Schools fubared till November?

[Clemmieandareallybigbunfight]

Disruption to schools could continue to November, MPs told www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-52895640

Is this a dystopian joke?

Are we actually trying to fuck up our kids?

Schools need to be instructed to open fully five days a week with enhanced on day cleaning, increased buses to allow distancing, staggered start and finish, covered but open refuge areas allowing distancing whilst outside in all weathers for breaks and no assemblies. Relatively low investment needed, huge gain economically but more importantly for our kids education and mental health. Some of these kids will never get back to school if they are out for so long. Some will fail to achieve their potential. And all for an illness with a tiny mortality rate overall?

What will be different?

Lower death rate? Less spread? We might have learnt children aren't the germ ridden plague spreaders people think they are?

September is 3 months away.

There has been essentially zero consideration of their health and wellbeing
Actually, that's all my colleagues and teachers in various groups I'm in talk about. And I do believe that's why the gov are pushing through with back to schools, despite lots of evidence that it's not quite the right time.

I agree schools should return asap, but where are you going to magic all of the extra classrooms and staff from? There is also a worrying shortage of teachers and space in many schools.

It's a disgrace. My son has autism and he's struggling and falling so far behind.I dread to think what he will be like if he doesn't go back until Autumn

Here, the YR, Y1 and Y6s will only be getting one day a week until the end of term and the Y10 AND Y12s will be getting one day a week from 15th June. Otherwise, and for all other years, it's homeschooling, except Y11s who have had absolutely nothing since schools closed except the news their GCSEs were off and grades will be estimated. It's not a stretch of the imagination that schools are not going to be back to anything like normality any time soon.

@user1498572889

Fubared. What a fantastic word. I had to look up what it meant. I will use this word often. 😂😁

Please don't. It is not actually a word.

trust that's best case scenario. The headline is may be November. Not definitely. We don't know.

I always plan lessons on best case scenario with several potential worse case scenarios at the back of my mind (SEN so a and e can definitely be a feature) as most senior school leaders do.

Schools have to make plans a long way into the future all the time.

They could plan for bubbles of 30?

Why has that not been considered over pt schooling?

State school kids are fucked. Private schools will get back to normal from Sept.

Neuro Sorry - I didn't mean no consideration of children's wellbeing by schools/school staff, I meant by government in their covid-19 planning etc. Absolutely did not mean to suggest that teachers/school staff do not care about their pupil's wellbeing, sorry if it came across that way. I disagree that the benefits to little ones is the reason why small children are being sent back to school atm though, I think it's the economic reasons, hence the decision to send the youngest back, for the most part. I can understand the rationale for that (and indeed it does directly link into health and wellbeing for their parents and themselves through their wider family situation), but I don't think it was made with the children's own health and wellbeing as an actual aim.

Its certainly showing that education isnt that important after all.

I'm governor and it's not about the kids anymore. High numbers of extremely vulnerable kids and they are not welcome back.

Kids was at the centre of our school. Not any more. I'm finding it extremely hard to believe the school ethos was anything more than hyperbole right now. If we cant even accommodate those that the government said we should it's just a joke really

It's a disgrace.

The virus is a disgrace.
Allowing over-crowded classrooms is a disgrace.

Trying to work around a global pandemic is not a disgrace. If you don't agree with closing the schools to the majority, what was the solution?
Parents have to step up with their own children. It's shocking how many people are reluctant and resentful to have to do that.

This is unbelievably stupid. If there is a winter wave November is when we will be wanting to close schools. We should be cramming in as much education as we can now.
There were no new cases of covid identified in my local authority area in the last week. Zilch, zero, nada.

They could plan for bubbles of 30?

That's business as normal then? What's the point of a bubble if you have 30?

How the hell are parents (women, let’s face it) going to be able to return to work? As well as the unforgivable damage this is doing to children there will be families who lose the roof over their fucking heads.

Winter flu season might send things a bit crazy again.

You think we should extend all this closure/distancing/etc for flu???!!!

SirSamuelVimes I wholeheartedly agree with your post, as a teacher myself of 17 years and a husband who’s a headteacher. I really can’t believe what we are doing to future generations. It’s in everyone’s benefit that they are educated. And from a mental health perspective, I find it appalling that my 8-year old son might go for 6 months or more before he is back in a group setting.

Where are schools going to get the money for all this?

Extra cleaning costs money, outdoor facilities cost money, more sinks cost money, PPE costs money, sick leave and supply teachers.... Cost money.

Schools are struggling with their budgets as it is. It is not unwillingness that's preventing schools from opening properly, it's that everyone, even the government, can see that it's not safe and a lot of parents as a result won't send their children. Probably the children schools are most desperate to see as well.

My school is 99% Asian. How do you think those parents feel about sending their kids back in, knowing they and their family are at a hugely higher risk of complications and death from covid?

Its certainly showing that education isnt that important after all.

for all the families who have been working really hard with all the resources provided by schools and various website (from bbc to national oak academy..), of course it's one of the most important thing.
Just below the safety and well being of the children though...

Have the schools asked for more money to do these things?

That's business as normal then? What's the point of a bubble if you have 30?

They'd still not be mixing with the rest of school?

I'll say it again whats the point of a bubble of 15 if the rest of the time kids are in and out of different childcare situations anyway?

Oh yes. There bloody isn't one!

Something has to give at some point for anyone is shielding not just teachers. There will be nurses, care workers, nursery staff also so shielding are they going to have to shield forever? And does the rest of the world have to stop whilst they do?

What alternative are you suggesting? That they should take their chances (and a proportion of them will certainly die or suffer long-term poorer health if they do) because you thought their life was worth less than the inconvenience of waiting while better treatments, vaccines and test and trace are developed? Are you actually suggesting that the thing which 'has to give' is this proportion of people escaping death and long term damage? I don't care if it's just one person (although it would be considerably more) - is this what you're suggesting? 'Something has to give' seems like an extraordinary euphemism if so.

You think we should extend all this closure/distancing/etc for flu???!!!

we had school closure in the recent past because of D&V...

So do we send kids back in 30 in a class as before? Despite the fact that everyone has to stay 2M apart but ignore this rule in schools? If not then it simply doesn’t work- schools do not have enough classrooms or staff to enable all children to attend full time every week.

Loads of people have recieved texts and letters telling them to shield which were in error. My DH got both, they were in error. Some people know they are in error and still present them to their employer (a HCP where my DH works is being investigated about this at present). Other people do not know they are sent in error and shield despite not meeting the clinical guidelines. Also, before the guidance was all set, many employers sent colleagues to WFH or suspended them on full pay based on the initial conditions thought to put people at risk and this included people with e.g. mild asthma or any pregnant women, neither of which are on the shielding list. Some of these people have not corrected their employer as the guidelineas changed and their employer has not seemed to register this either. I personally know someone in this position, on full pay as they were sent home in the early stages, they are not required to shield and their employer has only just contacted them to investigate. It is naive to think these situations aren't happening.