Stop scaremongering about schools. All dc will be back before 2021.

[whenthejoyreturns]

There’s no way they’re going to implement home learning for another year. It’s completely unsustainable, the economy will collapse, they’ll be horrific consequences for millions of dc. At some point soon sense will prevail and we’ll all have to start living with the risks of coronavirus.

I’m assuming all will be back by September!

I've got a feeling this whole situation might be over sooner than we anticipated. I think all children will be back by September. I hope anyway!

@Waxon I absolutely agree with you. Listening to how things are going in Italy and they’re further on than I’d thought possible. It’s sounding really positive.

It is. I'm not really sure why people are adamant that school won't go back to normal until 2021, that's a long way off in terms of development. Who knows, the virus might fizzle out on its own before September. (Blind optimism)

I really hope so. Although it is somewhat hard to stay positive when there’s a major union head saying schools won’t be back properly until a vaccine! But we didn’t do this for polio (which really does affect children), or smallpox, or cholera, or measles or flu or anything else, so it seems unlikely we’d really tolerate doing it for this, surely? Especially when things are supposed to be done on the ‘best interests of the child’ principle?

I don’t think children’s mental health will
Cope for much longer. It won’t be the virus that would be at risk to them to keep them off.

I don't understand why some secondary schools have sent emails saying not all dc will be back in September (according to some posters on MN). How can they possibly know that yet?

People are jumping the gun a bit it seems. It's a good idea to plan for a phased return in September in case it does happen, but to be telling people in May that children definitely won't be going back full time as if it's a given is premature.

Agree. There’s a lot of anxiety about June 1st, which I get- but that date will come soon, and some schools will open to some children, and gradually the weeks will tick by and more schools will follow suit, and it will all start to feel more normal.

I agree and I hope you’re right. I’m in Scotland and the schools won’t go back until August anyway but I really hope all this planning is just worst case.

We need to learn to live with this somehow.

They will 100% be back. If for no other reason than people need to return to work and pay for all this. I can’t believe there are mothers on this website in favour of endless lockdown when it is women and children who will bear the scars from this. Women will be fully expected to go part time or fully sacrifice their jobs and children effectively imprisoned or neglected, while men trip back to endless hours in the office. It’s fucking outrageous! The government may decide to legislate further against teaching unions if it comes to it.

All?

Does that mean shielding will have ended?

I am a teacher and living in hope that we will be back in September. My secondary has plans for Y10/12 to return in June in a phased way. It won't be the norm but at least it's a start.

I wouldn't like to continue with a random rota/blended learning for another year. It's just not the same

I hope so.

But I rang my DC’s primary school to ask a few questions about my DC returning in June, and spoke to the headteacher.
Headteacher said that, having measured all the classrooms and taking social distancing into account, they’ve only got room for 2 year groups worth of children at once. They said that they didn’t know how things would work in September if they were expected to take more children. The headteacher sounded really stressed about the whole situation.

All the reasons the teachers are using for not getting children back now will still exist in September.
The risks will be the same until there is a vaccine and it has been rolled out.

regardless of the covid situation schools will be going back in September- if they don’t society as we know it is unsustainable. We will live with covid, that’s all!

Schools can’t return to “normal” because normal was frankly overcrowded and insanitary.
Most schools need more teaching space, more eating space, more toilets, more cleaning and much much better hand washing facilities.
How they achieve that without more money is a mystery though.

They won’t achieve social distancing- the amount of borrowing that’s happening atm I expect my future grandchildren to have 60 to a class.

I also believe all children will be expected to be back in school in September. But how, I don’t know? Our school have said depending on take up of places in June it may not be possible to offer a place to all children in the years encouraged to go back. It is a small school so unless they allow 30 children to be in each class room I can’t see how they can physically fit every child back in. This must be an incredibly stressful time for head teachers.

I assume the above is the reason why Scotland are touting the idea of ‘blended school’ so perhaps each year group will have a few days of schooling per week?

As a mother of a only child, he needs to go back in September. I am willing to accept and so is he to a certain extent that he has missed his friends and play time with other children since the end of March. But he can't go on being a only child with no contact with other children till 2021! He is 5, he needs school for learning and also personal development and socialisation!

I genuinely feel he is getting depressed and lonely, he's 5 he shouldn't feel that way at all

Blended schooling will not work for most families. My dc are secondary age and mainly capable of independent working. The youngest is 13 and doing brilliantly but still has the odd crisis organising herself or needs things explaining (some maths and science) and both have had issues with being able to access certain things, printer breaking down etc. I won’t be working from home much longer to sort these things out. God knows how people with younger dc are coping while working too. It’s just not going to happen. DC will have to be back without social distancing and teachers taking precautions for themselves.

The primary school plans don't involve social distancing - sensible distancing within 'bubbles', but not full social distancing. That was really clear in the guidance (one of the few things that was) but there's still a lot of 'we can only have 8 children back!!' fuss from schools.

Secondaries are REALLY hard to do because the bubble concept can't be used due to different subject combinations, and so social distancing is the only 'control' option available.

It will depend on whether enough teachers are willing to return to the classrooms. Even if it fades away, if enough "vulnerable" teachers won't return, then you can't force them. They (and the unions) know they have the upper hand. Wouldn't surprise me if they suddenly decide that schools are safe after all upon the promise of a pay rise.

Yes I think the stumbling block is staffing levels and unions

Schools can’t return to “normal” because normal was frankly overcrowded and insanitary. Most schools need more teaching space, more eating space, more toilets, more cleaning and much much better hand washing facilities. How they achieve that without more money is a mystery though.

But you'd be looking at doubling the size of schools to enable any serious change in class sizes, more toilets, etc etc. That's not just more money for existing schools, many of whom are already at the limit of the land they occupy- you'd be looking at building new schools on new larger plots.

Even Blair/Brown didn't go that fair when they were splashing the cash on shiny new schools! (paid for by our children and grandchildren due to their love of PFI!!).

The odd extra new classroom or toilet won't make a big enough difference. Is a class of 25 really any safer than a class of 30??