To think primary schools won’t close

[getwhatyougive]

I don’t think the government will bow to the pressure this time.

The pressure to keep people safe?

I don't either. We are tier 3, can still go non essential shopping, gym, swimming, hairdressers. Been tier 3 for months, rates lower than average, hospitals not overwhelmed etc.

If they close primary here it will be because teachers don't go in. I don't see our teachers doing that tbh, not yet anyway and I wouldn't support them if they did, rates are lower here than October.

Some will be closed. We know that already.

Others may have to close - you need staff to open them.

I hope they do close. I'm in an area where they are closed for my kids, luckily. It's either safe for kids to be in school, or not. If it's not safe for some, it's not safe for all.

Well if they are, they are now due back in less than 24 hours. Would we not have heard by now? I can't see an announcement planned for today so I can only presume ds is going in at 9 am tomorrow morning.

And we are tier 4, we have heard nothing though.

I think there will be so many more parents taking up key worker places than last time anyway - There's a lot less people furloughed than before etc it would be very different to last time they closed.

A lot of schools are on inset days tomorrow so I still think there's time for announcements but hoping they can stay open

Oh my god all of these covid and schools threads are getting so boring...

We're in tier 4 but primary school open. Either all tier 4 is equally dangerous or they need to create tier 5.

Only closed in London, because it’s not safe for Londeners. But if you live in an area outside London EVEN WITH A HIGHER RATE than many London boroughs then the staff, children, families and community don’t matter.

Not sure about a universal closure but if I was living or a teacher in an area like Rushmoor with 800 plus cases per 100000 - more than many of the london boroughs - but schools not closed... I would be feeling very unhappy and unsure

They are all closed here, we are in one of the Covid hotspots. Quite rightly too, as cases are over 1000 per 100,000 and the hospitals are about to fall over. We are constantly reminded by the local council to not go to A&E as there is no capacity.

I think there should be an agreed upon criteria for school closure based on community cases.

@Hmmph

Only closed in London, because it’s not safe for Londeners. But if you live in an area outside London EVEN WITH A HIGHER RATE than many London boroughs then the staff, children, families and community don’t matter.

I’m outside London and schools are closed. We have the highest rate in the country.

Ours in closed. I genuinely have no idea when it will be reopening. Secondary schools seem to have a published plan of reopening on 18 Jan, with testing in place. There is absolutely no such plan for primary schools closed in the South East, just a mealy mouthed ‘reopening when it’s safe to do so’.

They need to close as a circuit breaker if only for a few weeks.
Primary has been shut for an extra week in Ireland.
If numbers continue to rise I'd say they'll stay closed longer.
Awful for families depending on childcare.

@GoldfishParade stop clicking on them then 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think they will at some point. But when they can present us with certain stats (that differ to what they are now) to back it up

@GoldfishParade

Oh my god all of these covid and schools threads are getting so boring...

And yet you were interested enough to open the thread.

And engaged enough to construct a reply.

Weird.

They should be closed.
Bonkers that they aren't...in fact, shocking. I'm support staff but our school isn't safe...but we aren't in London so I suppose it doesn't matter to the government...

It all depends on how many staff follow the unions advice not to work.
I am currently working out if I have enough staff to open tomorrow. Regardless of any decision made by the government.

We are tier three, rates about a third of what they were in November (when I had to send my kids in every day). However, our hospital is treating more covid patients than ever and we have few ICU beds spare. Staffing due to either illness or isolating is critical. I think they need at least two weeks off to mitigate the relaxation of the rules at Christmas.

Keep schools open and stop the students going back to uni. As they all go back to halls today and then spread it from tier 4 to our tier 3 areas.

It doesn't look like they are going to close all schools this time. I think it's the wrong decision. The new variant spreads more easily so obviously some children, parents and school staff will catch it. Some of those will end up in the already over crowded hospitals, or even be turned away from them. It's madness. Yes, I know it's not good for children to miss school, but what about if their teacher or even their parent dies, and it could have been prevented by closing the school for a couple of weeks? What about the impact of that? It's all so depressing.

@Emeraldshamrock

They need to close as a circuit breaker if only for a few weeks. Primary has been shut for an extra week in Ireland. If numbers continue to rise I'd say they'll stay closed longer. Awful for families depending on childcare.

Yeah because that's all schools provide isn't it? Childcare.

What about it's awful for the staff who are working in bubbles of often over 60 children with no ppe and social distancing