"It is, alas, a fact of the disease that it is readily transmissible between children and adults"

[noblegiraffe]

Says our PM.

So can all those people who spent the entire summer telling teachers that their worries about returning to school without any mitigation measures that it was FINE because children didn't spread it please now start campaigning for mitigation measures in schools because it appears that people's lives are being put at risk.

twitter.com/mikercameron/status/1306246353379569665?s=21

Marsha you asked her age - she's KS2, upper primary.

She loved school in the summer, really enjoyed the smaller class and felt safe with the social distancing. She does love school, but she's not happy with how they've returned, but still prefers it to sitting at home for a week while DH and I spend all our time constantly refreshing computer screens looking for a test for DD2!!

Weird people don’t want it.

I want it, but I don't want to WAIT to take measures until we have it. Especially given what's happening now.

I think it's weirder that Sweden didn't monitor and that here we're not monitoring.

It's ALMOST as if there's something to hide.

Or we could just accept the global scientific consensus, that most countries have at least partially followed, that you need these things to open and not get massive outbreaks:

• small class sizes
• social distancing
• masks (esp if no social distancing)
• functioning test and trace.

@Enoughnowstop

The gap between private schools - which can follow best practice (small class sizes, social distancing, and presumably even test and trace if they can pay for tests privately) and state schools is going to get wider, and wider and wider

I don't disagree the gap is widening. But there is no magic in private schools that doesn't exist elsewhere. Class sizes are smaller but so are classrooms. Social distancing where I work is non existent. There is no space for it in classrooms. Our children are perhaps easier to handle as a whole, generally don't have to be told twice, that kind of thing. But it is only a matter of time before the private schools are sending people home - assuming they're not already. We are, that's for sure.

Yep. This is exactly what I've got in the private school I work out. Classroom sizes are smaller but we have up to 24 in a class, so it's not that small a number. No social distancing and an arrogant 'we're fine' attitude seems to prevail (like Covid can't attack the rich in their ivory tower). The state school I work at is far more on the hall, allowing staff to wear masks etc. It's not good

My major concern (like some other posters have said) is that private schools will pressure their staff into staying open as the fear of bankruptcy is huge. The bottom line is money as they are a business. I've seen many decisions recently that are clearly more about the money than the staff. One teacher who was self isolating was expected to deliver online live video lessons from home. She's a single mum with twin toddlers. Completely unreasonable and unworkable, not to even mention the safeguarding aspect.

@morethanmeetstheeye

I think those of us who work in the private sector understand we are going to have to work during periods of self isolation whilst juggling family. It was the same during lockdown. We want to keep our jobs so we will have to provide the service.

I have huge sympathy for anyone who loses their childcare but still has to work. This has affected millions of us this year including myself. But I don’t see that it affects teachers more than anyone else dies it?

I think those of us who work in the private sector understand we are going to have to work during periods of self isolation whilst juggling family. It was the same during lockdown. We want to keep our jobs so we will have to provide the service.

How do you feel about state school teachers who don’t have this pressure?

I think a lot of staff in all sectors will be doing that ? Unless ill.

One teacher who was self isolating was expected to deliver online live video lessons from home. She's a single mum with twin toddlers. Completely unreasonable and unworkable, not to even mention the safeguarding aspect.

Many people in non teaching jobs have been expected to do this for months.

From a safeguarding perspective, it's not acceptable. A very young child at home cannot understand to keep away from a live video feed plus it is impossible to teach a lesson and look after toddlers. The school I mentioned expected a single parent to teach while days with no interruption from her children on the videos. What, precisely are her two year olds meant to do? Sit quietly all day? Fend for themselves like feral children? As a single parent she cannot afford to take any time unpaid and has been out in an untenable position.

In the part time system in the first week half the children and teachers would have needed a test and second half would need one when they came in.

We’d still have had backlog and disruption.

Wrong thread hang on

What, precisely are her two year olds meant to do? Sit quietly all day? Fend for themselves like feral children? As a single parent she cannot afford to take any time unpaid

Yes, the rest of us have been grappling with this for months, didn’t you realise? Welcome to the party.

Which is why keeping childcare and school settings open is imperative if we want any actual work done and people to keep their jobs.

Isolating poses more problems, agreed. Which is why swift testing and sensible policies on isolation need to be looked at urgently.

I think there’s a bit of difference working from home with the odd zoom meeting than live teaching five or six hours solidly. You can schedule a nap or set in front of tv with a snack for a live meeting. You can’t do that from eg 9-3.

@TheHoneyBadger

I think there’s a bit of difference working from home with the odd zoom meeting than live teaching five or six hours solidly. You can schedule a nap or set in front of tv with a snack for a live meeting. You can’t do that from eg 9-3.

For many it’s not the odd zoom meeting it’s pretty constant.

And doesn’t stop at 3.00 but 6.00

There’s no easy way to wfh with a toddler. You can’t leave them with the tv and a snack either.

It’s not the odd Zoom meeting. Many of us have back to back meetings, sales pitches, consultations, presentations, etc etc.

HTH.

Which is why keeping childcare and school settings open is imperative if we want any actual work done and people to keep their jobs.

Then you should be campaigning for better mitigation measures in schools and for extra restrictions on socialising outside of schools, yes?

Schools need to send kids home if there are positive cases. So we need CV not to get into school communities in the first place, by people being ultra careful in the community. If it does get into a school, we need mitigation measures in place to ensure that it doesn't spread within the school - if a kid is positive and their bubble goes home and no one outside that bubble, particularly teachers, catch it from them setting off other bubble closures, then that's a job well done.

Well said @noblegiraffe

@Namechanger45627

Did people actually believe that children don’t transmit it?!

In the same way that they clearly don’t transmit other viruses just as easily as any other person Norovirus last year must have been a figment of our imaginations...

I know. I can't believe the stupidity sometimes.

Hear hear @noblegiraffe

@pshek86

Scottish schools have been back for weeks and we have had no outbreaks in school. Few classes closed due to cases but have been been in the community 🤷🏻‍♀️. Blended learning is catastrophic!!!! How are working parents meant to hold down a full time job and home school. It's not possible.

Well that’s really not true, is it? Not unless you’re, really, really precise about what you mean by an outbreak in school and on,y call it that if the choir actually made the virus so nobody from the community got involved at all... Look at these figures.

School not choir. Stupid iPad.

Scotland had 350 cases today.
Schools maybe had something to do.

The First Minister said coronavirus “could get out of our grip again” as Scotland faces the risk of “exponential growth” of Covid-19.

She said this weekend will be “critical” to how the Government plots a way forward, and added she wanted to give the nation “advanced notice” that the “coming days are likely to see some hard but necessary decisions”.