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.

@noblegiraffe

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?

I don't know what "U4T" means.

I think it's best for both primary and secondary schools to be open.

I don't know one teacher who wants schools closed. We want them safer. So we can stay open. We can't stay open if too many staff are off sick - we had to send 2 year groups home today as not enough staff left. Keep staff safe, schools stay open. Put staff in dangerous situations with no masks or social distancing and we catch COVID. And get sick. And are then off for a while.
Not closed. Safer. It really is so simple.

Also good luck with schools staying open in some areas through January when so many teachers are going sick.

Maybe focus on the real issue.

@Billie18 unless you're into antivax and tin hat conspiracy theories I wouldn't bother with Us4Them Facebook group. It's full of absolute loons.

Because both those things are damaging to mental and social development
Not sure you can have everything you want here. Schools staying open, personally I want that and my kids are much better for it, but I'm not sure that masks and SD are damaging to any extent that would trump the safety of staff. All over the world kids are learning to adapt.to these measures so you might have to compromise a bit.

What's your opinion on vaccines? You may have missed my earlier question.

Because I've heard that Us4Them are a bunch of covid-denying anti-vaxxers, so they may not be the group for you if you are even remotely sensible.

Are you one of those people who think their giant pram should take priority over a wheelchair on the bus? Because you sound like you are.

And that 'BUSES MUST RUN' even when every single bus driver is off sick. Just because they say so.

Also anyone who thinks that children shouldn't isolate after contact with a positive is really failing quite dismally to understand the basic science about coronavirus.

If it was only contagious when someone was symptomatic it wouldn't have reached the UK in the first place.

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

So, what about the risk to their teachers?

At present all vulnerable staff and children HAVE to be in school.
Well I suppose I could hand in my notice and be able to stay home that way, I guess

@noblegiraffe

What's your opinion on vaccines? You may have missed my earlier question.

Because I've heard that Us4Them are a bunch of covid-denying anti-vaxxers, so they may not be the group for you if you are even remotely sensible.

Maybe start your own thread about vaccines?

Those who don't give a shit about teacher safety are scumbags.

There is no evidence masks and SD is damaging. None at all.

In fact a case could be made for it being bad for mental health of those children who understand science to know they're being forced into the perfect environment for coronavirus transmission every day - and could well catch a disease that could be fatal to one or more of their family members.

I wouldn't want to go into a secondary school at the moment - certainly not without wearing a mask all the time - and we're expecting children to.

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

Is an asymptomatic child sick or not? Should they be in school? How do you know if they’re sick or not if there are no symptoms?

Op, what is it that YOU do? It must be very easy for people who don’t work in schools to pass such judgement right now...and by the way, there is no consensus for “schools to close”, so clearly your main job is to peddle bulls**t.
Blended learning is what’s advocated, with the aim of keeping pupils, parents and yes, even us lazy bastard staff safe.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

It's interesting how not giving a stuff about teacher safety goes along with the mistaken belief that yelling 'schools must stay open' means they will (when there are no staff to teach in them).

Have you written to school and told them under no uncertain circumstances should the teachers be vaccinating your children especially as it will result in them being microchipped, if you have then Us4Them is for you @Billie18

@Aragog and me. I've just about had enough now. Might retire early at Easter. Had enough now of being treated like my life doesn't matter. As long as the kids are in school.

Because both those things are damaging to mental and social development.

Why are British children so unable to cope with these things than other children across the world?
How many children do you know who is being made distressed by having to wear a mask every so often?

The secondary school children I know are more than happy to wear masks. They totally understand hy they are wearing them and are happy to do so. Many choose to wear them in more places than they actually have to.

What I do see however are some adults who like to project these thoughts onto their children and teens, but then pretend it is out of concern for children.

I see way more adults than teens/children who are concerned about mask wearing and other forms of protection from covid.

OP - There you have it
Healthy children should not be forced to isolate
So you think that we should go about our daily business knowing that someone we"ve been sitting in a room with for 6 hours has had a positive test? Is that a general view that isolation shouldn"t be happening, or does it just apply in schools? Ironically, I think your theory might lead to more schools shutting as the virus just runs it's merry way round classes of kids (at least the ones whose parents aren"t keeping them at home because they've had close contact with someone whose tested positive).

Everyone agrees it's best for children to be in school, the issue is enabling them to be in school safely and keep them in school. That doesn't necessarily mean masks or enforced SD it can be other things like funding from government for extra cleaning supplies, extra cleaning staff, extra supply staff to cover isolating teachers or teach isolating or ECV children online, using community spaces as extra classrooms. Theres all sorts that the government could do to reduce the amount of cases in school and therefore enforce the sentiment that its best for children to be in school but for some reason they won't, and thats why we have a proportion of children not in school not because teachers want closed

Had enough now of being treated like my life doesn't matter. As long as the kids are in school.

Same. I feel like nothing more than a commodity.

Whilst loopy people stick their fingers in their ears, shout ‘la la la’ and ‘won’t somebody think of the children’.

Idiots.

Because both those things are damaging to mental and social development.

Seeing a parent, family member, teacher, etc become very ill may well be even more damaging to their mental health and social development than needing to stay 2m away from a teacher or having to wear a mask in a corridor!

The number of 6 and 7 year olds who have asked me if I am okay now I have returned to work has been immense. Presumably their parents told them I had Covid, as I didn't.

I think you are underestimating the level of understanding and empathy many children, even at younger ages, have.

You are also under estimating the level of understanding many secondary schools ged children have when it comes to mask wearing and why.

@SionnachRua

Well, this will end well won't it?

🤣🤣🤣

My son went back today after 14 days at home self isolating as someone in his year group tested positive. He only gets 2 hours online learning each day. He is in Year 10. Went back today. Got school newsletter staying 2 staff home as been in contact with positive case and over half of school staff at home shielding. Do you really believe they are all CEV with letters from NHS? All students wear a mask all day except for PE and outdoor break. Now all years except key stage 4 home until further notice. Shocking. Those who stay home without symptoms, or being told to stay home by test and trace or shielding letter should not get paid. They are badly letting our.lids down. In March his school closed for deep clean and did not allow key workers kids in for 3 weeks. Then no vulnerable children allowed in with Social Workers. Only 6 kids allowed in all through first lockdown
No online learning then. Very little work sent home. My son had 3 pieces of Maths throughout whole lockdown. No feedback for improvement, no marks so kids did not know how they had done. In September my son asked teachers for his work.back so he could see his marks, told no work was marked. Do his teachers were not setting work, not marking work, no feedback to kids and only went in to school 1 day every 3 weeks. Now they don't want to go in again
Absolutely useless bunch at his school. My niece got completely different experience. She got online learning for 1/2 of every day, work marked and her school was open every week for key workers and vulnerable kids. All very.umfair. Government should be stricter with.yje teachers who just stay home without justification.

Maybe start your own thread about vaccines?

Are you for or against them? Doesn't need a whole thread, does it.

Just trying to gauge whether Us4Them are your cup of tea.

I'm shocked that the consensus here appears to be that schools should close.

I don't think there's a concensus saying that at all. You won't be seeing threads saying 'Schools should open '.... because government policy says they are open, unless they have to shut temporarily due to lots of cases. Threads and posts are bound to be skewed towards people who want something that's not what's currently happening.

@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.

Having students wear masks helps keep schools open.

We are in a pandemic- there is no perfect solution.

I have massive concerns about school closures, but advocating for no mask wearing will increase school closures, not decrease them.

We need students to isolate too. We had a student come in at the end of last week with "cold symptoms". He has now tested positive. It is really important that his contacts isolate, as otherwise it's very likely it will spread through the year group and ultimately infect teachers.

You do understand schools can't open without teachers- right? So how do you propose we keep schools open?