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.

@Baaaahhhhh

Is that national or local Noble. Because my school has had only one case, and very few other local schools have sent anyone home, other than a handful of close contact children.

Only sending home ‘close contacts’ is probably part of the problem. Schools are the ideal transmission ground for covid - poorly ventilated rooms with no social distancing and lots of talking.

There have been posts on here describing how that tactic has completely failed to control spread in their school.

@Ecosse

If the NEU gets schools closed for 2 weeks, they will never reopen.

Schools must stay open for many reasons- people need to work and we cannot damage the life chances and life expectancy of our most vulnerable DC any further than they already have been.

Luckily, we are not stuck between the dichotomy of a) shut schools permanently and b) keep schools open as usual spreading the virus far and wide

There is a choice c) invest a bit of time, energy, and funding to make sure children can both receive and education and stay safe

Unfortunately the government didn't put any time, energy, or funding into the the reopening of schools and sadly students (and teachers) are now suffering. We can only hope a lesson is learnt and the proper effort is put in, albeit far too late for our kids.

You might be alarmed by rising infection rates, but I'm not. I'm more alarmed at the thought of my children missing more school than they have already quite frankly.

If a school has a particular problem, then a decision can be made of a local level. It's frankly ridiculous to tell all schools to close when they don't have to.

Circuit breakers, AKA lockdowns, don't suppress the virus. I thought we'd all learned that by now. We have to live with this virus until there's a vaccine (if indeed there ever is one).

@Loftyloft

Until we get separate figures completely for those aged 16-18 and those in university it’s very difficult to see the real risk at schools. Certainly from those figures, primary schools should remain open if at all possible if haven’t got direct cases.

The infection rate increase in Y7 to 11 should be alarming enough to warrant action.

I agree that sixth form/FE data should be reported separately to university data.

I think keeping primaries open is reasonable given the data, and addresses a lot of the childcare concerns.

We’re ok so far no cases. But I am actually pleased half term is here and two weeks.

I understand that parents want schools to stay open with children attending physically. I just think it’s not ok to say ‘Schools MUST stay open’ or ‘Schools CANNOT close’ because clearly they might have to. If children start to become a major factor in the spread of this virus, or teachers are coming down with it in huge numbers and spending a lot of time in hospital, then they’ll have to close them. It’s very single minded to just state they can’t close. It’s obvious there might be circumstances where they have to.

DD is hoping for 2 weeks at half term instead of 1 week. She’s on her knees ( head of dept) she says all the teachers are wiped out, physically and mentally, they’ve all been ill with a horrendous bug going round, no covid cases thankfully.

... in Engaland.

*England, sorry

It would be better for a 2 week break to coincide with half term so only 1 week of remote learning than to leave it later and miss two weeks of school.

(I know some schools have different half terms but the majority are off the Halloween week)

@lljkk

I don't think you like being a teacher. NobleG.

You haven't changed your tune. It's tedious.

@Boxachocs

I understand that parents want schools to stay open with children attending physically. I just think it’s not ok to say ‘Schools MUST stay open’ or ‘Schools CANNOT close’ because clearly they might have to. If children start to become a major factor in the spread of this virus, or teachers are coming down with it in huge numbers and spending a lot of time in hospital, then they’ll have to close them. It’s very single minded to just state they can’t close. It’s obvious there might be circumstances where they have to.

You are also short changing our kids. Why didn't at least as much time, effort, and funding go into the re-opening of schools as to the many other schemes (furlough, EOTHO etc) to develop a sustainable plan for students to return to school. If you are upset that children's education is being disrupted, be upset that in the midst of a global pandemic, hardly any planning or resource was put into education!

We’re on half term from now. Is that unusual? I think it might be a week earlier going by primary child.

If a school has a particular problem, then a decision can be made of a local level
But won't it be too late then, if the virus is running rife through a school?
I don't known if circuit breakers work, but there must be a reason governments are shutting restaurants, banning travel etc.

The government should have put a lot more thought, effort and money into education and a national online learning scheme of GOLD standard.
If this was their GCSE I think they would have failed.
If there was talk of schools closing I would like to keep year 11 and 13 in school along with the key worker children. These children deserve that.
It could be tied in with the new wonder 15min tests to flag up Asymptomatic cases and isolate those children.

@MumtherofCats I don’t think you read my post properly.

Please, before piling in with the lazy teachers narrative, can you consider how worrying it is to be obliged to stay in school when an entire class you teach has been asked to self isolate due to a positive case? When a single case in a year group rapidly becomes a cluster. When pupils approach your desk to let you know the friend they were with the other day gas tested positive.

It's not about not wanting to do our jobs, or expecting to be paid to do nothing.

In fact if we WfH our own children will be stuffed as well. Our holidays are earmarked for lockdowns and we won't be able to take them another time. The whole situation is so, so bleak but Mumsnetters who insist on berating us at every turn make things infinitely worse.

Before anyone tells me I have mental health problems and should get signed off, yes I am developing them and gaslighting is one of the reasons.

1500 people in hospitals in the North west. Weeks away from hospitals struggling to cope literally on the local news right now.
Cases in every school with many schools having to close now.

It’s madness schools are contributing to the increase in cases. Tier 3 area , schools open as normal makes a mockery of those who have been made to close their business.
And post code lottery on those kids who will be having to face exams this academic year with so much time out of school already.
Probably doesn’t help when schools are now being told to try and not send many children home with each new case.

@Boxachocs

I understand that parents want schools to stay open with children attending physically. I just think it’s not ok to say ‘Schools MUST stay open’ or ‘Schools CANNOT close’ because clearly they might have to. If children start to become a major factor in the spread of this virus, or teachers are coming down with it in huge numbers and spending a lot of time in hospital, then they’ll have to close them. It’s very single minded to just state they can’t close. It’s obvious there might be circumstances where they have to.

I strongly agree with this. Demanding schools stay fully, physically open does not make it so. It's so terribly selfish.

It’s the difference between
‘I really hope hope schools stay open’ (understandable)
and
‘School must stay open and I don’t care what impact it has on others’.

And so they should.
Close schools for 4 weeks. Test everyone before they go back and increase mask wearing.
That way they might get back for a month before Xmas and another 4/5 week break.

Cases in the 16-29 age group are showing the highest % rise. Those are the same people that populate colleges and universities.

Infections are rife in colleges and not all colleges are making others in the groups' self-isolate.

As an absolute last resort. And even then, not for years 11 and 13.

We've got our GCSE resit English & Maths exams the first week of November. It would be really unfair on those students if there is a blanket shutting of schools.

Also, we're coming up to Mock season for Y11 & Y13. We may end up with teacher assessments / some form of CAGs again next summer if cases rise again. We need to try and get some robust data from these students to go towards that.

If there are areas of higher cases, I can see a case being made for a 'circuit break' for most year groups, but Y11 & Y13 need to try and be in for as long as possible (maybe longer Christmas holidays would be better - perhaps 3 weeks?)

However, I know I'm saying this from the privilege of being in an area of low cases and no burst bubbles yet in my school!

10 cases in my school , 2 of which were in classes taught by me. As a result I was left with 6 pupils in one class, 4 in another and 6 in a sixth from class. Education is being totally disrupted whether schools remain open or closed.