Social distancing in schools- mental health

[Myfriendanxiety]

Does anyone else feel that they would rather home school their children indefinitely than send them to a school where they have to social distance?

I really worry about the mental health of children if they are forced to sit alone at desks 2m apart from others without any proper play time or interaction. I just can’t see how this type of schooling is going to be beneficial to children and how it will create a positive learning environment.

My DS has another year before he starts school luckily- but if he were starting in September to a school system based on social distancing then I wouldn’t be sending him.

supermarkets etc are all at work and it's been assessed as a manageable risk

In my supermarket-they allow a very small number of people in at a time, then you queue down the road at 2m distance apart. They then let one in, one out. You can only pay by card and the staff all have plastic screening between them and the customers.

I’d say that’s taking pretty good care of their staff.

www.tes.com/news/schools-cant-stay-closed-until-we-have-vaccine

Whilst its kindly irritating that others are on a long holiday,

Teachers are really not.

The thing is essential workers are not necessarily assessed as low risk, depending on their job, but as essential. The point of everyone else being super strict in social distancing is to keep the hospital places clear for these people if they do catch it. If infections spike once the lockdown is lifted then those essential workers are now more at risk of not being able to get ideal care. So even if you don't care about teachers safety think of your own before you call for any changes to the lockdown.

Infection most probably will spike once lockdown has been lifted. However it doesn’t mean we can stay in a lock down on going we have to bite the bullet other wise we will never know.

Well, for a start, I'm not on a really long holiday at all - I'm working every day. The only real difference is that now I'm only working the hours I'm paid for rather than the 30+ hours a week in addition to that that I'm not.

why the heck do teachers think it will be any different for them? I just dont get it.

Well, firstly, this, like every other education decision, was made by the government and not teachers.

And what StripeyLurcher said.

And every other reason already given on this thread - including the negative impact on the children.

It's not that teachers are any different to anyone else, it's that the work place is different. It's that schools are full of lots of children.

And, as I have repeatedly said, I don't really mind when schools go back but any discussion about it needs to not include SD as a measure because it won't happen. As someone else said, if schools are safe to reopen, for staff and pupils, without SD, then great! Let's open. But they they are not, then we shouldn't pretend that SD will happen.

The degree to which other workplaces are able to administer/enforce SD is largely irrelevant. The point is, it shouldn't be suggested that schools will.

Most teachers I have spoken to are happy to go back in September and were incredibly distressed at schools closing and the impact that would have on our children. But neither do we want children to return with governmental pie crust promises that are just setting us up to fail because, after all, when James says he shared a glue stick with Callum in English, it won't be the government parents are angry with, it'll be the schools because the government promised SD and the school 'failed' to deliver.

Whilst its kindly irritating that others are on a long holiday

Who?

The people working from home? No, because they are still working?

Teachers? No, because they are still working.

Do you mean people on furlough? I’m sure they would rather be at work on full pay.

But neither do we want children to return with governmental pie crust promises that are just setting us up to fail because, after all, when James says he shared a glue stick with Callum in English, it won't be the government parents are angry with, it'll be the schools because the government promised SD and the school 'failed' to deliver

This

We all know what the posts on here are like when a parent thinks a teacher has ‘lost’ their child’s jumper. It’ll be 1000 times worse!

I’d be far happier with mine going back if we weren’t promised social distancing.

We all know what the posts on here are like when a parent thinks a teacher has ‘lost’ their child’s jumper. It’ll be 1000 times worse!

Exactly.

I think the research on under 10s is a really good sign, either way.

I agree that social distancing is really tricky in schools, and in primary schools it might be easier to have smaller groups of children in at a time, but accept that whilst in school they won't necessarily social distance from each other.

A solution would have to be found for pick ups/drop offs, but I like the suggestion up thread that traffic is controlled and with some supervision, older children could walk home part of the way on their own (obviously, this won't work well for rural primary schools where the distances involved are too big to walk and there's often nowhere to park outside the village).

I don't think we can necessarily extrapolate research from under 10s to older teenagers, though.

Perhaps the answer is that primary schools go back in some form first, and secondary students stay home for longer? Older students are probably better able to cope with learning online, and they don't need as much childcare.

In the MAT where I work, primary students are already being cared for in the secondary school- perhaps the primaries could use the secondary building which is much bigger to help with social distancing? And some secondary teachers could help with supervising primary groups to allow them to be spread out around the school.

As always, there's a conflict between needing schools to act as childcare, and the education of older children, though- because this would cause the education of secondary aged kids to suffer.

Whatever measures are put in place have to protect school staff, though. If too many staff get ill, then schools can't open!

Whatever measures are put in placehaveto protect school staff, though. If too many staff get ill, then schools can't open!

Yes. A couple of friends' schools, that were also open to key worker children initially, closed within the first week due to staff either not able to come in because they were vulnerable themselves, or because of practising self isolation after they, or a family member, developed symptoms and the staffing levels were too low.

This would be an ongoing issue - especially once contact tracing is implemented.

Hopefully the issue of self isolation due to symptoms would be less of a problem with more widespread testing for essential workers and their families.

Hopefully the issue of self isolation due to symptoms would be less of a problem with more widespread testing for essential workers and their families Yes this is already making a massive difference for prison staff, if we or any of our family aged 5 and above have symptoms we are offered a test it's great!

Many of the kids will have parents who are key workers.

So it would possibly make a massive difference to infection rates.

I'm not saying its the only thing needed but I now know that my family can be tested. Will take some of the worried away when kids have high temps. Chances are it won't be CV most of the time.

Luxembourg is slowly setting out it’s plans for when the children return to school in May.

today.rtl.lu/news/luxembourg/a/1507010.html
Quote
The Ministry of Education met with trade union Syvicol this Friday morning. It was decided that each pupil would receive two snood scarves upon returning to school.

According to Syvicol president Emile Eicher, it makes more sense for children to wear these tube-style neck scarves to cover mouth and nose because they slide down less easily than disposable masks.

Eicher told RTL that the ministry was prepared to hand out the scarves. Syvicol will join efforts with CGDIS to distribute the masks when pupils return to school next month. Children who take public transport to go to school will receive the scarves when they get on the bus, Eicher explained. The rest of the scarves will be distributed at school.
End Quote

Thanks for that. Interesting the comment underneath too

Bringing children together in a lycée carries similar risks as bringing people together to a concert. The students and teachers especially come together from a wide geography and at the end of the day returns to that wide geography and their families. All it will take is a single infection and we will be back to square one. We must protect our children and society at large and postpone the start of school until we have zero new transmissions

Luxembourg.
This is the present plan for the beginning of deconfinement

Luxembourg announced on Wednesday 15th April that...

Phase 1, deconfinement Monday 20th April construction sites, DIY, and Garden shops will open.
Face covering in shops, public transport etc must be used
7 million masks will be distributed that week? to each household.

Phase 2 Deconefinement Monday May 4th Premier return to School.
Monday May 11th over two weeks gradual opening of the rest of secondary schools with classes split in two. One week at home one week in class.

Phase 3 Deconfinement Monday May 25th over two weeks primary schools and Crèche will open.

So from the date of the announcement there was nearly six weeks to prepare for Primary and Chreche return.

What age is premier?

I should have added that our masks were delivered on Tuesday 21st April and from what I see on social media everyone living in Luxembourg (+/- 600,000) people have each received 5 masks each.

Masks seems to be the key in a lot of these plans

Appyskidu
Premier is the last (7th year) of secondary school so pupils are about 18.
As I understand it they will still sit their Final exams at some stage.

Thank you, @gfplux

Phase 3 Deconfinement Monday May 25th over two weeks primary schools and Crèche will open.

I presume that means primary to alternative half the class one week in, one week out like secondary?

I wish l felt confident that Boris will follow a similar pattern to Luxembourg. But l don’t.

Been out delivering scrubs today, last 2 weeks doing this, no one on the roads. Today it’s been really busy, stuck in traffic jams, people everywhere. What happened to lockdown?

@appuskidu
That is the plan but all the details are being worked on.

For example I believe non of the canteens will be open but a “snack” would be delivered to each classroom.

Details still not available.
My daughter is an English teacher in a Lycee classic and only today she is beginning to received how her classes will be split. As I understand family’s are being asked wether it suits the family if siblings attend the same week.