School from September

[16943389ao]

What are your thoughts on the newly released information on schools returning in September? I agree that children need an education but can’t understand why other than putting the children into class sized bubbles that no other major precautions are being taken. There are no other circumstances where groups of 35 can mix without social distancing or PPE. So why is this ok for schools? I know we keep getting told that children aren’t too badly effected but they can obviously spread COVID-19 and the school in Leicester have all been closed down for this reason. I can’t help but feel cases will rise hugely putting everyone at risk.

Good lord.

It is completely reckless.

I have no issues with it. My dd (5) has gone back into class this week, and I can physically see her relaxing like a weight has actually been released from her shoulders. Children need the opportunity to get back to school, to.play with their friends and to be taught. The only part I disagree with is that I feel that parents should have the choice to keep children at home without risk of being fined

For secondary schools, its not 35, its hundreds of kids. Students move around lessons every hour of every day, and then mingle for lunch.

Teachers also will be literally facing 32 students an hour, which can be over 300 students a week. No bubbles for teachers. How happy would other people in workplaces be coming across 300 people a week without any PPE?

How will transport work when kids need to be on buses to get the school? Where is the EVIDENCE (not hearsay or guessing) that kids dont spread it? Does the term 'kids' include A level students, 17 and 18 years of age? Because teachers will be facing them too. How will students distance in any way in classes of 32 where the desks are already rammed together because the rooms were only designed for 28 desks?

How does washing hands work when toilets cant cope with the massively overcrowded schools as it is, and many close weekly due to vandalism? What happens when kids vandalise the hand sanitisers on the wall? Or squirt it at each other in corridors? Or ingest it 'for a laugh'? What happens to vulnerable teachers like those who are heavily pregnant or have medical problems? Do they just come to school because the school cannot afford to cover them? Will we clap for them when they die of CV, or give them a statue and say they are 'heroes' and that will make it ok?

So many questions, so few answers. In the typical government way, us teachers will spend the summer trying to figure this out, working through the 6 weeks unpaid, in a desperate attempt to keep ourselves safe, manage the money, and try to reassure parents and students that they will be safe, when in reality we are not health and safety experts, and we have no clue how to make it work.

This wouldnt be acceptable in any other workplace.

I've three children at home who have had collectively about 5 days of school between since early March. We aren't shielding and are in an area of very low infections - and they are desperate to get back. I'm all for it and think precautions should be enough.

September is so far off - in January no one could've predicted schools would be shut in March. We could be facing a very different landscape again in September - so we can say anything definitively - but as things are now I'd be happy for my children to go back to school.

My issue with it is the "only isolate if there are 2 positive cases within 14 days" part. So say person a is infectious but no symptoms yet (say they start the next day), they are at school and pass it to friends b and c. Person A tests positive but b and c and to continue going to school spreading it to their bubble of 35. They only begin to isolate 7 days later when b also recieves a positive test. In that time though they have passed it to other kids in their bubble, who have passed it to their families and siblings who pass it to their class bubbles etc. It's a risky strategy leading up to the winter and the worse time for the NHS.

Just watching this report on BBC. A Head Teacher explaining why this is unworkable for secondary schools in particular. He’s not saying don’t have children back to continue their education, he’s essentially saying ‘government, stop pretending that this is a workable safe plan, be honest about it.’ I agree with him. Just taking my DDs secondary as an example. It is not possible for staggered start times, break times and lunchtimes for starters - if lunch is half an hour, ‘lunch time’ alone will be 3 1/2 hours long - some not getting ‘lunch’ til half an hour before home time. Timetabling at secondary with GCSES and ALevels is difficult enough, trying to factor in staggered timings will give whoever’s in charge of that a breakdown. Moving around school between lessons, as is necessary in secondary, means the ‘bubbles’ aren’t going to able to be kept apart. And school buses, especially in areas like ours where swathes of the cohort come in to the City from surrounding rural and semi rural areas, and that are usually overfilled at the best of times, not possible to keep the bubble there either. It’s over an hour round trip to our school, I can’t take two plus hours out of my day to drive them even if I wanted to.

DD's bubble will be 243. And that's not including the teachers/support staff who will have to work across "bubbles". Basically this policy is saying "we hope it doesn't spread in schools"

Of course children should be back at school in September. This madness has gone on long enough.

I haven't actually read it yet (in Wales so different rules apply here) but I am all for it too. Children are the ones suffering here. Teachers have been in a very different category to most key workers since lockdown, as most key workers have continued to work outside of the home.

The pp's point about secondary school children is very valid, and I do think a "structure" of sorts should be put in place to limit mixing of bubbles in secondary schools, and teachers in secondary schools should be given the option of PPE, as evidence does seem to SUGGEST that there's a big difference in under 10's and older children. Social distancing for teachers should also be stricter in secondary schools; surely the nature of the job should make this easier? I remember in secondary school for me, in the 00's, the teachers were at the front of the class for the majority of the class, so this setting should be much easier to protect teachers.

I think the gov are pinning their hopes on a timely vaccine. I think everyone else should be aware more school closures are possible/likely for the autumn term.

On a personal level I'm fine with it. But honestly I'm not particularly scared of coronavirus.

I do think teachers should be allowed to wear PPE if they want to though.

Interesting to see what everyone thinks. Yes absolutely I have the same concerns re the only isolate if there are two positive cases. I absolutely agree with posters that our children need an education but somewhere there needs to be a balance between keeping everyone safe and providing an education. There is no other environment where the lack of social distancing and ppe would be acceptable. There would be complete outrage if any other work places were expecting people to return under these conditions yet it’s ok for teachers and our children. If better safety precautions are put into place surely we have a better chance of schools not having to close.

I think it’s a good idea. It’s not like they’ve been able to eradicate coronavirus despite closing schools for an entire term (not to mention having a lockdown). I don’t see any point in keeping them all closed unless Britain is in a position where there is a chance of eradication in September.

Agree that parents should be not be threatened with fines - the Dutch approach was much better. Build up trust with parents who weren't keen on returning their children to school - let them see for themselves how risk was being managed.

It's just not workable and they know it. They'll close schools following outbreaks only to allow as many people to return to work/spend as possible. I've accepted when my children return to school they will be more likely to catch the virus and bring it home to us. If we had reason to shield however I wouldn't send them back and I'd be furious to be fined for it! Families really should be allowed to make their own decisions based on individual risks. My kids still won't be going to their grandparents once they return to school. Kids catch everything going during the school term - I don't understand why this virus could be any different.

Absolutely cannot wait for mine to go back, it is much needed and they have already made a big sacrifice of their education . Mine at both primary and secondary will be walking, though, which makes things easier for us. We need to start getting the education system back to normal.

Personally I think they need to do whatever it takes to get all the kids back to school. They've missed so much education already and the risks for this age group are so low.

We really need to move on now. I would have preferred no social distancing between pupils at all but this is at least a start.

The risks for the teachers and other staff is far too high with no SD. I hope the unions get all over this.

Or drop SD everywhere - if it's ok for schools it's ok everywhere. Except it isn't and we know that.

Short of magicing extra classrooms and teachers out of thin air what's the alternative? There isn't one. Children cant stay home forever we may never eradicate Coronavirus, yes there may be vaccine in the future and be more knowledge about treatment etc but all that takes time.
Its clear that the impact of missed education is worse than the impact of Coronavirus .

But why not SD between adults only at the school and not between pupils? I realise it isn't possible to be completely SD from the children, particularly young ones, at all times but surely that is not dissimilar to working in other settings such as shops where people really aren't SD in many cases.

I think kids just need to go back to school asap and parents and teachers need to accept the risk. Wholly disapprove of fines for those that choose not to send their kids though.
I sympathise with teachers who have been shielding but in the case of my reception aged son one shielding teacher has meant the whole reception class haven’t yet been able to return to school. That’s not fair IMO.

I’m pleased that they have found a workable solution. Yes, its not bulletproof, but what else would you suggest? We cant keep our kids off school until a vaccine is found. They’ve been out of school for too long already