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.

You think they'll sort in 2 weeks what they couldn't sort in 4 months? Nah.

So you’re arguing for longer school closures, Trust?

Clearly things can’t continue at the current pace and Jonathan Van-Tam was very clear the other day that cases in younger people are spreading to the older age groups.

So @Ecosse you acknowledge there IS a point where schools might have to close?

is no scenario short of hospitals having to turn away healthy 70 year olds that would justify closing schools

Yep, of course there is...no school staff.

Covid positive and isolating staff = no adults= closed school.

Infections are rising, unfortunately school staff are not immune.
I have LA figures, another rise (5 fold in my LA) of total closures and 60 more schools with at least two positive cases. My LA isn't even in a high risk area.

@MarshaBradyo I think the phrase "blended learning" was used to describe a proposed model in Scotland where children were accommodated in school up to the limit of social distancing and then given a certain number of days in school until all the class / year group had had a share. The English model set out at the start of term wasn't as clear. It just indicated a week on week off model for secondaries so I assume half in at once.

@monkeytennis97

There have been something like 300 deaths of healthy under 60s.

@BelleSausage I'm agreeing with you totally! (Am a secondary teacher!)

I'm having a pop at all those that are arguing against blended learning. I'm just saying that these measures have effects on us as teacher as well eg if there is a circuit break I won't be able to go to my DC's care home but even then, I am still in favour if it despite personal sacrifice

@Ecosse so far....

I’m so relieved this thread is about secondary only not primary, and the NEU request is secondary only.

Unlike what some people think, there’s not a general clamour for schools to be closed for no reason.

As a teacher, when someone says to me ‘schools MUST not close’ it feels like they are saying ‘and I don’t give a shit if loads of teachers die of it’ at the end of the sentence.

@flumposie

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.

23 cases (in students) at my school.

I should have had 140 students today. I had 1 year 10 and 6 year 12s. The year 10 got removed halfway through the lesson as one of his close contacts had proved positive.

Anyone who says children under 16 don't spread much should come and spend a week in a classroom at my school without a mask.

@noblegiraffe

You think they'll sort in 2 weeks what they couldn't sort in 4 months? Nah.

So you’re arguing for longer school closures, Trust?

Clearly things can’t continue at the current pace and Jonathan Van-Tam was very clear the other day that cases in younger people are spreading to the older age groups.

No I'm saying there's no point closing them for any length of time because it doesn't work. If it did it would've worked the first time.

Van tam didn't specify that they were school children did he?

@MarshaBradyo

Blended is 50/50 in school. We are going to go by register- A to M in Monday and Tuesday then M to Z in Thursday and Friday with Weds for meetings, marking and planning and cleaning!

Question: is full time schooling worth more than thousands of jobs and lives? Will the arts, leisure and hospitality survive six months of tier three to keeps schools open. How many people will lose their jobs? Will that have a more adverse effect on children than home schooling a few days a week?

[quote monkeytennis97]@Ecosse so far....[/quote]
Do you think it's likely that it's going to completely change direction and start killing healthy 25 year olds?

[quote Barbie222]@MarshaBradyo I think the phrase "blended learning" was used to describe a proposed model in Scotland where children were accommodated in school up to the limit of social distancing and then given a certain number of days in school until all the class / year group had had a share. The English model set out at the start of term wasn't as clear. It just indicated a week on week off model for secondaries so I assume half in at once.[/quote]
Ok thanks
We had a practice run today and all students stayed home
I’m hoping this means we get normal access just remotely should they close

Screen fatigue is still an issue but they have changed provision slightly to try and mitigate

Impressed so far and so much better than last term (fingers crossed)

@Boxachocs exactly!

@Boxachocs

This is just scaremongering nonsense. I agree that vulnerable teachers and DC should not be in school.

But there is tiny risk of others dying so I’m not sure where you’ve got this danger of ‘loads of teachers dying’.

I would not leave my year 7 at home alone!!!!! Are people really suggesting we do that?? No way. 11 years old. I would not be able to go to work if my child was at home.

@lljkk

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

Maybe Noble likes being an alive, healthy teacher rather than potentially a dead one or one on a ventilator People are so selfish. I’d like to see everyone moaning going to work to be squashed in a room with 30 people and no protection.

If it did it would've worked the first time

It did work - the infection rate was tiny at the start of Sept compared to now. The real problem was then throwing all that work away by going full steam ahead with schools as normal.

Van tam didn't specify that they were school children did he?

He said the 16+ age group was the most problematic for spread, which of course includes secondary children.

@TrustTheGeneGenie no but it will kill more under 60s than 300 if we let it get out of control due to huge community transmission to which schools contribute... which is where we are now. Not all of those 40% in icu under 60 are going to get out of this and there will be many many more.

We should not have been open for the last week. Transmission in my school is far too high to make it safe for anyone. The only reason I think we are limping on is because of this "open at all costs" policy, but really, we would do a lot better if I was able to spend more of my time setting meaningful work online and less of my time sat in a room doing nothing useful with 2 kids.

@Ecosse BUT THEY ARE IN SCHOOL!

I’m not scaremongering. I haven’t said it’s going to happen. I’m saying that people need to acknowledge that a point might come where schools could have to close and that saying they MUST stay open whatever the consequence to school staff, is insulting.

@noblegiraffe

If it did it would've worked the first time

It did work - the infection rate was tiny at the start of Sept compared to now. The real problem was then throwing all that work away by going full steam ahead with schools as normal.

Van tam didn't specify that they were school children did he?

He said the 16+ age group was the most problematic for spread, which of course includes secondary children.

Less than half of secondary children but let's send em all home eh.

Lockdown did not work. It delayed. That's it. And not for very long. Two weeks will achieve nothing and longer will kill more people than it will save.

@MarshaBradyo

Should this be national or where cases are closing classes /schools already?

Does it make a difference? I live in a grey area () of Wales with school bubbles closed and work in a medium risk area in England - it's rife in my school.