To think schools will close soon

[hibbledibble]

We may well have as many cases by new year as we did in the first peak. In which case school closures could be a very real possibility.

I'm horrified to say I think schools will close. I don't know what the alternative is if the virus numbers are to fall. But with a DC in Y10, the work is ramping up and I'm desperate (as are they, to be fair), to stay in school. What a mess!

My daughter is year 11, my son is year 9. Their school has only had 2 cases in year 9.
School is ready for testing. We are in an economically and socially deprived area, on line learning does not work for most of the kids. In our case the school needs to stay open.

I really hope both primary and secondary close. Yes, it's a nightmare organising work and homeschooling but it's pretty back and white. Closing means we save lives.

I think we will be lucky to have them in school in January. Children were back in school long enough to know which pupils has really struggled, I would hope these children would be able to attend school at least some of the time. They also need to prioritise getting exam years in as much as possible.

My children were fine, I can manage the homeschooling between working and our school does live lessons. There needs to be provision for children who were not ok.

I think they will and agree the media is prepping us slowly for it.

I work in an FE College and would be glad not to have to go in as I’m vulnerable but I have a 9 year old DS who will be very upset if they do and I do think exam children particularly have been messed about so much.

DS was worried when he broke up for Christmas that it would mean he wouldn’t go back “like the lockdown”. Must have had a premonition 🙄

If the new strain is as contagious as they say and amongst children too then I think they will have to.

It's not about having a lovely time during the last lockdown. It's about facing the fact that this virus is going to do its thing, it doesn't care about Christmas or how happy children and their families are in or out of school, or whether a child has exams, it just spreads and it kills a percentage of those it spreads to, and leaves a larger percentage of people with ongoing, long term symptoms.

Something that has come up a lot is how vulnerable and at risk some children are at home, which is apparently left for schools to deal with. (And vulnerable children would still be allowed to go to school, even if they're closed to other children). After all this, we need a full enquiry into this, and a proper strategy to help them long-term. How are we leaving children in such vulnerable situations every evening, weekend and school holidays? I don't know what the answer is, but if they're in danger then we need another organisation to protect them properly outside of school. Not that this government will care, but it needs to be a priority when it comes to elections in a few years.

I think saying that primary/infants needs to stay open because of childcare is a dangerous route to take when looking at the infection rate in primary recently.

I also think that if you say, it’s too dangerous for secondary children to be at school but it’s fine for your little ones (in fact it remains compulsory and we intend to fine you if you don’t send them) then that just won’t work.

Saying secondary children can stay at home alongside any CEW staff/children as it’s too dangerous for them to be in, but if you are in primary and have a CEW family member, you must get in or you’re sacked/fined is another dangerous one, too.

@SantaAssociationRepresentitve ha yes! It has been my sentiment since the stress they put us through for exams this year. I still have PTSD not knowing until the very last minute that it would be teacher grades. It was a shit show.

They’ve failed us all heavily: students, parents and teachers. I really do feel for all the kids doing exams in 2021 and like you, hope they can do better by them.

I'm a primary school music teacher. During our last two weeks before Christmas we simply didn't have enough staff, I had reception for four days.
It's heartbreaking but I honestly think that Closing the schools is the only option.

I think they will close the absolute bare minimum, just the school's in certain tiers and only select year groups at secondaries. Primary school students will still have to go in, as will exam years in secondary. It's dumb, doesn't follow the science and will lead to more spread. Which is what this government has form for.

Plans for remote learning are most definitely in place at a whole school level. I think the poor teachers you are referring to had carefully planned their lessons for the first week back (maybe printed worksheets, planned paired discussion activities) while schools were threatened with legal action for going remote. Now, once off, they’re being told the opposite. Bear in mind most/all teachers posting here are also parents: they’ll have spent the last 15 weeks coming in from work exhausted, probably worried about spreading it, and the glimmer of light was a Christmas period putting their own children first and not hours of smiling at them from behind a laptop.

Of course they will and for months again.
It's a fucking disgrace. Can't wait for my Y8 to fall behind again and my Y10 to fail her GCSEs. Still it probably doesn't matter as the government are making sure they'll be no jobs for our children. Also if the nurseries also close I'll probably loose my job unless they open for key workers.
I know teachers are scared, I know cases are up but so am I. I'm scared of going to work and catching Covid but I don't get a choice.

I don’t know whether scientific advice is to close or how much difference it will make. I hate the huge disparity between groups. It isn’t just wealthy/poor, also children with SN, parents unable to help D.C. for a variety of reasons and children whose MH will suffer.
Ok would never be able to all that but as lockdown was going to be a possibility the government should have addressed at least some of the problems- children without access to the internet or a suitable device. Ditto teachers if they want lessons online.

Given the wide range of education experienced now I can’t see how exams can go ahead. Take that decision now so schools, students, parents and higher/further education and employers can prepare as much as possible.

All other years (primary and secondary) have time to catch up.
No they don’t .
Primary school children will struggle massively , especially as year 6 will be moving to high school next September woefully unprepared .
In primary they learn reading ,writing, math and all about social development etc.. these are vital in a child’s development,obviously.
All school years are important and all need to be treated fairly.
The only students who I personally feel could learn mostly online from home are uni students who’s courses don’t need physical lessons and I say that as a uni parent .

Interesting comment from a virologist here

So the photo didn’t upload😬

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

So the photo didn’t upload😬

How do you square that with such a localised acceleration? - moving outwards from Kent

In our area not a single primary school or nursery has shut.
In my DS school not a single bubble has had to close.
It would be a shame for them to miss yet more school.

Surely it boils down to one thing - public health. If this is a public health crisis and children can spread it, then schools must close.

The Government will continue with their ludicrous plans for testing in schools. I'm not saying there shouldn't be testing in schools but putting the responsibility to manage, staff and carry this out back onto schools themselves with absolutely no notice to organise it properly is despicable.

Proper track & trace with proper funding and staffing is one far better solution.

But the DfE's utter farce of a plan for schools to do this is a disgrace. When it doesn't work, schools will be blamed yet again. And then they will have to shut down because infection rates will explode.

No-one wants schools to shut. Least of all the teaching profession. The provision at the start back in March generally was woeful but you know why??? Because the DfE told schools to 'suspend the curriculum' and just provide childcare. Yes, it was shit but things have changed.

Incidentally, I hate online teaching. It is utterly shit. Especially as I teach KS1 and these children need parental help to even access online learning. But it's better than nothing.

I don't see how else infection rates can be reduced.

I'm just so angry about the whole shitshow.

Not least because I am currently feeling absolutely horrendous and awaiting test results. For a virus I 100% caught at school. Which the Government assured me was 'COVID safe'

@Timeturnerplease

Can any teachers explain what their ideal would be?

Money to pay for all the extra cleaning. Money to pay for supply when teachers are forced into isolation.
Adequately sized classrooms to allow some kind of distancing (rather than Victorian buildings with rooms designed for 16 children - yes, we’ve measured them).
Heating systems that don’t give up the ghost when on all day due to open windows.
A Track and Trace that does it’s job, rather than us doing it for them

Failing this, then at least some honesty in the media that children are not all sitting 2m apart and teachers are still wiping noses/putting on plasters/hugging upset children.

Not one member of staff in the primary in which I work wants schools to close. Not one. But we need money, we need space and we need equipment. Most all, we need a DFE that doesn’t make impossible demands at the last minute with no understanding whatsoever of how the English school system is overcrowded, underfunded and running on a skeleton staff.

Yes yes yes!

@ShatnersWig

Surely it boils down to one thing - public health. If this is a public health crisis and children can spread it, then schools must close.

This includes the whole picture. Harms for children are also considered.

Surely part of the real difficulty with schools closing is that there's an expectation that education and work can still both somehow carry on at the same time?

I don't want schools to close and I certainly don't want any children to miss out on education, but the reality is that numbers are rocketing and presumably something serious needs to be done.

One thing that government can do is encourage both schools and employers to treat this as the exceptional circumstance that it is and help people try and find a way to juggle both.

"I so wish that people would stop wishing for school closures. Can people stop to think that just because perhaps you, and your children had a lovely time during the last closure."

Can you point to anyone on here who is even "wishing for" closures, let alone because they may have "had a lovely time" before?

Acknowledging sadly that it may well be that schools have to close their doors to most for a time this term, does NOT mean people are "wishing" for it.

The closure of schools will not cause as many issues as if the parents catch it, catch long covid or worse...
The constant closing of bubbles create just as much disruption as school closure and at least if by closing schools we get the numbers right down we can hopefully keep the economy going saving the parents jobs!