Is a change beginning to happen regarding schools?

[Covidfears]

I’ve been noticing more articles lately in the mainstream press about the difficulties in schools (which will come as no surprise to most people). There’s also been some research which has basically confirmed that schools are driving infections. So, along with it looking like this lockdown has been a waste of time (due to schools being kept open to continue the spread) and people in power calling for Hull schools to be closed do we think that schools will be closing early for Christmas?

Is there any chance that blended learning or rotas will be coming in after the Christmas holidays?

We are a vulnerable family with children in primary school and the risk that sending them every day with no safety measures poses to our family is causing me huge amounts of stress.

Yet more evidence of poor comprehension skills.

Looking as ONS, this graph only really reflects the same positivity as community infection, between 1.5 and 2%. That's actually not that high.

Well that’s weird, bah, every other age group is looking lower and rather different.

This is the shape of a graph for a group of people mixing freely except for a recent week where they weren’t in the place where they mixed freely, but you reckon it’s nothing to do with that.

I don’t think you’re very good at reading graphs. Blame the lack of maths teachers.

Im a bit wary of them all returning to schools agter mixing at xmas/new year. There wont have been 2 weeks between mixing and returning.

This is what's bothering me.

Chatter about allowing schools to close early (if they're not already closed) or for parents to be able to choose to, so they can have a "normal" Christmas. And then what? Straight back into school at the normal date to infect all the vulnerable school staff and children and everyone else who has been careful and not mixed over Christmas because we just. Want. This. Bloody. Thing. To. Be. Over. As. Soon. As. Possible. With as few people dying or getting really ill as possible.

I'm so so sick of how selfish people are now. I don't think I want to live in a world with all the people breaking the rules because "I've done my own risk assessment." I'm so angry.

I think they'll close.

Our bubbles have been abandoned due to lack of staff...hence more isolating.

My 11 year old has watched 4 films this week. Not sure what they are actually learning.

I think they probably will close early by default, too. I just don't think it's at all fair for the narrative to be "" have a normal Christmas " and then take even more Covid into schools where staff and the more at risk/worried/careful children are then at even greater risk than we are now!

Every class I taught last week had a number of students self isolating- individuals, not groups we’ve sent home. My Y9 and 11 classes were about half full.
We also had 2 groups of about 20 sent home to isolate due to a positive case.

I’m teaching a full timetable, and I’m ensuring all lessons are on Teams for students at home.

Students at home are by and large not accessing Teams - so they have not a clue what is happening when they come back.

Staff have no time to support students at home because they are still teaching full timetables.

I’d like hardofthinking or whatever she is called to explain how this is beneficial for anyone? Why is this better than having proper mitigation measures - possibly including rotas - so that everyone gets a consistent curriculum delivered?

It's not, Smile.

Why do people think schools will close early? We are seeing reduced cases each day - not a lot but if they haven’t closed already I just don’t see it

Not a chance

We are seeing reduced cases each day

Not in secondary schools we aren’t. The percentage of schools hit nearly doubled in a week and the infection rate continues to surge upwards in Y7-11 following a brief half term break.

To be fair people are getting tested more

For example in dds school 3 school years are being tested by phe every 6 weeks

In Liverpool many schools have tested entire schools

You can now in north west pretty much get a test anytime you want

Why do people think schools will close early? We are seeing reduced cases each day - not a lot but if they haven’t closed already I just don’t see it

Not a chance

Secondary numbers are still going up.
Why do you prefer the idea of at least a term of extreme stress and disruption for children, when the alternative is mitigation measures, potentially rotas, potentially a period of online learning that would both bring infection rates down AND provide more consistency of curriculum for all?

Why are you so insistent on the current absolute shitshow?

I dont think they will close as the govt seems blinkered to keep schools open at all costs and sees the associated cases and deaths as collateral damage.

Regardless the overall picture is reducing

Liverpool was 750/100 000 with schools open and it’s now about 265/100 000

Lancashire and Manchester all dropped so if they didn’t close then (and our hospitals in Liverpool are packed) then I don’t see it closing now

We are over the peak

That doesn’t explain this graph, Gino which is infection rates through random sampling (which picks up asymptomatic cases and people who wouldn’t have gone for a test).

The infection rate in secondary kids is increasing and nothing is being done to stop it in the place where they are freely mixing.

It’s a shit show because schools aren’t monitoring learners so those individual schools are sending too many home - if they can’t provide phe with accurate tracking then phe send more home

Dd has been in classes with confirmed cases within 48 hour window and not been sent home because of strict seating plan

I’m a teacher myself but even I can see it’s random across schools and frankly some schools are not tracking enough

Our achool tracks seating and who sat within 2m on bus

If schools are still sending full tears home at secondary then frankly they’re shit

We're in Worcestershire

The graph is achool kids tho not population level

At population level they’re reducing

Kids alone isn’t as big of concern as kids doesn’t suffer the worst affects and even tho they’re passing it on, those transmissions are reducing according to ons

It’s on way down - obviously there’s increases in certain groups/and areas but the trend overall is down- to be fair if the increases are mainly in the asymptomatic group then it’s less of a concern

to be fair if the increases are mainly in the asymptomatic group then it’s less of a concern

Not when we’re seeing increasing evidence that they take it home to older people or spread it to their possibly vulnerable teachers.

Kids don’t exist in a vacuum.

I disagree that it’s about schools not tracking.

Read my post above and tell me how that is better than a more planned and consistent offer.

No one by me gets tested gino. Our cover man is dissuading staff from getting tests (and from testing their own DCs) and lots of my students stay off school for a week and then miraculously don't get the tests they told us they were booking.

But they’re not taking it home at those high numbers as other age groups are seeing drops - at end of day kids are mainly asymptomatic or mild symptoms

If kids were increasing and we were seeing increases in older and vulnerable people then it’s an issue - but that’s not case so why close achools? Schools open as we are seeing less transmission to older groups so why close ?

Seeing rises in kids alone isn’t a problem

My guess is that more kids were sent home last week than the week before because contacts were tracked back in some cases to half term where the kids weren’t mixing as much.

If kids were increasing and we were seeing increases in older and vulnerable people

Johnathan Van Tam had those heat maps by area where you could see it happening.