To think that everyone who told those with preschool children in 2020/21 to get a puddlesuit and that lockdown wasn’t that bad needs to read this

[manysummersago]

BBC link

Reading the above has made me feel so angry and sad at what was done to the babies and toddlers of this country, and I can’t believe that we let it happen, quite honestly.

Going back to a pp I agree one of the major issues was lack of a voice for young children (not just the smallest but including university)

This led to that gap being filled by a pressure group here and in some countries that balance was even more out of whack with children really at the bottom

I can see why that group gained ground although obviously on here it’s used almost as an insult to silence

Each sector had a strong voice but that was lacking for dc.

Where is the idea coming from that this was caused by teaching unions? It’s nonsense. Our union was acting in our best interests whilst trying to balance this with the needs of families and children. Remember, nobody knew what the effects in the general population were going to be and children WERE shown to be vectors of infection - as they still are. You’re barking up the wrong tree. Still, some people just hate the idea of workers organising and having strength in numbers.

The unions didn’t at any point balance their demands with the needs of children.

Children were also proved to not be significant vectors of covid - certainly primary school children. Toddlers, babies and other pre-schoolers even less so pre-omicron.

Children will adapt fairly quickly, they always do

And there in a nutshell is the sentiment that meant children’s needs were ignored.

The fact that toddlers and babies were viewed through the lens of being ‘vectors of infection’ rather than people in their own right certainly didn’t help their needs get met.

@LittleBearPad

Where is the idea coming from that this was caused by teaching unions? It’s nonsense. Our union was acting in our best interests whilst trying to balance this with the needs of families and children. Remember, nobody knew what the effects in the general population were going to be and children WERE shown to be vectors of infection - as they still are. You’re barking up the wrong tree. Still, some people just hate the idea of workers organising and having strength in numbers.

The unions didn’t at any point balance their demands with the needs of children.

Children were also proved to not be significant vectors of covid - certainly primary school children. Toddlers, babies and other pre-schoolers even less so pre-omicron.

Simply not true. Communications with my union throughout the pandemic were focused on how we could keep everyone safe. Believe it or not, I don’t really care. Schools were a massive vector of infection. Still are.

@GoldenOmber

The fact that toddlers and babies were viewed through the lens of being ‘vectors of infection’ rather than people in their own right certainly didn’t help their needs get met.

That's not strictly accurate. It was widely believed that young children rarely caught and didnt transmit the virus until September 2020.

@LittleBearPad

Children will adapt fairly quickly, they always do

And there in a nutshell is the sentiment that meant children’s needs were ignored.

Anyone who has worked in EYFS will tell you that none of this is new. Disadvantaged children have long presented with social, emotional and language needs. And schools have long worked hard to mitigate these. Yes, this appears to be more widespread now and yes, this is probably due to the pandemic, but in the absence of a massive investment in EY services, all we can say to parents is that schools will do their best and that experience tells us that for most these early challenges can be overcome.

That's not strictly accurate. It was widely believed that young children rarely caught and didnt transmit the virus until September 2020.

And yet they weren’t allowed to go to school or see one another outside of school. So despite being low risk they weren’t treated as such.

That's not strictly accurate. It was widely believed that young children rarely caught and didnt transmit the virus until September 2020.

Ah right, that’ll be why their nurseries and playgroups and playgrounds were open until September 2020 then, and why they were never forbidden from meeting other children for play, yeah?

*majority of them weren’t allowed to go to school

@GoldenOmber actually they were shut to protect children. It's hard to recall how little was known about the virus in those early days. First there was no information about its effect on the young, then reports started to come out of China that children were rarely infected (wrong), lightly affected (correct) and unlikely to transmit (mixed picture). Go back and check the newspaper pieces and podcasts from April - August. Its quite fascinating how our understanding develops.

[quote Porcupineintherough]@GoldenOmber actually they were shut to protect children. It's hard to recall how little was known about the virus in those early days. First there was no information about its effect on the young, then reports started to come out of China that children were rarely infected (wrong), lightly affected (correct) and unlikely to transmit (mixed picture). Go back and check the newspaper pieces and podcasts from April - August. Its quite fascinating how our understanding develops.[/quote]
Precisely - shut to protect children, families and communities. Not because of anything the unions may or may not have said and not because teachers fancied some gardening leave!

So… the children

We have known that children were at lower risk than adults since Wuhan.

I see that you have quite strong feelings about how likely small children are to transmit the virus to us adults. But perhaps us adults could take a look, now, at the effect the measures we put in place have had on small children? Because it’s quite bad and I don’t think it should be handwaved away.

@WouldBeGood

So… the children

No, no, let’s keep talking about how teachers have suffered.

I didn’t ever once say that playgrounds and toddler groups were shut because of teacher’s unions or because teachers fancied gardening leave.

@GoldenOmber

We have known that children were at lower risk than adults since Wuhan.

I see that you have quite strong feelings about how likely small children are to transmit the virus to us adults. But perhaps us adults could take a look, now, at the effect the measures we put in place have had on small children? Because it’s quite bad and I don’t think it should be handwaved away.

Nope. My personal feeling about the risk to myself and my colleagues doesn’t come into it. As a state school educator I had no choice but accept what the government said. Do I think mistakes were made? Yes. I also think that hindsight is a wonderful thing.

As a state school educator I had no choice but accept what the government said.

Okay great, totally agreed.

So now perhaps we can move on to talking about the babies and toddlers?

manysummersago
What a ridiculous response.
Pick, pick, pick and then you wonder why teachers get pissed off. We should all be working together.

@GoldenOmber

As a state school educator I had no choice but accept what the government said.

Okay great, totally agreed.

So now perhaps we can move on to talking about the babies and toddlers?

I’ve addressed it many times. Did you read my posts? FFS

This thread is not about teachers and I resent the way it has been taken.

There are hundreds of threads about teachers, the dangers of working in schools, etc.

But this one is about children.

@manysummersago

This thread is not about teachers and I resent the way it has been taken.

There are hundreds of threads about teachers, the dangers of working in schools, etc.

But this one is about children.

The irony!

I’ve addressed it many times. Did you read my posts? FFS

I was thinking more “can this thread go back to being about the babies and toddlers”, rather than “has this one particular poster sufficiently ‘addressed’ the issue enough to decide we should all pivot to talking about primary/secondary schools, again.”

See that response doesn’t even make sense. There is no irony?

I have no idea either but I don’t think some are going to be happy until we’ve accepted that life for teachers is worse than for anyone else, all teachers were working flat out throughout lockdown and babies and toddlers development was a necessary sacrifice.

I know the second isn’t true anyway.