How/when did the tide turn on schools?

[LaceCurtains]

In the beginning the mood here was almost desperate calling for schools to be closed.

In the last week or so there's been a marked shift to getting them open (from peope here).

Is it the same people who wanted the closed, now calling for them to get back to normal or have the original campaigners gone quiet/new people got louder?

FWIW I always thought schools closed as early as they did because of public pressure and it seems to me that "other" things are getting back to normal more quickly than originally planned/expected (because of DC and the need to distract?) but schools don't seem to be included in that.

I'm at a loss as to why schools are being treated so differently. I'm SLT in school, if that makes a difference and the government guidance is a shambles. Changes daily but doesn't seem to have any clear aim.

It seems to me that it is the unions and the teachers blocking the re-opening of schools. Personally I think “shame on them” for not putting the needs of children before their own political agendas.

Every child should have the option to repeat the year.

@Chelsea567

Every child should have the option to repeat the year.

What about the kids starting this year?

Children are being treated like lepers. It’s a disgrace. The play parks and schools need to be reopened as soon as possible. And those parents who aren’t taking up reception and nursery places need to have a good hard look at themselves, especially when they make decisions to go to the crowded beaches and into shops, pubs and zoos when they open.

I think children should repeat the year. No idea how that would work logistically but they've missed over a third of the year. It's ridiculous. Our children have been treated appallingly. I've never been so angry.

They can't repeat the year though! It is terrible but that's too disruptive.

It is appalling. I agree all children should be able to repeat the year. The government should also be making plans to pay school staff to reopen earlier, maybe mid August in England, so that children can at least have two or three weeks back of the months of education that they have lost.

Interesting, @Xenia

I will completely lose my shit if my children are back for a while year because of this.

We need to catch them up, not regard their progress.

Jesus the thought of telling my 12 year old that she has to do 1st Form again.

That's way worse than just getting her back and letting her catch up.

I think they ought to have a big drive to recruit teachers and tas and encourage those recently retired to come back and do a shift system am/pm to half the class sizes without the need for extra building space and you’d get everyone back into school for a 8-12 /12-4 shift or whatever timing works (many countries do this anyway for lack of space even before covid 7-1 younger kids / 1-6 older kids for example) and absolutely none of this ridiculous eating lunch alone / avoiding other kids in the playground like photos that have been shared on social media with various schools attempting social distancing in schools. It’s harmful to their emotional wellbeing

Instead all they’ve done is inundated headteachers with rapidly changing information that has crippled them leaving them unable to plan a thing so we are left with this mess instead.

Also if they are insisting on keeping schools closed until September (rumours about November happening too ?) then they need to reopen museums / parks and other places where children can have new experiences.

I mean if shops and pubs are opening why aren’t schools?

Ds is going to have a particularly shit extra year in nursery if that's the case because he's ready for school and so are all his friends.

I'd like to know if I'm also supposed to pay for an extra year as well?

It's not just about the low risk of dying its about the risk of disability and long term chronic health issues. So many people on twitter have been pushing for more awareness of this. They have reduced lung function, chronic exhaustion, cant walk far etc. None of these things are being widely reported.

Repeating the year can't happen. People have plans and arrangements and commitments. And massive financial consequences for families.

The default should be to go back full time.

@Mascotte

Repeating the year can't happen. People have plans and arrangements and commitments. And massive financial consequences for families.

The default should be to go back full time.

This.

We were prepared to sacrifice our children’s education to flatten the curve for a few weeks. And maybe until the end of the summer but only if there was a decent strategy for September.

The media pressured the government on school closure as the. “ public were deeply concerned for the health of their children “

The media were then pressuring the government to re open schools as “ people are concerned for the mental health of their children”

Now the media are pressuring the government that the re opening of schools are too soon because “ people are concerned there aren’t sufficient safety measures in place. “

They literally cannot win, the media are using “people” as a reason to throw as many spears as possible and hiding behind “public concern”

They don’t want the government to win, Because they can’t win.

Unreal.

I'm in school leadership in secondary. This week we have been having staff briefing sessions about Y10 starting back next week. Every single member of staff is desperate to get back to work. We all want the school open to all students now. The Head had prepared to do this from the 1st June - like the primaries- but was not allowed to do this. The Head wants to open to all children. The staffing is available but again, this is not allowed by current regulations.

This is the madness. We are all ready, willing and wanting to go back to teaching and caring for our children in school and we are not allowed - beyond child care and Y10.

The Head has been practically in tears today at the possibility that we might not be able to open in September properly.

Social distancing in schools has to be removed, Schools have to be opened now.

It was always the case that the most sensible course was to tell vulnerable people (mostly over 70s - Tory voters) to stay at home and let everyone else carry on with extra precautions (hand washing, extra cleaning, not sharing equipment).

@FiveFootTwoEyesOfBlue

3 weeks ago = all left-leaning people, unions, teachers, left-wing councils, Labour party all saying 'We cannot even consider opening schools until it is 'safe' '. (Never mind that 'safe' is completely meaningless in this context.)

This week = those same people saying 'the government needs to get pupils back in school'

The difference is, as soon as the government abandoned the aim of getting the rest of primary back in school, the naysayers changed their tune. They clearly just oppose whatever the government does and don't really care about the children.

And I'm someone who has never voted Conservative in my life! I'm a member of an education-related union and I seriously considered ending my subscription when I read their response. They recommended that members refuse to even attend meetings that discuss reopening!

I have a friend in a Senior Leaders Team who has said exactly this about the unions. They have worked really hard to prepare for students returning and the unions have, apparently made impossible demands at every step of the process in an effort to thwart this. Her impression was it was purely to oppose anything the government wanted to achieve

@BlokeTarget

The media pressured the government on school closure as the. “ public were deeply concerned for the health of their children “

The media were then pressuring the government to re open schools as “ people are concerned for the mental health of their children”

Now the media are pressuring the government that the re opening of schools are too soon because “ people are concerned there aren’t sufficient safety measures in place. “

They literally cannot win, the media are using “people” as a reason to throw as many spears as possible and hiding behind “public concern”

They don’t want the government to win, Because they can’t win.

Unreal.

Well they could actually do their job and lead the country through the pandemic.

Ironic how the zoos are opening before schools. Letting children who've been basically caged for months go to see animals in cages, instead of going to school and receiving education.

“Well they could actually do their job and lead the country through the pandemic“

I guess a daily briefing for 84 days with clear guidance ( that is easy to follow if you apply at least an ounce of comMoms sense) isn’t leadership ? Of course not.

Would the 5 stages needing met including and R below 1 consistently not a clearly defined goal? Of course not. Not leadership.

Is a mandatory 2m social distancing rule not leadership? Of course not.

Of following WHO guidelines to close schools/ shops/ non essential services until we are past the leak not leadership? Of course not.

Is your idea of leadership aligned with president trump instead: keep the country open! 100,000+ dead and rising , leave the WHO?

I think the govt leadership has been spot on. I’ve followed the leadership and guidance because it was clear, consistent and communicated on a daily basis via briefings and govt commercials/ material. That is leadership.

I think you have a very skewed sense of these leadership actually is. I suspect you want them to lead with a years’ hindsight up front and get everything 100% right. Like you would....

Thank you for this thread. For the first time in my life, I have written to my MP. I am so worried about my children, about all our children.

It was really easy to do, search here:

members.parliament.uk/members/Commons

I just copied and pasted the email address and spent 15 mins putting together a polite but firm viewpoint.

Please, if you feel strongly, consider doing the same.

And while you're there, ask them to extend the transition period and not leave the EU without a deal because that is going to screw your kids' futures even more in conjunction with this. No one really seems to have any urgency about this either. We have 20 days.

There seem to be a few things happening. First, the underinvestment in our state schools is being highlighted.

In Germany, for example, average primary class sizes are 21. The ratio of children to teachers is 14:1.
In schools here where there are 30 or so, then it’s going to be far harder to distance children and staff safely. We don’t always have the space or the teaching staff.

And while it may not kill many children, we’re still finding out the longer-term or ‘silent’ side effects, like long-term lung damage or organ damage.

It’s a real mess. But it’s not schools’ faults. It’d help if there was a great internet provision across the country, if schools were given more funding for all children to have basic laptops and internet access.

It’d help if at risk children weren’t only dependent on schools for safety, but had well-funded social services to help them and their parents/careers.

There is SO much that has been reliant on people in public services going above and beyond in their jobs, managing on almost no funding. And now it’s all suddenly visible. That’s what we need to be asking for - more support - rather than trying to force teachers and kids into unsafe environments.