Telegraph reporting primary schools to return 1 June

[MummaGiles]

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/05/02/primary-schools-reopen-june-part-blueprint-unlock-britain/

Sorry it’s behind a paywall.

Just heard about this on the radio. They are suggesting that Johnson will address the country next Sunday (10/5) with the roadmap, part of which will be primary schools returning on 1 June.

Not saying I believe it, just sharing the link.

I think schools will be open on June 1 but I think SOME parents are going to be very disappointed because I don’t believe for a second it’s going to be full time apart from key worker and vulnerable children

The voucher scheme may continue if we have half days. Though it would make more sense to have the same children for longer. If a child has been exposed and has attended school in the morning then children from the afternoon are exposed too.

I think full days or weeks would be easier for employers to work around. Break times could be staggered so each class is out separately. No assemblies. Lunch would be a nightmare. Staff would need to stagger their breaks too. There would be limited activities we could do for PE. I can't see how Y6 transition can work safely as those children would be exposed to children from other schools.

Even with half my class, we would be unable to social distance. The classroom is not big enough. Live marking would be impossible. Any marking at all would mean an increased risk as teachers are handling books handled by pupils and then handing them back.

School would be very different to normal. That being said, I hope we find a way to make it work. We would have to accept that we can only reduce risk not eliminate it.

Why are people feeling bad for yr 11 &13 ? My yr 11 Ds was delighted the exams were cancelled. They are also of an age where they are at lowest risk from Covid complications and able to be societally useful (volunteering, fruit picking even just gardening, DIY) They are old enough to understand, my DS's understanding of molecular biology, statistics and polotics has come on leaps and bounds. They can also go out to exercise understanding social distancing. I feel far worse for :
a) Primary school children who don't or can't underatand (
b)DCs with SEN which impacts on their understanding
c) Pupils in yrs 10 &12 who will have to take these exams having lost a fifth of the teaching time.

I am horrified by people suggesting they woukd fabricate symptoms to keep DCs off school . For 7 weeks ? As for teachers saying the same, hopefully anyone synptomatic would be promptly tested so that you could return to work quickly if negative. So symptomology would get you a maximum of 3-4 days off, I don't know how kindly repeated periods of absence would be viewed ......

Sorry for typos in phone and in bath.

www.google.com/amp/s/futurism.com/china-kids-social-distancing-hats-school/amp

Ritz if your child hasn’t spoken to another child in weeks, please consider organising a video chat with one of their friends (whatsapp video chat is really easy). It has really helped with my DD who was missing her friends, I just hand her the phone and she goes to her room and talks rubbish about her toys.

Social distancing won't happen in schools. Our school has over 30 in a class, the only available space are the halls which everyone has to walk through. We were down 25% on the last day, still wasn't happening with 450 odd all moving around at start, break times and end of day.

Those hats in china. I can't even imagine.

Why would Boris make an announcement on a Sunday, on a bank holiday weekend?

He'll make his announcement at the end of the week which will be Thursday as Friday is a bank holiday.

This article is just more media speculation because there's not much to write about at the moment.

No I think he will very deliberately avoid the bankholiday weekend. They want us all back at work and at school only as much as allows parents back into the work force. Socialising except in groups of maybe 5-10 (outside only, adhering to social distancing) will not be allowed. He wants to avoid a Mad MayDay weekend.

Irish schools are officially not returning until September

Just looking at the calendar for a random comprehensive school in Dublin - the school breaks up for the summer holidays at the end of May in any case - every year. Only pupils taking public examinations have to go in according to their exam timetable. Irish secondary school pupils will not be losing an extra 6/7 weeks of normal teaching if they don't go back until September - English pupils will.

People said the same about masks, but we will all wear them. A vaccine is months (at best) off. We need to live with this without destrying either the economy, people's mental health or the NHS.

There is less Coronavirus in the community now than there has been since the second week in March. It's safer now than it will be in September.

Destroying

Thing is zebra that’s literally just your personal, individual experience, which has absolutely nothing to do with what is best for society.
What about the kids who perform poorly in exams due to anxiety/stress, but who produce a good body of work through the year? Would you shout at parents who would be sad if exams were reinstated? Or is it just your kid we need to consider
I understand being annoyed and frustrated at our own personal circumstances, we’re human. But because your child does better in exams has f all to do with whether cancelling exams was a good idea, or when schools go back.

I was in school with 12 children last week. It was impossible to keep them apart.
Some of them were simply too young to understand and some just did not have the cognitive skills.

I do not see how schools could even begin to function in a safe way that would either support education or childcare.

hopefulhalf
It's really not that hard to think that some children or parents may be more vulnerable- in vulnerable but not shielding category. Same with teachers.

Personally i would not be happy with employers forcing vulnerable employees back.
And not happy that schools could fine parents in this situation.
So thats

• pregnant
• asthmatic
• diabetic
• and maybe people with young babies.

Even aside from that - it is blatantly obvious that gov are not going to act in individuals best interests - it is driven by the economy.
The risk to young dc are low but

• it is uncertain if they gain immunity as they have it so mildly
• they could be left with permanent damage (lungs/heart/asthma etc)

Tbh im more shocked that anyone would trust this gov with their dc health.
Bearing in mind not 1 country (except maybe sweden where deaths are still much lower than here) have just gone back to school they have ALL adjusted somehow be it year groups/number in class/masks etc etc.
Many parents are 40-50yo or older.
Lots of other countries are saying Sept for school (italy/NYC/Ireland).

Anyway without any testing the gov cant adjust the measures thry use very easily.
Makes me wonder if the 'run the NHS hot' people might win out. Though have to say if they do this i would suspect many nhs would quit when they run out of PPE.
Once nhs goes out of capacity there will be deaths much more in the under 60s too as they wouldnt be getting the oxygen. That already happened in this first wave with several youngish people dying at home.

Not only have teachers died, but members of teachers families have died. At my kids school a teachers dad died yesterday. I'm sure they'll be emotionally fine to been thrown back into a room of 30 kids all of whom could be asymptomatically carrying the disease that just killed a member of her family. Just coz kids suffer less symptoms doesn't mean the people they pass it on to will.

Some of them were simply too young to understand and some just did not have the cognitive skills

Princess Charlotte has just turned 5 she was out delivering pasta, socially distancing, children in Denmark and China are back at school praticing social distancing. I can't believe it can't be taught, it's not rocket science but it will take time and class sizes will clearly need to be reduced.

I don't think I have said that teachers aren't or can't be vunerable. I said we have to learn to live with the virus and that I'm shocked that people would lie.

Intrigued by the kids wanting to send their kids back for normality. Schools attempting social distancing won't be anything like normal.

It's not true that in China all schools are back as normal. That simply isn't the case at all. Many are still only offering part time schooling and many are still doing a lot of o line teaching.

I remember having outside kessons in summer in the 1970s

We are an old Victorian school with a smallish concrete yard playground which is built on a slope. We have a small garden type area which can fit one class on if all sat close together on the benches. Lunch time is the only time everyone is out at the same time and it's cramped.

We dont know how much covid is around- that is the point the gov never tested.
They are starting to test more key workers and the other day 1/3 of the positives were key workers or their family. So those will not necessarily be seriously ill people.
But it does highlight that there are lots of untested people around with Covid. All those key workers children going back to school to soread it there (unfortunately).
Bear in mind it only took those flights from italy (plus i guess the football match and cheltenham) to get to this point).
And 4w of school too.

What about the fact they think in denmark its put the r0 up 0.3 already even with 10 per class??

Schools haven't even gone back in South Korea. I would like to know why they have taken that stance