It's best for children to be in school

[Billie18]

I'm shocked that the consensus here appears to be that schools should close. I believe that it's best for children to be in school. Also that they should not be forced to wear masks or perform any social distancing as this is a damaging for their mental and social development. A thread for parents and teachers who share this view and have concerns about the threat of school closures and forced isolation of children who are not ill.

@Juststopswimming

OP I don't think there is a consensus at all. There is significant echo chamber led by one very vocal MN'er and I think a lot of us who have tried to give an alternative point of view have now given up arguing over it, because, well frankly schools are still open and infections are declining, so that's sort of arguing the case for us!

I'm yet to meet a teacher in real life who wants schools to shut, thank god!

See, this is just not true. There are very few (if any) teachers on here who want schools closed per se. Trust me, it is an absolute pain in the arse teaching remotely - SO much easier to be in school.

"Infections declining... arguing the case" for you is not true either, as infections within schools are still rising.

@StarryFire

Absolutely- the damage to DC and society of schools closing is far worse than any impact on COVID from them being open.

That is why they must and will be renaming open. There are a number of posters on here who claim not so want schools closures yet start almost daily threads advocating it.

Totally agree. It's concerning that so many children are missing school even when schools are supposedly open.

@Billie18

I'm shocked that the consensus here appears to be that schools should close. I believe that it's best for children to be in school. Also that they should not be forced to wear masks or perform any social distancing as this is a damaging for their mental and social development. A thread for parents and teachers who share this view and have concerns about the threat of school closures and forced isolation of children who are not ill.

The majority on MN prefer schools open, even those campaigning for safer schools.

Masks are only being worn in corridors in most schools, in crowded areas, in the same way they are needed outside of school. This is only at secondary in most cases in the UK.

Social distancing isn't being followed in most schools either as it is simply not possible. Ignore the photographs you see in the media - they are nonsense.

I work in an infant school. There is no SDing, no masks, nothing. 2/3rd of our staff have tested positive for Covid, several parents and a few children - though most children haven't been tested as they rarely get the same big 3 symptoms as adults so aren't eligible.

I caught covid at school - the only people other than dh I had close contact with were the children I teach, all 270 of them. I was off school for 7 weeks, ill enough to be in hospital. I am still not right.

Since returning to work I insist on wearing my mask whenever I am within 2m of any children (or adults but that isn't happening anyway.) Strangely enough not one of them have been bothered by me doing so.

Our children have all had isolate at some point due to the number of staff testing positive. Every class has had 2 weeks of isolation. One class is on its second time.

We need some protection in schools - open windows are not enough.
That doesn't mean closed schools.

It means sensible precautions - masks for children over the age of 11, social distancing where possible, especially from vulnerable staff and children, improved hand hygiene, proper effective track and trace, allowing secondary school teachers to SI when here are cases in their classes, the list that have been suggested by WHO and independent SAGE go on but are ignored by Government and DfE No wonder we have increasing infection rates amongst school aged children, especially secondary school age.

It's concerning that so many children are missing school even when schools are supposedly open.

What's the answer then?
Have children exempt from SI if they are a close contact of a case?
And thereby risking the spread even further in schools?

Obviously there will be closures as needed; but surely you can see that a blanket national school closure or switch to online learning is a total overreaction when many many schools are unaffected?!

Thank you. Have just found their website.

Ha ha! As if. You are one of them aren't you?

I think it depends what you mean by 'open'.

Yes, of course it would be better for schools to be open .... BUT

• Should children still be in school if there is a Covid case in their household?

• Should children be in school if they have spent 6 hours a day in a classroom with a person who has tested positive?

• Should children still be in school if they have spent an hour sitting next to a positive case in the classroom?

• Should teachers be exempt from isolation rules, in order to be able to keep their classes in school?

The ONLY thing that would keep schools FULLY open would be to completely ignore infection control, which is already happening in many settings.

• to prevent children from taking tests [this is already happening, as they do not have the classic symptoms and parents are concealing the need for a test]

• to cease any form of isolation of contacts [this is already happening, with only 'close contacts' being sent home, despite the airborne nature of the virus]

• to not allow teachers to isolate after close contact with a positive case [this already happens - teachers are 'deemed' to have been over 2m away at all times, even where this is a physical impossibility, and may not use the app]

Of course, this has knock on effects on the pandemic as a whole and the health of school workers and families with children in school.

There is significant echo chamber led by one very vocal MN'er

You mean me and I don't want schools to shut. I also don't want blended learning.

I do want schools to be made safer and at the moment it's a shitshow in secondary that needs urgent action. Mass testing where there are positive cases is currently number 1 on my wish list.

Juststopswimming

But very few people on Mn are asking for full closures ime, and I have read a lot fo these threads in recent weeks.

@Aragog

It's concerning that so many children are missing school even when schools are supposedly open.

What's the answer then?
Have children exempt from SI if they are a close contact of a case?
And thereby risking the spread even further in schools?

Yes. I think healthy children should not be forced to isolate. Obviously no sick child should be in school.

For primary schools any of the following: "online learning" "blended learning" "part time learning" is the equivalent of being closed.

I think the sharp decrease in new cases Over the last week or so proves that schools are not the problem!

You can't just say 'children' though, can you? As ever, it would be best for some to be in and some not.

My son was happier at home & learned more (I'm a secondary teacher), plus we have vulnerable family members so him being in school is a risk. My son is not better off in school at the moment.

Of course some will 100% need to be (the vulnerable etc) but they ALWAYS WERE!! Schools never did close for them.

Whether we like it or not schools are massively fuelling this pandemic. We can bury our heads in the sand but the truth is many people will lose their lives thanks to kids being in school.

Schools need to stay OPEN.

@noblegiraffe

There is significant echo chamber led by one very vocal MN'er

You mean me and I don't want schools to shut. I also don't want blended learning.

I do want schools to be made safer and at the moment it's a shitshow in secondary that needs urgent action. Mass testing where there are positive cases is currently number 1 on my wish list.

What do you mean "made safer"? Do you mean forcing children to wear face masks and social distance? Because both those things are damaging to mental and social development.

Nope, don't want to close school; I want it to be safer for everyone to stop the ridiculous hokey-cokey of students and staff isolating.

I also don't want a phonecall again I've the weekend to tell me a student is in hospital. We are on our 3rd hospitalised student since the start of October now and over 80 student cases across years 7 to 13.

And I really, really want to prosecute parents who send their child into school whilst waiting for a COVID test for the child. That is what causes even more spread (seen multiple times in n our school now) and causes an entire bubble closure according to PHE, usually several as the child in question will have a sibling or 2.

Students are anxious, staff are worried, working themselves to the bone and barely sleeping whilst doing at least 2 periods of cover a week as we have no money left for supply. We literally can't maintain this.

@GettingUntrapped

Schools need to stay OPEN.

YES

Teachers don't want schools to close. They want decent safety measures.

What about the risk to teachers and staff? Some people don’t appear to give a shit about their health ☹️

@GettingUntrapped

Schools need to stay OPEN.

And how do you suggest this happens when staff numbers are so depleted (as in many schools currently) that there is no one to teach the students?

People don't give a shit about teachers.

I have a very low opinion of parents for not supporting safety measures.

Do you mean forcing children to wear face masks and social distance? Because both those things are damaging to mental and social development.

Always U4T with the primary focus. Take a look at the situation in secondaries why don't you?

And I'm not a teacher.

@CallmeAngelina

May I point you in the direction of the FB group, UsForThem?

😂

Do you mean forcing children to wear face masks and social distance? Because both those things are damaging to mental and social development.

Rubbish. A teachers life is more important than the inconvenience of masks for a while.