The fundamental issue and major concern is what will be the new (sacrificed) “care” homes? No I don’t mean HM pleasure extended staycation centres (joke people!). But could schools inadvertently become the new vector for community spread owing to number of children and adult staff in a densely packed indoor bubble setting spending hours together daily.
Teaching staff and some families who are well outside the catchment area (that entitled minority who seems to have cheekily gamed the entry application system) will be commuting using shared mass transit public transportation so a weak link and further “opportunity” to collect and spread Covid and other germs etc. Probably no mandatory face coverings (nor concern) so relaxed on PPE but possibly great at washing hands constantly which is not necessarily that helpful when you are transferring it through word of mouth (literally). Just as say flu, chickenpox, lice can spread rapidly within a school, the consequences for Covid unlike these other medical issues are potentially fatal (if not for the child but say an elderly more vulnerable close relative) and cannot be managed without immediate shut down.
Obviously Covid UK with European record fatalities is proving how silently asymptomatic and highly contagious this pandemic is. So in the next breath yes we want schools to reopen (of course we mums (and dads) do! But only if safe as mum and dad needs to pay the bills (at the office so that we can buy lunch or wfh) and can’t home school forever as we are not teachers in the school educational sense. Many of us mums of Mums Net left university, postgraduate and professional education years and years ago so not educationally challenged but just can’t teach
the basic children stuff well! Video conferencing classes for children have proven extremely challenging to perfect too.
Bit of a dilemma (understatement) but sure let’s prioritise traditional in school schooling with all the natural tangible childhood peer group learning and overall development.
It’s not as if we are, say able to operate an Australian bush outback remote learning system as we simply don’t have the infrastructure and resources to do that for everyone. If the economic collapse deepens how many productive tax payers can carry on funding “free” schooling and healthcare?
What a complex balancing act as I note on this scorcher of a fine English summer day how surprise surprise the coast and beaches are jam packed and so let’s see what happens when these mass gathering events lead to as to whether schools or indeed the next Covid wave can be managed to some modicum of pandemic familiarity! We need a Covid secure(ish) smart education innovation and possibly "Chuck" other less critical sectors (no choice possibly) under the bus if push comes to shove. Covid has killed more than just people but the survivors owe it to the less fortunate to get cracking and sort out the least pain Covidexit plan as with Brexshit! What a double whammy!
Stay safe and apparently it's now - hands, face space!