No longer a national priority to keep schools open

[noelgiraffe]

The government has surreptitiously dropped its priority to keep schools open.

It has replaced it with a priority to “keep education open”.

Remote learning is now a viable alternative to keeping schools open (as opposed to last Monday when it was a matter for the high court).

In the DfE media blog, tweeted earlier today regarding the delayed start to term in January they say:

“ Is this an extension of the Christmas holiday?

No, this isn’t an extension of the holiday and we haven’t asked that the start of term is delayed.

All students will return to education from the first day of term. Secondary school and college students should learn remotely for one week except those in exam years, vulnerable young people and the children of critical workers. It remains our national priority to keep education open and we are not closing education for any period other than during the set holiday periods.”

Interesting development.

It's also grotesque that parents were actively discouraged from having children tested - both the keeping only the adult symptoms as the gateway to testing and the moral tone that was encouraged towards 'wasting tests' or 'testing unnecessarily' that was encouraged.

I really hope it has just become more contagious rather than any more harmful

The problem is that the original is harmful enough to overwhelm the NHS as it is. Even if it causes the same proportion of severe cases, more transmission = more cases = more severe cases.

I know priority group 1 isn’t anywhere near complete - but there is no point having vaccines sat in a freezer. Beds already closing in hospitals due to staff shortages. Continued staff sickness means even less vaccines will be given (I know it’s a dip in the ocean anyway but helps a bit).

I can’t imagine the lateral flow testing being a huge success in a schools sadly, it’s a bit uncomfortable and fiddly. Even for Kevin’s mum.

Yes-an urban myth about school holidays. I’ve read stuff about classrooms simply becoming too warm in the summer as well which wasn’t conducive for learning. I think stuff was said about the importance of access to clean air-as well as having a break being good mentally for children.

This is interesting

www.oxford-royale.com/articles/a-brief-history-summer-holiday/#aId=51926ef7-f771-4264-984c-35ac9e7c80be

What I was specifically getting at was it being more harmful for young people. The shocking lack of distancing etc was largely based on assuming they weren't at risk from the illness. Things are more than bad enough as it is in terms of spread I agree but if it was also more dangerous to young people themselves then the risk we've taken with their health becomes criminal. Clearly no one gives a toss about risking teachers but their children?

@CorvusPurpureus private schools have actually saved money during the last lockdown as they put the majority of support staff on furlough. They did reduce fees for going online but not in any way that is significant. The teachers at private schools if they were made to carry on with online learning throughout the winter would certainly not be willing to teach over the summer. However you swing it, private schools are always at a huge advantage but going online through the winter for all schools will mean that gap will widen even more. If school stopped for a winter holiday and made up all face to face time teaching in the spring and summer, this would be fairer.

Funny isnt it, how supportive posters are of the awful situation in schools at the moment, while their kids are at school but as soon as there is mention of schools closing everyone reverts to the same old opinion that our kids NEED to be in school, regardless. Sorry but this situation isn't changing for a while..if homeschooling is proving difficult, you will just have to adapt. Buy/borrow a 2nd laptop, get the other parent involved, sit with your child during baby naps/lunch breaks/ tv time...so many excuses why homeschooling doesnt work- it's hard for everyone but we are talking about life or death!!

Do you know what I would argue that private schools as part of their 'charitable status' should also provide online lessons to state schools and borrow the many laptops they have sitting in storage but we all know that would never happen.

Yy honey badger, I felt guilty for getting dd one, after presenting with a sore throat, headache and intermittent cough.

.if homeschooling is proving difficult, you will just have to adapt. Buy/borrow a 2nd laptop, get the other parent involved, sit with your child during baby naps/lunch breaks/ tv time...so many excuses why homeschooling doesnt work- it's hard for everyone but we are talking about life or death!!

God I know, all those bloody feckless parents just refuse to make it work 🙄

Grammars around me also went on line.

My dd secondary (comp) was in denial about the crisis in March and was still proudly announcing that extra curricular stuff was definitely on. Whilst all around us including other comps, primary, all cancelled it.

They took 5 months to get used to zoom s d a smattering of lessons happened. It was a huge deal for them. They fed us nothing but excuses.

The grammars however, 2 weeks before lock down, started to train their staff on zoom, Google meet etc and put measures in place to keep learning going. They put a missive out to say what they were doing.
Another grammar whilst missing that proactive action, still managed to use Google meet to get on line within 2 days and carried on teaching.

My setting is different, not grammar but does have high proportion of vulnerable students and those with sen, we also got on line very swiftly. We pulled on the setting, ourselves and parents to get laptops and we have an excellent it team who backed up problems with WiFi etc.

We also did an audit before lock down to the asses what student needed what and the shortfall.

My dds comp moaned about the governments delivery of lap tops but they didn't even ask us what we had!

[quote onedayinthefuture]@CorvusPurpureus private schools have actually saved money during the last lockdown as they put the majority of support staff on furlough. They did reduce fees for going online but not in any way that is significant. The teachers at private schools if they were made to carry on with online learning throughout the winter would certainly not be willing to teach over the summer. However you swing it, private schools are always at a huge advantage but going online through the winter for all schools will mean that gap will widen even more. If school stopped for a winter holiday and made up all face to face time teaching in the spring and summer, this would be fairer.[/quote]
Not entirely convinced by this line of argument! We definitely didn't save money over lockdown - significant numbers of students in fee arrears. Mind you, I'm not in the U.K., so unsure what proportion of the budget you're talking for support staff - ours just kept bimbling around the deserted campus on full pay - I accept this might make a considerable difference.

There would be no appetite from anyone here for a longer summer term; everyone's out of the capital & off to their nice second home with a cooling sea breeze as soon as Ramadan & exam season are done . So, okay, plenty of dissimilarities I'm no doubt not fully allowing for.

However, I still don't believe that private schools anywhere will just take a winter hiatus. There will be parents wanting to give them money to teach. They're a business - they won't turn customers away.

& if they did, the same parents would be hiring tutors to teach over zoom.

I'd be going for a rota system blended learning & big push on getting the tech out to everyone, rather than suspending the curriculum again.

I don't feel safe going back to work even though my setting has been as good as it can be to keep us safe. I don't feel the dc are safe to go back either.
Trying to teach younger dd was incredibly stressful whilst simultaneously helping students on line BUT we were totally Safe.

See what Katharine Birbalsingh (previous post) says about selective schools and zoom lessons. V different kettle of fish to comprehensives.

My DD was in school full time throughout lockdown, theres no way she would manage home learning. She barely manages learning whilst in school. I would assume if schools close it would be similar criteria for staying in this time. I was absolutely slammed for sending her in full time on mumsnet last time, I'm sure I would be again.

What is just so frustrating is:

1. Home learning: INTOLERABLE
2. Mitigation measures in schools: NO MONEY
3. Masks in schools: INTOLERABLE
4. Vaccinations for teachers: NOT BEFORE EVERYONE ELSE HAS HAD IT ESPECIALLY SUPERMARKET WORKERS
5. Mass testing in schools: ONLY IF YOU DO IT YOURSELF WITH NO MONEY AND INEFFECTIVE TESTS BY NEXT WEEK
6. Schools open as normal: RAMPANT COVID

We've had 6) since September. At some point, the point will be forced that however intolerable the other options are to various groups, they are less intolerable than the rampant covid option.

I think they will have to bend on the mass testing and actually put some proper government effort into it instead of offloading onto schools. But they should be taking a proper look at 2) and 3) as well.

Yes but we are not selective, in fact the other way. We did an amazing job and it wasn't hard, we just ran a very tight ship and were proactive, doing tech audit, before the train hit, asking around for tech help, putting measures in place for those who needed it. We had staff driving to drop off laptops.
We can't aim for the most perfect teaching, we can't leave dc to wallow with no communication each and every day either.

They need structure, lessons, something to attend, get up for and learn.

I can't see, even with screens, placing dc in masks all day, how they can stop this new strain.

You would need the army on site to watch and Marshall the dc, mask hygiene, hand washing, but most of all, social distancing.
It's impossible to keep teens away from each other, they are extremely physical beings.

I think it's a tough one. It has been very hard living with risks after shielding but it is also hard to home school. I think some more leeway could have been given to people's different situations. It may be too late now to do much of that.

I don't see how vaccines could be given straightaway to children without more testing.

I think vaccines need to be rolled out in order of vulnerability and need. It might be that schools need to be on line for a short while while that is happening.

Schools could be a made both safer and more effective if there were more space and smaller classes and we need to look at that for the medium term.

I don't think we will be vaccinating kids in the 1st week of January.

Do you know what I would argue that private schools as part of their 'charitable status' should also provide online lessons to state schools and borrow the many laptops they have sitting in storage but we all know that would never happen.
Yet you would still get people on MN and social media complaining that those lessons were not directly coming from their own child’s teacher and therefore wouldn’t ‘count’.
We have The Oak National Academy for all that really and it’s a good resource that should often be utilised more after all it’s the only place the government has actually put some money towards but for some reason, many parents don’t want to use it or consider it work set.

Here's Gav's wanky piece for the Telegraph, blaming teachers in advance for the failure of the mass testing initiative.

dfemedia.blog.gov.uk/2020/12/21/gavin-williamson-if-we-work-together-on-coronavirus-testing-we-can-keep-schools-open/

And here is a school leader's reply:

"F**k off Gav. Nobody trusts you. There is no ‘we’. The good will reserves are empty. Some schools are working today on track and trace from last week because you didn’t let them close; your cut ‘n’ paste guidance is unresourced crap. You’re a bad joke."

Gav has to resign, surely.

Yeah & you'd also get private school parents fuming that other dc were getting 'for free' what they were paying ££££s for.

Agree in a more altruistic world it would be lovely.

I'd rather see him put in the stocks with teachers given an endless supply of rotten tomatoes.

He’s an absolute disgrace and should never have been given this job after being fired from his last one by Theresa. Still blaming teachers for his own failures and incompetencies I see.
Does anyone still think ‘teachers can’t be criticised’ and ‘have it too easy’?