We need to rise up about the lack of education for our children

[Speeding201700]

Please do this. Please join the Twitter movement #usforthem
Please write to your MPs
Please talk about this.

Our children are missing out on their fundamental human right of an education.

The children of regular families are suffering (all 5 of mine are suffering desperately), but those in vulnerable families are suffering even further. The gap between these children will be HUGE

I am a teacher and a mother. I am ready to go back to work full time and with the 'old normal'. I am also type 1 diabetic.

Please help us rise up to get our children educated. Our children have been totally forgotten about. Throughout my career I've had it rammed down my throat about how school is a safe place for so many children. They don't care about these children now.

I am amazed so many people have just accepted this. It has gone on for too long now.

"We all know that Covid kills but the statistics have given us a very clear indication of who it is likely to kill and it’s not schoolkids.
It may mean that children will have to continue to avoid contact with their grandparents."

And some of their teachers presumably?

And you are hoping that lots of annoying elderly and vulnerable people aren't clogging up the hospitals when someone from your family needs medical treatment for some other reason?

People are so self-serving it takes my breath away sometimes.

As a teacher, I would like all the children back in an ideal scenario. I miss my class and feel terrible I won't have any more time with them this year. It's going to be a nightmare to resettle and adapt the curriculum. O also want my own kids back in school and normal childcare arrangements in place so that I can do my job.

However, I think the government want more data from looking at other countries who are ahead of us. I'm not sure which, if any, countries that were similarly affected by the pandemic have fully reopened schools? Many other countries have a longer summer break so aren't reopening at all. Those that have, most are only partially reopened. We also have the difficulty that UK class sizes are amongst the highest in the developed world so we will have larger groups of students together. Even Swedish schools that have mainly been open have a high absence rate and much smaller class sizes as the norm so they won't have evidence for what happens with groups of 30+ gathering every day.

I'm guessing while they don't yet have sufficient data from schools reopening elsewhere, they don't want to be the first country who has suffered badly from the pandemic to reopen normally and then see a potential spike. The UK government's handling of the pandemic in general is already not looking great.

Trouble is, with most schools across Europe not reopening as normal until September, there won't be much evidence to look at. I guess they're hoping transmission rates might just drop very low naturally over the summer.

Tokyo - that is disappointing then. They should be communicating with their parents better if most feel as you do.

I would just like to know what the mid term plan is. Even the schools are not being told what will be expected of them in let's say 3 weeks from now.

[quote ChippityDoDa]@Char2015

www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.21.2000903

In summary, From the report:

No evidence of secondary transmission of COVID-19 from children attending school in Ireland, 2020 separator commenting unavailable

Laura Heavey1,2, Geraldine Casey1,2, Ciara Kelly1,2, David Kelly1,2, Geraldine McDarby1,2

“Children are thought to be vectors for transmission of many respiratory diseases including influenza [2]. It was assumed that this would be true for COVID-19 also. To date however, evidence of widespread paediatric transmission has failed to emerge [3]. School closures create childcare issues for parents. This has an impact on the workforce, including the healthcare workforce [4]. There are also concerns about the impact of school closures on children’s mental and physical health [5].”[/quote]
Jonathan Mannheim, MD, Stephanie Gretsch, MPH, Jennifer E Layden, MD, PhD, Marielle J Fricchione, MD

Case series of 64 #COVID19 cases in children in Chicago. In 15 households with transmission data, 73% adult-to-child, 13% child-to-child, & 13% child-to-adult. Almost all cases occurred when schools closed; less opportunity for children to introduce virus.

Here we have it. A study supporting that fact that children can transmit the virus to both adults and children. And this is with schools closed. With schools open, more opportunity to spread the virus further. Perhaps let's stop spreading the nonsense that kids don't spread covid-19.

As a teacher I understand totally what you are saying. My heart goes out to the vulnerable children everywhere. As a mother you would be mad to go back (especially to old normal) . If you are a diabetic you are 4 times more likely to die from the virus if you contract it. Sometimes you have to put your own children first.

Thank you @LaceCurtains really interesting to hear your perspective.

I suppose it's just frustrating that our school don't even seem at all wiling to think out of the box. Start earlier, finish later, do some sort of child friendly 'shifts' in school, some on the early, some on the late to limit numbers. The government are throwing money at a lot of things, they could throw more at school, for example employ a cleaning company to deep clean the schools overnight, every night.

It seems, and I say it again OUR school, are just of the opinion, if they can't do what they normally do, then they can't do anything at all - everybody else is working around it!!

I have a friend who works at our school so I'm fairly sure that they're not giving the impression of doing nothing, which secretly concocting some incredible plan, but they are in fact hiding behind 'it's unprecedented, nothing we can do, soz'

Eeek, I might have to step away!

"I'm a teacher. I would go back do the old normal in a heartbeat."

Yes, me too. I don't know anyone in education who doesn't want that.

But mindful, surely, of the mental health implications of doing so too soon, before we know that the impact on the R is minimal.

Thank you for the great debates on this everyone..it's good that we are all talking and debating this.

@Allmyeye
Thank you..it definitely did concern me but after speaking to my team most of these poor people who have lost their lives had other serious complications from their diabetes such as failing kidneys. I am pretty healthy and fairly young so my risk is lower

@rawlikesushi
I hope you're right about it being a priority. I think the main thing is a complete lack of plan or openness to the public and schools about it.

Our school is ready. We have put up large tents for separate dining areas, and a one way system to make enough safe space. All classes of 16 will have their own allocated toilets. Pickup and drop off are organised in 10 minute slots.
We have enough staff and there is no reason why we could not have all pupils back in class by a week on Monday.

That sounds brilliant @Mintjulia and just the sort of thing we need!

"I think the main thing is a complete lack of plan or openness to the public and schools about it."

I agree with you on that. Schools find out what's happening when everyone else does.

I absolutely think we should be expanding student numbers in schools compared to where they currently are, albeit safely using the data which will come from the last week's return.

However, anyone using the term 'old' normal risks undermining their point. To believe that the old normal provided a fair and good education to all students is completely wrong. In that respect the lockdown has just highlighted the flaws in our educational system to more parents.

I personally hope (although recognise its very unlikely) that we use this opportunity to change schools to make them better for a our children and teachers.

I absolutely agree and I see a lot of threads starting to pop up about this on mumsnet yet in real life, my Facebook is the opposite. Everyone is keeping their kids off, going on about the second wave and how dangerous it is to send kids back, not sending them back until its safe ect. On news article Comments, it's the same. I don't know a single person, who is able to, who is sending their kid back to school.

Is anyone else finding the same?

"We have enough staff and there is no reason why we could not have all pupils back in class by a week on Monday."

How have you doubled your class numbers without finding double the number of classrooms, and teachers? I'm impressed and genuinely interested.

You do realise that the old normal let down a lot of kids don't you? Mostly the 'vulnerable' and those with EHCPs (like mine)? EHCPs are not issued due to bad parenting. On the contrary, parents are frequently the best advocate for their child in opposition to schools and the LA and are not sending their DC into school despite being allowed to do so because it is clearly not in their best interests. Parents are best placed to make this decision.

The old normal only ever suited the NT and their parents were united in their opposition to our kids who were excluded, put on part time timetables, didn't even receive support specified and quantified in EHCPs because it wasn't fair.

How many SENCOs have been to tribunal AGAINST the child and argued that they should not be given support? Whose best interests was this in? Teaching staff are not trusted because they have often shown themselves not to be trustworthy.

But now you care about them? The hypocrisy is staggering.

Totally agree op - it is disgraceful that we are in week 12 with no plans of any sort. Such a disservice we are doing to our children.

If more teachers are needed because of ones shielding couldn’t they fast track some of the student teachers? Like they did with final year medical students

*I agree with the OP. Children need to go back to school.

What I find particularly unacceptable is that schools that are willing, and able, to take more children and still follow the current “bubble” etc rules, are not allowed to. So many schools near here are lucky enough to have room and staffing to take other year groups as well as R, 1 and 6.

It is NEVER acceptable to work to the lowest common denominator and it is a disgrace that schools are being actively forbidden to do the best job they can!*

Agreed. DD's school has less than 15 in the vast majority of classes. They would be able to return tomorrow and follow the guidelines. Govt won't allow this because it would be overt gap creation. But let's all ignore the hidden gap that widens every week as some children do 100% of online learning, and others are in their 12th week of doing 0%.

Agree. I wrote to my MP yesterday. We are failing a generation and nothing is being said about it. It is just expected that they will stay at home and parents will somehow muddle along. The matter needs to be heard and resolved. We have seen great innovation with the nightingale hospitals. We have currently empty buildings all over-churches, halls, leisure centres. Why are we not using these to get ALL kids back to school.

@NeedingCoffee I agree. My year 5 DS (private school) is going back on Wednesday. State schools should be allowed to do this if they have capacity.

All teachers want to go back. Lockdown life is boring and stressful. It’s sickening not being able to look after your class or have a normal day chatting to colleagues.

And the lack of plan is so frustrating. There must be a plan surely. So parents can plan. Accepting that things may change. But overall road map so we know where we are and can give the kids hope they will return.

I am a teacher and have been teaching my full timetable via Google Meet since the lockdown.

When we go back in September, we will run Google Meet from the classroom (we have installed fancy video cameras) , so any child that is isolating will still have access to lessons.

This is what I'm talking about @CraftyGin Innovation! Adapting to change! Making the best of a bad situation! Ours have done nothing!