Why aren't the government being given more credit for prioritising education?

[annabel85]

The government have risked a lot by putting schools first, selflessly knowing that a second wave would reflect badly on them. This is how it's turning out, but they're still even now fully committed to keeping schools open.

They could have just had blended learning or even carried on demanding tutoring from home for the the winter term, but they've stuck their necks out by getting every child back to school.

Basically, just a reality check for people who are criticising the government at the moment. They've made big mistakes but the kids are their priority and they deserve credit for that.

[quote Walkaround]@annabel85 - prioritising education does not look like this! Prioritising schools would involve spending a lot more money to cover the actual cost of extra hygiene, extra staff to cover sickness absence and extra responsibilities created by covid, etc. It will all fall to bits quite rapidly, anyway, when half the essential staff in schools are busy self-isolating for 10-14 days because they can’t get covid tests for themselves or their own sick children.[/quote]
Here is another quote from me, @herecomesthsun

@annabel85

The government have risked a lot by putting schools first, selflessly knowing that a second wave would reflect badly on them. This is how it's turning out, but they're still even now fully committed to keeping schools open.

They could have just had blended learning or even carried on demanding tutoring from home for the the winter term, but they've stuck their necks out by getting every child back to school.

Basically, just a reality check for people who are criticising the government at the moment. They've made big mistakes but the kids are their priority and they deserve credit for that.

😂😂😂

Is this Mrs Cummings speaking?

@sar302

Couldn't agree more OP!

Can't stay though, must dash off to dig out my grouse hunting apparatus.

Tally-ho!

😂😂😂😂😭😭😭

I swear to god the Tories have an avalanche of social media "helpers" at the moment.

[quote Walkaround]@herecomesthsun - I really don’t understand why you would quote a reply to a specific question about mass temperature checks to make a general point?! Did you bother to read my earlier post pointing out where funding was promised and needed, but not delivered, and how confusing and unhelpful DfE advice was? It is exceptionally irritating to be selectively quoted in a way that gives the impression that the person quoted means the opposite of what they actually said if anyone bothered to read all their posts.[/quote]
I'm so sorry that was supposed to be in reply to a specific point made by @notevenat20 about what stuck out for them about the Italian re-opening of schools. As I said,the 2.9 billion euros stuck out for me.

I am not sure how that happened (I have been looking for this thread to come back about that, but it seemed to disappear). I will double check the post quoted in future.

I think I should go to sleep now as I have just inadvertently managed to click the wrong button and report myself to mumsnet.

Pubs, restaurants and grassroots sports, NOT schools, are the main causes of spread according to track and trace data.

@onlinelinda

I swear to god the Tories have an avalanche of social media "helpers" at the moment.

Surely this is one from the opposition 😂😂😂😂😂

@herecomesthsun -

🤬🤬🤬🤬

From DH and I. Both teachers. "Prioritising" Do me a favourite!

@herecomesthsun I think the pandemic is frying all our brains!!

Favour even!

Please could you give a message to Boris, Op.

Chair of Govs here. When Sunak said, we'll do what it takes and just makes schools ready, we did.

Wheres the money? No good renaging now.
Where's the money for single forward facing desks. Sanitiser. Cleaning.

Oh and how are we going to pay the promised knee jerk payrise out of existing inadequate funding? (BTW teachers and TAs i think you're worth every penny.)

Tory bots are busy today... they are all over this forum.
This thread though, hilarious !

@RubyViolet

Tory bots are busy today... they are all over this forum. This thread though, hilarious !

I've noticed the Tory bots too, they're ubiquitous, obvious and specious.

The tory bots get away with it as they grind you down, not with facts or anything as obvious, but by posting long rambling posts with italics and bold and quotes from here and there and they go on and on and before you know it you've left the thread as your brain has turned to mush...

That's how they win arguments, and elections... Grind down the voters with an endless cycle of lies and retorts and mish mash.... And keep the truth and facts well away from the action..

@onlinelinda

I swear to god the Tories have an avalanche of social media "helpers" at the moment.

We know they do! They explicitly mentioned using social media 'influencers' to convince parents that schools are safe.

Bear in mind that we have among the largest class sizes in Europe, before covid.

Two claims I have never believed are a) that smaller class sizes don’t help children learn and b) homework in primary school doesn’t help children learn.

The first seemed to be invented to justify low funding and the second to reduce marking for teachers.

Two claims I have never believed are a) that smaller class sizes don’t help children learn and b) homework in primary school doesn’t help children learn

The first seemed to be invented to justify low funding and the second to reduce marking for teachers

It's all the "seems" with you. Does this absolve you from actually thinking? Do some research, why don't you?

www.aeuvic.asn.au/sites/default/files/class_size_research_summary.pdf

OP

If you doing this against your will type

FUBAR.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.....

Ha ha ha ha ha ha

They’ve basically thrown schools (pupils, teachers, parents) under the bus. They threw all this effort into pubs and eat out to help out right before schools were opening, and everyone has been on holiday.

The rise in cases will now be blamed on schools when it has nothing to do with schools, it will have been bubbling away for weeks (fwiw I think this also nicely explains why a bunch of people think they had Covid in February/March - they did and it takes a while for the numbers to explode). Then they fuck up the testing. Last nights DM headline actually had Dido Harding saying that nobody could have predicted the demand for tests.

I genuinely can’t see how we won’t have school closures this winter, and my heart breaks.

It's all the "seems" with you. Does this absolve you from actually thinking? Do some research, why don't you?

Well...another option is overconfident assertions. I prefer to express some humility.

I am aware of at least some of the research and thank you for linking to an example that supports my belief. However it has been common in the UK for teachers to hold the opposite view, supported by their own favourite research.

The rise in cases will now be blamed on schools when it has nothing to do with schools, it will have been bubbling away for weeks

I don’t know anyone who says the national rise in cases is caused by schools opening. The cause is fairly straightforward. People are having too many social interactions now. To stop it we have to stop the interactions which means no mixing households and limiting places go to interact with each other.