Keir Starmer says school return at risk

[Icingandflowersonthecake]

www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/22/keir-starmer-tells-boris-johnson-your-chaos-puts-schools-return-at-risk

I think it’s appalling the government has issued no proper guidance to schools about what to do in the event of an outbreak. I would say I’m shocked but I’m used to their incompetence by now.

Looks like school return will be a shambles - and before anyone says it, I want schools to be open, I want to send my kids. I just want it to be safe!

[itsgettingweird]

@latticechaos

I may be a bit fucking cross

Must proof read and reduce expletives.

I thought you said it well!

And what many don't know is many of the schools county suppliers were told to direct handgel and soap etc to NHS. So schools were sourcing their own at substantially more cost or minimising use.

[latticechaos]

I may be a bit fucking cross

Must proof read and reduce expletives.

[latticechaos]

@ElizabethMainwaring

Good Lord, it's absolutely shocking that we have to resort to homemade PPE.

Same fucking mistakes being made with schools as were made in hospitals and care homes back in march/April/may

I'm not a teacher btw but I am fucking LIVID that the government are doing fuck all to protect teachers, children, parents and the community.

If it is so fucking important kids get back to school, presumably that is because they get taught stuff by teachers. Even if the government don't give a rat's arse about them as people, it isn't a good idea to risk the workforce FFS.

[IncidentsandAccidents]

I agree that Labour should be setting out their own plans rather than just criticising. I wish they had supported mask wearing in secondaries. It would have helped them politically too because I'm sure this u turn will come pretty quickly.

I just hope that poorer and more vulnerable families aren't scared off from returning their children to school in September. This happened in our school in the summer term and it was heartbreaking that the children who needed school the most were missing out.

[ElizabethMainwaring]

Good Lord, it's absolutely shocking that we have to resort to homemade PPE.

[mumsneedwine]

@itsgettingweird thanks that sounds a plan. Just need a stand of some kind. I've found some roll up ones I might try.

[itsgettingweird]

@mumsneedwine

Good old Nicola might save us. Hear rumours of masks becoming compulsory in Scotland for secondary schools. Would help us down south to argue that we just want to be safe (r). I'm trying to source portable Perspex screen to carry between lessons. But I shouldn't need to - one should be in every room. Like they are in every shop.

Won't go into full explanations but I have laminated A3 sheets to use as a screen where necessary for settings I work in (special).

I wonder if you could make something collapsible and portable using laminated sheets?

[mumsneedwine]

Good old Nicola might save us. Hear rumours of masks becoming compulsory in Scotland for secondary schools. Would help us down south to argue that we just want to be safe (r). I'm trying to source portable Perspex screen to carry between lessons. But I shouldn't need to - one should be in every room. Like they are in every shop.

[noblegiraffe]

Problem lies in the fact the government have managed to set a narrative though that anyone who wants safety measures and a discussion is a work shy teacher or lefty union believer and is failing in their moral duty to the children.

I agree. And now they’re fucked because a significant proportion of parents haven’t fallen for it and don’t want to send their kids back.

[itsgettingweird]

Icing agree.

Problem lies in the fact the government have managed to set a narrative though that anyone who wants safety measures and a discussion is a work shy teacher or lefty union believer and is failing in their moral duty to the children.

The gaslighting involved is horrendous.

It's not black and white and we need society to see this to improve educational outcomes and ensure the gap between rich and poor doesn't become wider.

[ElizabethMainwaring]

@FinnyStory

Schools in Leceistershire are opening early?

Schools in Leicester open on Wednesday 26.
I presume that there will be an Inset or two.
God help them, they've only just come out of local lock down.

[Morfin]

[quote mumsneedwine]@Icingandflowersonthecake that's all we ask isn't it. To be as safe as everyone else is at work. I don't understand why that means we are called names. To keep schools open staff need to be healthy. [/quote]
I don't either. In my line of work I really think I would be guilty of corporate manslaughter if I sent my staff into the environment that teachers are being sent into. I've not been able to stop all risk for my staff but I have done everything in my power to mitigate it. It's cost me a fair amount of money and an inordinate amount of time where I worked with the staff who would be working in the situation. Funnily enough as they were the ones doing the job they had lots of solutions I hadn't thought of.

[mumsneedwine]

@Icingandflowersonthecake that's all we ask isn't it. To be as safe as everyone else is at work. I don't understand why that means we are called names. To keep schools open staff need to be healthy.

[Icingandflowersonthecake]

Yes - I do mean I want it to be safer, I realise it can’t be completely safe.

I want the government to support schools to make changes so it can be safer - not just herd everyone in basically as normal and hope for the best.

Just reading about germany where dozens of schools are closing again

[itsgettingweird]

@FinnyStory

Schools in Leceistershire are opening early?

They have different term dates iirc.

I seem to remember when they went into restrictions in July BJ announcing schools would remain open though. And they'd already broken up!

[FinnyStory]

Schools in Leceistershire are opening early?

[Morfin]

And Sweden closed for 16+ and schools implemented SD. I want kids to go back with SD. SD that we have to do in every other part of life atm.

[itsgettingweird]

I watched the few weeks of PMQs where this came up (June?)

Keir kept saying he'd written to BJ and he didn't reply. BJ said they'd had a telephone conversation. Keir denied this.

Of course we have no idea who's telling the truth but I know where I'd place my bets!

Instead BJ turned it into a circus debate where he kept repeating the same lines over and over and wanted Keir to make a statement on schools which was all or nothing as he wouldn't allow him to discuss or have the option of "yes, with safety measures and funding"

I think Keir shows promise and I'm watching closely. But he needs to up his game by giving actual plans he have and find a way to get his message across that doesn't involve getting involved with the current gaslighting crew on the opposition.

[Enoughnowstop]

If so, there’d likely have been plenty of reports of schools having to shut in Sweden with all the teachers having contracted it - as far as I’m aware there were no major incidents despite 100,000s of pupils attending schools for months in a country of otherwise pretty high infection

Sweden is constantly being used as some kind of beacon of how to school in a pandemic whilst very conveniently forgetting differences in class and classroom sizes, social distancing measures, availability of hand washing facilities and sanitizers, cleaners etc, as well as the fact that Sweden has a totally different way of living, is not as urban and suburban As the UK and as such, people aren’t mixing the same which means the virus isn’t given the same opportunity to thrive.

[mumsneedwine]

I just want it to be safe(r). Masks, screens and at least an attempt at social distancing. As they are doing in every other country doing it well. Year group bubbles are a farce.
I'm also over 50 and have hot flushes a lot so if they start taking temperature I won't be in much. What some people don't seem to understand is that if staff get sick (what with not being children) then schools will have to close. Keep the staff well and we can keep the schools open.

[Enoughnowstop]

I just want it to be safe!

It can’t be. Schools are doing their best but there is no way on earth schools can go back without a corresponding rise in cases and, ultimately, deaths. You just haveto weigh it up. Children getting an education at the expense of some related deaths (mainly older school staff and grandparents) with parents able to work or schools closed and long term effects on education, parents not able to work, even deeper recession. It’s a no-brainer.

As an overweight teacher over 50, I am expecting problems. But apparently the long term effects on my children are unimportant.

[Drivingdownthe101]

@Icingandflowersonthecake

Well I did read and I think he’s saying it’s at risk of working out well in the medium term. Schools will open in 2 weeks, yes, but will they stay open?

Schools in Leicestershire open tomorrow, FYI.

[CrunchyCarrot]

I agree with KS, but more importantly I listened to Dr John Campbell's video about the risk of children spreading the virus, and I'd rather listen to him than any politician.

'Children as infection drivers'

[IncidentsandAccidents]

I have some sympathy with Keir. He really wants to see schools reopened in full in September. He has pointed out the huge negative impact of prolonged school closures and social isolation on children's mental health and wellbeing, educational attainment and life chances. He knows that this impact is felt disproportionately by disadvantaged children. He wants to criticise the government's atrocious management of the situation while avoiding the kind of public panic that will lead to more children being kept away from school (which will again disproportionately affect disadvantaged children). The issue is timing. He should have brought this up strongly weeks ago - doing it now makes it look like political point scoring after the exams debacle.

[noblegiraffe]

He knows the public and the economy badly want schools back, he knows the unions are less keen.

This isn’t true. This is how the papers and Johnson have been spinning it (especially the Daily Mail) and now the government has got itself in a right mess where it’s running a belated campaign to convince parents that it’s safe to return to school because polling says a significant minority (especially of disadvantaged kids) intend not to send their kids back. The general public also aren’t convinced it’s safe because they’ve been told that the pubs might have to close and are worried about infection rates going up.

But now when anyone in government talks about this, people think it’s all about the unions (who want schools back in September but are obviously on the side of teachers when it comes to wanting better safety measures as there are currently none for teachers).