How long do you reckon the schools will be shut for?

[Forfoxsake29]

and if they are shut for a long time, how will they
Cope with things like children starting school September, gcses, alevels, uni etc

‘ They need to have taster days, welcome days and introduction evenings for the 2020 starters’

That’s the way schools might choose to do it in normal times. But you don’t actually need any of those things

They need to have taster days, welcome days and introduction evenings for the 2020 starters
They don’t need to do any of that stuff. I’m not sure they even existed when my DC were young.

I think it'll be September but I'm hopeful it's June once weather is warmer

I wonder if there won’t be any 2020 starters this year, that school will be delayed. On another thread someone said their university was pre-planning for no new intake this autumn.

I did think September (most of class WhatsApp group seems to think May or June), but now I’m thinking even that might be optimistic.

@ps1991 - they’re not going to just cancel the summer holidays! Schools are working very hard to organise remote learning. We’ve just entirely rejigged our Year 10 curriculum to manage the rest of the year as effectively as possible. I suspect it’s going to be September but hope it’s earlier.

Date for reopening in my city in China is 7th April so that would be just under three months. However, the measures put in place were much stricter than those in the uk.

Ideally they need to prepare the reception kids for year one. They need to have taster days, welcome days and introduction evenings for the 2020 starters

We are very far from an ideal situation. I wouldn’t imagine any of those things will happen. Preparing Reception kids for year 1 really isn’t a priority -not any more than preparing any other children for any other year group.

I expect it will be September.

We don’t even know yet how China will react to these measures being reduced.

September.

@fedup21
The focus where I live in China is on preventing the virus coming back in with people returning to the city. Measures have been relaxed eg local restaurants open whilst simultaneously introducing tougher quarantine measures for new arrivals.
Self isolation at home for 14 days may be possible depending on your travel history, otherwise it’s 14 days in a designated quarantine facility. This is for arrivals with no symptoms and a normal temperature. The procedure is time consuming and it can take 10 hours from landing at the airport to getting ‘home’.

Based on latest modellling we are likely to have "waves" of higher restrictions including school closures. I suspect we may get out of this wave in the summer and then a decision needs to be taken - they don't want everyone going on holiday in June/July and August. One way to prevent this would be to have schools starting in June/July/August when the restrctions lift.

Then we will get another wave maybe a month or two later and schools will close again possibly Octoober/November for another 3 months+.

In all honestly I think kids may not go up a school year in 2020 and there may be no new reception intake. We're due to be in this until Summer 2021 at the earliest.

So on that basis school kids muddle through with some short spells in school between say July-October and again next Spring, they will then move up years with a new reception intake in Autumn 2021.

I can see what you’re saying but what would happen to ie year 11. They will have been given GCSE results in July so what would they do for the next year?

September all being well!

I think it will be Sept - I hope for my own sanity (which I appreciate is not the highest priority during a global pandemic with hundreds of thousands dying) it is after May half-term at the beginning of June.
Tbh not sure anyone knows yet.

I wonder if we could move to a calendar year school year - so they go back in Sept in same year & move in Jan.
There has been talk for so long about having actual results before applying for uni - now might be the time to be radical...

I’m hoping summer half term, but might be September.

@YoursTunbridgeWells the longer term consequences of that though would be far reaching.

Muddlingalong I wondered that too have a Jan to Dec and holidays spread over the year in 4 week blocks rather than in the summer

That's an interesting thought @muddlingalongalone

I am aware it's not essential for tasters and schools to prepare the kids..... But it SHOULD be done! People are very quick to say that won't happen but throwing them back at school in a new class expecting the teachers to catch them up is unrealistic. Many children will need a month or two to adjust and settle back in to school. I saw many year ones sobbing for the first term after my DD started reception. Yes they are ok now but they were wobbly because it was a new situation completely for them. To never give the 4/5 year olds a chance to start back with what they know will be cruel. I know many think they will get over it. But after 23 weeks away from the basic bit of school they have done they will be very exhausted and lost again.

Also school sizes are an issue. My child's school has 45 places a year. After reception there are 3 classes of 24 children in each year. In my niece's little village school theres only 100 children and 4 class rooms. So it's a little easier for them.

I don't think any of us truly know what they will and won't do. Many kids will be fine if they a few years into the school it will be fairly familiar.

Also my DD is just starting phonics phase 3. She won't pick it up as easily with me as with the teachers. So their basic learning ready for year one has stopped. That's the same on every year. I think they will need to rethink the intakes in September. Also the new starters will be behind as they may never experience any nursery or time away from their parents now.

I know tasters were not around before. But that was when most kids also didn't do nursery and went to playgroup only. Children now are introduced to school through short sessions before the summer. I absolutely think this should continue because my daughter benefitted from it massively. It gave her a taste for school. It gave her a chance to understand what school looked like. She also met a couple of friends. It all helps the transition from nursery. The government do need to consider every single pupil of all ages being behind. They need to make sure this strange time isn't too traumatic for them. Loosing their old class, teachers and friends on top of isolation for 5 months would be tough. I personally hope they allow kids at least 3 months to catch up from years reception-year 5. Year 11s are finished so there's no reason year 6s can't start year 7. Then years 8-10 can also catch up for a couple of months too. You can't just cram 4 months of missed work and lessons into the next year. Not to mention some parents will not do anything. Some parents won't be able to do much around work. Some families will struggle due to multiple aged children needing them for various things. There is no way these kids are going to learn anywhere near as much at home. School motivates them.

We all just need to wait and see I guess but I hope they handle this properly and not just expect our kids to suck it up.

Definitely at least until summer, they've told school leavers (who are due to leave this summer) from Primary and secondary that is the end of their time at the school.

Scotland

Look how far head events are being cancelled. It will be at least September. I really hope not longer than that.

but throwing them back at school in a new class expecting the teachers to catch them up is unrealistic.
I really think you are living in a dream world. Things are not going to go back to normal for a long time, months or years even. Worrying about how a child’s grasp of phonics will be undermined is unbelievable. If/when things go back to normal, it won’t be normal like now. There will be no money to pay for it. I might expect class sizes to increase, education funnelled down to the basics, year groups to be taught together, a delay to the age for starting school.

That was an example. I'm saying the kids need to catch up. They will all loose abit of what they know. When they do go back it needs to be dealt with so all kids can adjust again.
Perfectly aware things will be a mess for ages. But let's hope our kids don't have to be affected by it too much and going back to school is a positive experience when it happens!

Also new starters won't be able to look around and have tasters in the summer? I think that the least of our/their worries.

Teachers aren’t daft. If their class in September (if schools are back by then) are not ready for, eg, the Y1 curriculum, then they will teach them from where they are.