Will schools opening further reduce household socialising compliance?

[MoreW1ne]

Whist many are strictly following the current guidelines there are lots who are now socialising freely both in and out of the home with little/no distancing across many households.

With schools opening and the obvious impossibility for social distancing between students and staff do you think a lot of people will give up on the rules completely?

I see two routes...either it's fine for no distancing in schools so why should we restrict ourselves outside? Or it's impossible in schools so we should restrict ourselves more for their protection?

Just wondered what everyone thought of this and what you'll do.

Mine went back for 6 weeks before the summer and also went back for this term on Monday.
We will continue to limit our interactions with people outside of school to reduce the risk of them picking up any illness which will require isolation/testing and therefore further disruption to their education.
However as wrap around care hasn’t reopened at our school and there aren’t any other childcare options available in our village, I’ve already noticed people using friends and grandparents for after school childcare. They have no alternative if they want to keep their jobs. So unfortunately out of school social distancing isn’t possible for many.

We live in a profoundly selfish society. Hardly anyone will limit their social interactions because schools are reopening, unless it serves their own immediate interests.

@SaltyAndFresh

We live in a profoundly selfish society. Hardly anyone will limit their social interactions because schools are reopening, unless it serves their own immediate interests.

Do you really consider people selfish for wanting to go about their lives as normally as possible, no matter what they’ve lost or suffered because of Covid or the lockdown?

I really can’t see that as selfish, at least no more selfish than people wanting others to live in isolation so that they can feel better about their kids going to school.

That's not what I said. The OP asks if people will think 'why should we ...' and I agree that will be the likeliest attitude.

It's not selfish. It's completely understandable that some people won't prioritise schools opening. I think what is selfish is to send your kids in and behave like social distancing doesn't exist and so putting schools at greater risk of closure and other people being ill. Or sending your ill child in.

I can see life becoming all about going to school or the office with all socialisation being banned. That’s the future.

@FluffyKittensinabasket

I can see life becoming all about going to school or the office with all socialisation being banned. That’s the future.

Then I might as well consider suicide because I won't have any reason to be here.

Families use a mixture of different morning and after school childcare, children travel to school by bus and Tube, both parents work, children in the same family go to different schools. Families go to supermarkets and other shops, see extended family, after school clubs.

Children aren’t just going to be mixing with their class bubble.

The staggering of starts and finish times alongside the reduction in wraparound provision across the sector is going to lead to lots more cobbled together childcare arrangements, rules or no rules. I'm in GM, and it's fantastically common here for extended family members to assist each other with childcare. This is now illegal for the majority of us, unless we do it in the fucking park.

@kittensarecute please don't say that.... I've felt so low the last month, couldn't see a point to my life. This whole situation is utter shit and I have lost faith in ALL human kind. Freedom being taken away, mankind being controlled by fear.

You have plenty to be here for .....

We've seen all friends outside, but I have found myself wondering if I'm the one being illogical insisting on this, as today both DSs were playing with people they'll be 'bubbled' indoors with next week. I do find myself wondering if it would make any difference if we popped round each other's houses now and clearly lots of people are already doing it and think I'm odd for preferring outdoors.

We want to keep the average number of people an infected person infects below 1.

We are already above 1 nationally before schools open, I can't see how it can go below 1 with them open.

I think most people will be mixong alot.ine of the reasons we wont be going back to school is that the risk for.us is too high. We have been shielding for 5 months and since shielding paused are still advised to reduce risks. The biggest risk in pur mind is school. Many housholds, many of whom have been to pubs, resturants, the beach, parties, mixing, day trips etc. We havent been anywhere but if we were sending back to school then we may aswell be doing more now.

We have been really careful (I am clinically vulnerable but not in the shielding group). I am seeing parents from school on fb mixing with others indoors with no social distancing and I can't see them stopping that to protect the teachers and other parents and vulnerable children yet these will be the first that whinge when school has to close.

The biggest risk in pur mind is school. Many housholds, many of whom have been to pubs, resturants, the beach, parties, mixing, day trips etc. We havent been anywhere but if we were sending back to school then we may aswell be doing more now.

Unfortunately yes the biggest risk for anyone be following guidance is school. Because school is full.of people whose families are not following guidance.

This is really hard to deal with, and the government is just ignoring this problem imo.

But @latticechaos going to the pub, day trips, shopping, back to the office is following guidelines.

There has been an eat out campaign in August and starting next week there is a get back to work campaign.

People cannot live this shit existent anymore.

You're more likely to get run over by a bus then get Covid.

@yawnsvillex

But *@latticechaos* going to the pub, day trips, shopping, back to the office is following guidelines.

There has been an eat out campaign in August and starting next week there is a get back to work campaign.

People cannot live this shit existent anymore.

You're more likely to get run over by a bus then get Covid.

Yes, and I do those things within guidance. Including going to work already.

But many families are:

• having large gatherings at home
• not distancing at all
• not quarantining on return from holiday
• not self isolating when unwell

School is the only place this is a major issue for my family. If I walk past someone in Tesco who hasn't quarantined that is not really the same as my child sitting next to the teen from that family for six hours.

You're more likely to get run over by a bus then get Covid.

Oh and this is nonsense, 1200 people tested positive yesterday, 1200 people were not run over by a bus yesterday! if that were the case I really might not leave the house!

@PotteringAlong

I assume that if it’s safe for me to teach 180 different pupils a day, most of whom at 15/16 are the size of adults, in a tiny portacabin with no masks on then it’s safe for me to do pretty much everything as normal. Or I carry on with social distancing and assume work isn’t safe. Which is not really the way I want to start the new term.

I will wait and see how it pans out. I suspect that me and my DC will be so thrown by the new term starting we will just want to lie down in a darkened room at the weekend anyway so it won’t be an issue for a few weeks

Yes this.

From Monday I will be in a building with 1000 pupils - no masks or social distancing. I therefore assume it’s fine for me to see my friends at the weekend.

If I see my friends from my old school (that has 1400 pupils) that’s a lot of cross bubble mixing going on.

I’m lucky to have a small safety measure of my partner being a nurse and getting a covid test weekly. So at least we can keep track of where we are personally and make a balanced judgement on our risk to family and friends.

@notevenat20
I see two routes...either it's fine for no distancing in schools so why should we restrict ourselves outside? Or it's impossible in schools so we should restrict ourselves more for their protection?

I see it a little differently. Every new close interaction, particularly between adults, carries an additional risk of spreading infection. We want to keep the average number of people an infected person infects below 1. So the country effectively has abudgetfor the number of new interactions (per day, say) it can afford per person.

When the schools open, that leaves less in the budget for the rest of us. That means we should havefewerclose interactions than we would have had otherwise. In essence, adults will have to be more restricted in their behaviour to allow children to go to school.

I'm posting this again because it was so well written, but @Trackandtrace and others must have missed it. Sadly we saw back in March lots of parents and teachers couldn't see the point in distancing because schools were open. Lots still won't have learned. Children having playdates after school to manage childcare aren't actually the main issue, they are an excuse. It's the adults will stop in for a coffee and arrange to meet a raft of others outside that class group who are the problem, because it "doesn't make a difference". They simply don't understand how risk works or don't care. Then once it goes wrong they'll blame the government, schools, NHS workers and random neighbours who broke the rules differently. This thread is only on page 2, with multiple examples already.

From Monday I will be in a building with 1000 pupils - no masks or social distancing. I therefore assume it’s fine for me to see my friends at the weekend.

If you follow guidance on social distances Ng then yes, it should be ok.

The issue is lack of distancing in schools but if you stay 2m from friends you are low risk to transmit.

If you set up an underground close contact teachers' choir then yes, you'll spread it between schools!

Compliance will reduce out of necessity. While the school I work at is fully opening its 7.30am-6pm wraparound service, it’s a small village primary so we don’t have the hall space we need to cater for all the families who are on the waiting list for a space. I imagine they will still be using grandparents before and after school as they were pre Covid. And then there are the families who use grandparents as a matter of course because they prefer that to wraparound.

This is just at primary level. At secondary, I imagine a lot of the teenagers will still be doing all they can to socialise, and as the weather turns this will naturally move indoors.

We are already above 1 nationally before schools open, I can't see how it can go below 1 with them open.

I don't think this is correct. The official estimate is the range 0.9-1.1.

The social distancing ship is sailing anyway TBH. I think some people will blame that on schools going back, but actually strict social distancing isn't sustainable longterm anyway. It was always going to slide rapidly as soon as the initial panic wore off