For those who want schools to go back..

[pfrench]

.. tell us how you think it should work. Primary or secondary.

In your ideal world.

How would social distancing be adhered to?
How about drop off and pick up?
How would classrooms operate?
How about lunchtimes and breaktimes?
What about after school childcare provision?
What about staff who are sheidling?
What about children who are sheilding?
What about staff who have family members who are sheilding?
Should only some children go back? Who should they be and why?

So many education and school experts on here, it will be interesting to read your safe solutions.

Cheltenham seemed to infect loads despite being outside.

To be fair, the transmission at Cheltenham was MUCH more likely to be in bars / pubs / restaurants / hotels than it was to be during the periods that people were outside.

HCPs signed up for this? Really? 🙄

*Teachers ARE special because they are human beings with feelings and families.

HCP signed up for this, teachers did not and they have no PPE.*

Errrrr no we did not!
And I think you'll find ALL public service workers (HCP and teachers and many more) are all human beings with feelings and families and ALL signed up to committing to a role that keeps the UK going. If we did sign up for this, you did too.

@Tealwallpaper they won't be fined. I work in a school and already been told over the next year absences wont mean fines

In our house there are 4 key workers all out each day, two medical and two working in food bank/deliveries. Two children attending school. We are all healthy and none of us have caught CV or been ill in any way. I think the perception of risk has become so skewed that so many people are terrified. Shielding the vulnerable ( staff and children in this category or who care for someone who is) should be allowed to stay off and be supported until we are sure it is Ok for them to return. Otherwise schools should return but extra precautions should be taken to make sure staff and children stay off if ill and access a test before returning ( which should be easily accessible within a couple of weeks) you can’t social distance in school but risks are really v low for most. I am really really worried about the number of children living in poverty/abusive homes etc who have just disappeared and these children must simply be in school ASAP. We know they aren’t attending now so it will take whole schools to return to bring some normality and safety to their lives

Rtft. Specifically the post four before yours.

To my knowledge - which is partial, obviously - about a fifth of the families in my class have either had to self-isolate with COVID-like symptoms or have had at least 1 family member ill with a very COVID-like disease in the period between the start of lockdown and now (pre-testing, so no evidence either way).

It doesn't feel like an over-reaction to believe that a return to school might well result in a significant number of new infections....

Hcp did not sign up for this. What a crass comment to make.

Just looked at the news. Unions are telling Boris not to open.

They will tell staff not to return under section 44(?) so l doubt schools will open

No, I don’t have any in my nhs job either. The stuff I used was produced from my handbag, I bought a job lot for £30 on the internet, which I thought was money well spent

So, you are suggesting teachers should take responsibility for ensuring there is sufficient hand sanitizer in school and if necessary pay for it themselves? 5 lessons a day, 32 kids per lesson...I should clean over 150 pairs of hands every day at my own expense? Really?

hcp did not sign up for this. What a crass comment to make

If you sign up to be HCP surely you do so knowing that in the event of global pandemic you will be frontline? To suggest otherwise is like saying people who sign up to the armed forces are surprised when they have to go to war. Healthcare is in the job title.

I don’t mind buying it. DH bought his own PPE to work as an ITU consultant.

There’s a pandemic on, normal rules pretty much suspended.

(Also my daughters school has hand sanitiser. She went in for the first few days if lockdown).

Hmmm you think those physio therapists who work with kids and find themselves redeployed to covid ITU knew they’d be front line in a pandemic,

Because that’s like saying that teachers signed up for this, too.

Nobody did.

The issue is with schools, safeguarding trumps all and that will never be suspended, ever.

Ha ha, it made be laugh. HCP should have known when signing up they might be stuck in a Pandemic

Lots of healthcare unions told us not to do certain things as well but we all did them because we knew it was right for patients, the community and to keep the world turning. Hope your unions have come up with an alternative plan to properly educate all children until they do deem it safe.

I hope you remind the NHS staff of that

the pta of dc school bought paper towels and soap.
great of them, but tbh I was a bit pissed off that such a basic requirement wasn't available at every sink in the first place.

If you sign up to be HCP surely you do so knowing that in the event of global pandemic you will be frontline? To suggest otherwise is like saying people who sign up to the armed forces are surprised when they have to go to war. Healthcare is in the job titl

It's a good job most HCPs just get on with it despite whether they 'signed up for it' or not (totally ridiculous statement, you just sound like a twat saying that - we didn't). But at least they are taking some social responsibility to get things going rather than being defeatist and refusing every possible option of working.

I don’t mind buying it. DH bought his own PPE to work as an ITU consultant

As I said, for 150 pairs of hands per day, 5 days a week? You think teachers should pay for that for at least the next 12 months, possibly beyond?

And you may not mind paying but it is utterly unacceptable that anyone working for the NHS is paying for their own PPE. The least you can expect is to have what you need to do your job.

Most people aren't buying PPE. I haven't needed to, had everything I need provided for me.

You don't need tons of alcogel, you need hand washing stations. Much more effective for cleanliness and cost.

But at least they are taking some social responsibility to get things going rather than being defeatist and refusing every possible option of working

I am working on a rota in school. With no PPE or hand sanitizer with up to 30 children per day with minimal social distancing. When I am not in school, I am doing 5 lessons per day via the internet and marking all work students hand in. In what way am I ‘refusing every possible option of working’? I’m doing all that as a single parent with 3 children under 12 at home. Is that good enough for you?

Bottom line is, what is the main objective in getting children back to school?
Childcare? Won't be happening to any useful degree, because if and when schools open to more children than at present, it is highly likely to be small groups on sporadic days.
Education? Won't be particularly high level, as there will be so many brakes on what we can realistically do with the small amount of usable equipment that does not require sharing and cross-infection.
Social mixing? Highly likely that your child won't be with their particular friendship group.
There are probably lots of other reasons, but just on those three issues alone, is it really worth risking R numbers rocketing for such little gain?

Howaboutanewname, No, it will never be good enough for some of the posters on here. Save your breath.