#closetheschools is trending

[Allthestarsarecloser]

I work at a university on the front line seeing students 1-1 (I work in student support) and have continued to see students this term at a distance & with measures in place. ALL the students I have seen have been grateful for the human contact.

I also have 2 kids in primary and secondary. I want them to stay in school as my eldest had to have counselling after the last lockdown.

Aibu to say that schools need to stay open and I say that as someone on the front line.

YABU - they should shut
YANBU- they need to stay open

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DD in Sixth Form and it is unrealistic to ask her any social distancing to her friends. During half term her friends met and partied at someone's place.
Partying aside, they work together and eat together at school. They do love to be near to each other.
If higher education will not shut next week, my DH will move out as he is self employed and we depend on him.

while the schools are operating like they are I see little point in the lockdown.
However I dont want schools to close. I have dd in year 11 she cant miss any more school.
They need to sort track and trace and some sort of rota for all the children to be in school a couple of days a week.

Keep them open! Maybe university could be done online but young children need their schools.

I think we all want schools to stay open. My dd is in year 11, and has mocks in November, so it's a really important time for her. She's also a natural extrovert, so being back at school is important for her mental health too.

However, I think we should close secondary schools for a limited period in order to make the national lockdown effective. A lot of people will suffer in lockdown, so we need to make sure it's worthwhile and it needs to be as short as possible so that businesses can re-open. I'm not sure about primary schools tbh - the evidence is less clear. I think we need to assess the risks to teachers and others who work in schools in order to make a decision on this.

I do think the schools should continue to offer provision for the most vulnerable/disadvantaged children throughout the lockdown.

No right solution really. Technically to stop the spread schools should shut but we know kids need that contact. Mine became lazy and unmotivated during lockdown.

My DH is a teacher in a secondary school of over 1000 pupils. The pupils are often not following even basic rules they have put in place regarding social distancing. A lot of pupils don't care.

I am heavily pregnant with a toddler, and my parents are clinically vulnerable so I will have to distance from them now. The risk feels high from my DH's work (even though he is being as careful as he can) and an outbreak in his school feels inevitable. He will keep going to work, he knows it is his job and won't let the pupils or staff down. I am scared of the consequences for my family.

No right solution really. Technically to stop the spread schools should shut but we know kids need that contact. Mine became lazy and unmotivated during lockdown.

I agree. Whatever decision the Government makes is going to come at a price.

‘My children have regressed by 18 months due to the last lockdown. My year 10 has gone to a slim chance of getting some GCSE passes to now looking impossible’

I’m a teacher. It would be very unusual for a child to regress 18 months.

If your child is in Y10, there are still over 18 months to GCSE. However, I’m pretty certain that this years GCSE and next years will be replaced by teacher assessment. There is even a move within the Conservative party for all exams to be scrapped at GCSE, and it’s becoming louder.

They will announce the changes at the last minute of course. But they will be much more careful this time. Gav🙄 and Bojo will not want a repeat of last year.

@ThornAmongstRoses

Can parents currently keep their children out of school without any comeback?

If not, maybe that needs to be an option for parents who can (and want to) take their children out.

Any reduction of numbers in small classes must be a positive?

I had a few issues at first but my GP provided the school with evidence as to why I removed him.

@ThornAmongstRoses

Can parents currently keep their children out of school without any comeback?

If not, maybe that needs to be an option for parents who can (and want to) take their children out.

Any reduction of numbers in small classes must be a positive?

I think this would be a fair compromise yes. Parents at least deserve the choice -after all the 5 tests we were "robustly promised before schools can reopen" are a faint distant memory.... Awful situation for everybody this just awful

@MsVestibule

Keep them open! My two are now at high school so no problem to look after, but they can't miss another four months education and socialising.

Exactly this.

I have three at secondary school. They can't miss another 4 months.

I work in Child Protection. For so many children school is a sanctuary from awful awful home conditions and a place where they can get fed and have some sort of routine
Also the schools spot safeguarding issues. When they reopened this year there was.a flood of referrals into children's services by concerned teachers. They really need to be open.

YANBU . I am a secondary teacher.

And no choice!!!!! The parents we deal with happily keep their children out of school so that the schools won't hear what life is like for their children at home

I’m another one on the fence. I want the whole nightmare of coronavirus to be over as quickly as possible and to save lives and jobs - so for that to happen schools should close BUT I have 2 children who I know need to be in school for their education and socialisation with their friends.

If the government can kindly make provisions for those children with no devices or internet access at home, a proper welfare network (not teachers, they have enough to be doing), magic some more teachers out of thin air to try and administer and deliver online learning to a sufficient standard, find a way to support parents who then cannot work as they have to homeschool, put in place provisions for children to attend a setting where they actually can do the work if parents need to be out of the house for essential work- rather than it being simply childcare, can ensure that all students have equal access to lessons and chance for feedback rather than it being a bit of a postcode lottery, provide clarifications on what's happening with exams next summer, and use the time people are kept away from schools to actually think about how to make them even somewhat covid 'safe' then sure. Otherwise no, they should remain open as long as they possibly can, and there's no point.

Keep them open. And I say that as a parent of a child who caught the virus at school (as sure as I can be of that).
When my DC saw me watching the news and heard the word lockdown the first thing they asked me is can they still go to school? That’s all that matters to them right now.

I’m in two minds about this, my child is in her last year at school and is at present making her choices for going to uni so it’s a really important year for her however for a lockdown to work there needs to be a total very strict lockdown, no half measures, no but you can do this and that. There should be a month long strict lockdown to help with this horrendous virus.its the only way I can see it working.

I dont know what to feel. I want schools open but not the way secondaries are now. 1000 people in a building, not wearing masks, not socially distanced.
I also feel a bit like we are trashing the economy to keep schools open on the false idea that school is a set period of time so children cant catch up. When, with money and changing 'the system' they could. I'm still studying aged 43.
I'm glad its not my choice. For every parent of young children dreading homeschool and how to balance work; there is a person who didnt need childcare losing their job that wasnt contributing to spread much.

I work in a school, and they need to stay open. Their mental health suffered enough in the first lockdown.

I think open but I do think we need ppe and a rota system.

It would be great if current measures slowed the spread enough that schools could remain open. I am concerned that numbers will continue to rise and we will end up in a longer lockdown.

Part of me wonders if a short sharp total lockdown would work better? Two week total lockdown, no one travelling in from other countries etc. That is what I thought we were doing from the start. This drawn out semi lockdown is killing our friends businesses. Maybe it will work but I am not hopeful at this point.

@Ilovexmastime35

I think they should shut high schools / colleges/ universities as that's where the highest infection rates are. Infant and junior schools should stay open.

Also from a personal view, my children are y2 and Y5. My son in Y5 had a terrible time over lockdown. He needs routine and to be in school. He has undiagnosed sen but he is on the SEN register. So he was unable to go in last time.
He couldn't cope with the home school side of things and learned practically zero. Him and me cried every single day of those 6 months. Since he's gone back to school he's like a different child

and you don't think there may be children in secondary schools or colleges who also had a terrible time last lockdown? Or that it is just as important for older children to be able to have routine, socialise with peers, and have an education? but no, you only have primary aged children so lets keep them open and shut everything else . Typical I'm alright jack attitude.

Ilovexmastime your kids are in primary and had an awful time over the last lockdown so keep those schools open but shut down all other educational settings? So older children's/ teenagers mental health and education isn't as important because it doesn't directly affect you? Where does it say secondary schools are the bigger cause of transmission?