Close Schools

[Wiltinglillies]

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300403
Why aren't we doing what every other country is doing?
Over half a million have already signed this petition.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=nl6tTwxzCi8&feature=youtu.be

Because just because other countries are doing g it doesn’t make it the correct thing to do.
Who is going to do the childcare while parents who have not choice but to work or parents in essential jobs go to work? The very people we are trying to protect.

It is better for the vulnerable to self isolate surely and many won’t be able to do that if schools close.
Also this is going to play out for quite a few months so the more we delay the less damaging it will be to the economy, people’s mental health and to children’s education. Every death from suicide Due to someone’s business going under or someone being laid off from work, every domestic violence incident due will also count as a victim of this virus.

I agree. Those who need to should self-isolate. Schools should remain open as long as they have adequate staffing. Keep your child off if you have concerns. I say this as a teacher.

As the first minister in NI said if they do close it will be for 16 weeks so kids would be off potentially until September. That is massive for everyone.

The peak isn't expected until May.

Would people take it seriously at this stage or view it as a "few days off" and carry on as normal? Places like soft play / cinema / shops would need to close to really have impact.

Isn't it a better solution to keep schools open whilst they can so people who need to work can & have older/vulnerable people self isolate?

Why are people so convinced because what one country is doing we should do the same?

You can keep your child home if you wish.

Others can make the choice to send there's in whilst they are open if they wish.

I am keeping mine home. Son with health issues, and will keep siblings off to minimise risks.

I do believe schools should be shut, but I appreciate it’s not that easy for everyone else who has jobs they cannot do from home. It’s a complicated and crap situation with no perfect answer.

I do think they will have to arrange some sort of childcare for those remaining children who just cannot be looked after whilst parents do essential jobs if they close.

Mincepies76 that video is referring to full quarantine.

Schools open roughly 9-3.15, I wonder how many people actually work just between those hours. So many people have to rely on before and after school clubs which are often run separately to the actual school. I wonder if schools will also be forced to change their hours if those clubs have to close.

There are several threads on this already.

A lot of the students I work with will become more vulnerable to the county lines drugs gangs, they will be a nuisance to the public as their parents won't keep them home, they will experience more abuse and lots won't have anything to eat. A shocking number of children at my school only get to eat their FSM and will take items from the free breakfast club home for their sibling to have later. On the other end of the spectrum many of our parents work at the nearby hospital so would probably need childcare for our youngest students and their younger siblings.

Quite a few students with severe asthma and cystic fibrosis have been off since half term.

Schools may well need to close but other countries didn't do this until much later.

At the moment schools can remain open. In the next few weeks who knows.

@HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime agree. I also on wondered if the rates of accidents will increase as kids will be bored and not necessarily supervised if their parents are WFH.

This is exactly the point I have raised previously. Some teens will be drawn to anti social behaviour. They will be very bored, unsupervised if parents still working and watch this space for a huge spike in gaming and screen addiction

What I'm confused about is that so many people seem to be saying that they will keep the kids off (for months if necessary) & wfh. What are all these industries that are going to continue as normal whilst 80% of the population is on "lockdown", when we have a service economy?

Can people who sign this petition actually campaign for the government to ensure financial support for those of us who are going to suffer from school closures?

I'm really fed up of seeing people shouting "close the schools" without thinking about how it will affect some of us. I am a single parent, I can't work from home and if I have to stay home to look after DS then I will have no money for us to live on.

If schools closing is what it takes to get rid of this virus then that's what needs to be done. But I bet a lot of people signing this will be SAHPs, or people with the ability to work from home and have the luxury of choice.

I'm happy for schools to close if I know there is going to be adequate protection for people who are going to suffer financially. But there is nothing clear about whether that will happen at the moment so it is a big worry for me.

Why are people so convinced because what one country is doing we should do the same?

I think because it's not just one country that's doing it. Dozens of countries have closed schools. It's not unreasonable for people to think it might help us too.

@Mincepies76 I agree - that video is a very good way of explaining it. But it underlines that, with the best will in the world, there is absolutely no fucking way they will be able to turn that tap off when they want to. They are preparing to sacrifice potentially millions of people, since we only have 5,000 ventilators, will have up to 8 million people needing them, and they apparently have a timeframe of 10 weeks to "get corona done" so that we can get back to important Brexit stuff. It is absolutely batshit.

I agree. Those who need to should self-isolate.

What about those who need to, but can't? Too bad for them, eh.

@Mincepies76That water video annoys me. The governments own figures of their own model show that we may be trying to pour 7 million people into 140,000 hospital beds.

Here is a far better model. You can see how it is formed here.
www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/

I'm really fed up of seeing people shouting "close the schools" without thinking about how it will affect some of us.

Equally I'm fed up with seeing people shouting "keep them open" because they need childcare without thinking about how it will affect others. Has anyone in schools volunteered to be canaries, or is this just an assumption that school kids and staff will take one for the team so that everyone else can go about their normal lives?

They can't turn off the tap and they can't control the water.

BonnesVacances no, as I said, it's about ensuring adequate protection for people who will financially suffer. Sick pay isn't going to be enough to pay people's bills.

How will this work in practice for those of us that work? I am a single parent with 5&9 year old sons, I work in Higher Education. We rely on my income. How can I work from home in that situation? This will plummet some of us in to deep(er) poverty.

@BonnesVacances what about children of NHS workers & the emergency services?

This will plummet some of us in to deep(er) poverty.

I'm baffled that so many people can't see that.