The rate of infections in schools is being suppressed from public knowledge

[noblegiraffe]

...claims Karam Bales of the NEU.

I’m pretty sure I agree. When the newspapers are going mad about university cases and 13,000 kids and 700 teachers being off school in Birmingham doesn’t make national headlines, then something dodgy is going on.

This twitter thread collates all the evidence and is pretty damning twitter.com/karamballes/status/1315067136394625032?s=21

My own thoughts:
Why are the government ignoring the WHO recommendations on masks?
Why have they stopped PHE deciding who is sent home when there are cases in schools setting up their own helpline instead which sends home far fewer kids?
Why are the figures not being presented in a way that makes it clear which cases are in schools and not universities?
Why did Chris Whitty use a graph of test positivity rates instead of actual infection numbers in his briefing when it came to claiming that schools aren’t an issue?
Why are they insisting that children only get a test if they exhibit one of the three main adult symptoms, ignoring that the majority of children who test positive don’t have any of them?
Why are they insisting on vulnerable children being sent in with the threat of fines for non-attendance?
Why did they spend the summer pretending that unions were blocking the re-opening of schools and then paying social media influencers to say schools are safe, without taking any steps to ensure that they are?
Why did they announce a Plan B of rotas for schools in tiers of lockdown and then never actually use it?
Why did they say that an effective test and trace system was vital to opening schools and then also say they were surprised when demand increased when schools opened?
Why do they keep saying schools are a priority and that be the only thing they say about keeping them open?

And where the fuck is Gavin Williamson?

I think if some schools had worked harder at blended/home learning more parents would have backed this going on long term. The quality, provision and support were too variable

What about the children who break their arm or get meningitis when the NHS is overwhelmed? When it takes so long to get an ambulance?

What about the children who will have parents die, alone in hospital? How will they ever look at their classmates and teachers and schools with anything other than anger ever again?

Many developing countries have managed safer school than us. It's pathetic - if they'd given the money they gave Serco to schools, we'd all be better off.

www.unicef.org/thailand/stories/school-reopening-how-teachers-and-students-are-adjusting-new-normal-thailand

Basically all these countries have done it better than us - with less money. And the fact it, these children will have better education and more consistent learning. All the kids off isolating aren't getting an education and the uncertainty and disruption makes it hard for teachers to teach well even if they don't get sick.

www.unicef.org/stories/heading-back-school-pandemic

I think schools should be open more safely - I was writing to my MP about all the measures recommended by WHO and all scientific experts in the summer and continue to do so.

Why aren't more people ANGRY at the rubbish treatment our children are getting?

My daughter had SD school in the summer (all years back for 4 weeks, SD using outside space) and it was better educationally - she got so much more done. A smaller class size was so much better.

It's like people in this country are just happy to accept whatever rubbish this government dishes out and are pathetically grateful for the dirt scraped off the bottom of their shoe. When they are spending millions and millions on contracts for their mates that don't even deliver what we need (and never get the money back).

Do we not believe our children are worth more?

[quote Pomegranatespompom]@PracticingPerson parents didn't push (although many wanted schools to open for valid reasons, my reasons were not childcare related) it was a government decision. I would have been happy with blended learning, I do think there needed to be a standard set for this though and not the huge discrepancy there was between schools earlier this year.[/quote]
Parents have not generated this at all! Parents like teachers and pupils have had no say in this whatsoever. None of us have been given any other option. Im not going to be made to feel guilty for wanting to send them into the only education option available to them. Its not a parent conspiracy to kill off teachers whatever some people might think, WE HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN AN ALTERNATIVE!!!
I am in no position to home school my DC, if I thought that by keeping my DC home to stop him infecting some unfortunate vulnerable teacher or pupil and killing them would gain him 10 Grade 9 GCSES then I'd do it in a heartbeat but the reality is it won't, the only place available to him at this time to get good Grades for his future is in school. Don't make this another parent v teachers battle because it isn't.

My child finishes for half term this Friday thank god as I don’t feel it’s safe for us or the teachers for them to carry on like this. They won’t be going back after half term unless there is a circuit breaker to bring cases down. Luckily they are in an independent school so I can take them out and they will still be supported with their learning at home as well as not losing their place. Why shouldn’t all parents have this option!

I’m really angry at this completely incompetent government and their crony mates. It’s despairing.
I can’t tell you how exhausted and fearful my team are - nhs. We’re not emotionally equipped for a worse (which it will be) second wave.

@3littlewords i think you are misquoting me.

I think if some schools had worked harder at blended/home learning more parents would have backed this going on long term. The quality, provision and support were too variable

The government suspended the curriculum, not teachers.

Also, you can be pretty sure that any child being supported in their learning outside school, i.e the teacher WFH, was doing so by that teacher paying out of their own pockets to do it.

Parents have literally had no choice in this. There has been no transparency or truth in what has been shared with us. We've been told it's completely safe, that children don't transmit Covid, and that nothing is wrong. In fact we've been told that we're crazy and harming our children for suggesting that in some cases they might be safer staying at home. We've been fined. We've been referred to the Education Welfare Officer for threatening visits. We've been told that if we don't deregister our child from school (taking them off the official school roll and therefore off their attendance statistics!) we will be put forward for "fast track prosecution".

Sign the petition asking the government to stop fining parents and actually give them a choice about school attendance: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/551740

Sign the petition asking the government to make masks mandatory for children age 11 and up: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/331826

Sign the petition asking the government to allow temporary homeschooling during the pandemic without losing school place: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/551464

I'm angry as well. Because teachers and school staff are not expendable.

Nobody was clapping for them while they busted their butts to get remote learning to work, or when they put themselves at risk to get our kids back in to school.

But at all costs #dontmentiontheschools

No one is expendable. Majority nhs workers hated the clapping. Let’s not pitch nhs and teachers at each other.

Children are not responsible for infection control and their lives should not be put on hold for people who have already enjoyed their right to an education. That would be selfishness in the extreme on the part of older age groups.

This is the approach I am cross with parents for. To quote my teenage self, it's doing my head in

How the actual fuck is it 'selfish' of me as a concerned parent to a) want the virus under control so there might be a functioning economy for my children to work in and b) not want schools to drive transmission in my local area resulting in the deaths of elderly people include grandparents of their friends if not their own?

Parents were happy to put their heads in the sand. I had so many parents telling me I was letting my kids down wanting part time school. Well to them.

But part-time school was never on the table in England. I think it was considered in Scotland?

I agree that this is what the govt should have been focusing planning and resources on over the summer, but they didn't.

Parents can want part-time schooling al they want, so can teachers, but neither group - who overlap of course - are the decision-makers in all this.

@christinarossetti19

But part-time school was never on the table in England. I think it was considered in Scotland?

I agree that this is what the govt should have been focusing planning and resources on over the summer, but they didn't.

Parents can want part-time schooling al they want, so can teachers, but neither group - who overlap of course - are the decision-makers in all this.

If parents had been willing to consider it it could have been on the table. Parents didn't back up teachers imo.

I was really attacked whenever I suggested it - by other parents.

My child finishes for half term this Friday thank god as I don’t feel it’s safe for us or the teachers for them to carry on like this. They won’t be going back after half term unless there is a circuit breaker to bring cases down. Luckily they are in an independent school so I can take them out and they will still be supported with their learning at home as well as not losing their place. Why shouldn’t all parents have this option!

Well, exactly. Especially those parents who could die if they catch covid - bereaving their children, who are currently threatened with fines if they don't send their kids in.

I also think the government could and should have invested in other risk mitigation measures like improved ventilation in schools, funding for cleaning, and emergency hire of other buildings to allow for better social distancing.

Mostly though, it's quite insane that parents are being fined for not sending their children in to school. Even if they are in Tier 3 measures and even if those parents or children are clinically vulnerable! It's almost as if they want it to spread.

Parents might not be the decision makers but my DD's headteacher asked me to write to my MP because he said 'I can make the school safer with extra money - the more parents who write the more chance there is we'll get extra money'.

If we write enough to our MPs and make enough noise they will do something.

This government sways with public opinion. They try and manipulate public opinion of course and set parents and teachers against each other. They are often very, very successful in doing so which means they get to keep doing what they're doing and siphoning all the taxpayers money to their friends while buggering up the covid response.

But if enough people get angry it threatens this nice status quo and they will give in. That's why we had lockdown the first time. People were getting scared by the deaths.

Very unhelpful to pit the nhs against teachers. I’m sorry that the nation didn’t clap for you arranging your online lessons. My primary aged child got no such lessons

We’d have been clapping for a long time if we’d clapped all the key workers. My postman deserves a clap for all that heavy lugging.

I think people clapped really for those who were washing, medicating, ventilating and caring for people with the infection. It was a clap for their bravery and the pulling together of the NHS family.

This government sways with public opinion. They try and manipulate public opinion of course and set parents and teachers against each other.

Agree, the nastiness from parents to teachers whenever the risks of schools open full time were discussed was a sorry thing to behold. I do feel angry with those parents.

We get the government we deserve tbh, I am appalled at the mismanagement - but plenty of parents were happy to go along with the obvious bullshit.

Totally agree that the window and ventilation message is absolutely not there

The government suspended the curriculum, not teachers

So why didn't all schools suspend the curriculum?

@PracticingPerson

This is such an extraordinary attitude. Being angry with parents who want their children to have an education and attend school.

What were parents being 'intransigent' about? I don't remember part-time schooling being on the table, do you?

Parents including on here screeched when anyone including me suggested full time school with no social distancing would drive transmission.

I do blame the political leadership too, but a lot of parents put their heads in the sand imo.

I think there were quite a few us4them people coming in to argue their point nastily, to be fair.

Correct me if I’m wrong but while the curriculum was suspended, weren’t teachers supposed to be consolidating learning?

It was not supposed to be a Carte Blanche to do nothing.

@CountessFrog

Very unhelpful to pit the nhs against teachers. I’m sorry that the nation didn’t clap for you arranging your online lessons. My primary aged child got no such lessons

We’d have been clapping for a long time if we’d clapped all the key workers. My postman deserves a clap for all that heavy lugging.

I think people clapped really for those who were washing, medicating, ventilating and caring for people with the infection. It was a clap for their bravery and the pulling together of the NHS family.

Many of the NHS family, including me, weren't impressed with the empty posturing and would have preferred some constructive support to help the NHS.

Decent pay for nurses.

People wearing masks.

Prioritising other measures to keep infection down in the co,mmunity.

Decent test and trace. and so on.

@TheKeatingFive

Correct me if I’m wrong but while the curriculum was suspended, weren’t teachers supposed to be consolidating learning?

It was not supposed to be a Carte Blanche to do nothing.

Quite. Or a reason (as one of the teachers at the local state did) to send your class photos of you sunbathing while blathering on about mental health (to be fair parents complained and that got nipped in the bud).

My own dds teachers were beyond fantastic but it's a private school so I'd imagine they had the threat of losing their jobs if too many fees withdrawn and the school had to close.

[quote Pomegranatespompom]@3littlewords i think you are misquoting me.[/quote]
I'm not im echoing what you said 👍