Secondary schools are stuffed, GOVERNMENT ADMITS

[noblegiraffe]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55265098

Mass testing for secondary school pupils in worst affected areas.

"For some on here they seem to think if a soundbite is repeated enough then that makes it true."

To be fair, it worked for Gove, Cummings, and Johnson with their "oven ready Brexit trade deal"

Some people will believe anything

It’s obviously quite inflammatory to claim teachers don’t care about children’s education, etc.

With that being said I think there have been enough concerns raised about work set during the last lockdown and this might explain the instantly hostile reactions to schools closing. If I’m honest I don’t think my school did a brilliant job.

My DDs' school offered remote (live) learning for next week (all of year 11 out until tomorrow anyway, part of year 9 and part of year 10 out until 14th December). The DfE and LA instructed them to rescind the offer.

I think you could be right @Chaotic45. I'm also wondering if perhaps he made this statement to nudge parents into doing the work for them and choose to keep their kids off school next week? The pathetic news of a snap inset day next Friday was laughable really.

Does anybody have the quote from the infamous post that the DfE wrote on one of these threads?

Or maybe it was under a CF thread?

@Welcometonowhere - instantly hostile reactions might be explained a whole lot of other ways, too. Some people are just instantly hostile!

I have just can't believe the insistence that students are not catching it in school or passing it, in school 🤔.

Anyone whose been with students can see how students don't respect personal space, they get very close they sing in each others faces!
Remember primary school children cannot sing happy birthday? Choirs are banned?

They share drinks, hug, sit cheek by jowl listening to music, constantly complain of Windows open and shut them at any opportunity...

This virus loves the cold, and spreads via human transmission but not the type teens do in packed classrooms?

However I do agree that the fact many schools seemed to be able to continue to educate dc under the same gov as those that chose not too.... Upset the whole apple cart.

@Welcometonowhere thank you for understanding. That is how I feel. However I realise that all teachers and all schools are different and that my DC's experience was probably particularly unlucky.

In terms of my DC's education I dread remote learning. However, I do still think that it is necessary if we are to get ontop of infection rates.

I have a lovely friend who is a teacher in a school in another county and is going to share resources with me so I can give DC some work to do. They have answer sheets available also so we can mark it ourselves and hopefully google will help us fill in the blanks.

@TheRubyRedshoes - the applecart is actually upset by the fact schools are not just there to educate. They are required to be kept open to keep children safe from their own families, to be a venue for immunisations, to provide free school meals, to provide childcare and keep young people busy and out of mischief, to assist with mental health and social issues, etc. Why people expect them to fulfil all these roles on a shoestring is anybody’s guess - or you could say, the whole of society’s fault.

[quote Walkaround]@Welcometonowhere - instantly hostile reactions might be explained a whole lot of other ways, too. Some people are just instantly hostile![/quote]
They're instantly hostile to the suggestion that schools might not be entirely covid safe.

They're instantly hostile to the suggestion that infection rates in schools are an issue.

They're instantly hostile to the suggestion that schools might need extra funding for covid measures.

They're instantly hostile to the suggestion that schools need better mitigation measures (not even closing them, just basic stuff like better ventilation).

It can't all be explained by 'I don't like Twinkl'.

@motherrunner may I ask where in the westmids? Thanks

@noblegiraffe I'm not hostile to any of those things. Not at all.

I am worried about online learning provision but I accept it needs to happen.

Please don't think all parents are the same

On both sides, walkaround, and the problem is we are all seeing things from different angles and from different POVs.

I was annoyed with the government, in March, for not closing the schools sooner, I feel that was shortsighted and wrong.

But it was never going to be able to drag on indefinitely. And despite the posts on here, I honestly don’t think there is any public support for school closures whatsoever.

So what do you do? You can put safety measures in place, but these are hardly a magic bullet. You can introduce a rigorous system of testing, but that takes time to implement. You can close early for holidays but let’s not underestimate how much this impacts on the lives of working parents, especially those who earn little and are in insecure work as it is.

Not easy, that’s for sure.

I'm not hostile to any of those things. Not at all.

Oh but the very vocally hostile posters do tend to be.

@PassataQueenofBritain

Yes, but only when their own precious children are the ones being affected, eh?

Exactly, should be across the board and especially those schools in Tier 3 areas that have been in lockdown since October. But as you nailed it already, it's London, no one else matters.

It’s more than ‘I don’t like Twinkl’. That does undermine some of the repeated themes that have come up over the past eight/nine months.

@middleager

Does anybody have the quote from the infamous post that the DfE wrote on one of these threads?

Or maybe it was under a CF thread?

@middleager

I found the quote from the DfE on this thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4082589-Is-a-change-beginning-to-happen-regarding-schools?msgid=102075920#102075920

From RowanMumsnet:

Hello - the Department of Education in Whitehall wanted us to post the below message for them on this thread.

Apologies for doing this so close to the end of the thread - that's entirely our fault - the DfE actually sent us this a few days ago. Sorry.

Here's their message:

"We are aware of some media reports last week regarding the transmission of Covid in schools and understand this has the potential to raise some concern."

"Last week, SAGE (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) published papers relating to the latest evidence of incidence and transmission of coronavirus in schools."

"The science is clear that children and young people are typically at very low risk from Covid-19 The disease is much less severe for children, even if they do catch coronavirus. And staff are not at higher risk than those working in other sectors."

"Furthermore, the papers say there is no clear or conclusive evidence that schools are playing a causal role in transmission and the spread of Covid-19."

“This is probably because education settings are rigorously enforcing all the mitigations – handwashing, mask wearing, bubbles, isolation of staff and pupils with symptoms etc.”

"The latest weekly figures show that 99% of schools are open and that only 0.2% of pupils are isolating at home with a confirmed Covid-19 case."

"As a department, we have ensured that all schools continue to operate with strict safety measures in place to minimise the risk of infection."

"You can read more about transmission in schools here."

And despite the posts on here, I honestly don’t think there is any public support for school closures whatsoever.

Are you one of these who insists that there are campaigns on MN to close schools?

I don't know anyone on here who wants to close schools. I started a thread about making schools safer and it seems that is very well supported.

4 words: The Oak National Academy.

@Welcometonowhere

It’s more than ‘I don’t like Twinkl’. That does undermine some of the repeated themes that have come up over the past eight/nine months.

Do you realise that there has been a concerted effort to derail discussion about what is going on in schools now by harking back to lockdown 1 which was a pretty dreadful experience for everyone?

No one wants to close schools. The government have fucked up massively by making them unsafe. Because schools are unsafe lots of children are out of school, some of them repeatedly having to isolate.
Because schools are unsafe, more people are going to die at Christmas.

We could talk about that?

This is what the dfe asked MNHQ to publish on a recent thread (although unfortunately, the request got delayed and was only put on the thread concerned about a dozen or so posts before the 1000 mark, so it sadly didn't get the traffic intended).

"We are aware of some media reports last week regarding the transmission of Covid in schools and understand this has the potential to raise some concern."

"Last week, SAGE (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) published papers relating to the latest evidence of incidence and transmission of coronavirus in schools."

"The science is clear that children and young people are typically at very low risk from Covid-19 The disease is much less severe for children, even if they do catch coronavirus. And staff are not at higher risk than those working in other sectors."

"Furthermore, the papers say there is no clear or conclusive evidence that schools are playing a causal role in transmission and the spread of Covid-19."

“This is probably because education settings are rigorously enforcing all the mitigations – handwashing, mask wearing, bubbles, isolation of staff and pupils with symptoms etc.”

"The latest weekly figures show that 99% of schools are open and that only 0.2% of pupils are isolating at home with a confirmed Covid-19 case."

"As a department, we have ensured that all schools continue to operate with strict safety measures in place to minimise the risk of infection."

"You can read more about transmission in schools here."

God that DfE post with its blatant lies annoys me every time.

No, giraffe, I am not “one of those.

I was replying to a PP about school closures.

If that is quite all right of course

What about it, chloe?

Sorry, in the time it took me to find the post, someone else has beaten me to it.