NEU calls for two week closure for secondaries and colleges following leap in infections

[noblegiraffe]

The NEU has called for a two week closure of secondary schools and colleges following a more than 9-fold increase in the infection rate in secondary school children in a month.

www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-teachers-demand-2-week-school-closures-after-cases-jump

The infection rate in Y7-11 was 0.5% last week, according to the ONS survey of random households, but this nearly doubled to 0.93% in the latest set of figures. This rise cannot be ignored or passed off as relating to university students as has happened so far.

In other, entirely unrelated news, 61% of teachers report that if a student doesn't wear a mask in a school where they are mandated in communal areas 'nothing happens'.

www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-61-staff-say-nothing-done-if-pupils-wont-wear-masks

And Teacher Tapp data from yesterday had 26% of teachers reporting that their schools were partially closed to students.

In the meantime, the testing positivity rate in 10-19 year olds is 17%, which means that this group is severely under-tested and lots of cases will be missed. The rate should be below 5%.

Yet the insistence continues that in any lockdown scenario, schools will remain open. Idiocy.

There have been certain posters in the last who have said particularly vile things about kids.

I was on a thread where someone accused the op of saying something over and over yet when someone searched it actually came up once in 2010.
Is this comment a bit like that or is there actually even a single post where a poster has said nasty and vile things about kids. I would be interested to see.
Saying it doesn’t mean it’s actually true.

@starrynight19

There have been certain posters in the last who have said particularly vile things about kids.

I was on a thread where someone accused the op of saying something over and over yet when someone searched it actually came up once in 2010.
Is this comment a bit like that or is there actually even a single post where a poster has said nasty and vile things about kids. I would be interested to see.
Saying it doesn’t mean it’s actually true.

No I'm just lying for the sake of it.

Fuck sake.

I'm out.

[quote loulouljh]@AldiAisleofCrap-would you leave an 11 year old home alone all day?? I would not. No she has no special needs. She though is a normal child who needs some company during the day! I wouldn't dream of leaving a child of that age for an entire day.[/quote]
Unfortunately this is what I will have to do with my 11 year old whilst I teach all day if they have to isolate due to a positive case in their class. I won’t have access to my phone either and will be relying on my in-laws (vulnerable so can’t look after my child) to phone them at regular intervals to check they are okay. I’m not happy with this decision at all but we’ve been told by school we only 2 days parental leave all year. I can’t afford to take extra days unpaid on top of this or the mortgage doesn’t get paid. Lots of teachers are parents and face the same difficult decisions. It is rubbish all round.

We need to work together to find solutions. Something needs to be done about schools where they are driving transmission in the area. The government covering up stats and proclaiming that all schools are safe doesn’t help anyone parents or teachers.

Bullying someone who hasn't actually said anything bad about you, hasn't aimed any comments at you, hasn't personally attacked you

And who has said that that they specifically aren’t naming names because they don’t want to get banned but are making shitty comments about certain posters regardless, hoping people will know who they mean?

It’s not bullying to call that behaviour out.

@noblegiraffe

Bullying someone who hasn't actually said anything bad about you, hasn't aimed any comments at you, hasn't personally attacked you

And who has said that that they specifically aren’t naming names because they don’t want to get banned but are making shitty comments about certain posters regardless, hoping people will know who they mean?

It’s not bullying to call that behaviour out.

You have NO IDEA which posters I am talking about except I have specifically said it's not you. So why are you still taking issue with it?

You, however, are attacking me, quite obviously. It's bullying.

Yes presumably because a lot who would of or possibly even did die of flu, died of covid. Some years have seen 50k flu deaths.

This turns out not to be true. There were 50,000 excess deaths in the 2017-18 winter but a relatively small proportion were due to flu. This is all in the various ONS and BMJ reports.

I was on a thread where someone accused the op of saying something over and over yet when someone searched it actually came up once in 2010.

Yep, that was aimed at me. People saying how terrible I was and how I kept using a particular phrase to illustrate my disdain for the kids and it was a flat-out lie.

People lie about me to try to undermine what I’m saying instead of engaging with my posts.

I doubt the NEU and UCU are calling for a circuit-break in secondaries and colleges just because I hate teaching or the kids or whatever the accusation is this time.

We need to work together to find solutions. Something needs to be done about schools where they are driving transmission in the area. The government covering up stats and proclaiming that all schools are safe doesn’t help anyone parents or teachers.

Yes exactly this

‘ yGirl

My DC’s school has had two isolated cases in six weeks (out of a total school population of 1500 pupils). There is no need for it to close. The decision to close must be taken on a case by case bas’

Aren’t you lucky? Try living in a big city. Schools closing and bubble popping constantly.

If one shuts, they should all shut. How is this equal? Some kids getting full education, some constantly being disrupted.

Let’s just keep them open shall we? Then we could all be on red if we’re really lucky like on this map.

@noblegiraffe

Is a 2 week closure enough to solve all these problems?

Who knows? But continuing as is sure as hell isn’t going to solve them and the situation will get worse. The infection rate in Y7-11 has doubled in the last week.

If people are worried that if we shut schools for two weeks and it might end up being longer because things are really bad, then isn’t that an argument for shutting schools for a circuit break sooner rather than later when things are even worse and will take longer to solve?

What if its a problem we can never solve?

We all agree long term closure isnt an option.
We all agree staying as they are isn't an option.
We agree that long term home learning isnt an option.
We agree blended learning isnt a practical option.
So what are we left with?

Of course some of them options above will be viable for some schools/pupils . Should it be looked at nationally or individually? Will by looking at it individually cause a divide between the poorer and the more affluent children? We fail the poorer children to look at it on an individual basis but also fail the more affluent children by looking at it on a national basis.
Whatever situation we are in we are failing someone

Short term closure is a manageable option.

Discussing school closure and the virus is akin to heresy at the moment. But it will just keep spreading.

What if its a problem we can never solve?

Then we have to keep the virus at manageable levels where it doesn’t overwhelm the hospitals. This might be through regular circuit breaks.

People seem to have forgotten about the hospital issue when they suggest just giving up on mitigation.

@noblegiraffe I don't think most would have an issue with extending half term to 2 weeks, but do you really think that they'd open up again or would we be back to endless home learning?

@TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince

‘ yGirl

My DC’s school has had two isolated cases in six weeks (out of a total school population of 1500 pupils). There is no need for it to close. The decision to close must be taken on a case by case bas’

Aren’t you lucky? Try living in a big city. Schools closing and bubble popping constantly.

If one shuts, they should all shut. How is this equal? Some kids getting full education, some constantly being disrupted.

Let’s just keep them open shall we? Then we could all be on red if we’re really lucky like on this map.

Agreed! It's complete inequality based on a postcode lottery and those of us in inner cities are suffering the most.

My y10 has missed 4 weeks of being at school and numerous lessons. His counterparts in other areas have continued to get a full education.

The gap is widening, only those in sheltered schools and areas won't see this. It's startling.

I think we need to move away from GCSE's towards some kind of qualification at age 18, and we need to do it now. That way, we can continue with educating children, rather than spending this year preparing them for a test that will be unfair and unrepresentative of their actual ability and then they can receive some kind of qualification that actually means something when compared nationally. It may mean all students doing some kind of functional English/Maths past age 16, but I am not certain that would be terrible.

I think we are actually an outlier in having such a large set of examinations at age 16. We should be emulating countries that do it better.

@noblegiraffe

Every time I start a thread about schools I’ve had shitty comments thrown at me just for starting the thread. I have mental health problems. I hate kids. I’m a shit teacher who you wouldn’t want teaching your kids. I don’t like teaching and should just quit. ‘I knew this would be you OP....’ ‘I’m sick to the death of you’. I’m sure the only reason I got only one shitty reflex comment on this thread is because MNHQ intervened on the last one. It’s pretty obvious some people are trying to stop me starting these threads and really really really don’t want the situation in schools discussed.

Yes it’s bad. There are some highly unpleasant people who hang around to attack, I’ve had a tiny amount in comparison but can empathise.

Anyway I’m good with schools being discussed as long as it’s civilised.

@pandafunfactory

Wow some teachers are desperate to keep away from kids

By that logic, so are some parents.

do you really think that they'd open up again

Arguing that schools shouldn’t close for two weeks in the face of the data because you’re worried that they won’t re-open after two weeks isn’t an argument for not closing them, it’s a suggestion that things are really bad in schools and two weeks won’t be enough. This is probably true.

I would want to see a circuit break to bring down infection levels, a beefing up of track and trace to get on top of things this time and improved mitigation measures in schools.

However the govt is insisting that there are no issues in schools so things will either limp on until completely unsustainable and their hand is forced, or they’ll do a circuit break but not do the other stuff at which point we’re back to square one.

@TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince. It is a school in a city. And for your information, so you can bitch about me and whine some more, my DC’s have already had a superior education as they had full remote learning throughout lockdown and will do again should their school close. If you want to close the gap in the education system, you need to direct your anger at those schools that refused to undertake online lessons during lockdown due to “safeguarding”.

@Nellodee

I think we are actually an outlier in having such a large set of examinations at age 16. We should be emulating countries that do it better.

I'd back this approach.

What are the successful models adopted in other countries?

And disrupted education is going to affect the poorest the most.

Secondaries should shut to all except key workers, vulnerable and those with no IT access.

And in this way education could carry on. I think there is an argument for y7 to be able to attend, and even y8. But they could be spread out and socially distanced.

The rest are capable of being left. They should register online in school uniform and follow the normal timetable.

I’m a teacher. This would work.

His counterparts in other areas have continued to get a full education

I was talking to my Y13s about cancelling exams and pointed out to them that actually they should be in favour of exams going ahead as planned because their education has been far less disrupted than in other schools (so far).

@Nellodee
If there are no GCSEs, how do schools know which students are at the required level to do A'Levels such as further maths and computer science?