So the school guidance is out...

[Norecallpup]

Sorry if this has already been done. I could cry, I really could. Absolutely nothing. Just wash your hands, wipe down surfaces and encourage kids to cough into tissues! I don’t know why I’m shocked. Our government are a bunch of twats!

Why is it ok for other professions to have protection and distancing but not teachers? We're not saving lives here, in fact we're endangering them. I'm terrified of these proposals

@londonskyline if your child has an EHCP can’t he attend already? I may have misunderstood but I thought he could?

Maybe it would be sustainable in the long term to halve all of the class sizes and have distance learning for 50% of the time and face to face for the other half. So classes of 15 will become the new normal.

The distance learning can be centrally administered by the Oak Academy, with an option of full time distance learning for those children who have active symptoms, health vulnerabilities or who live with people who are shielding.

@Plynnn probably significantly understated though as those who have died at Home not counted and perhaps lots not tested? Also some of the underlying conditions will be present in the parent body.

And managing how your kids are picking up the anxiety of other kids. And don't understand why they can't be in a class with all their mates (nor even see some of them as they aren't allowed to mix).

That will be the same in September though. It's not going to be business as usual by then.

To those saying they won't return their children before September - what do you think will happen before then to make things safer?

4 more months of learning about the virus?

4 more months of being able to source and stock PPE for teachers and children if that is what’s required.

4 more months of learning about transmission and children’s roles within it.

4 more months of research into how children are being affected by the virus - I.e all the Kawasaki symptoms.

4 more months of research into the best way to treat the virus.

4 more months of research into how transmission can be reduced and 4 more months of proper planning to keep our children and teachers safe in schools as opposed to this rushed 3 week procedure they’ve put in place which leaves a lot to be desired.

what do you think will happen before then to make things safer?

It'll give time to see how many breakouts there's been in the kids going back to school in June. That's why the government are staggering the return, year 1&6 are the guinea pigs, the fodder. If they're ok, they'll open up more years.

WTF have all these only children not even seen another child for seven weeks?! Don’t you go on walks? Have neighbours? Use Zoom or FaceTime? Have windows?!

Yes, we go on walks and bike rides and have neighbours and windows. The neighbours don't have children and we haven't seen any children while out exercising that I recall, certainly not any children that we know or could wave hello to. I don't have a clue about FaceTime. We use Zoom for extended family (no children, because there aren't any), including the non-resident parent. DC's 'friends' have not been in touch.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want DC to return to school yet. We're living with an extremely vulnerable family member and I'm not happy with the government's advice that it's ok as long as the school have enforced social distancing. But just pointing out that, yes, my only child hasn't seen another child since March.

I thought it was being done to engineer the second wave before the winter?

Mine will be going in. The worry for me has been my DSs mental health and safeguarding that far outweighs the risk of Covid for me.

Children are missing a sizable chunk of their education and that is a huge concern for me. Yes, lots of people have been furloughed or are able to work from home enabling them to help their DC with little inconvenience. For workers that have been homeschooling and keeping a full time job away from the home this has been a logistical nightmare and exhausting experience.

I'll continue to keep the kids away from my self isolating parents for as long as it takes but for us as non high risk we will continue on as normal.

To those saying they won't return their children before September - what do you think will happen before then to make things safer?

This has been asked half a dozen times on the thread already.

And there is yet to be a response to the replies given about the passage of time and the setting up of a proper track and trace system amongst other reasons.

It's almost as if people asking this question have no interest in the concerns of parents and certainly don't want to make efforts to reassure those who are disillusioned or lacking in trust over what these plans are.

Funny that.

Have there been reports of teachers who have remained in school to look after the children of key workers falling ill?

I think it comes down to the fact it is far better to have a second wave in August (schools shut anyway), less pressure on hospitals, not many other illnesses going about than in October, then the schools would only have been back a month, they’d have to shut again and you’d coincide your second wave with cold and flu season?? That makes no sense to me.

Far better to start sending some years back staggered from June. Then they close again anyway at the end of July.

No I haven’t seen any reports of outbreaks in schools and most around here have keyworker children in and teachers.

"There have been 238 deaths so far in England so far due to Covid 19 for those in hospital, with no preconditions and under 60.

www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-daily-deaths/

Stay fit, stay under 60 and carry on?"

But @plynn

For the most part children have been shielded, they have been kept at home since March with no contact with other households. What will the death and infection rate be when they are back out in the population mixing with 14 other children and by extension their households, as well as a teacher and TA?

We have seen in the last 2 weeks the news that children can get Kawasaki's as a result of Covid 19 which is a serious illness. We have not seen any increase in testing of children.

The current guidelines for testing are for hospital/care home patients and for keyworkers showing symptoms and their families. Govt data shows around 2000 people a day are testing positive outside of hospital settings with the minimal testing taking place .

I'm not a keyworkers so if my child gets ill right now, unless she ends up in hospital she will not be eligible for a test so would not be counted in the stats as having CV, like lots of other children. The stats do not count children who are treated at home at all.

Far better to send some back? So encourage a second wave which will essentially see people dead?

It's not fair that some people get the chance to be safe at home whilst others are put at risks to be babysitters for Boris to make money

"It sounds quite like what Denmark have done, in terms of smaller classes and more cleaning, and they have been back now for 3 weeks with no uptick in infections"

This isn't quite true. Denmark's R value has gone up from 0.7 to 0.9
They are sticking to strict social distancing inside the classroom too.
It is quite possible that the government's proposals would tip the R value over 1

We run an asc and holiday club- which the government has just ignored completely. We're in Scotland but if we were in England I'd have no idea where we stood with opening.

If Scotland goes for similar rules then I'd assume we'd open as we're governed by the same rules as nurseries but...

Not impressed with the temp checking- don't check temperatures as it's not reliable, but send children home if they have a temperature. Erm...pretty sure I'm not the only parent with a kid who can show no symptoms of illness except a fever. It might not be perfect or pick up all cases but it's a better check than none.

I strongly suspect that our staff will want at least face coverings too. Not sure how we tell them that they're recommended for the bus on the way to work, but not once they get here...

There are very few pupils attending school in my area. In my one dc’s school, there is one pupil, in the other there are 12.

A teacher friend works in a ‘hub’ of schools and they have an average of 5 or 6 pupils each day and that is across several schools.

I know three teachers in different schools who are available for the rota but have not been required.

Point being, I don’t know if you can draw any conclusions on ‘outbreaks’ with such small numbers of staff and pupils in schools.

The problem is when they have multiple changes to the lockdown, you can’t always tell which one can be the one causing the change in the R value

I wear a mask every day at work and small children are not frightened by it. At most if they ask why, then I explain its so as not to spread germs. I will often offer them one to wear and they are pleased to get one to wear too. It's really not a big deal for them.

We don’t let children into shops because they don’t remember about social distancing, and they touch loads of things and we don’t want to catch the virus from them.
But it’s ok to send them back to school and teachers are ridiculous for asking about protective measures because they don’t spread it.

Which is it?

We have seen in the last 2 weeks the news that children can get Kawasaki's as a result of Covid 19 which is a serious illness. We have not seen any increase in testing of children

I’m a children nurse and over the last month we have had to ventilate 6 children and send them to ITU. Four of the children improved and came back to us for continued care, but the other two are still in ITU and seriously ill. All these children presented with Kawasaki symptoms and deteriorated very quickly.

We have been seen numerous young children be admitted with respiratory symptoms and be tested for Covid and we have had to ventilate a few and send them to ITU, whereas the rest have had to be hospitalised for 3-5 days.

We swab every child and their parents if they are admired to our wards it regardless of what they have presented with. We have children come in with head injuries (as an example) that test positive without any symptoms. We are also getting positive results coming back from parents who are also asymptomatic - at the point of testing anyway.

It’s just everywhere.

No chance is my year 1 going, not even in September. At the moment it says won’t be fined for not going, but if this changes by then I’m deregistering. Won’t be going until there’s a) a vaccine, b) treatment, c) enough immunity it isn’t wiping through people at this rate.
I can imagine for the most part, reopened classrooms will be empty in June, if they open.