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.

Come and teach where I do if you like. See how safe you feel in a class of 30 16/17 year olds, coughing and sneezing. Or - just sit out of harms way applauding our ducking shit government that have thrown teachers, and many others, to the wolves.

Fucking not ducking ffs!

I'm presuming this is just Tory spam

Tory spam or someone who doesn’t realise that parents are losing work because kids and school staff can’t get tested.
People are losing their jobs over this mess.

@annabel85 Is your name really Dominic Cummings?

noblegiraffe

37. in lieu of tendering resignation, Gavin Williamson aka Frank Spencer dabbled his two most senior civil servants (Perm Sec at DfE and Chief Exec of Ofqual) and threw them under the bus completely, destabilising both departments at the start of the school year. Bravo.

Dabbled? Sacked. No dabbling involved. As far as I know.

@PlanBee shambolic isn’t a word which should ever be used to describe a government. If they are shambolic then they aren’t fit to run the country and it’s people.

The government's re-opening of schools with cases on the rise, severe lack of testing, track and trace a joke, no masks, no temperature checks, no distancing and massive 'bubbles' that never pop because they only send close contacts home anyway is actually bordering on criminal.

I am not sure I agree. Schools had to reopen as they have done throughout the world. The number of cases/deaths was very low at the point they reopened but even if it is much higher they should stay open, as they are in France for example.

The question of masks in schools is really not obvious. If they had said all teachers and children of all ages have to wear masks all day, would you really have been happy with that?

Temperature checks are up to the school aren't they? It's not expensive to buy an infrared temperature reader. Would you have been in favour of checks on all children as they enter school? The alternative is to tell parents to check their children's temperature every day. Again, I think the head could do that if they chose to.

No, temperature checks are specifically not recommended by the DfE.

Um, because they haven't put education first.

Allowing everything else to open over the summer and people to have holidays. Then opening schools without high PPE standards, split learning and massive amounts of testing is not putting schools first.

I think you’re living in some kind of parallel universe op

You do realise that the current lack of testing is going to mean schools right left and centre shutting down because teachers (or their children) can’t get tests. Not because they have covid.
I think people were initially understanding of the lack of testing scenario but they have had six whole months to sort it out.

[quote stovetopespresso]@noblegiraffe wow impressive! was that all off the cuff?!? skim read after point 20 but did u get in not demanding advisors resign when they break lockdown?[/quote]
It was built up over this thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4001279-This-government-don-t-give-a-shit-about-schools-or-your-kids

I saved it to my notes because I thought it might come in handy in the future

There is a lot of anger in this thread. I don't know if it is mostly from teachers.

But I agree with the OP. I am very grateful that the policy is not to shut primaries at all unless things going really horribly wrong with Covid and to at least keep secondaries open half the time if things go pretty wrong with Covid.

For all those people who are keen for schools to shut, don't forget that is a feminist catastrophe. When schools shut, women's careers (and hence lives) are destroyed. This is really a women's rights issue and i don't understand why it isn't talked about more.

Hello Dominic, Boris, Gavin.

Does anyone seriously believe this bullshit?

To describe you as deluded is inadequate.

Rishi Sunak is the best of a bad lot, but that is about all I can sort of agree with you on.

Noblegiraffe nailed it.

temperature checks are specifically not recommended by the DfE

I am not a head so I don't quite understand what this means.

Does it mean that heads must not check temperatures of children and there will be repercussions from central govt if they do?

Or does it mean that most heads agree with the DfE that it's not a good idea which is why they are not doing it?

Or does it mean that heads are free to implement temperature checks but they won't get any extra funding for it?

You do realise that the current lack of testing is going to mean schools right left and centre shutting down because teachers (or their children) can’t get tests. Not because they have covid.I think people were initially understanding of the lack of testing scenario but they have had six whole months to sort it out.

I have many criticisms of the govt but I think it's important to put them in the right context. The number of tests carried out every day is around 200,000 currently. It has gone up in a nearly straight line since May when it was around 60,000.

It does seem we need way more than 200,000 and the increase has not met the national need. It also seems true that as a nation we are not just capable of quickly setting up the kind of massive scale testing that China and Germany are.

Nothing the government is going to do will please some people. There are people who will complain and find fault whatever is done or not done.

@notevenat20

There is a lot of anger in this thread. I don't know if it is mostly from teachers.

But I agree with the OP. I am very grateful that the policy is not to shut primaries at all unless things going really horribly wrong with Covid and to at least keep secondaries open half the time if things go pretty wrong with Covid.

For all those people who are keen for schools to shut, don't forget that is a feminist catastrophe. When schools shut, women's careers (and hence lives) are destroyed. This is really a women's rights issue and i don't understand why it isn't talked about more.

It's baffling. Getting schools open for this term and keeping them open for this term has been a major government priority, hence the thread title.

Nothing the government is going to do will please some people. There are people who will complain and find fault whatever is done or not done.

This is generally true, but even more so in viral pandemic where a lot of people have died. You can always ask "what if we had done this differently?" or "why weren't we better prepared".

It is amazing how different the number of deaths have been in different countries and I look forward to reading a considered report on why this is. I can understand population density or similar measures as part of the explanation but... this seems to ignore SE Asian countries which just seem to have an efficient use of high-tech tracking (akin to a high-tech police state) that the West doesn't. I include S. Korea in that which is definitely a democracy.

Lol they want the kids infected!

I am fuming too.
8d in school before dc caught a cold- with fever, and cough
Dc2 had a cough overnight.
Dc1 is neg.
anyway im literally sat here crying.
All that stress 4d for 8 in school.
Our HT is beyond useless. They have increased bubble size despite knowing we were waiting for a test.
I have seen several things over the days the dc were in which make it no surprise they were ill.
I dont want to send them back!
And ds2 just starting yr r i am so cross with gov and school.
There will be no t&t without testing so it will just spread now. Mixed with all these colds too.
I want my kids at school (one year 100% attendance).
They could have had kids in masks and teachers.
Have said no to bubbles bigger than 30.

"It's baffling. Getting schools open for this term and keeping them open for this term has been a major government priority, hence the thread title."

They've essentially said schools would be open, but have done very little to keep it sustainable...no social distancing, lack of tests, no financial assistance...what have they really done, other than say schools should be open? What decent help has been offered to help with that, let alone help in a safe way that allows them to STAY open?!

OP your post is moronic and you deserve all the scorn and derision.

Read the excellent post by @noblegiraffe if you want to understand why people think that no, the government has not prioritised schools.

no financial assistance...

Haven't there been a few new funding schemes? E.g.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-schools

www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-technology-for-remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19

This has got to be a joke