it's so unsafe?

Of course they should re-open. The risks are minimal in spite of all the scaremongering from the usual suspects

Ds was in full time throughout lockdown and I want him to return full time in September. We are continuing to socially isolate so the chances of ds taking it into school are tiny.

How much of an education do you think our kids are really going to get?

Well mine has had pretty much nothing since March, so I’m willing to take my chances thanks.

I would rather we could have used the vast resources and time over the summer to build on an increasingly impressive online resources than ploughing money into making schools Covid compliant.

Who supervises them? Parents need to work. Alternative childcare is non existent.

It would also be impossible for him to learn online.

We have to get on with life, what a load of fuss about a bloody virus

I totally understand that the OP is in the minority, and that almost every parent is in favour of schools reopening for all in September. However, I wonder if I could ask some advise please. My husband is in the shielding group (yes I know it's officially paused but the medics recommend he continues to shield). We have all ben shielding since mid March, and everything has gone really well, but I am very nervous about my children returning to school. Yes, they will be in their bubbles, of approx 150 others, but will have to catch the school bus with children from other bubbles for 30 mins each way. And with four children that means four different bubbles. Yes I can withdraw and home school my own children but cannot do that with the children we have fostered for over ten years, as obviously the local authority has parental responsibility. I am nervous and I do understand most people would feel I am unreasonable in being so - hence asking for genuine advice from others who seem to be coping well and more confident than me.

Do those posting doubts about returning to school in September not have jobs? How are you going to work if you don’t send your DC’s to school?

@SusanFrimp

And why must I have to deregister? Again, I am not saying we must keep them off. I'm saying for a few year groups in at a time. Not all at once. I've spoken to many parents about this and they also believe that it's not safe and would rather do online schooling.

Who would conduct the online schooling? when, exactly? or do you envisage some incredible system which can facilitate simultaneous home and classroom learning offered by the same teachers?

I'm as worried about Covid-19 as most people but the kids have got to get back into education. My year 10 dc is climbing the walls.

In scotland not a single person under 18 has died from covid,

in a normal week in Scotland on average 7-8 children die ( more than half are under 1) so still about 3 a week between ages 1-18, so since schools shut in March 20 weeks ago 60-75 young people have died in Scotland from other causes accidents cancer suicide etc

I am not saying the risk from covid is nothing more than flu it is of course; for some it is deadly and for others there are serious side effects but the risks for those under 60 are much less than their normal risk of dying in any particular year, for example the age when you are least likely to die is 10, old enough to not run into road but not old enough to be as risk taking as a teenager, the risk of dying at age 10 is 1 in 13,000 ( ie 1 in 13,000 10 year olds don't make it until 11) this is the best it ever is in life; by the time you are 50 the chances of not making it to 51 are 1 in 50 by 90 it is 1 in 9 chance of not making it to 91. Unless you are over 70 your risk of dying of covid is less than your general risk of dying that year
Obviously this risk is not evenly spread through everyone of a particular age but that is how maths on average work

So the risk to both school children and those that work there is not that much greater than normal it is very slightly statistically greater than normal but by a few% not double or treble like some people would have you believe. The people involved in schools who are shielding were always more vulnerable from ordinary coughs colds flu etc than average

we already know that part time blended learning was failing to reach at least 50% of pupils this would not miraculously change in next few days weeks. My DD is in P7 she can't wait to go back on Wednesday and is just hoping they don't talk about covid for days, even spelling tests would be better she says

for some weeks now the number of deaths has been lower than average for the time of year while there are clusters there are many many areas of UK with very very few postive tests in our area of Scotland Argyll there has been about 10 positives in total since mid may, with many weeks being 0, there have only been 166 since testing began I do not believe here in Argyll there is any scientific reason to keep schools or indeed anywhere else closed

You can think what you like.

My three secondary school age kids can't be out of education any longer.

I would love to know what will magically be different in December.