Aibu to think kids will be back in primary school after half term?

[Malbals]

What do you think? I’ve bee told by a teacher friend that primary aged children will be at school after February half term? I do hope so I feel so sorry for my children I just can’t give them what they need and feel like I am failing them
They are so sad and missing friends and routine

I sincerely hope so. The effect this is having on my son in particular is heartbreaking (5yo).

In my town (Greater Manchester) our cases are running at 156 per 100k. That’s apparently equivalent to 9 people tested positive in a week. And yet my kids can’t go to school. We’ve been in tier 3 forever before lockdown, with schools open.

I’m seriously cross that decisions are regional when it is bad in the North, and national when London/SE is driving the cases.

The red on the map is disappearing, in my region. I'm thinking that we'll move away from universal tier 5 in February and school openings will gradually follow on from that

And aren't the lateral flow tests a first line screening test rather than a definitive test, anyow? They were trialled at our university, on the premise that a positive test was followed up by the full swab test.

Numbers are low here in Manchester so hopefully they will reopen in February as promised for primary schools at least.

Talking to teacher friends today and they seem to think that it will happen. Fingers crossed.

Numbers are more than 400,000 per 100,000 in all areas of Greater Manchester????

At least by the BBC checker

I think primaries will open but not secondaries.

Why on earth are people saying September?!! We don’t need every adult in the country vaccinated before we open schools or anywhere else - we need the elderly and vulnerable (and frontline workers) done and then death rates, hospital admissions (and infection rates) will plummet.

Yes under 50s can and do become seriously ill with covid. But it’s still statistically rare. NOT statistically rare are severe mental health issues, unemployment and destitution.

Still lots of red in greater Manchester

If you follow teacher blogs they aren’t informed on decisions prior to announcements any more than anyone else.

No heads up, no prep time, nothing.

Anything teachers think is just that.

@shhsecretsquirrel

I think primary may be back after half term, with secondary phased in between then and Easter starting with key years. But then, I'm looking forward to getting back to normal life, so many on here seem to love the COVID strife and drama

Agree.

@NoToMisogyny

Why on earth are people saying September?!! We don’t need every adult in the country vaccinated before we open schools or anywhere else - we need the elderly and vulnerable (and frontline workers) done and then death rates, hospital admissions (and infection rates) will plummet.

Yes under 50s can and do become seriously ill with covid. But it’s still statistically rare. NOT statistically rare are severe mental health issues, unemployment and destitution.

I want schools to open asap but September wouldn't surprise me. Last year there was no reason pupils couldn't go back in the summer term when the infection rate was low. I very much got the impression that there was an attitude of, oh well, it's nearly the summer holidays, it's not really worth it.

attitude of, oh well, it's nearly the summer holidays, it's not really worth it

From the government not from teachers

That was the attitude last year, definitely.

I really, really hope so. British children have been treated abysmally throughout this and as parents we need to keep shouting about the horrible impact this is having on them. They do not have voices to be heard. Each week they miss at school is a deep shame on our government. (And tbh on the people calling for schools to remain shut longer than they know to be necessary.)

No one honestly knows, even the government! Personally, I'm glad they haven't given a date, like they did in June and got kids to return before they should have. This time the figures are even worst with transmission and deaths and we should wait until the figures are down, and then say 2 weeks to open schools, with an actual plan in place, rather than if figures are at x on x, we will open schools.

I also think schools do need to return on part time/ reduced classes first and then full classes. Slow reintroduction.

I'm in London, my local hospitals are sending Covid patients to other parts of the country. Rates are now starting to drop in our area, but that won't feed through to the hospitals for a few more weeks. There is no way we can be back straight after half term, much as I wish we could.

Yeah, I can confirm that teachers tend to find out at the same time as everyone else. I’m a FE tutor and we found out the college would be closing at the same time you did, when Boris did his announcement on TV. As far as we know, it will be remote learning for the foreseeable.

Guessing primary and secondary schools have the same communication we did, pretty much none. I hope primary schools return after half term but I think it’s more likely it will be after Easter.

I also think schools do need to return on part time/ reduced classes first and then full classes. Slow reintroduction

I completely agree. The government have already made this virtually impossible though, by putting no caps on the numbers of KW/vulnerable children allowed a place. If there are already 15-20 out of 30 pupils in a class who MUST attend already, it’s going to be nigh on impossible do do any sort of rota system.

My 6 year old only child is missing his friends and home learning is at times a struggle. However - I turned down a key worker place (we are lucky that DH and I can both WFH and juggle). And I hope schools don't return until the infection rate is brought right back down to low levels of community transmission, and the over 70s and CEV individuals are all 3 weeks post their first jab. My DM's surgery isn't currently optimistic about calling her until March and she is group 3... So on that basis, we're looking at Easter for school return? I hope conditions allow a return in the summer term but even then, worry that we'll be throwing the unvaccinated 40 and 50 somethings under a bus - people like DH.

I think primaries will, yes. Boris didn’t want to close them at all and only did so very reluctantly. I suppose it will depend on local cases. Our numbers of new cases are dropping like a stone and put hospitals are coping well here. Numbers now (in my city, north) are almost lower than December and we were at school then.

@juliainthedeepwater - I agree. I’m surprised parents are just putting up with this. Why aren’t more of us shouting from the rooftops about the neglect of our children’s rights. We will look back on this whole episode with shame at how 90% of the country have been hugely negatively impacted.

@Howshouldibehave

I also think schools do need to return on part time/ reduced classes first and then full classes. Slow reintroduction

I completely agree. The government have already made this virtually impossible though, by putting no caps on the numbers of KW/vulnerable children allowed a place. If there are already 15-20 out of 30 pupils in a class who MUST attend already, it’s going to be nigh on impossible do do any sort of rota system.

A lot of schools have put their own limits in! To cap at 50% of the class.

I think the part time rota of children should include key worker children and they all do 2 days a week each. With child minders etc being used the other 2 days for key workers. A lot of key worker families are already using those to get children to school and pick up, as most people's shifts are 9 til 3!

A lot of schools have put their own limits in! To cap at 50% of the class.

Schools aren’t allowed to cap class sizes-Nick Gibb was clear about this.