Secondary schools are stuffed, GOVERNMENT ADMITS

[noblegiraffe]

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

Mass testing for secondary school pupils in worst affected areas.

Well i wonder how businesses feel now that yesterdays press conference proved that the November lockdown was all for nothing and the tokenism, YES tokenism of shutting them down for another month was exposed. Once you see that you cant unsee it.

I think there would have been more deaths without the lockdown, so not entirely for nothing.

On the other hand, it would a) have been much better to have had a short lockdown in September, as scientists suggested and b) it was counterproductive to leave schools open, especially in their current form.

Just listening to LBC and a caller was saying that her year 10 daughter finishes isolation on Tuesday. At the weekend a party was broken up which had 30 year 10 students and their parents, by the police.

PHE and DFE have said the year 10 children cannot be sanctioned for breaking isolation which means they will be back in school on Tuesday which she is upset about.

@MarshaBradyo I agree with the list of outcomes but I do also think because that hasn’t happened we should be allowed to go remote next week to reduce transmissions prior to Christmas.

I do disagree however as to why it hasn’t been in the media. Friends I speak to with secondary children who haven’t been asked to isolate I think feel it’s all fine, but many are shocked at lack of social distancing in schools. It feels to me like the DfE have put out a log of propaganda around schools being covid secure, all the photos/images/videos show masks and space between children in smaller classes etc... they’ve repeatedly said children don’t transmit it which is clearly a lie. BUT people will choose to believe that if the truth isn’t being widely reported in the press because it makes it easier to send you’d kids in every day, or because it doesn’t affect you.

I am appalled that the media haven’t picked up reported more widely on the issues in schools. Teachers are so tired and worn down I think at just get on with it because it feels like no-one else gives a flying fuck outside of schools.

What is off about the list I put? It’s the same as yours

It’s not the list, it’s that you think anything can be achieved while the issue is being suppressed and lied about.

You apparently think it’s fine that care homes and universities made national headlines and schools haven’t.

You appear to be content with this because it hasn’t ruined your own children’s education. National headlines could provoke national action which you think would be bad (yet you want masks and ventilation and testing which would come nationally).

They’ve been lucky, things could go south very quickly and tbh your blithe ‘we’ll go online then’ suggests either your kids are private or you are unaware that schools have been forced to limp on, not allowed to take local action even if the situation is desperate.

No it’s not a personal reason.

More how hard it is for headlines to do nuance. If the outcome could be what I have listed then great!

One thing I’d like to see as part of better coverage is a change to talking about ‘schools‘ as if they were one lump

It’s unrealistic to expect every permutation to be perfectly covered, but I’m like to see greater dustinctipn between primaries and secondaries (sorry to those who have middle schools!)

Because all too often I’ve seen sensible discussion of teenagers and masks (or rotas and blended learning) being drowned out by expectations for much younger DC and childcare.

More how hard it is for headlines to do nuance.

At the moment it’s ‘lazy teachers get extra day off to give them a proper break over Christmas’.

Why do you think that an unnuanced headline will lead directly to school closures? That’s a bit of a reach.

It’s so bloody frustrating that any discussion of school safety is met with BUT WE DON’T WANT SCHOOL CLOSURES SO THERE SHOULD BE NO DISCUSSION AT ALL

Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away and allowing it to get worse unchecked is causing school closures.

No I didn’t say that I said they are not likely to write nuance. As you have just noted.

And therefore blaring out a big old message (if fear based) won’t get the outcome people want. I’m not convinced it will be helpful rather than harmful.

Eg If I could choose what it would be I would focus on ventilation. There’s a problem but also a solution.

The only issue is lots of schools can’t open their windows. Which makes that approach more difficult.

And therefore blaring out a big old message (if fear based) won’t get the outcome people want.

I tell you what won’t get any outcome. Writing an article about ventilation in schools.

God, if you want traction, which you think school stories do not have, that is not your in.

What is yours?

I reckon I could do a good one on ventilation

Didn’t the Germans go strong on that? I’m pretty sure it got traction on here ; it travelled at least

That's so true ivampire.

Because all too often I’ve seen sensible discussion of teenagers and masks (or rotas and blended learning) being drowned out by expectations for much younger DC and childcare.

Yep, I’ve had to be really clear on here that I’m talking about secondaries to avoid that.

Didn’t the Germans go strong on that?

Yes, the German government went strong on the importance of that.

I don’t think the public clicks will be caught by ‘we need better ventilation in schools’ when the immediate question will be why? And the second post will be ‘my kid is freezing because the teacher won’t shut the window’.

Um, wasn't it by blurting out a big old fear based message that the government achieved high levels of compliance with the spring lock down?

There wasn't much nuance in 'stay at home and save lives'.

My school has enormous windows and they open wide. They are higher up so they are safe to open this way. Since September we have had wide open windows and doors. It’s freezing, but we’ll ventilated.

My school has had kids wearing masks everywhere but in the classroom. And fair play, most do wear them.

My school have cleaners going around constantly, hand sanitizer everywhere and for the first few months back we were doing great.

However, once Covid is in the community, it’s in the schools and stopping it early requires mass testing. Otherwise as we’ve seen, it’s spread like wildfire. Our poor school has had a terrible time.

It’s down to luck. It’s down to your area.
After the holidays we need to get cases down and when kids go back to school we need:

1. Masks on at all times
2. Regular testing of pupils and staff
3. In an ideal world a rota to avoid too many kids crammed into hallways and classrooms

To get these things, the country needs to be very clear that schools are currently not safe.

@christinarossetti19

Um, wasn't it by blurting out a big old fear based message that the government achieved high levels of compliance with the spring lock down?

There wasn't much nuance in 'stay at home and save lives'.

No there wasn’t. That’s the point. It works.

That’s why when people say I want a national campaign on schools I’m asking what do you want it to be? Because it’s likely to be blunt.

And if I’m doing blunt I’d go for the desired outcome head on. Pick the most important thing and work on that - and I’m going with ventilation as the Germans did. Others might want something else?

As for asking why ventilation - That’s the point to tell people why.

To get these things, the country needs to be very clear that schools are currently not safe.

Exactly. Treat it as a local issue with local solutions and it will be a game of whackamole. The problems are systemic. It’s not a case of schools with inadequate measures being hit badly, it’s a case of all schools having inadequate measures and not being badly hit is luck, not design.

Parents shouldn’t be surprised when it happens to their school, they should be lobbying to put in place preventative measures to help stop their turn coming round.

And if I’m doing blunt I’d go for the desired outcome head on

But the desired outcome isn’t better ventilation. An open window won’t stop the shitshow. The desired outcome is an acknowledgement that schools aren’t safe and a series of measures being implemented.

A national campaign on schools?

'Secondary schools are the most infected subset of the population. Primary less so, but infection rates not far enough behind to be complacent. Schools need to be safer - this can be achieved by

DBML I'm very sorry to hear about your ds. It must be such a worry.

I hope that 2021 is kinder to our young people.

Series of measures - ok but the headline needs to be memorable and quick to get. And desired outcome simple to see.

I’m not against a series but the usually immediate. All the ones quoted to me so far on thread show this.