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?

kissing, not missing.

@twinnywinny14 the risk to most under 60s is incredibly small.

I really never understood why so many parents think September is the magical month when everything will be ok.
Me neither.

Closing schools hurts my family.

Speak to the government. Speak to the virus.

The teacher unions are going too far.

Not them who wrote the guidance.

"Are there really schools with NO outside space?"

Aerial map of a primary in Reading. Look at all that outside space!

There are many schools like this.

My almost 8 year old already had to move schools (and far away) due to his abusive dad. He'd finally become settled in his new one and now this is happening, and I've had a mental breakdown. Both my boys are going back full time on Monday classed as vulnerable as I can't even take care of myself anymore I've made myself sick with stress and exhaustion and lost all my savings. No friends and no family support. I have cried in relief that they will get some schooling again.

There is no magic number in terms of distance. No limit is riskier than 1m, 1m is riskier than 1.5m, 1.5m is riskier than 2m. For long term exposure, such as a whole day in a classroom, that could make a big difference. Anyway, again, this is coming from government.

That Australian study is now dated, not peer assessed and based on a tiny sample when schools were closed. Even they admitted it was flawed.

I really never understood why so many parents think September is the magical month when everything will be ok

My dds school is planning for return in September (private secondary) they are desperate to be back then.

Why the hell are we depriving children of their lives

We're not. We've 'deprived' them of between 2 and 6 months of their (hopefully) 80 year lives.

I know no one who is actually following any of the blanket advice from the unions. Only on individual cases where a school isn't following the guidelines. It's all been local lea and council led, under the all the government guidance, decisions based on local case levels.

I also agree the government listens to public opinion. People were demanding the schools shut! Now we want them open and people need to get back to work. Children are suffering and the economy is on its knees.

The virus for most places in this county peaked in April. We may see some upturns but there is more and more noise that a second wave actually isn’t inevitable. This virus doesn’t behave like the flu and that was what the wave models were based on.

I agree with OP in my opinion they should all be back by Sept latest, as PP said if they are not at school they're mixing elsewhere and they are a very low risk group as are most people under 70 who don't have underlying health conditions - kids mental health is really suffering I really don't understand why it has to go on so long when you walk around the streets of London and very few are actually passing each other with 2m between them - the only place you see this now is in a queue.

Stop telling me school is not childcare. It is not only childcare, it is more than childcare, but it is also childcare. It is how our culture is set up to allow people to work and support their families. We need to dramatically change a lot of how we are organised if primary school is not a kind of childcare (and that means women don't work)

@Wishforanishwishdiash I could not agree more with every word of this.

We're not. We've 'deprived' them of between 2 and 6 months of their (hopefully) 80 year lives.*

Clearly you didn't read the rest of the post. It's our children who will be paying the bill for all of this

@Clemmieandareallybigbunfight

The schools may be FUBAR'd, but the relavant population is not yet B(U)NDY'd so guess you'll just need to wait.

They are less than 100 new cases per day in London now and that is dropping every day.

My doctor friend in London hospital is seeing hardly any cases. He said it was everywhere in the hospital in mid Feb (before we thought it was a massive problem here).

I have cried in relief that they will get some schooling again.

I'm sorry for your situation, sounds shit. But that's exactly what providing childcare for vulnerable children was all about. They won't be getting 'schooling' in key worker groups, you'll all be getting the benefit of some childcare.

just dropping this here...

www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/health/coronavirus-children-transmission-school.html

@pfrench

Why the hell are we depriving children of their lives

We're not. We've 'deprived' them of between 2 and 6 months of their (hopefully) 80 year lives.

I mean 80s probably a bit optimistic what with poverty shortening your life span and poverty being what thousands of children will enter into.

@pfrench

The teacher unions are going too far.

Not them who wrote the guidance.

In Wales, they were definitely a loud voice at the table. A very, very loud voice.

It's our children who will be paying the bill for all of this

This will be a drop in the ocean compared to climate change.

It will be an absolute travesty if that turns out to be the case. The impacts of this on our young people will go on for many, many years. Not to mention the impact on parents' mental health having to juggle home schooling (even part time) and working, and all those parents who will loose jobs as they will not be able to work their regular hours due to part time school provisions, then those that will be forced into poverty and homelesness as a result.
I am so, so angry at what this government have done to my children's and indeed all children's futures.

@Straycatstrut . That was too much, of course it was. I hope now they are going back to school you will have time to heal.

Oh right so we're already fucked in one direction so we screw it up in another just to be sure? Not sure that's the best argument