1600 paediatricians have written to the prime minister

[havefunpeleton]

Demanding schools reopen or risk scarring a generation. Reported in Times today.

I am hoping this will be the push needed to ensure this madness ends and all our children can go back to school full time in September.

@countrygirl99

But Dom that's been said on here by several posters and why do you think other workers are taking less risks? Because many aren't. There are loads of people out there just doing what they can the best they can because they are self employed and if they don't get going again they won't have a business and hence income. The same with any business, big or small, those that just see the problem will go to the wall. Everyone has big problems but they have to be approached them in a how can I solve this way, not just throw up their hands in horror. And if they don't they have an income and pay tax what do you think will happen to public sector budgets across the board? There is a huge difference in approach between schools, some are busy finding solutions, some aren't. Which schools do you think will be under subscribed in years to come? I don't have kids at school now but I do have several teacher friends/relations - the majority are raring to be allowed back. But If you had told me 6 months ago this would happen I could have predicted the 2 that wouldn't want to go back with 100% accuracy.

Your logic is flawed.

I have seen what is being provided in the public and private sector to ensure as safe as possible an environment for workers. Why do you think teachers are less worthy of the similar protection?

Teachers have never stopped working - all through their Easter and half term holidays. I think that shows an amazing amount of commitment, don't you? Especially as it was unpaid.

Of course teachers want to go back. But it's up to the government to provide what's necessary. They did it for hospitals, why not for schools, I wonder?

Teachers can't teach in masks. If they want to wear them at other times that's up to them

In other countries they do. Why not here?

@TheAdventuresoftheWishingChair I know that. I am sorry about what you went through. But at the moment it seems to be only the schools that are responsible for these children and it is their fault if anything happens to them.

"Teachers can't teach in masks"

They do in Germany and several other countries

Parents have a right to demand ft schools

They don't have a right to forbid teachers - or students - from wearing PPE

You do you

A visor would be better than a mask surely?

theadventures - What you are describing is awful but unless you are also advocating for compulsory home visits for all children from social care and or the police and school to run 52 weeks of the year I am not sure how relevant it is to this conversation.

How shit must your parenting be if you are not able to provide emotional support and stability for your own children for couple of months alongside a basic level of educational play

I'm not even a parent and I can see evidence all over Mumsnet that there are many lovely middle class, educated families with time and money to pour into their children and yet their children are still struggling significantly in lockdown. Some are showing signs of suffering very badly in that they are having troubles sleeping or are showing signs of anxiety or are getting depressed. It's about so much more than parenting. Children just need other children. They need other adults. They need an education. And yes, many parents are quite simply very shit too and so their children aren't getting lots of support and so will be struggling even more badly but that's life isn't it? It's not a perfect world. School is vital. It does offer those children something they don't get at home.

Honestly the things you're posting are dreadful. You are risking pushing some struggling people into a very bad place. What's with all the judgement? The last few months have been very difficult for many for all sorts of reasons and I'm sure many feel worried enough already about their children if they're struggling badly. This website is about support.

How many threads were there early on with parents complaining about schools daring to phone them, when all they were trying to do were welfare checks.

adventures - look at what some of those very same parents have been posting about teachers and see if you can understand why I turned the scenario on its head.

lemonsandlimes oh wow, thank you,. We are soooo lucky to have you on this thread. Obviously you are so much more knoweldgable and have so much more understanding of young people's developmental needs than 1600 paediatricians and 150 leading child and adolescent psychologists. Maybe you could write them all a reply to their letters of concern and point out that you have solved the issue and actually it is all down to poor parenting?????
Oh, and I can tell you now that only a TINY minority of children who could be considered vulnerable are currently accessing a school place. But Im sure that is OK , because for all those not able to their parents proabbaly just need to pull their socks up a bit.

What you are describing is awful but unless you are also advocating for compulsory home visits for all children from social care and or the police and school to run 52 weeks of the year I am not sure how relevant it is to this conversation.

No I'm not advocating for that at all. It's not realistic. We don't have anywhere near the resources to catch all abused children sadly. Not by a long shot.

It is relevant to this conversation though because it adds to the argument children need to be back in school full time to give them some protection and respite. The point is, we can't catch them all. We can't save every child being harmed. Society doesn't even care enough to try. But while school will never run 52 weeks of the year, for children like my friend the time they do get there matters. They need to be there full time from September. It prevents and reduces some harm.

oh, and I will be sure to remind my 12, 14 and 16 yr olds that all they really need is a "basic level of educational play."

There are lots of vulnerable children being kept off school and a worrying number of vulnerable families where parents are deliberately using lockdown to stay under the radar, eg saying they won't come to appointments due to risks of Covid etc these kids need to be back in school.

It really is staggering how much the kids are missing out on and I say this as a parent of key worker kids who are attending school (and married to a deputy head )
It's not just the academic stuff, it's the school plays, sports days, museums, trips, playtime, clubs- zoom clubs are not the same ! I am really worried about how this will all impact on this generation 🙁 I am massively appreciative of how stressful this is for teachers. I'm praying we get some solutions to get some normality for schools for September
I would in all honesty be happy with two and a half or three days a week of normal school rather than how it is now if that was an option.

@Weepinggreenwillow many vulnerable pupils could access school places, they are the first priority group and have been all the time. It is not the schools' fault that they are not in school, it is their parents. Why aren't people starting threads about these parents, why aren't letters being sent to them? Why is it the schools fault?

Yes there are other pupils who have never been on the radar so wouldn't be on the eligible list, but schools have been doing their best to do welfare checks. Many people have complained on MN on other threads about how dare schools phone them etc, these are probably the same parents who are now showing concern about vulnerable pupils and how schools should be open.

weeping - read the letter. The main concern is about the welfare role that schools play to plug the gaps in the NHS and soc care.

They are concerned about the attainment gap - as are schools and they will do all they can to support closing that gap. Who knows perhaps education professionals may actually know more about children's learning and closing attainment gaps than paediatricians, given that it is not their primary area of expertise.

I have already addressed some of their other concerns in another post because quite frankly they are not the responsibility of schools i.e vaccinations, CAMHS and physical exercise for example.

Every educational professional I know wants things back to normal. But catastrophising about circumstances doesn't help anyone.

How shit must your parenting be if you are not able to provide emotional support and stability for your own children for couple of months alongside a basic level of educational play

This is a very poor post and untrue.

@lemonsandlimes123

flippety - as another poster has already clarified, those children are already being offered support and for them school has never been closed.

You are kidding me? You do know that at last publication the amount of those children taking up those places was 5%. 5%. For the hard of thinking, that is 95% of children still in a vulnerable position. Not to mention those children whose parents are trying to hold down a job at the same time as educating their own children.

Please, do just try and think outside your own space for once and have some imagination that not everyone inhabits the same amazing bubble that you do.

The point is that if school was back open to all the vulnerable kids would be visible again and any not attending would be a red flag as a sign of neglect. While schools are still only partially open it's very easy for these children to be hidden

weeping - with a 12 14 and 16 year old it shouldn't be rocket science for them to engage with learning and social interactions independently. If they can't do that you have got bigger problems than covid.

@Flippetydip so why aren't you angry with those parents of those 95%, because those pupils could be in school? The only people stopping them being in school is their parents

What if there are bigger problems though? My 14 year old struggles socially and as much as she doesn't really like school the extra curricular activities do her the world of good . It's actually the kids who struggle that are missing out the most and need schools back open

But at the moment it seems to be only the schools that are responsible for these children and it is their fault if anything happens to them.

I get you and in an ideal world that wouldn't be the case. But it's reality isn't it? If a parent is harming their child then school has an incredibly important role to play in helping them as much as possible, on behalf of society. There is no one else who has much power to do anything realistically.

@lemonsandlimes123

weeping - with a 12 14 and 16 year old it shouldn't be rocket science for them to engage with learning and social interactions independently. If they can't do that you have got bigger problems than covid.

You sanctimonious prat. I can only assume that you're on here to wind people up with that sort of answer.

If you really can't see that it is totally abnormal developmentally for teens to be stuck at home with your family 24 hours a day then you really must be either totally stupid or unbelievably misguided.

flippety - and do you think that is because schools have all gone 'fuck it' let's not bother with the vulnerable kids or could it possibly be because their PARENTS have chosen not to send them in and schools have no way of forcing them to attend. Maybe you you need to use your imagination a little. Maybe start a petition encouraging the govt to make it compulsory for parents of vulnerable children to send them in.