I'm shocked that people don't understand that schools need to be safer.

[herecomesthsun]

Not necessarily to close, but definitely they need to be safer.

We have cases coming down (by and large, to some extent) in the community and we have had rates of positive cases going UP in schools.

The group with the highest % testing positive in the ONS survey is now secondary school pupils.

We could do so much more to make schools safer.

We wouldn't even have to send pupils home so much if schools were safer.

It would be better for the pupils- why expose them to this pathogen, why expose their families?

And some of the WHO advice would give a better quality of education if we could put it in place.

Why would anyone not want to support this?

I'm sure someone will take pity on my and enlighten me

No because that data won’t be released till Thursday.

I don’t have as good a graph for the latest data from last Thursday, they’re all on separate axes but secondary school children were the only group to increase. The ONS comment on the latest data was

“Over the most recent week, increases in positivity rate can only be seen in secondary school-age children. Positivity rates have decreased in adults aged 35 years and above, whilst it appears that rates among the youngest age group as well as those those aged school year 12 to age 24 years and 25 to 34 years are levelling off. Rates remain highest among secondary school-age children and young adults. Caution should be taken in over-interpreting small movements in the narrower age groups, which have wider credible intervals. This is based on statistical modelling of nose and throat swab test results.”

At the moment the children home lots are just other peoples children and its just collateral damage i suppose. My son has missed 5 weeks but thats ok as some have missed none and people are content with winners and losers.

This

As seen here
Our schools are safe. My 3 have not isolated once.

So many people don’t care as it doesn’t impact their children.

@starrynight19

At the moment the children home lots are just other peoples children and its just collateral damage i suppose. My son has missed 5 weeks but thats ok as some have missed none and people are content with winners and losers.

This

As seen here
Our schools are safe. My 3 have not isolated once.

So many people don’t care as it doesn’t impact their children.

Yup. I’m in the West Midlands. My school has closed to all years for 8 days in total - 5 days two weeks ago and three days this week due to staffing levels.

I have lost count of the amount of positive cases we have had.

At least Ofsted are acknowledging it:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-55145313

“Education has been "completely disrupted" by the sheer scale of Covid absences in some schools in some areas, Ofsted regional bosses have warned.
The regional directors for North-West England and the West Midlands say the impact of rules around self-isolation has significantly impacted attendance.
They highlight areas where hundreds of pupils are absent and self-isolating at a time, some again and again.
Ofsted says some areas will have seen relatively little impact this term.
The latest official figures for overall attendance in England show 22% of pupils in secondary schools were absent last Thursday.
This was the same as the previous week, when figures also showed at least some pupils being sent home in 75% of schools.“

Tbh I would prefer my school to react to its own situation not other schools numbers. If it hits a point where online is better for access, they go remote /rota.

It doesn’t help us if this is too early or late

Covid has completely disrupted education. My own primary school was recently closed for two weeks as we couldn't staff it after a Covid outbreak. My DC's primary school has had almost half the bubbles pop so far. DH's secondary school currently has 4 out of 7 year groups completely isolating and groups of children in the other year groups isolating. We are not in a tier 3 area.

In secondary schools many pupils are being infected. In primary schools, in my experience, it seems to be mainly the adults. Our latest outbreak started after some parents at the school tested positive. They took their children out as soon as they got the positive test results, but a couple of days later, staff members from the bubble that those children were in tested positive. The children didn't have symptoms at all, but it seems too much of a coincidence that the children didn't pass it on.

We have staff members who contracted Covid weeks ago who are still off sick as well as several vulnerable staff members who are unable to work. Covid has long-term staffing issues.

I agree, OP. Why you would not want measures in place to make schools safer baffles me.

If changes were made to make them safer, they would be far more to likely to stay open.

I may have killed your thread with mine, herecomes but I’m not particularly surprised that no one can really explain why people might not want safer schools.

that's fine @noble de nada

Home learning for primary will not work.

Home learning for secondary also isn't great - they will fall behind significantly. How can a teacher effectively teach a class of 30 online? My son did it for two weeks abd it was very well organised but he didn't learn a thing and teachers found it v hard.

Obviously they need to be safer.

However the government doesn't care. They can't back down now and make changes or extra funding as it means admitting they were wrong.

The media are also to blame. Look at all the articles about opening of schools and the so called extra measures. Then take a look at the photographs being used.

For some reason one side effect of Covid was that all the 'normal' photographs of school classrooms and corridors mysteriously disappeared and were replaced with photographs of classrooms containing six children spaced apart.

I know if no teaching and school staff who have ever wanted closed schools, just safer ones.

Many suggestions have been made but some people are so terrified to admit things could be better they won't even read them. No point listing then here as the same posters will be back to claim they aren't needed and schools are fine. Those people imply don't want to hear and unfortunately the government are some of those who aren't prepared to listen.

Parents and staff have been lied to from the start regarding Covid in schools and in children. But the damage is now done, things won't change sadly. We can only hope the vaccine is rolled out soon and a least the more vulnerable in schools can be protected more than they have been.

Clearly a lot of schools have not be fine at all. Some have been but many have been totally devastated at times especially since September. My own infant school included, and myself included.

I can already envisaged exactly how this thread will go sadly.