Government reportedly considering schools going back in 3 weeks

[FiveFootTwoEyesOfBlue]

On BBC News 24 now, article in tomorrow's Sunday Times says that ministers are considering schools going back in three weeks time. Plus allowing some shops and social gatherings, but not pubs and clubs.

Heading back to school in 3 weeks doesn't seem to fit with planning to provide laptops for all children without in Y10 or with a social worker. Or investing in a Gov approved 'online school'.

Both things can't be true, yet both are being reported.

If schools will be open in 3 weeks we could have held the exams and just adjusted the grade boundaries (as happens every year anyway, so no new systems needed).

I haven’t read all the posts. Apologise if people have already made these points.

1. The virus isn’t going to be magically disappeared by September or any time soon so are we all prepared not to send children back to school until there is a vaccine?

1. If the government is “thinking” about returning to school as normal in 3 weeks why is department of education looking at providing laptops/tablets for disadvantaged children (year 10 priority) to be used during the pandemic and handed back to schools when they reopen? And 4g routers? This would take longer than 3 weeks to implement.

1. Is social distancing likely to be relaxed before any bank holiday-there are 2 in May (England)? Schools can not implement the social distancing in its current form.

1. Parents attitude and views about the current situation affect their children-even if you think you keep them to yourself. They pick up on this and in turn helps to formulate their own thoughts and opinions. If parents have a more optimistic outlook, focus on the positives things the children are experiencing now instead of all the many negative things-yes their would be some even if they are small eg I get to read you a bedtime story every night because I’m home from work, we get to go out for a walk everyday with each other, you don’t have to get up at 6am to go to breakfast club etc, then this would rub off on the children who would begin to develop skills to be more resilient and positive. This in turn would have a positive impact on their mental health at this time and put them in a better place for learning for when schools do reopen or learning they are able to do at home.

Until the government actually announce their plan no one will know, in the mean time we all have to try and get through this.

@Yurona Many still aren't practising social distancing.

I'm still waiting for anyone to explain why they think school age children will be capable of socially distancing when so many adults who are capable of reading, learning and displaying empathy to fellow humans are still deliberately flouting the rules.

The government would not be doing this if we were due to go back soon :

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-52341596

@byvirtue

You do realise c1600 people die on average per day in the U.K. pre Covid 19 and no nukes were being set off

So how exactly does that make thousands of avoidable deaths acceptable? I stick by my statement. If this number of deaths were brought on us by any other country or group we would be at war. It’s criminal. A small number may have been unavoidable, but by no means the difference between us and countries who implemented countermeasures earlier than us. Who, incidentally will lift countermeasures earlier than us, with lower total fatality rates and far lower economic fallout.

God forbid your in-laws try to make the best of a shit situation. Perhaps you should issue them with some guidelines on how exactly they should be behaving in their own home. hmm

You know what, make a fucking holiday of it if you like, I’ve taken positives away from the situation. But no, I don’t think it’s appropriate to be gloating about how easy everything is when the physical, mental and financial health of millions is put in jeopardy, and 20,000 families are grieving, for you to be able to ”make the most of” it.

But frankly there will always be people who can’t see past their own front door. I’m glad that I’m not one of them.

MarginalGain - no, funnily enough we immunise the entire primary school population against the flu in order to protect the vulnerable and elderly instead of closing schools - pretty much what it is clearly hoped we will one day be able to do with coronavirus, so that we can limit those deaths to a mere 17,000 too.

So schools should not re-open until there's a vaccine. Correct?

The Buzzfeed scenario doesn’t sound very workable. For example, is the requirement to stay at home for over-70s and vulnerable groups (do they mean vulnerable or just those in the shielding group?) going to be a recommendation or the law? I have asthma but as my local GP practice can never give me an appointment I have had a private prescription for several years now, so will that mean that I don’t or do count as vulnerable?

It is quite possible to define 1/3 of the population as. Vulnerable and get back to something approaching normality and without risking a long succession of subsequent lockdowns.

But to do so requires understanding the risks by subgroup and implementing methods that will constrain those risks to levels that won't harm society any further ( aka not overloading the NHS which is where we are at the moment, they are coping but only just which is not sustainable) And almost certainly means scaling up of testing and tracing , something Germany is good at for example . And scaling up anything quickly seems to be a little beyond us as a nation

Makes more sense to me to not rush opening schools and instead concentrate on getting the next stages right

Which may mean schools reopening soon, the key in the OP was "considereing". Some things just take time. Blame the virus. Blame the government for not responding in January. But don't blame lockdown. Once we fucked up in January, it is the only option. And don't add to the current fuck up by trying to force things to move things forward before we really know what is best AND the country is ready. Because all that will do is take us back to lockdown all over again. And no one wants that do they?

Do it once, do it right.

@somebodyelseinstead well said!

I think many commenting here just have no understanding of how government works.

They don’t just make decisions out of the blue. There are whole teams of civil servants and scientific advisors considering various possible plans and analysing the likely consequences of each option.

There is no perfect option in this situation. It is about using the best data and modelling available to minimise the negative outcomes.

They have to weigh up increased covid spread against the many downsides of schools being shut (child mental health, increased neglect to some vulnerable kids, educational disadvantage gap increasing, lack of special needs support, declining nutrition for some vulnerable kids and many many other factors).

Schools opening may increase covid deaths, but possibly reduce overall deaths across a certain time period.

The government has to make awful “Sophie’s choice” type decisions.

All through this crisis the media has behaved appallingly. They only seem to care about controversy and generating readership, when they could be helping the public to understand the severity of the situation (that is ultimately nobody’s fault but bad luck and nature) and the choices that need to be made.

Ah , I see that CKBJ just mentioned this too.

Having corona the one silver lining I see is that I didn't get during flu season.

I have asthma. Frankly I'm of the mind set that developing flu or a cold just as I'm recovering now, would finish me off. At least I have a few summer months to get some strength back.

Sending children back in September is sheer folly.

@Yurona It is magical thinking. But if schools reopen in May, then people will go on UK holidays in July and August. Because it makes no sense that it would be safe for kids to go back and it would not be safe to go on holiday.
Neither is safe in reality.

Well said, @MarginalGain and @Bluntness100

@ChrissieKeller61 Yours is yet another post which dismisses MH problems at one fell swoop. Once this is over, I hope MH is taken properly, rather than as a trendy hashtag or a re-post of something on Facebook.

@AuntyClockWise I am so sorry your DD is feeling this way. Children of her age just shouldn't be in that situation.

MarginalGain - no, incorrect. Try reading my other post...

(I mean when it comes to employment law. I can see my work saying they want a doctor’s note to say whether I can or can’t come in, but not accepting a private one and it being impossible to get one from the GP.)

@Walkaround

I don't think opening schools means the total end of lockdown. The theory is kids don't spread the virus that much. This would be a small step in society gradually restarting.

I was thinking that the other day @alloutoffucks that a side effect of the measures we are taking now should be less flu cases, which would be excellent.

@CKBJ. Wow thanks for number 4. I honestly hadn't thought it would be that easy

@alloutoffucks school is traceable, and completely under state control. Which makes it safer (not safe! Safe doesn’t exist, and won’t exist for at least a year)

I have found the last few weeks incredibly odd!
We homeschool anyway and so have been watching the schools closing/opening drama from afar.

Dh works full time I stay home and look after/teach our children (6 children from 4 years old up to 15 years old). We are I would say on a medium income not minimum wage but not what I see floating around mumsnet either . Two of our children are autistic.

I feel sorry for people who have been thrown into this situation and especially if income has dried up etc. But Most of the problems I have seen are NORMAL when children are removed from the school system.
If a child has been used to having their day planned minute by minute then they will take time to get used to being able to chose what to do.

My children miss their friends as well but it has only been a few weeks - surely children can cope with being with their family for that amount of time ?

I honestly don’t get the fear people have of letting the children have a break - even those sitting GCSEs next year it seriously doesn’t matter. Home educated teens don’t take 2 years to learn the material for GCSE - it is at most a few months work - my 15 year old covered all of the maths in 4 months and as much as I would like to say she is a maths whizz she really isn’t

The children won’t shrivel up because they haven’t filled in enough worksheets this month.

The government has used schools to cover up a lack of care on their part for a lot of social problems and people should be angry at THAT.

No child should have parents that can’t feed them lunch without a free school meal.
No child should be in a home where it is known they are in danger or where the parents neglect them.
No family should be left to care for disabled children alone.

Children and teenagers SHOULD be around family more than they are. At the end of the day parents have responsibility for education and if they outsource it to schools that’s fine but it isn’t the default setting.

Opening schools just brushes the problems under the rug again - I hope people don’t let that happen!

I know people will now pick apart my post for spelling errors etc to prove I shouldn’t be teaching my children so go ahead but at least think it before rushing to send your kids back!

Michael Gove has just said on sky news that the idea that schools go back on 11th May is wrong.

This is a NY Times article about Denmark:

www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/world/europe/denmark-schools-coronavirus.html
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This does not sound like a magic wand re children's mental health. The children sound stressed.

I don't think the over 70s will stay in for a whole year either. The ones I know will rebel, not all over 70s are fragile. My friends this age all have active lives. My MiL is 80 with health problems and she is climbing the walls now, I think she'd rather take her chances.

I would like children to go back to school after May half term if possible. At least year 2s and 6s who will be starting a new school in September (if the yr 2s are in a separate Infant school). My teenage grandsons (yr 10) are also missing school and feel they are not learning anything new just doing revision.

captain the exam boards and Ofqual need to consider missed learning time for year 10s. The longer we are off the more we will have to do this. If it is a few weeks they will juts shrug their shoulders and ignore the issue.

I hope that schools reopen as soon as it is safe to do so, and I hope that that is by the start of June at the latest.

However, policy must be guided by the science as well as the economics.