To think schools should be shut during lockdown.

[Ilovegreentomatoes]

So shutting down everything but keeping schools open.AIBU to think that a lockdown should involve schools closing as well.Have been about six cases in my dds secondary zero social distancing and is just defeating the object of a lockdown as it has now been proven that schools,colleges etc can easily spread the virus.

Some are genuinely concerned due to childcare but I think some parents do struggle at the thought of having their kids home for another month.

But closing all pubs, restaurants and non-residential shops is hugely reducing the amount of contact we have with other people. Asking people not to travel around the country will hugely help too as people won't be transporting the virus around. Asking people to stay home as much as possible again will help. So even without closing schools the chances of catching covid are reduced massively.
It's not ideal but there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution here.

If schools close, many people can't do their jobs and the economy tanks even further, people lose their jobs, their homes, can't feed their kids or keep them warm this winter, mental health deteriorates even further. Let's face it, suicide rates increase over winter anyways, someone already struggling with mental health suddenly loses their job and thinks the payout from life insurance will keep their family going might just do it. Families who can't afford to feed their kids or keep them healthy might face physical health issues. If you live paycheck to paycheck you'll understand the fear of missing even one months wage and the huge impact it can have on a family.

Then again, if schools don't close then pupils, teachers and all their families are all at risk of catching covid and/or other illnesses which can impact their immune system and make them more susceptible to long covid. Again, teacher becomes too ill to work, loses job, see above.

I'm definitely not a fan of this government but I don't envy them this.

They will probably close in a few weeks whether we like it or not.

@Ilovegreentomatoes

Regardless of a pandemic some parents are just horrified at the thought of having their kids at home for another four weeks.

Do you have young kids?

I would be horrified at having mine at home again. There is nothing wrong to think that.

Very few people dislike their kids, if they have issues with them being at home then it will most likely be for practical reasons.

I agree with you op, I think schools being open are a huge source of rising infections. All the cases I’m aware of recently have come from Primary schools. I do wonder if there could be options rather than an all or nothing approach. Could we keep schools open for key workers as we did last time around, and keep places for vulnerable children? Could we (as I understand happened in some areas of New Zealand) issue laptops to allow children at home to access learning where required? I’m still not entirely convinced why online learning is not an option, I heard it was to do with cameras on zoom and yet I have accessed Outschool.com which worked really well for my children when they had to self isolate. We also talked previously about going to school two days a week and taking a blended learning approach, will this not be considered again? I’m just not sure there is a one size fits all to this, many arguments are being given to keep schools open for a few specific situations. I don’t have the answers but I do think more options need exploring.

Of course should be closed.

*schools.

MyView2 So what happens to the kids of people who cannot work at home but are not key workers?

My local authority only offered schooling to families with two keyworker parents.

@Ecosse

The issue with closing schools is that you will never get them open again. There are huge negative effects of DC not being in school- clearly a week or two would not be hugely significant but the unions would not allow that.

The unions are already kicking off now. There’s no way you’d get teachers back in school after say a 2 week closure. They’d end up shut for 3 months.

NI has just had a 2 week closure, most schools would have been off for a week for half term anyway. And lots of schools had a training day as well, so only miss four days. I have 2 due to go back on Monday so you do get the teachers back in.

And Wales are closing to some years in secondary for an extra week after half-term, I think.

Will parents who choose to keep dc off still get fined or will it be allowed if they decide they want to keep them off ?

I mean how privileged do you have to be to think that someone can ‘just take four weeks off’ from their job?

It’s absolutely staggering

I think we should move to blended learning for secondary now. A day each for each year group but maybe keep y11 in full time. Space students out more.

I don’t know how we will tackle this wave with schools carrying on as normal.

Who will everyone blame for the collapse of the economy if schools remain open?
Not the teaching unions this time.
Not thought of that have they?

YABVVU.

I'm not horrified at the thought of having my child at home for 4 weeks. I'm horrified at the thought of not being able to work and having no money to feed said child. Some people are so naive if they think it's as simple as not wanting the kids at home.

I actually don’t mind mine being home at all, I work part-time anyway and flexibility so spend loads of time with them anyway. The juggle of work and school is exhausting at times , loads of pickups etc. Midterm has been great , long walks , baking , movies , lazy days. Parents i know aren’t horrified by their kids at home ( such a weird thing to say), they struggle to work and try to take care of their kids at the same time.
Also interested to hear what age your kids are op? How many do you have and how do you work when very small kids are at home ?

Yabvu. Children need to be educated and they need a routine.

By the way, I’m horrified because of practicalities. I actually do like them

Plus I did get a lie in when I didn’t have the school run to do😂

@Ilovegreentomatoes

Regardless of a pandemic some parents are just horrified at the thought of having their kids at home for another four weeks.

Oh do fuck off. This is just trolling, frankly. You know that’s not true. Parents are anxious about losing their jobs and then their homes, they’re worried about their children’s mental health and their own, they’re not worried about caring for their own children. Don’t act like an arse, you’re just undermining yourself.

Absolutely no!

I'm a single parent and have been since dd birth.

@4cats2kids how can you make predictions like that about all areas though? As I said earlier there have been none in my kids school and they’ve been back since mid August? In fact there haven’t been huge swathes of kids off in my whole health board

What age is your child and can you wfh?