Schools MUST stay open.

[motherrunner]

I hear this a lot on MN.

Schools maybe ‘open’ but they’re not really depending on where you live.

I’m in Tier 2, due to go into Tier 3 next week prior to the lockdown rules.

Since Sept Yr 10 have isolated twice (4 weeks out of a 8 week half term), Yr 12 and 13 three times (6 weeks of a 8 week half term). My own DS is isolating due to being in contact with a positive until next week and I am isolating until next week as one of my pupils tested positive (and before anyone asks why I wasn’t 2m away well let’s just say, that’s school life).

Before lockdown in March my school had to close just to the numbers of staff off, at one point admin staff were supervising classes.

This morning I read a comment from a poster on the ‘lockdown my thread that teachers just have to ‘hope’ they get a mild viral load. Have we become so disillusioned with this virus that because “schools must stay open” then we minimise they health of school staff?

I am happy to be back teaching my pupils, I’m not happy that I feel unsafe. I am not happy that other workplaces have ‘Covid secure’ measures but I have sanitiser and a ‘hope for the best’ attitude.

So, if you really want schools to stay open then please email your MP and voice concerns about safety and hopefully we can stay open in a meaningful way because there’s a difference between ‘schools open’ with us delivering a quality education and ‘schools open’ with a body providing childcare.

Surely it must be possible to strike a balance? We know secondary pupils are spreading it more and many of those don’t need to be in school for childcare purposes. The school I work at taught all live lessons when a year group closed, took registers and everything, provided IT equipment to those who did not have it. It can be done. Honestly the least safe I feel is at work, shops feel far more covid secure, at school there are unventilated classroom, no masks, no social distancing, it’s really awful. I can’t think of any other group being forced to work in circumstances where there are so few safety measures in place.

Schools need to stay open and I'm happy to continue.

I wish it was acknowledged that we aren't protected though. We are taking one for the team and working without safety measures so children can be educated. I'm not worried for myself but I am worried for my husband who is vulnerable and my elderly parents.

@Sunflowers246

With GCSEs and A levels going ahead, years 11-13 absolutely meet to be in school.

It would not be a fair otherwise as many kids don't have access to laptops or have space at home.

And if exams were cancelled again, you'd have another chaotic situation about grading and many kids giving up learning/revising.

Kids aren't much affected by the virus anyway.

Well that’s great if you’re in an area where schools haven’t closed. If you reread my OP you’ll see how badly our exam classes have been hit and that’s just one half term in. These pupils will be expected to sit the same exam as pupils who have been in schools throughout. I think that’s unfair.

In that case our local pub shouldn't close as we have had no cases!

Well, hopefully you can tell the difference between a school and a pub and the long term effects of closing one vs the other?

In that case our local pub shouldn't close as we have had no cases! The only case in a nearby pub was a guy who had been on holiday to Spain and didn't bother isolating! 4 cases due to him according to the paper

I would agree with this. I'm in a tier 3 area and the two pubs in our village (which have had zero cases and have spent a fortune making them Covid secure) have had to shut and they're unlikely to ever open again - that's two families who have lost their livelihoods.

Blanket closures of schools isn't the right move.
I work at a university and we've had minimal student cases and no staff cases - it would be ludicrous for us to close.

@SquashedFlyBiscuits

Because it doesn’t suit the narrative “MY CHILD DESERVES AN EDUCATION” as if these were normal times.

Of course children deserve an education so using that out of context in the middle of a pandemic where teachers are expected to put their lives on the line is entitled to say the least.

This will be temporary, the loss of life isn’t.

Im saddened by the posters who say their unaffected small village school in a low risk area is all the evidence needed to keep all schools open at all costs. It’s an appallingly selfish attitude

I'm in a medium sized town, secondary school with 700+ pupils had one case to date.
Primary school with 400+ pupils no known cases to date.

So, I think schools absolutely need to stay open!

-But I like to see a more flexible approach, for secondary with online learning and only pt teaching on premises--

It’s just a matter of time before those schools who haven’t had a case, get one. Our school was doing amazingly well until the last week of half term and we got our first case. Over this half term holiday (and we’ve only had one week), we’ve had 5 staff members now test positive, so presuming they picked it up from school due to the timeline. We can arrange supply for two of those staff members but if any more staff go off, we will then have to close bubbles down as we don’t have the funds to keep replacing staff with agency staff.
Several schools in our area have had cases from the second week back and some schools have been virtually fully closed due to staff/pupil cases and children sent home to isolate. Some parents have said that the 14 day isolation cycle (back a few days and then off again) is more of a hindrance than if the school was permanently closed! Schools have been very poorly supported by the government and local councils, so there is no wonder that some school staff feel like lambs to the slaughter but also want to keep schools open as it’s their profession and one that they love. Like a previous poster said, whatever decision is made, it won’t please everyone but something (whatever that may be) has to be done to control this virus.

As we discovered in June socially distanced school is only possible if we decided that we “pick are favourites” and those are the kids who get an education. So no I will no email my mp and ask for this because it’s not really acceptable.

Having said that I fully intended to argue for key worker status this time since it seems the Categories are broad enough to cover me in reality. This does seem unfair that we deny education to those who really cannot do this but I can only argue for others so much...and if as a country we are happy to restrict education long term based on parental employment status then expect the few of us out there who think “education” not childcare actual education is important to go down this route. The large numbers on here who think it isn’t can get there kids to do the two twinkle worksheets a day and hope that actually what children learned in the other 4 and half hours of a school day didn’t really matter - maybe they are even right but I am not totally convinced myself!

Other countries have shut school? Umm Europe is keeping schools open and no they cannot fully social distanced there either the us does fully online education on the whole. I know for people in four different states and they are all doing live online lessons not silly worksheets so it’s not exactly the same as offer of remote education in offer from the British state education sector.

The infection rate in Y7-11 is now nearly as high as in university students, and people know what a shitshow things are there because it has been in the news. The culture of silence of what is happening in schools remains, however, and it’s obvious from this thread that some people are oblivious to the scale of the problem. The figures this week for Y11 are looking horrendous.

Schools aren’t open, hundreds of thousands of kids are missing school on an unplanned ad-hoc basis. The political decision to only send home close contacts (this changed from sending home bubbles a couple of weeks into the year when the DfE took over from PHE at dealing with a school outbreaks) hasn’t been properly discussed or accounted for in risk assessments and has led to the situation of having half a class in, half out and neither getting the full attention of the teacher. Funding hasn’t been provided to deal with this set-up.

It’s a total mess. Kids are being shortchanged because the government doesn’t want to discuss anything to do with schools because if they do it will become obvious that they need money spent on them and any attempt to shut down conversation with SCHOOLS MUST STAY OPEN should be met with the response “But how?”

Anyone with no answers to that question should have a rethink of their position.

Well that’s great if you’re in an area where schools haven’t closed. If you reread my OP you’ll see how badly our exam classes have been hit and that’s just one half term in. These pupils will be expected to sit the same exam as pupils who have been in schools throughout. I think that’s unfair.

It really is. Year 10-13 in tier three towns are going to be screwed next august. The difference in written work of those students who are engaging from home on laptops, zooming in to lessons, completing their work, compared to those who either don't want to work at home or don't have the means to do so, is massive already. In October.

The solution to education cannot simply be carry on as we are.

Tier 2 here. One case in my children's large primary school and 3 case in my older child's secondary of over 1000 pupils. This really doesn't justify closing schools and I'm very glad there don't appear to be plans to.

Of course it's not selfish to want an education for your children.

It's not selfish to need childcare so you can go to work and put food on the table for your children.

It IS selfish to state that the exam years are so important and your child should stay in school and not acknowledge that thousands and thousands of year 11s and 13s have already missed 2/4/6 weeks of school just this half term. You are actively arguing for your child to have an advantage over others.

It IS selfish not to help school staff argue for a safer environment, so compulsory masks, send your child in warmer clothing so we can keep windows open, support the call for families with medically vulnerable children to be able to stay home.

A brief thing on the radio mentioned mass testing in schools.

The mythical much mentioned saliva test, regularly done in some areas would very much help indeed.

By the way, Germany are very close to going to online learning again and their rates are no where near ours.

They've also employed mass testing of pupils in schools where a few cases occurred since September.

Well that’s great if you’re in an area where schools haven’t closed. If you reread my OP you’ll see how badly our exam classes have been hit and that’s just one half term in. These pupils will be expected to sit the same exam as pupils who have been in schools throughout. I think that’s unfair.

But how would closing schools help make it fairer?

Surely it's better to help those pupils who've missed school temporarily to catch up than to close all schools altogether?

So many more pupils fell behind during the last lockdown.

As much as I would support strike action by school staff I really think this would be disastrous and would end up putting the blame on the teachers and schools for fucking up our kids education. The Government are the ones who need to take action. All through this schools have had no choice but to follow the government's guidelines and the responsibility stops with them. Parents and schools need to unite together. Although it may not seem like it, schools and parents want the same outcome; schools open but safely.

Actually @Qasd. I teach in a state school and throughout lockdown I delivered live lessons to timetable.

Anyway that wasn’t what my original OP was about. I’m looking for ways we as a society can collectively keep schools open meaningfully. There will be pockets of the UK who will suffer more closures than others and I am concerned my pupils will be at a disadvantage sitting the same exams as those who are in schools throughout. I already teach in an area of high deprivation and poor social mobility. This will only make it worse.

I am also concerned about my own health. Not really for me but I’m sure my two young children want a healthy mummy.

Schools must stay open.

@SquashedFlyBiscuits I still can't believe how young she was.

How devastating for her family, pupils and the local community.

@Sunflowers246

Well that’s great if you’re in an area where schools haven’t closed. If you reread my OP you’ll see how badly our exam classes have been hit and that’s just one half term in. These pupils will be expected to sit the same exam as pupils who have been in schools throughout. I think that’s unfair.

But how would closing schools help make it fairer?

Surely it's better to help those pupils who've missed school temporarily to catch up than to close all schools altogether?

So many more pupils fell behind during the last lockdown.

@Sunflowers246 No where have I said I want schools closed. Please read my OP and a comment I’ve replied to @Qasd above.

@ukgift2016

Schools must stay open.

But how?

Oh and schools needing to shut for covid cases cannot concern me from an educational perspective because the alternative is sooo poor. So yes my son has had seven full weeks of education but even if he had to miss two or even four it would still be more than the NONE he got March to July! Shutting schools ends education for I believe and estimated 70 percent if schools in the state sector who offer no live teaching when this happens and even very frequent school closures is better than this. But as I said I don’t think people appreciate how low the bar was in the first lockdown. I am always comparing disrupted education to no education so you really have to think that kids don’t need any education at all to think what we had before was better for the large number of people like me.

“ People minimise the risk to school staff because they want childcare.“

That’s unfair. I’ll be the first to admit that having my children at home was difficult while working. But my main concern is the impact on my younger son’s learning - he almost went backwards and he is already the youngest in the year and not a natural academic. I honestly think if schools close again it could impact his education long term, if it hasn’t already.

So true. As a doctor who got covid despite only seeing low risk patients and wearing apron mask and gloves, our jobs are not risk free.
I am still short of breath 6 months later. It is unacceptable for anyone to be out at risk in their job.

@Sunflowers246
"Kids aren't much affected by the virus anyway"

What about staff?? I have had Covid it's very nasty, FYI my year 11 was very worryingly ill with it - what a selfish comment.