Times saying secondary schools might not open

[Orangeblossom78]

www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/coronavirus-secondary-schools-might-not-be-able-to-fully-reopen-in-september-hrfmxlg5j

Schools will not be able to fully reopen in September unless people behave themselves over the summer, scientific advisers have warned ministers.

Even a modest increase in people’s leisure contacts would mean a choice between shutting pubs or keeping secondary schools closed, modelling for the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) suggests.

Pubs and restaurants should not be open
we should not be in a situation where children returning to school is contingent upon people behaving themselves in pubs and restaurants

although probably at tutoring, not teaching rates, if they're only doing tutoring

Just FYI tutoring often pays much more per hour than teaching!
I am a tutor. I'm self employed. When you take into account lack of sick pay and pension contributions plus expenses involved and time spent preparing etc, I think teaching pays more.

Better shoulds and coulds rather the endless Whitney couldn'ts and shouldn'ts and don'twannas.
At least someone in education wants to get their schools back.

whiney

All schools are meant to be following the Government guidance, and that currently doesn’t state schools should be fully open with no social distancing.

I am a tutor. I'm self employed. When you take into account lack of sick pay and pension contributions plus expenses involved and time spent preparing etc, I think teaching pays more.

Certainly. But if we are talking about teachers doing extra, at tutoring rates, many of those considerations will not apply and their marginal hourly rate might well be higher.

don'twannas

I challenge you to quote one of these!

Pubs or schools. How can that even be a choice?! No one needs to go to the pub.

Schools should come 1st by a huge margin.

UmbrellaHat

But you stated they are going back on 18th August.

That’s inaccurate.

More news today from Johnson re making it compulsory to attend in September. Still too shaky to set any store in.

At least it’s in the media, seeing everything other topic bar schooling in media is crazy.

In Hampshire last week only 5 people tested positive for covid, we have no one in hospital with covid. Now that could change quite rapidly. But rates in most communities are low. If we do a good job on regional track and trace schools should be able to open in most places. It isn't going to be easy. The fact the government have just pumped £5m into Oak suggests that a back up plan is being developed. What they aren't doing is increasing school building capacity and recruiting more teachers, so I can't see a reduction in class sizes unless kids are in part time.

I think the main issue is clearly the inaccuracy of testing (and obviously the asymptomatic)
With only 75% of positive coming up as positive those 25% would be back at school AND the bubble not shut down. By the time it then reaches someone else who has symptoms enough to be tested and they are in the 75% positive then everyone will have been mixing for weeks including parents in workplaces.

And they are going back on August 18th!
Lucky kids in East Anglia

Glad I don’t work there.

Thing is if people aren’t going to engage with test and trace, and there are many posters on here who say they aren’t, and if places like pubs only do the bare minimum of social distancing etc, rates in the community will naturally rise I would have thought.

Well if they start back early guess it will be interesting to see how it goes.

The other thing is that apparently up to 80% of people could not even have symptoms so wouldn't get tested, as well. (without avoiding testing etc). So there will be limits to the track and trace (and that would go for the app also if it were available)

So to just 'not engaging' but not being aware (understandably)

Well we just had the secondary newsletter and there is stuff about doing more lessons and interactive sessions on there seeing as there are only 2 weeks left seems odd they are focusing so much on this if it is not for going forward into the Autumn.

Online I mean

@Appuskidu

*And they are going back on August 18th! Lucky kids in East Anglia*

Glad I don’t work there.

If this does happen I'm waiting for the complaints to start on here:

'School are opening in August, but I've got a holiday booked so I'm not sending my kids in'

'My kids went into school but half the class are missing as they are on holiday, I hope they don't just repeat stuff in September'

'My kids have been working hard through lockdown why should they give up their holiday'

Considering how normal it is to send kids with coughs pre Cv , it will be interesting to see if schools will send kids home if they have a cough next term.

@flamingochill

Considering how normal it is to send kids with coughs pre Cv , it will be interesting to see if schools will send kids home if they have a cough next term.

We wouldn’t have sent anyone home with ‘just’ a cough prior to Covid-19, but absolutely would now.

It will obviously have a big impact on attendance % though.

I meant it used to be normal to have a cough and be in school during the winter months but will schools be strict and send kids home for having one? Will there be exceptions for asthmatics I wonder?

If secondary have bubbles as year groups how will that work when a year group have to self isolate pending test and results from someone in that bubble with symptoms with the teachers as there will be many teachers who will have taught that year group. How will the school continue to operate with a decent proportion of teachers off isolating? I just can’t see how it’ll happen. How is this managed in other countries or are secondary schools not back elsewhere?

@Reastie

If secondary have bubbles as year groups how will that work when a year group have to self isolate pending test and results from someone in that bubble with symptoms with the teachers as there will be many teachers who will have taught that year group. How will the school continue to operate with a decent proportion of teachers off isolating? I just can’t see how it’ll happen. How is this managed in other countries or are secondary schools not back elsewhere?

They’ll only have to self isolate if someone in their bubble has a positive test.