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.

[Peppafrig]

@RaspberryCoulis ah ok I think I might have been mixed up with them being open for children who received school meals for them to pick up a lunch. At least that is what happened in our area.

Targeted approach would mean the end of exams this year then surely as it wouldn’t be fair on those children who have missed up to a month of teaching already .

[canigooutyet]

Government have to step up their game and do something.

The current situation is widening the gap further. It was bad enough that some schools ignored the government in lockdown 1 and continued teaching the curriculum. Now we have an unknown number of secondary children who should be doing their mocks at home. How is this fair?

There has also been a 200% increase of parents deregistering and home schooling, This is very bad for schools, they need every penny to try and keep them secure.

Just because your school is fine at the moment doesn't mean it will be in a week or so time. Many, many posters have made the same mistake and it's. now ripping through their schools.

How much longer can they go sitting in the class with the window open all day?
Government could at least step up and tell schools to scrap the uniform policies so they can at least wrap up properly.

And how utterly shit for families who are in fuel poverty already and low income families who won't be able to afford thermals.

[BelleSausage]

@Waxonwaxoff0

So you’ll be stuffed once your child’s bubble bursts? Are you not at all angry that the government has left you in the position of being totally reliant on schools being open for childcare?

The solution to this is not all schools open full time for all- that is the problem that is ruining the country.

The solution would be the government to step up and facilitate blended learning properly.

[Waxonwaxoff0]

@BelleSausage if DS's bubble bursts I can take 2 weeks as holiday or claim SSP. Not ideal but 2 weeks is manageable. Blended learning for an unspecified amount of time will be impossible as I need to work 5 days a week to pay my bills as a single parent.

[Waxonwaxoff0]

As I said though, blended learning with subsidised childcare would be manageable for me but I can't see that happening. It didn't during the first lockdown and I was forced onto furlough as I couldn't work.

[MarshaBradyo]

We had an issue with numbers in June period. With 15 in all the years that were meant to couldn’t go back as proportion of kw/ vulnerable was high. Same with other schools.

[canigooutyet]

It's not schools fault there are no provisions for childcare. That's the government and their constant cuts to education and local services.

Many forget local services also includes things like Adventure playgrounds and youth clubs, and remain quiet locally about these cuts rather than supporting those who say no.

Schools haven't been given any additional money but now have more overheads. If something doesn't happen, this is what will close them down.

We already knew school staff dipped into their own pockets to buy essentials such as pens etc as the budget had run out in a normal year.

[CountrysideIsForEveryone]

www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8942667/School-closures-cut-lifespan-average-child-THREE-MONTHS.html

Study shows school closure reduces children's lifespan by 3 months.

[BelleSausage]

@Waxonwaxoff0

Yes, but what happens if your child’s bubble bursts multiple times? There are single parents in your position that have already had to cope with this very situation.

Some of the most deprived children in the country have barely been in school since September. That effect is rippling out now to areas that have so far been unaffected. Don’t think it cannot happen to you.

I teach in a very rural school. We thought we were safe until last week. It is now apparent that the virus is in school undetected because kids are lately asymptomatic. We now know that our kids mixing has probably been driving infections into the community. We are a small community and over half our retail premises are now closed for good.

How many jobs have to disappear before the government actually address the issue and offer support to facility childcare properly for people like you AND allow business to open.

Do you think your job will still exist in 6 months if the economy is kept shut any longer? If you do then you are very fortunate.

[frozendaisy]

Perhaps they could drop fines for families who want to self isolate a week before Christmas break up.

[Lovemusic33]

@yumscrumfatbum

My children's secondary school now have the entire year 8, 10, 12 and 13 self isolating and one class in year 7 isolating. Year 11 only going in for mocks. A third of staff are also out either because they have tested positive, are isolating or have their own children out of school. It seems like an impossible situation with the whole year group bubbles. I wonder if a blended approach could work to make those bubbles smaller, with part time school attendance? We are in the South West with average case numbers overall.

I’m in the SW too with 2 high school age children in 2 different schools in different counties, I have one at home at the moment as she is unwell (not covid) but her school has a few covid cases, some kids isolating and schools near by with more cases, my other dd has no cases in her school, she’s in 6 form and so far no bubbles or year groups have been sent home. Seems to very a lot from school to school so maybe schools with more cases should close or be offered fast testing?

My dd2 has ASD and is more confused during this lockdown than the last because she doesn’t know what’s happening from one day to the next, in a way she would be better off at home. Dd1 struggles working from home, has Aspergers and is doing A level, she would fall behind if she had to work from home.

[IwishIwasyoda]

No issues at school here. 1 case in 3 months.

[echt]

CountrysideIsForEveryone

Study shows school closure reduces children's lifespan by 3 months

Utter utter bollocks.

The most significant link to life expectancy is social class.

[IwishIwasyoda]

FWIW a lot of people having to isolate kids is because of contacts through extra-school activities, or among staff at breakfast club, or because of younger kids etc at nursery

[Pomegranatespompom]

And school closure disadvantages those groups.

[tootyfruitypickle]

Agree this issue definitely needs to be case by case based on each school’s specific needs. Large secondary here and one case so far, it would be madness to close it .

[Danglingmod]

Pp missed the point about schools in Hull.

Their mayor is calling for schools to revert to KW childcare not because of spread in schools (although it is massive - 1/4 of Hull schoolchildren are isolating) but because they need childcare for KW as the priority to be able to keep police, hospitals, fire services, social services open. They are at risk of having dangerously low levels of emergency and key services because staff are at home with isolating children.

I can see other areas having the same issue very soon.

[Popcornriver]

There's more articles because there's now more transmission in schools. All the moaning about isolating whole bubbles hasn't helped either. My daughter has been around 2 children confirmed positive last week. School still want her in, no need to isolate apparently according to PHE. Schools are a mess. Great that some kids are enjoying going in, I'm having complaints every morning from mine who usually love school. They don't like the restrictions, can't do this, have to do that. It'd be worth just getting on with it but the restrictions aren't doing enough to control the spread anyway. Which is exactly what people were concerned with on here in September but they were shot down for fear mongering.

[IloveJKRowling]

If they had masks in schools , or smaller class sizes or social distancing using community spaces (all things that other countries have successfully done and with extra funding many schools in the UK in June/July too) then schools wouldn't have to close.

But they didn't, they'd rather divert millions into Serco shareholder profits than fund schools to do those things.

It's disgraceful how our children are being let down by this government.

The scientists told them (look at the records of Indie sage meetings) again and again and again.

Masks could happen overnight with little if any cost. And for those areas still with relatively low cases, it might help keep schools open. Will it happen? I'll be surprised.

[TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince]

Those people saying no cases at my school. How do you know? The schools don’t tell or make it public anymore.

250-300 constantly in isolation in my school. Names change but numbers don’t. About 1750 kids on role.

26 out if 28 secondaries affected in my Tier 3 city. How are children learning anything with constant disruption all the time? Soneone another thread pointed out that vulnerable children were still suffering. Deprived areas have much higher case numbers. But no one talks about this as it doesn’t suit the rhetoric.

Until they close schools cases will keep going up. Mental health of kids is shafted at the moment. In, out, in, out, the Covid Hokey Cokey. Scared for their parents, scared of getting it.

Someone needs to press the reset button on broken Britain.

[TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince]

3 months reduced life span😂😂are you fucking serious?

Covid reduces many people’s life span to 0.

3 months fgs!

[IceCreamAndCandyfloss]

ILoveJK, yes funding should have been given to do all those things and parents should be campaigning for it.

Some are but plenty think things are fine as long as they have schools open for childcare.

[IloveJKRowling]

I suspect the chronic underfunding of state education in the UK (and social services, and the NHS) reduces lifespans by a lot more than 3 months, to be honest.

We're at something like 40% of children in poverty in this country now - due to years of austerity. What about their reduced life expectancy?

Yet the rich just keep getting richer.

[Lovemusic33]

@TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince

Those people saying no cases at my school. How do you know? The schools don’t tell or make it public anymore.

250-300 constantly in isolation in my school. Names change but numbers don’t. About 1750 kids on role.

26 out if 28 secondaries affected in my Tier 3 city. How are children learning anything with constant disruption all the time? Soneone another thread pointed out that vulnerable children were still suffering. Deprived areas have much higher case numbers. But no one talks about this as it doesn’t suit the rhetoric.

Until they close schools cases will keep going up. Mental health of kids is shafted at the moment. In, out, in, out, the Covid Hokey Cokey. Scared for their parents, scared of getting it.

Someone needs to press the reset button on broken Britain.

I think cases are low at Dd1’s school, a few children have had to isolate as parents have had it but no classes sent home, it’s a small high school and kids have been wearing masks whilst moving around the school since September. Dd2’s school is a sn school where no one wears masks and cases are rising, kids being sent home to isolate.

I do agree though, all this messing around, sending kids home, waiting for testing, isolating if someone at home is waiting for a test, kids are in and out of school, not knowing if and when they will have to isolate, I’m on edge not knowing if I will have to mess my boss around by calling in sick because I have no child care. We isolated last week as I was waiting for test results, this week dd2 is ill, had to isolate whilst she was tested (negative) and now she’s home because too unwell to go back. I might send her back in only to be told she has to isolate again.

[IloveJKRowling]

And people continuously are missing the point - the point being schools WILL close if things continue as they are. Schools are already being forced to close due to lack of staff - a secondary near me has just closed to all but 2 years as they don't have enough staff to safely have kids in . And our rates are relatively low still - the problem is once covid gets in the school there's not much to stop it spreading. Several other posters have said you can go from 0 cases to a large part of the school closed in 2 weeks.

The lack of funding means this is an inevitability. Disrupted education, disrupted childcare. Not to mention the extra deaths the uncontrolled spread will cause.