Greenwich schools closing tomorrow

[Starch1e]

Leader of Greenwich council tweeted an open letter this afternoon asking schools to close from Tuesday. Our school is complying.
I need a meltdown emoji. Work is stupid f*king busy this week for me and DP and I cannot do it with 4 & 7 year old at home

Teacher of unknown type - maybe one of those types that comes into multiple schools to cover for staff sickness? That data is seriously out of date, anyway - from September to October. Most schools I know, the issues started after half term. It’s now coming into winter - some winter statistics are required. What’s happening in schools now? What’s happening in hospitals now?

@Walkaround there is no recent data on schools and infection rates, that's the problem.

Hospital admission and death rates (patients, not staff) are updated daily: coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/healthcare

@Jenifirtree

This is true

Its actually not true. But i look forward to you proving your evidence.

Once the data is finally released I will. I don't hold the same opinion as the poster but in this case they are right. You can argue other wise or ask for data but nobody can provide the final data until after this pandemic. I am not a magician. Just someone that keeps a close eye on statistics and any new information relating to schools and children. Like how many preschool children died linked to lockdown and restrictions. It's shocking. I do still feel we have no choice but to have lockdowns and restrictions though. Therefore what the answer is I have no idea. So I read these threads hoping one of you do or at least has a link to some research that does.

@2020out loads of non key workers can't work from home. Non essential retail, hospitality, beauty salons, hairdressers. I'm in furniture manufacturing which is non essential but can't be done from home, I'm in a factory of about 100 people and you'd be surprised how many don't bother to social distance even though we are supposed to.

@Mustfly

Kids must stay in school. That's the bottom line. Any teacher who feels a true love and vocation for the children in their care would want that. I say that as a parent, as a friend of many teachers and sister to a teaching assistant. If any teachers had died, if any children were seriously ill, then I'd feel differently. But they're not and i don't. I work for an emergency service where covid has been rife...absolutely zero chance of shutting us down and thank god for that. It's a risk our people take day in day out on the front line, but actually no-one has died or been seriously ill of covid in nine months in a work force of 11,000. My son in secondary school has been in isolation twice, the second time his best friend and his family all had covid. He didn't catch it, despite being in the bus, in class and out at lunch with him. My eight year old hasn't missed a day and only one class has had an isolation all term (a year one teacher caught it from her husband). And my son's preschool has had not one case since March. The benefit that they have had from going to school, in a world where they've been deprived of play dates, family visits, sports clubs intermittently, birthday parties...it's immeasurable. I will never ever support school closures again...education is not optional, it is vital and transformative for their whole lives.

what are you talking about if any teachers had died or any children become seriously ill?

Hundreds of teachers have died, and hundreds of children have become seriously ill, some have died, some have been left disabled. 3 in our school, 2 have lost more than half of their lung capacity and can no longer walk up stairs without a rest. One has become deaf.Who knows if they will recover in the long term or not. No evidence of recovery so far

We are on the bones of our arses staff-wise and it's getting to the point where it's not safe as there are simply not enough staff. That's why primaries are having to close.

Yes this, and today looks set to be worse as our janitor with extensive contact throughout the school has tested positive taking a huge chunk of staff with him from SLT down to lunch assistant and everyone in between, who now need to isolate and won't be back this term . We are a school in a deprived area with a large number of dc needing 1:1 support , with asn and /or behavioural problems. I've no idea how we are going to keep them all safe (and ourselves) we are keeping going right up to the 23rd too everyone is exhausted and a bit unwell even if not covid so behaviours are escalating and no doubt there will be a good few in isolation for Xmas. I wish they'd make the decision to close Friday at least.

[quote Mustfly]@2020out teachers and pupils have died? No, they haven't. If a teacher had caught covid at school and died it would have been headline news. Teachers have certainly caught it...then they've recovered. The children I know who have had it have been assymptomatic and only tested because a parent had symptoms.
No, four days maybe isn't vital. But that last week before Christmas, filled with fun with their friends is more important than ever this year at a time when there's precious little else they can do. And Greenwich haven't actually confirmed that the children will return in January. I'm concerned that it will end up creeping into January then Feb. Homeschooling was a disaster, so many kids had next to nothing in the way of support . I know from the two recent self isolations my son had that online teaching remains hopeless, with next to no support offered to students. Repeatedly taking children out of the classroom will ruin their life chances and not one single parent I know wants to see it happen again. And until teachers start screaming for warehouses to be shut, hospitals, supermarkets and many other essentials services staffed by fellow citizens...I honestly have no sympathy. The amount of people who laud themselves for isolating whilst having online shopping delivered...who do they think picks and packs it? More disposable mortals? [/quote]
Yes, teachers have died, many of them, I know several personally - in fact I have taken the job of one of them

Some months ago, the NEU had a list of around 110 members who had died, that is just members, that was some months ago, that is just the ones the NEU knew about

So no, they shouldn't close- they're not 'on their knees'

Are you on that school all day every day? Because you know we don't tell parents this. We put on a smile and mention their great effort in phonics then go back inside, exhale and are thankful we got through another day without any major incidents. Our school is only on its second case but that doesn't mean there hasn't been countless staff off making levels unsafe and those left picking up the slack totally done in.

So unfair for children who are not keyworker children though. Keyworker children get taught. People who have one parent not a keyworker had to somehow do their job and have children at home and teachers them.

@Reindeermayhem I don't know what will happen this time but throughout the first school closure key worker children certainly weren't getting taught. It was very much just childcare. Think one nursery nurse with experience of 3 year olds minding a group of 10 year olds they'd never met. The kids that were there got less done if anything than the ones at home with access to their schools set work.

Much of this will occur in staff rooms during coffee breaks and similar settings.

Coffee break?!! Ha!

I don’t understand how someone can seriously believe that no teachers have died from Covid. We’ve luckily not had any deaths of staff in our school, although one member of staff is still too unwell to return after catching Covid in March and spending weeks in intensive care. School staff in our borough have died though. Two that I am aware of in other schools.

As of April 20th, 65 school staff had died. So that’s just those who caught it before the first lockdown.

@Reindeermayhem was that in response to me 6 pages or so back?

I'm obviously not a teacher in the school. But aside from a few short teacher SIs while they wait for results when the testing capacity was weak, the school has been fine- the systems have worked well and the school has a lot of resource as it's part of a big MAT. All that helps I think. I'm pretty sure the teachers aren't making a huge effort to lie when they say they're really glad they've been able to stay open. We've got a lot of very vulnerable kids at our school. We also have a two week half term anyway, which was planned pre COVID and which worked well in terms of a bit of a natural firebreak and a chance for the teachers to regroup.

No one who works in the public sector has had a great year. Everyone is stressed, lonely and wrung out (I know I am) and I'm sure that applies to teachers as much or more than others. But it's also feasible schools have been differentially impacted. I'm not saying don't close where you need to for infection control. I'm saying don't fold until you have to. 'It's only 4 days' is a long time for a lot of kids.

If any teachers had died, if any children were seriously ill, then I'd feel differently. But they're not and i don't

Within 3 miles of me in the last 6 weeks, we have lost a site supervisor and a TA. Two other teachers from the same school are in intensive care.

So the mayor wants all London schools closed.
There will be lots of anger from other parts England especially tier 3.
Any Burnham wanted schools shut.

www.thesun.co.uk/news/13466216/schools-greenwich-close-tomorrow-christmas-surge-covid-london/

But children have to be educated if the future is to be brighter and they are to emerge from this mentally well and balanced

Closing schools temporarily and shifting to online learning is still educating children.

Can you imagine what it is like to be a vulnerable to covid child at the moment? My child is type 1. Schools is a very frightening place for him right now. It seems the mental health and education of all children are never considered - just the healthy ones without vulnerabilities themselves or without vulnerabilities in their families. The mental health of a child who loses a parent seems to be considered nothing more than collateral damage. All children have a tight to feel safe and secure in school but so many of them are being ignored,

I was wondering which way the Mayor would jump

He needs to preserve his 'all London' approach, and is backing Health over Education as the department with clout

Williamson can't ignore this, now it's front page news. Will it be the start of councils being able to set own schools policy? And will presumably council locus on public health could mean all schools, including academies and independents (just as for environmental health)

[quote 3asAbird]So the mayor wants all London schools closed.
There will be lots of anger from other parts England especially tier 3.
Any Burnham wanted schools shut.

www.thesun.co.uk/news/13466216/schools-greenwich-close-tomorrow-christmas-surge-covid-london/[/quote]
Interesting what a wrangle. DfE still saying should stay open according to article.

Well, if four days is all you've got to sort OP, you're in a much better situation than all the thousands of schools in the North who have had de facto closures with less notice than you for months now. Or did you not think this would happen to your magical school?

@Isthatitnow

If any teachers had died, if any children were seriously ill, then I'd feel differently. But they're not and i don't

Within 3 miles of me in the last 6 weeks, we have lost a site supervisor and a TA. Two other teachers from the same school are in intensive care.

The information on deaths by occupation is currently being suppressed. There are FOI requests pending, and you can read about the many many incidences of teacher illness and death on here and elsewhere.

@Isthatitnow online education only works if parents have time to do it. As a single parent who can't work from home - if school shuts I will be out at work all day having to leave DS with various random family members for childcare, I will not be there to ensure he's getting work done so he will fall even more behind. Whereas a SAHP who doesn't have to work will be able to spend more time helping their child with education and there will be an ever more widening gap.

More provision should be made for vulnerable children to be able to stay home if their parents wish and learn online. Schools shouldn't be shut to every single child when some of us need our children in school.

They’re taking piss

248/100,000? Liverpool went to 750/100,000 and schools open throughout

Waxonwaxoff0
Having been a working parent and had a child self isolate for 4 weeks this half term alone, I do sympathise and which is why teachers on Mumsnet (and their MPs and Councillors) for months now have been begging for a change in guidelines and budgets and procedures for safer schools so we can keep more open and quite why a large section of Mumsnet posters shot every post down I don’t know. As this thread shows, they are still doing it.

(I’ve been having to catch up my child’s work in the evening and weekends)

It depends what measures are implemented to make them safer. And which primary or secondary.