School NOT going back after Easter

[Saladfingers95]

The headteacher has just phoned me to say my children's school will definitely not be back until after Easter. It will be after May half term at the earliest. I'm in the North East. Has anyone else been told the same?

Irish schools will be back in September. I honestly think that it will explode then. Restrictions lifted?
People back at school/ work.
No immunity.

teachers in my team who are either child-free or have grown-up children are sending lots of lovely updates about how much they are able to get done and each email is making me murderous

Me too. I get 4 hours a day to work, I consider myself lucky since I have a very needy 5 year old at home. Me and my partner are splitting the day. I'm planning 'lessons' for the few who will access them after Easter, and work for Term 6, and work for Term 1 next year.

On FB I keep seeing (admittedly lazy ex colleagues) going on about how they have so much free time to garden, watch Disney Plus etc. While also sending around that C&P post about 'I'm a qualified teacher, parents if you need help, let me know'. I'm just thinking 'DON'T ASK THEM, THEY ARE SHIT AND ON AN ACTION PLAN!'

Murderous is the word.

The cancellation of exams is not an indicator that schools won't return until September. It's a ridiculous statement because public exams administration is a huge job, a year in the planning. Sorting invigilators which is a job in itself, receiving and storing securely the exam papers (we are talking huge volumes of heavy boxes and filing which would start arriving any day now), seating plans, seating cards, SEN arrangements, clash arrangements and that's just a few. There is no way this could have all been implemented in time if the pupils do return in May/June. We have no way of knowing. If the government reaches its target with flattening the curve then they probably will go back in the summer term. If not, who knows.

@cornishdreams1 Sorry I don't believe a head would be discussing "when to return" with PHE etc. Until the rate of infection stabilises then no-one would advise on anything. I would say PHE have enough on their hands re testing/ppe etc etc.

I work part-time in a school (non-teaching role) and we've been furloughed until June

Currently the furlough scheme is only running until the end of June, I don't think you can make any assumptions based on that, no one knows if it will be extended and presumably if you are able to go back to work before then you will do.

Schools were closing or part-closing even before they were officially closed due to lack of staff. Even if we were past the peak of the curve there’s no guarantee that schools will have the staff to be able to open in June if the requirement for families to isolate for 14 days is still in place.

No way will schools be back after half time. Yes, the lock down will end, but it will be a VERT gradual easing, bit by bit, starting with lower risk workplaces, non essential shops, etc., and then moving on as and when the monitoring suggests it's safe. Schools are high risk for disease transmission so will be way down the list of re-openings.

Not according to SAGE. Given the importance of functioning school and childcare to getting economic activity back up and running I wouldn’t be terribly surprised to see the school closures lifted earlier than some other measures, particularly given they’re not fully closed now and there would be the summer break on the horizon.

Equally I wouldn’t be surprised to see it the other way; the reality is that we’re all guessing and the modelling is complex and riddled with uncertainties.

It is impossible, as in completely mathematically impossible for us all to be paid to stay at home for nearly seven months. When you do the maths, we can manage 12 weeks at a push. Our economy is already on its knees and we are in deep deep recession. There is no way we will be in lockdown for six months, no other country in the world has done this, or would ever attempt to.

I am just staggered at the number of people that believe this is even possible. We would be utterly bankrupt as a nation, we are sailing pretty close to that already.

I honestly despair at those saying 'yeh lockdown to sep' without really considering what that would actually mean.....Jesus and we are supposed to be leading the brilliance and education of the next generation.

DO THE MATHS

There are many posters on here stating things with certainty. I assume you are government insiders, are you not bound by any kind of confidentiality rules?

Oh, the capital letter shouting has begun. Next it'll be how you're right and everyone else is stupid.

I'm out. Have a nice day.

@cornishdreams1 agree with everything you say. I do suspect there are a number of people enjoying the prospect of not having to work for 6 months as they may be comfortably well off, without any consideration to the horrors of a deep recession.

Our school have planned to be closed until at least the start of the new school year in August.

Good point Year of the Dog and this is a huge concern for me too.

It is no way guaranteed that any lockdown lifting would be automatically linked to a mass school re-opening. PHE/NHS will use the measures like taps to switch on and off the infection rate - no point kids rushing back to school then saying three weeks later, schools closed again.

Well some are doing a very good impression of being incredibly stupid if they think we can all just be on lockdown for nearly seven months pfrench We need to restart the economy asap. The government can not afford to keep us at home for six months, it is just ridiculous.

We’ve not heard anything from the school. I’ve been assuming September either way although I’m not sure if they’ll do the “switching lockdown on and off” thing I’ve heard about and maybe open briefly before summer. But I’m planning for DD1 to be home for another term. Luckily it’s not an issue for us practically - her younger brother is home educated anyway (as was she until last year).

DD1 (12, autistic and takes things quite literally) was upset earlier as a friend shared something with the BBC screen (the red banner with the globe etc) that said underneath about schools not going back until January. But I reassured her nothing has been announced, and that people can just screenshot the BBC banner and use it to make something look official. Good opportunity to discuss not believing everything, which must be more important now than ever - so much fake news around.

oneday You are absolutely right. It is shocking. I am in the private sector with very very bright students, and our only thoughts are for them, and getting back as quickly as possible. It is desperately sad that some people on here do not seem to realise the very serious recession we already have to deal with, one can only imagine (and hope) that they are not teaching economics!

DD1 (12, autistic and takes things quite literally) was upset earlier as a friend shared something with the BBC screen (the red banner with the globe etc) that said underneath about schools not going back until January. But I reassured her nothing has been announced, and that people can just screenshot the BBC banner and use it to make something look official

Wasn't that just an April Fool's prank?

Sorry for the largely irrelevant waffle

Probably was originally coconut yes! But her friend shared it this morning, so that possibility wasn’t on her mind unfortunately!

I'd love to think schools will get back in June so my DS can have a bit of a transition into secondary school. I'm not sure this is going to happen though!

I was just assuming September, seems like a reasonable estimate that we will be in a much better place in 5 months.

We have not put out anything official because we have no idea when or what will happen. We are currently on school holidays and there is no way we will be returning to school on April 14th. We are still trying to grasp as a school that its unlikely to be before September to be honest. Officially our parents - right from day of the closures - were told it would be until the Government changes their stance.

It would have been pointless to shut them if they went back after Easter. It wouldn’t bode well with the 12 week shielding and stay at home, save lives campaigns.

Teacher here - it hasn't been formally confirmed by my school yet but the staff are all preparing to deliver the whole of the summer term curriculum remotely if necessary. My school are very much working on the assumption that we won't get back into classrooms before September.

Same, at a meeting this week we were wondering how to induct Year 6 and 12. There’s no way we could put 1100 kids back into the same building after Easter.