Government denial over schools issues will cause deaths this Christmas

[noblegiraffe]

I just can't get my head around how utterly crazy the government Christmas policy is.

Secondary school kids are the most infected subset of the population with it now estimated that more than 1 in 50 of them are positive. As they are children, most of them will never be tested as they either are asymptomatic, or will display different symptoms to the main three that are required to trigger a test (councils are overruling this in some parts of England and asking parents to use a more sensible list of symptoms).

Schools mostly break up on 18th December, 5 days before the Christmas relaxation period begins and people start taking advantage of this to mix with other households indoors, in poorly ventilated small rooms, which as scientists warn, is a terrible idea. twitter.com/devisridhar/status/1331931594400149506?s=21

Closing schools a week earlier (or moving online) would give 2 weeks out of school before Christmas day, which would reduce the infection rate in school children significantly (we saw a dip in the infection rate just in one week over half term) and make it safer for them to mix with other households, particularly if people took advantage of those two weeks to significantly reduce their contacts and other risks.

Some schools took it upon themselves to protect their own communities by changing the term dates to close a week earlier. The DfE has overruled this and forced them to stay open.
schoolsweek.co.uk/overruled-dfes-sweeping-coronavirus-powers-force-trust-into-early-christmas-holiday-u-turn/

Because of the tier system, if families don't get together at Christmas during the relaxation period, when their children pose a much higher risk, they will not be able to see their families properly for Christmas at all. Essentially Christmas is being funnelled into a time period which is insanely risky due to it coming shortly after children mixing freely in unsafe schools with significant numbers of undiscovered infections.

I know the DfE have been reading this board. I understand why you want schools open, but lying to people about the risks as you have is dangerous and immoral. Transparency is needed so that people can make their own informed risk assessments, not propaganda about 'safe schools' and 'saving Christmas'.

Well how are you changing school end date?

Apply same process

I’m prepared to right this Christmas off and won’t be partaking in Xmas bubbling but do think schools should have closed early. If parents feel strongly about this there is not a lot stopping them removing their children a week or two early due to “symptoms in household”, “awaiting test results” or “a positive case within household”. It happened before half term at my DS school, a family did just that so they didn’t have to cancel a Forest Holiday.

Come jan if teachers and staff have to isolate who will teach children. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want your precious child missing school they won’t be able to go due to no staff think outside YOUR BUBBLE.

There are sure to be a whole load of threads bleating about it. Too late to rectify easily if this happens.

Marsha changing school end dates which will affect a minority of people seems more achievable than changing the shit Christmas policy.

But that wasn’t the main gist of my OP. People tried to change the term end dates and were overruled by the DfE. They take responsibility therefore, for what follows.

There are three primaries local to me.

Let’s say, come January, one has to close entirely because of staff needing to isolate.

One manages to stay open, but reception and year 3 bubbles burst.

The third stays open without any closures.

Surely that is better than closing all three. I’m not trying to be deliberately dense, but making life harder than it needs to be seems crazy to me!

@noblegiraffe

Marsha changing school end dates which will affect a minority of people seems more achievable than changing the shit Christmas policy.

But that wasn’t the main gist of my OP. People tried to change the term end dates and were overruled by the DfE. They take responsibility therefore, for what follows.

Why do you say minority? School is a pretty large chunk of population. Maybe even more than people meeting grandma who knows.

Numbers will go up. Since what I would prefer (minimal Christmas) wouldn’t work I’ve moved on from being too annoyed. If people are going to meet up despite risk nothing I can do. It’s shit as someone who gets zero benefit but the hit after I’m just going to try and give dc nice Christmas anyway.

Come jan if teachers and staff have to isolate who will teach children. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want your precious child missing school they won’t be able to go due to no staff think outside YOUR BUBBLE.

I am sure if schools closed that week early there wod be multiple threads on 1st Jan about how unsafe they are and how everyone mixing is going to bring lots of infections into school........

Government are not going to make them safer. Parents are going to continue to send their kids.

Its like groundhog day. It will only stop when the virus is suppressed.

would

But I won’t blame DfE because not only do I not get to see family for years at least get to see happy dc with friends mucking around or studying.

Mixing on the other hand.. maybe will control or maybe very minimal would have been better

Posters keep talking about the importance of education, but I am not sure they really understand the quality of education being provided covid-style. Plans are having to be constantly changed according to which students/classes are in and when students return, despite our best efforts, some will have missed different chunks of the work meaning that work has to be revisited and students are at different points. This not teaching as we know it, but we are trying our best to a bloody good job.

At the moment, splitting our efforts between quality in-class teaching and remote learning is an impossible task as during this term, I have felt as if there are simply not enough hours in the day to produce and monitor and assess the work that is happening in and out of school.

My point? If, as we can statistically forecast, a shit show of teacher/student absences is on its way, why would we not actually put a plan in place that allows schools to prepare for quality on-line teaching that will allow for quality learning? My child is Y11 and is on his 2nd period of isolation. It's shit, but I don't see it getting any better. I would much rather he arrive home with everything he needs, ready to complete a period of remote learning with teachers who are able to fully plan, manage and monitor him with their energies focused on delivering just one form of teaching.

My teaching probably isn’t amazing, as good as it’s ever been, at the moment. I still think it’s better than what was provided remotely.

@happystone

Come jan if teachers and staff have to isolate who will teach children. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want your precious child missing school they won’t be able to go due to no staff think outside YOUR BUBBLE.

Its easy those moaning about threads like this will be complaining that teachers are not in school and just slacking.

They won't remember the part that their decisions had in this.

Welcome both my kids have 100% attendance so far this year.

A lot of people would prefer that had not happened and they were at home at least 50% of the time (I am not saying that anyone on here has said that).

For my Y1 especially thats a considerable percentage of his over all time at school.

I get that isolation is coming at some point, but I never thought we would get to almost Christmas with not a day off.

Some of it must be luck, but I think the school have also been proactive in the steps that they have taken. They have went above and beyond govt guidance.

Its a relatively deprived school so the high attendance is really really good for so many of the children who attend.

MrsDanvers whilst that is the case for many its not the case for all.

My kids have come on leaps and bounds this term. I am amazed at how well my DS is doing especially .

@Covidnomore: "A lot of people would prefer that had not happened and they were at home at least 50% of the time (I am not saying that anyone on here has said that)."

Eh? No one on here has said it? So who are the "lot of people" you're referring to then?

Here is a thread about a similar issue in Scotland.

Angelina you've copied the bit where I said that not necessarily anyone on this thread.

But there have been many who wanted schools online from September.

@happystone

Come jan if teachers and staff have to isolate who will teach children. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want your precious child missing school they won’t be able to go due to no staff think outside YOUR BUBBLE.

A week closed definitely before or possibly after Not much in it

COVID is rife in schools
My ds has missed four weeks of school this term because of two COVID cases in his class
In my dd’s school, the whole of year 12 is isolating at the moment.
Scary times

@Welcometonowhere

My teaching probably isn’t amazing, as good as it’s ever been, at the moment. I still think it’s better than what was provided remotely.

But it's like comparing a teacher with experience to an NQT! I'd never, ever done remote teaching before March, and now I am so much better than I was. For a start, I don't care what I look like on the camera I assess when my lesson is best delivered via a prerecorded video or whether it's time for live teaching. Sometimes I register them, but then send them off but remain online for questions etc. Regardless, I am available during the timetabled lesson for immediate response to questions etc.

I understand that people are thinking back to their initial experience of remote learning and that some people maybe haven't had great provision since, but I know that in my very large school, everybody has become so much more savvy and confident with teaching online.

But there have been many who wanted schools online from September.

Not on MN that I’ve seen.

@whyarewehardofthinking

At this point I think it is inevitable that January is going to be a shitshow. One of my year 13 classes that I teach nearly every day has been decimated this week. First student went off ill on Tuesday, few more Wednesday, few more Thursday. As of Friday we had 4 positive results and this morning we had 2 more come in via email, all from the same class. 2 of them are considerably ill with one going to A&E with breathing difficulties.

That class and another 30-odd students are now isolating due to contract tracing, which means we now have no year 13's in at all due to another class being shut down the week before, and all of their contacts. We're still missing half of Year 12 and a bunch of Year 11. 3 new cases in Year 8 last week too.

I can guarentee we wouldn't have this situation if schools could impliment more measures to protect them and us, but now we have students with actual exams in the first few weeks of January isolating and some too ill to work and prepare for them. We would not be seeing this spread in schools.

That's exams in January when the number of cases will be increasing again. I have 2 HoDs close to a breakdown over this and a 3rd who is impacted by this actually off with COVID.

Keep up the good work @noblegiraffe. We need people like you right now.

Poor kid, hope he/she comes through ok

@Covidnomore

Angelina you've copied the bit where I said that not necessarily anyone on this thread.

But there have been many who wanted schools online from September.

Not online but many wanted part time

A week closed definitely before or possibly after

Do you get, Marsha that when covid is in schools, it’s unlikely to be restricted to one week of isolation?

I know no one in RL who wants their DC’s working online from home. With primary age it’s not possible for working parents.