Isn’t the elephant in the room with schools the parents mixing at pick up and drop off?

[Reastie]

This doesn’t seem to be mentioned in the media atm when discussing schools.

I remember Chris Whitty saying around the last lockdown one of the major risks with schools staying open was parents congregating at pick up and drop off. At dds school parents socialise in groups of more than 6 outside the school gates without distancing despite what the school requests and this isn’t an isolated thing in schools. I wonder if the govt will give stricter schools guidance in general, including addressing this more stringently.

@SnuggyBuggy

Surely there is only so much space around a school. I mean you can issue whatever guidance you want but you're still limited as to what can actually be done

Quite.

We're lucky enough to have a lot of space at the front of our school, that, combined with staggered times means it doesn't get too crowded. We only have one parent/cater on site & we're all wearing mask (occasionally someone forgets, but that's rare). It's easy enough to keep a distance from other parents while still having a conversation for those of us that wait across the pick up/ drop off times. As Around said though, some cliques will still form.

Isn't there vastly more spread in secondary schools where parents don't do pick ups?

That’s because they are all crammed on busy buses every morning and afternoon.

At my son’s morning school drop off it isn’t too bad, but afternoon pick up is awful. There’s about 100 parents all huddled together whilst we wait for the gates to open and no way to socially distance. There is a one way system in place but the entry to that system is through the same gate as the exit so parents are pushing past each other then too.

The majority of us wear masks so hopefully that will be enough to counteract the negatives.

Not really. At our school for pick up and drop off we have to wear masks , have allocated timings for each year and practice SD. Tbh, I am quite impressed with how good the parents have been.

Yes my DH has said this too as he often walks past our local schools at drop off time. He wears a mask as he thinks there are too many people in a small area, even though it's outside.

I've seen parents bunched up together on the touchlines of football matches, so I imagine they are too close together when dropping kids off at school, too. They should drop and go, not hang around having a chat. And wear a mask.

My DD’s school have put rules in place for pick up/drop off. All parents must wear a mask and not hang around, must not arrive early and must keep 2m from other people. Luckily my dd goes in a taxi (though not so lucky as she’s in a car with 2 other students and a taxi driver).

I think you are right.

Transmission to / from (young) children is low so teachers are more at risk of one another and parents are more at risk of one another.

How about staggered start and pick up times?

Even with at times, there is sti a lit of people in one place at one time. My dDs school as three drop off points, for eight year groups. But its two lasses per year group. So each point I still up to 60 pupils, 60 parents and siblings. And not everyone wants to spread out. Lots do. Others gather for chats.

We queue 2m apart with staggered drop offs and a one way system (primary). Anyone on school grounds loitering or going the wrong way (parents or children) gets shouted at, apologises and sorts themselves out.

Works really well.

Email first week saying don't come early and no loitering. All good.

Friends school (poor management) parents loiter and school "don't care".

It’s only a relatively small proportion of the country so have primary school children and is outside and generally a very short amount of time comparably (less than 15 minutes outside most schools asking for masks) no I don’t think it’s a big deal.

At our primary we have staggered start and finish times, everyones now wearing masks in school grounds, and the short road to the school is pedestrians only during drop off and pick up to allow for a one way system (much to the annoyance of the grumpy man who lives next to the school and reminds me of the child catcher from Chitty Bang Bang....)

Parents are chatting, but its all outdoor, everyone's keeping their distance and we've not had a single case in school - all the kids managed a full half term.

My older daughters secondary school has staggered times too, and all of the kids are wearing masks to walk about but they do get released by year group so always looks like there are hundreds of them together walking home. There have been 5 cases in her school since September

The school I’m a governor at has staggered drop off and collection times, only one adult, must wear a mask, daily email reminders of the system and the headteacher uses a loudspeaker to remind everyone about social distancing at drop off and collection times - it’s proving very successful

I think its more those who still insist on organising play dates, house meet ups, days out travelling in the car together and sleepovers as their little Kylie or Kyle misses her/his little friends.
I don’t have kids at primary mine are secondary age but in April my kids said some parents had allowed sleepovers as the kids had posted pictures and videos on snapchat.

There haven't.been any links to spread outside even at mass gatherings.

Agree some people are pig ignorant. I saw a queue of parents waiting outside a primary school, no social distancing or masks at all.

My kids school now say we are to wear masks, and we have always distanced. We also have staggered drop off and pick up times.

The difference is I live in a more affluent area and the first school is pretty deprived.

Your primary has a pretty good system. Staggered start times, each child within a start time has a specific line to stand on (with whoever drops off) so everyone is spaced out and facing forwards. Children are then taken into the school and parents leave, but given they are already spaced out there isn’t really any mingling going on. Very few wear masks though.
We’re pretty lucky in that our school has three different entrances, and a large green space directly opposite so there’s lots of space to distance.

No. One thing we do know is that the virus mainly spreads indoors with close contact for more than 15 minutes.
5 minutes outside? Risk is tiny.

Is worry more about my secondary school child on the bus every mixing with all the different years. Especially yr13 where we’ve had lots of cases.

We have time slots and wear masks then use one way system. Feels safe.

I think it’s the children being carriers and passing it on at home after mixing with eachother in the classroom that is the issue. We will know with more certainty if this is the case by December if our numbers are still high. I have a feeling this lockdown will be a test to see how effective closing schools would be.

We don't have any mixing, we have staggered times and a one way system. Teachers are stood well back and we can't speak to them after school we have to call or write a note in school diaries. Everyone is wearing masks, parents can't enter the one way system without one. Only one adult family member allowed at pick up.
Outside the school there are cones to prevent any sort of queue forming and we have been asked to stand away from the school - to only come at our allocated time. Seems to be working well. Teachers all wear visors.

They are gathering in big groups, early too (15 mins before first kids are let out) here and as the kids are released over a 45 min window some parents with multiple kids are there chatting for a long time. Ice cream man parks there serving coffees!

Makes nout difference when their kids have spent the day licking eachothers eyeballs

Oh please, do wind your neck in. The risk of outdoor transmission is very very low. It’s cold and wet. Parents will only be chatting for 5-10 mins in the vast majority of cases and in very small groups or pairs.
Jesus this is most definately not the elephant in the room! More like the flea on the elephant!

The school by me has 90 kids per year and then 4 years and parents are not allowed doen the path into the playground and the school is in an awkward position so no real pavement just a busy road, and they have to wait for their DC to come out, guess they could wear masks but there is zero room to stand that far apart.

Secondary schools also have the mixing on school buses or public transport then they have to cater for those arriving walking or by drop off etc but then its different at the end of the day. Most of the children walk the same way home, what should they do, have 800 children leave ten mins apart or arrive ten mins apart?

Its not a 1 size fits all situation.

I reckon twatty parents using it as an opportunity to have a nice group chat are one of the reasons why they are stopping after school outside sports for children - reducing the number of occasions they can congregate at drop offs and pick ups.