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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think schools just won’t be able to stay open in the medium term

428 replies

Schoolgrand · 07/09/2021 18:13

In the medium term we are having thousands of people mixing from different households at a time of high community transmission and now we are hearing reports of an October lockdown. Aibu to think schools in their current form with no mitigation’s just can’t stay open in the medium term.

OP posts:
DobbyTheHouseElk · 07/09/2021 20:17

I’ll join you marching in downing st.

SachaStark2 · 07/09/2021 20:24

We’ve managed to get through since the very beginning with absolutely ZERO positive cases during term time.

Day one back yesterday, six positive cases in students.

Lifting of restrictions during summer holiday? Lots of travel and holidays amongst the school community? We are also a tourist hot spot, so maybe that, too.

Who knows. I think we will be lucky to make it to half term without loads of staff being out.

hangrylady · 07/09/2021 20:25

@SuperCaliFragalistic

FFS some people sound like they enjoy this shit. No I don't think schools should close again, ever.

It's been, honestly, joyful being back in playground this week seeing the kids mixing and playing freely. The delight at being able to use play equipment that was roped off for 18 months and talk to children in other classes. Swimming lessons and school trips being discussed excitedly. Very little makes me tearful but it's been so hard for these little people and they are finally getting back their normal childhood.

People who rub their hands together at the thought of another closure disgust me.

Spot on. Some people can't get enough of the drama. My DCs are absolutely delighted that they can now eat lunch in the hall rather than at their desk in their class bubble and it's sad that this simple thing is so exciting for them.
Sinnoh · 07/09/2021 20:27

My guess is that if a firebreak is done it would be secondary only

Assssssssssss · 07/09/2021 20:28

I agree if kids are not educated there won't be any future anyway.

museumum · 07/09/2021 20:32

We’re in Scotland. Been back three weeks. Every kid in the class has had a rotten cold (enough to keep my ds off today) but only 4 cases linked to the school of 500+ pupils. Mad rates here but starting to slow. Hospitals ok so far.

siestalady · 07/09/2021 20:40

@toots111

If they stop my kids from going to school again I will take my kids to Downing Street and let Boris look after them. My kids have been out of school too much over the last 18 months. They have isolated multiple times. And they have had Covid with literally not a single symptom. They have done everything that has been asked of them for a virus that has no impact on them. I am not a key worker and my young kids have to basically look after themselves whilst I work a really stressful job full time from home. It is not fair, not acceptable, that they have to sacrifice any more.
Another one in support of this.

It is utterly criminal they shut the schools at all. For a third time?? Just no. No. No. No.

YouMeandtheSpew · 07/09/2021 20:42

Personally I doubt (and hope) there will be more enforced school closures. I might be being naive but with nearly 90% of the adult population having received at least one jab it’s difficult to see the justification for it.

But I think schools will have a very difficult time with staff shortages and there will also be poor pupil attendance.

Thislittlefinger123 · 07/09/2021 20:44

Christ, we really do need to move on. Enough now, children have sacrificed enough. You only get 18 years of being a child, all of us had ours, stop imposing this never ending shit on them!

This.

Thislittlefinger123 · 07/09/2021 20:47

I don't think there's any chance schools will be closed though. Every adult that wants to has been double jabbed. Teachers have been shown to be at no more risk than anyone else. It's wonderful to have normality for my DC again.

MyDcAreMarvel · 07/09/2021 20:49

@toots111 And they have had Covid with literally not a single symptom yes and they missed a few weeks of school so others who would have had severe symptoms or died were protected.

FfrothiCoffi · 07/09/2021 20:52

[quote MyDcAreMarvel]**@toots111* And they have had Covid with literally not a single symptom* yes and they missed a few weeks of school so others who would have had severe symptoms or died were protected.[/quote]
A few weeks of school?

listsandbudgets · 07/09/2021 20:54

Our children have missed enough. DP is marginally a key worker and we've not bothered exploiting the fact before but if it happened again we certainly would. The DCs were so miserable stuck at home especially knowing that lots of their friends were in the classroom. I'm not doing that to them again.

I don't mind if they put in some kind of mitigation in schools - continued testing, ventilation, masks in class and corridor even temperatures on the door - the DCs are used to those things now but keeping them at home again would just be rubbish - they've given up enough

MyDcAreMarvel · 07/09/2021 21:03

@FfrothiCoffi yes a few weeks, less than 5% of their entire in person school education to save thousands of lives. It’s not really a huge sacrifice to make.

GTAlogic · 07/09/2021 21:05

OMG I really hope not. We will just have to learn to live with it now and hopefully vote for a government that won't continue to purposefully and chronically underfund the NHS so it won't be as easily floored by spikes in admissions as it is every flu season.

sirfredfredgeorge · 07/09/2021 21:10

Our school have said you will be required to isolate as a close contact until negative PCR test is received

The school has no legal basis for enforcing this, I bet they're falsifying the attendance records too and putting down the wrong code.

ExceptionalAssurance · 07/09/2021 21:19

[quote MyDcAreMarvel]**@FfrothiCoffi* yes a few weeks, less than 5% of their entire in person* school education to save thousands of lives. It’s not really a huge sacrifice to make.[/quote]
Not your call.

FfrothiCoffi · 07/09/2021 21:20

[quote MyDcAreMarvel]**@FfrothiCoffi* yes a few weeks, less than 5% of their entire in person* school education to save thousands of lives. It’s not really a huge sacrifice to make.[/quote]
It wasn’t ’a few weeks’ though, was it?

LegendaryReady · 07/09/2021 21:22

5% is massive. How would you like a 5% pay cut or a 5% weight increase or an increase of 5% on your mortgage rate?

Evesgarden · 07/09/2021 21:23

We have got to push on through this now. We are heading in to winter, if they do another lockdown when they release it it will rise again and crash right in to flu months.

The vaccine will get up through the worst of it

Getawaywithit · 07/09/2021 21:24

I really can’t see how things can continue to close. Just isn’t affordable

one of my children spent last week in hospital. He had one to one nursing so I spent a lot of time chatting with staff. Obviously on a children’s ward they have bypassed the worst of it. But they all said winter started in April and they are desperately worried about tWhat that means for the winter. One said there is a small and worrying increase in sick children with covid but I accept that as anecdotal. What they all said is that the capacity to handle the routine but urgent will be reduced and that’s most concerning - so if it’s your child that needs an emergency op or dies because a busy team dismisses something as ‘just the flu’, well……. So whilst I agree that it isn’t affordable, I can’t imagine any government wants the health service to start losing people who should have lived. And that’s before we talk about delayed routine OP’s, cancer services etc.

I don’t know the answer but I do believe that there will be huge appetite for lockdown if people start dying unnecessarily.

HairyToity · 07/09/2021 21:25

Nooooo. Everyone in my house has had covid, we just want to get on with things now!

My parents neighbour is in hospital with covid - he's in his 60s and chose not to vaccinate.

We can't stop normal life forever more.

Payproblems · 07/09/2021 21:28

We are in a huge test at the moment, I'm not sure cases will rise at the moment because it's so hot and students are mostly outside (in and out at breaks, Windows open, eating outside and so on.
However I also know many settings are not pushing lat flow testing, so we are not on a clean as we can be "slate".

Will it build and build again until jvt comes on telly looking absolutely shit scared or... Will we have another peak without too much stress?

Personally I feel OK now but I'm dreading the depths of winter.

Payproblems · 07/09/2021 21:32

Eves garden there is much talk of the vaccine which many got back at the beginning and middle of the year starting to loose efficacy.
Which means by mid winter many of us may not be protected by it anymore.

echt · 07/09/2021 21:35

@SuperCaliFragalistic

FFS some people sound like they enjoy this shit. No I don't think schools should close again, ever.

It's been, honestly, joyful being back in playground this week seeing the kids mixing and playing freely. The delight at being able to use play equipment that was roped off for 18 months and talk to children in other classes. Swimming lessons and school trips being discussed excitedly. Very little makes me tearful but it's been so hard for these little people and they are finally getting back their normal childhood.

People who rub their hands together at the thought of another closure disgust me.

Has anyone said this?

Clue: no.

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