Right, we all want schools to open to everyone, and to stay open - so what do we need to do?

[cantkeepawayforever]

Whether we are parents, or teachers, or employers, we all want schools to open to all pupils, and then to stay open absolutely reliably for the next academic year.

We want all children to be present, and we want their regular teachers - class teachers or subject specialists - to be in front of them.

The question is how we achieve this. It is very difficult to imagine how schools, especially secondary schools, can be made fully Copvid-safe to prevent transmission within the school..

Therefore, there is a very obvious thing to do - and usefully, it is something we can all do immediately. We have to do our personal best to make sure that Covid doesn't come into the school. If we are parents, we do our best that it's not our child who brings it in; if we are teachers, we make certain as far as we can that we don't bring it in; as interested MN readers we can also do our bit.

I am not talking about shopping washing or permanent isolation. I am just saying that if everyone - absolutely everyone - does their level best to drive Covid out of the community surrounding their school, just by scrupulously following existing rules, it is more likely that that school will stay open.

So, for absolutely everyone in your household, make sure that you:

• Wash your hands properly, with soap, every time.
  
• Social distance properly - measure out 2 metres, and really get used to how far that is. Do this everywhere, with everyone. Step back from friends, remind family.
  
• Wear a mask properly, whenever and wherever 2 m distancing isn't possible, unless there is a reason that you can't.
  
• Teach your child, if of an appropriate age, to wear a mask properly. You have taught your child to wear pants, or a seatbelt. A mask isn't impossible.
  
• Follow the rules about meeting other people - no more than 6 households outside, no more than 2 inside, still following social distancing guidelines if the guidelines say so (or whatever is currently in force where you live)
  
• If you arrive at a place that turns out to be crowded, leave.
  
• If you arrive at a place which doesn't appear to have safe practices in place, leave.
  
• If invited to an occasion that doesn't match guidance, refuse the invitation.
  
• Leave your real name and number for track and trace.
  
• Follow instructions to isolate or quarantine if asked to. Support anyone who has to isolate or quarantine in any way you can, to make doing the right thing easy.
  
• Get a test if needed.
  

- If you are 'stretching the rules' at all, don't do it in the final two weeks before schools open.

If you are already doing all of this, then you could take it further by lobbying your MP for money for cleaning in schools and for increasing school transport to allow SD. But if EVERYONE does their absolute personal best to drive Covid out of the community surrounding their own school, just by scrupulously doing what they are meant to do and ensuring that their whole family is doing the same, then we will all be 'doing our best' and ensuring that schools will be able to open safely and stay open reliably.

[cantkeepawayforever]

Hearhooves,

I think what the poster was saying was that she thought I was delusional that this would be suifficient to keep schools open.

I am inclined to agree.

However, I do genuinely think that if those campaigning to get schools open put their significant energy into driving down community Covid cases by ensuring that existing guidelines are meticulously followed, it WOULD make schools less likely to close and it would be far, far better than shouting endlessly at teachers that they are lazy and feckless because they point out that schools will be unsafe.

[canigooutyet]

@cantkeepawayforever

In my authoritarian moments, I would want every parent, every day, to sign to say that their child had had no symptoms, no medication other than anything they take for a pre-existing condition, and had not been in any other home or had close contact with anyone outside their immediate household except in home-school transport - and for there to be fines for anyone making a false declaration - then for this requirement to be only gradually dropped (one careful condition at a time) as time went by and case numbers dropped or schools were shown to be reasonably safe.

However I do know that's not going to happen, and would further disadvantage already vulnerable children. But i think it occasionally, in my dreams.

and had not been in any other home or had close contact with anyone outside their immediate household except in home-school transport

Major flaw. People need to work. People need to attend appointments. People need to shop for food and other essentials. I cannot control what other people around me do when they come into my space.

[JulyBreeze]

My union have just posted this, signing up via the link might just help improve track and trace:

"Private track and trace isn't working at all – it's a mess. But the contracts with Serco and Sitel end on 23 August... ⌛️

This is a chance for change. If you're in England, please tell your council leader you want local public health teams to be given the resources to run safe, locally-led test & trace.

weownit.org.uk/tell-your-council-leader-you-want-safe-locally-led-test-and-trace "

[tankflybos]

Yes boss.

Now tell that to a group of people I know that have not observed social distancing or any of the rules from day one

[Hearhoovesthinkzebras]

@cantkeepawayforever

Hearhooves,

I think what the poster was saying was that she thought I was delusional that this would be suifficient to keep schools open.

I am inclined to agree.

However, I do genuinely think that if those campaigning to get schools open put their significant energy into driving down community Covid cases by ensuring that existing guidelines are meticulously followed, it WOULD make schools less likely to close and it would be far, far better than shouting endlessly at teachers that they are lazy and feckless because they point out that schools will be unsafe.

Oh, ok. I thought they were saying that your op was delusional when in reality it's the least that everyone needs to be doing.

[cantkeepawayforever]

@tankflybos

Yes boss.

Now tell that to a group of people I know that have not observed social distancing or any of the rules from day one

You cannot affect what other people do.

You can just make sure that what you do is the right thing - even when you have to endlessly re-iterate to your own teens that just because everyone else is meeting inside / in a larger groups, no, they can't - and make sure that you are never less than 2m away from anyone, without a mask, in case they haven't followed the guidance fully..

[MoreListeningLessChatting]

Another thread saying the same thing as the previous threads and again will go around in circles saying the same things

Groundhog day

[BluebellsGreenbells]

To make sure that happens, EVERYONE must make certain that they drive out Covid from the community, by following all guidelines scrupulously, even when that is difficult, boring and inconvenient

How do you expect school staff to be confident that ALL pupils their parents, grandparents and siblings follow the rules?

IF people were following the rules then the spread would be much less than it is now.

People go to work with symptoms because otherwise they won’t get paid, others go to work and don’t give a crap, there is an expected level of compliance, and unfortunately there’s so many people who think they are above the law, let alone guidelines.

[ineedaholidaynow]

So why come on @MoreListeningLessChatting if you don’t like it?

I bet you there will be plenty of threads when schools start closing for self isolation and parents asking why.

[LangClegsInSpace]

Thank you for that link @JulyBreeze

[Fedup21]

I was not saying the OP was delusional.

Doing pretty much nothing to make schools safe and expecting things to be fine is delusional, though -which sadly appears to be the government’s plan.

[cantkeepawayforever]

IF people were following the rules then the spread would be much less than it is now.

Well, exactly. So the Us4them brigade, and others determined to get schools open, should be working on that, not spending time shouting at teachers that they are lazy and should resign.

[nellodee]

@JulyBreeze thank you for that link.

[noblegiraffe]

I thought that people who didn’t have ‘coronaphobia’ and were heading out and about ignoring the guidelines were ‘covidiots’.

So hard to tell which group is to be subject to sneering condescension today (often by the same people each time, who are just fond of the sound of their own pomposity).

[canigooutyet]

Covidiot has a certain ring to it, a bit like covonia. I think I'm supposed to be insulted when I'm called it but I don't.

I do have sympathy sometimes for those that have to live with them 😀

[Morfin]

@MoreListeningLessChatting

Another thread saying the same thing as the previous threads and again will go around in circles saying the same things

Groundhog day

But if this thread makes one parent really think about what is being planned for our children, makes a parent read the guidelines, see how they apply to their school, see what they can do to help keep schools open then I don't care that we are going round in circles. Shouting on social media that 'Education is their right', having people castigate teachers and then label them as work shy just because they want to teach in a covid secure environment, where children can stay in school instead of doing the Corona hokey cokey shows social media at it's worst. I get paid to evaluate work place safety (pre corona) the pp above who is a governor and who has to sign off the risk assessments I really feel for. There is no way I'd sign off on the current plans.

In a non corona way, it's like I wouldn't sign of a staff car that had no seat belt, the seat belt might never be needed, but if a worker had a crash and was injured and killed and it was found out that a seat belt would have prevented it I/my company would be at fault. Sending in a full school with no new measures despite knowing of plenty that would work out as a 'seatbelt' is negligence.

[Morfin]

*off

[ChavvySexPond]

Campaigning to get the government to properly suppress the virus would help.

Zero Covid is the way to get the kids back to school. And everything else we want.

[canigooutyet]

Things get very interesting when you suggest to those shouting "education is their right" that if they want the quality of education that meets their expectations, they can deregister. I mean it's not like education is hard!! And there's a long established home school network including all the resources needed.

[Redolent]

@cantkeepawayforever

IF people were following the rules then the spread would be much less than it is now.

Well, exactly. So the Us4them brigade, and others determined to get schools open, should be working on that, not spending time shouting at teachers that they are lazy and should resign.

They want to have their cake and eat it. Holidays, socialising with no social distancing for themselves and their DC, going to pubs and restaurants with non-household members, and schools to be open full time for the rest of the year. Good luck to them.

[MarshaBradyo]

No problem with any of this.

I think more people should write to their MP, this is good

If you are already doing all of this, then you could take it further by lobbying your MP for money for cleaning in schools and for increasing school transport to allow SD.

But I still don’t get why a teacher can’t wear a visor if they want to. So I’d include this too.

[annabel85]

How much testing will take place around schools? Bearing in mind kids are likely to be asymptomatic when they have the virus.

[cantkeepawayforever]

Annabel,

Currently, no plans for any testing except if a child or adult shows symptoms.....

[SansaSnark]

@cologne4711

I agree OP - very sensible suggestions.

To the person in the US - why do you need masks outside (unless eg in a queue)?

it will only take two cases to close a school That's still not very likely, given there had only been four cases in total in my council area in four weeks the last time I looked.

I think there were something like 197 "outbreaks" in education settings in the second half of the summer term.

That's with a limited number of children in, and wider society still, mostly in lockdown. For most of that period, a lot of things that are open now, weren't.

4 cases in the last 4 weeks is very low- most LAs are higher than this and don't forget that tourists moving around the UK can bring in new cases.

Although 2 cases are unlikely to close a whole school unless it is very small!

[LegoMaus]

www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-gibb-science-says-no-masks-needed-teens-schools

No masks then. It’s a definite no from the government, because if you’re seeing the same 2000 people every day you apparently don’t need a mask.