Will schools be closed until 2022?

[JillAndJack1]

Sorry, another schools thread.
I’ve just looked at the guardian, it says social distancing may need to be maintained until 2022, if this happens then surely schools will be closed until then? When schools go back social distancing will end. Obviously nobody actually knows, but curious to hear people’s thoughts.
www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/14/coronavirus-distancing-continue-until-2022-lockdown-pandemic

There IS great risk to the staff though!!! I work with several teachers who are 55+ and have health conditions.Children don’t follow social distancing at primary anyway.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/14/pressure-mounts-re-open-primary-schools-may-half-term-catastrophic/

No, absolutely not. Looking like after May half term this morning.

@edwinbear That's just ministers putting pressure on- the medical officers will be the one's to advise and the gov. will need to follow that advice because if they don't and they put the economy before people's lives they will face more backlash. Chris whitty said 12 weeks- he's the one to listen to.

Oh good, another thread speculating on when schools will open. We definitely needed the 462nd of those threads

Yes, the risks to staff have to be thought about and managed properly.

But there are also risks to both staff and children in terms of social problems, mental health etc with schools remaining completely closed for many, many months.

And, yes, it would be great to stop the teacher bashing on MN - it's really out of hand at the moment.

I know the NEU have launched a petition for schools to only go back when it's scientifically proven that it's safe.

One of the flaws being that very few decisions in this process have been based on science - we're not collecting data through testing to even establish a scientific understanding of the virus let alone make decisions about person to person contact on a large scale.

Two years? 😂 There would be no education system to return to, because all the funding would have to be channelled into keeping the economy afloat. Honestly, the hysteria on MN is getting out of hand.

I suspect primaries will be back mid to end of May, secondaries perhaps a bit longer. It'll come down to a "let's get parents back to work" fiscal issue rather than a "we're out of the woods with Covid-19" health one. The economy will tank if they don't open before September.

The actual scientific paper on which the article is based though is an interesting read (and US so based on US critical care beds) and is similar to the Imperial Study

At no point does it remotely say that schools will be shut until 2022. After Anay half term/June fits in with one of the suppression strategy

One way secondary schools could reduce contact is by keeping the children in one room for the whole day, so that they only potentially spread the virus to those 30 kids and not the 2000 others in the school.

It would mean cancelling some subjects like PE, IT, etc, but shouldn't be a problem for core subjects. Students would need to streamed into classes of "general ability" - perhaps SAT scores.

Teachers can move around the school (washing their hands as they do) and lunch can be brought to the classroom. They could arrive at and leave the school at slightly different times so they don't come into contact with the other students.

@JungleGiraffe and how would you manage breaks and going to the toilet? Also are you suggesting science is taught without doing experiments? Moreover what should the teachers of 'unimportant' subjects be doing while the teachers of core subjects are teaching all the lessons? Brilliant plan.

Collect your thoughts, remove the panic and think about what you have just written OP.

@MissEliza but this isn’t permanent! It’s a temporary situation and so it might be necessary to flex in how schools operate in the short term to minimise some of the risks where possible (obviously not all risks can be avoided entirely in a school, or any environment really).

Teachers who teach non core subjects could perhaps assist in providing cover for staff who are shielding/self isolating if that is still necessary.

No they won’t. A lot of them aren’t closed now either.

@MissEliza and how would you manage breaks and going to the toilet? Also are you suggesting science is taught without doing experiments? Moreover what should the teachers of 'unimportant' subjects be doing while the teachers of core subjects are teaching all the lessons?

I agree that it's not a perfect plan but these are imperfect times.

They could have their break in the classroom, this already happens on rainy days anyway. They could have a dedicated toilet or portaloo for each class. Most of Science CAN be and already IS taught without experiments (& some can be demonstrated by the teacher in any room). Some teachers will need to teach other subjects, this already happens as standard in schools, especially for KS3.

I'm not sure what will happen. No one does. Everyone saying that everything will return to normal, or that the schools will be back open at the end of May, beggining of June, September, 2022 is making a best guess. I don't understand what reports or information they have access to but I have seen nothing to suggest schools will be able to open before a vaccine is developed. Can someone please explain?

@JungleGiraffe I'm guessing you've never worked in a school then.

@MissEliza I was just thinking the same thing about you!

@Nokiding The link to the paper in the in first article and explains the process of suppressing transmission. At no point has anyone ever said schools wont open until 2022 because society has to restart. By the way is your assumption nothing will open until a vaccine

Once this first curve is suppressed and lockdown released there shouldnt be outside of hospitals COVID cases out there. We could be on cyclical lockdowns until either it goes or a vaccine is developed or it becomes an endemic illness like seasonal flu (and causes as many deaths)

How would it be possible to social distance in a school?

@JungleGiraffe . If you'd worked in a school, you would never suggest children could spent an entire day in one classroom without going out for breaks.

Nokiding on the flip side there's been no suggestion of schools staying closed until there's a vaccine and this isn't what other countries who are lifting lockdown are doing.

Especially for children of primary or nursery age then school closure requires a parent at home. At the moment a large proportion of families are only managing this because the parents aren't working (furlough or business closure) or because they are managing to juggle this alongside working from home. That's not sustainable for 18 months +.

The impact on children's development and mental health of isolating from their peers for that length of time would be awful and longlasting imo.

I don't think that nothing will reopen until a vaccine but I think that schools, particularly with younger children are bound to be problematic. I don't see how you can practice social distancing with young children. I agree that we will likely be on lockdown cycles.

@MissEliza & yet here I am suggesting just that! I'd never have suggested cancelling exams either but that happened. These are unprecedented times!

I think that another sensible strategy would be to allow parents to continue educating their kids at home if they can and want to. So those kids that just can't handle the new school setup have that as another option.

Jesus, who said they can’t go out for breaks?! Just stagger the bloody breaks a class at a time! I find this “computer says no” attitude so frustrating!

We need to start to get on board with being a bit creative and flexible about how we do things in the short term. We can’t just all seal ourselves into our houses and await the magical vaccine. We need to do some problem solving and do things differently for a bit if we’re going to move forward.