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.

The focus needs to swiftly shift from keeping children in school to keeping them safe.

Great post itsasecret you've articulated what I was trying to, but failing, very well. That basically opening schools as they did - pretty much the same as in March (30 to a class, inside, no masks, no SD) is what helped cause this.

Viruses evolve, that will be a direct response of letting it run through our children. I still can’t believe people have been ok with that to be honest. Especially with long term risks still relatively unknown

No-one wants to be importing a COVID strain which possibly impacts children more

Both of these things. And yes, teachers have been warning about conditions in schools since the summer. I've been up in arms about it, but I didn't foresee this though it was entirely predictable / within possibility.

The media are complicit with all their ridiculous photos of socially distanced classrooms with masks - which are the opposite of the truth.

@PandemicPavolova

The focus needs to swiftly shift from keeping children in school to keeping them safe.

Totally agree.

I wonder if schools do re-open, whether there will be a relaxation of fines as I can see a high rise in parents keeping their children at home. Surely we are now even more in a position where fining parents for keeping their child safe is the wrong way to go.

@Char2015

I wonder if schools do re-open, whether there will be a relaxation of fines as I can see a high rise in parents keeping their children at home. Surely we are now even more in a position where fining parents for keeping their child safe is the wrong way to go.

I really cannot believe that children will go back in the current way if the virus will infect more children. They will surely have to do something.

Even parents don't want this illness for their child and its implications. Surely there will be uproar?

They need to supress if first. It just isnt safe now imo.

In Scotland we managed to get to really low levels. The tory Government were happy to let a certain amount of virus circulate.
That amount was why it has blown up in Engand and especially in schools. we have it here [ I am from Scotland] but the cases here have been very much more controlled and as soon as there is an outbreak, track and trace are in the school and everybody is notified.

But teachers in Scotland are moving towards industrial action?

www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/18948582.glasgow-eis-teachers-vote-move-towards-industrial-action-ballot/
www.heraldscotland.com/news/18949337.coronavirus-edinburgh-teachers-vote-back-dispute-school-safety/

Well yes they were but it wasn't about school closures it was about mitigations in schools that weren't enough. I find it really hard to know how many schools had it here but reading what i have on mumsnet, I dont think we had it anywhere near as bad but i may be wrong. In the school i teach, we had two cases. It was dependent on the area.

If anyone from Scotland had it bad, I would love to hear. In my LEA we had a few cases but nothing ridiculous. My child's school had no cases. I had two where i teach and my other high school kids had about 4 cases.

Teachers in Edinburgh were unhappy that schools didn't move online for the last two days of term;

14 Dec -
"With council bosses rejecting a call for teaching to be moved online for the last two days of term, teachers in the city are to vote on potential strike action."

"Scotland's largest teaching union the EIS had called for a move to hybrid learning for the final days of term to cut the risk of teachers and pupils being forced to self-isolate because of coronavirus."

"EIS say it would help to ensure Christmas plans were at less of a risk of being put in jeopardy."

"But last week Edinburgh Council's education convener Ian Perry wrote to parents confirming the school holidays would begin on 22 December as planned after the Scottish Government ruled out asking council's to end the term a few days earlier."

www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/edinburgh-school-teachers-vote-potential-19452353

65 staff and pupils will now be isolating on Christmas Day due to a flurry of cases in a Trust that was going to move online for the last week of school and was overruled by Gav.

I know which way they’d be voting on my Gav thread.

schoolsweek.co.uk/65-pupils-and-staff-to-isolate-on-xmas-day-at-school-refused-early-closure-after-flurry-of-cases/

[quote Clavinova]Teachers in Edinburgh were unhappy that schools didn't move online for the last two days of term;

14 Dec -
"With council bosses rejecting a call for teaching to be moved online for the last two days of term, teachers in the city are to vote on potential strike action."

"Scotland's largest teaching union the EIS had called for a move to hybrid learning for the final days of term to cut the risk of teachers and pupils being forced to self-isolate because of coronavirus."

"EIS say it would help to ensure Christmas plans were at less of a risk of being put in jeopardy."

"But last week Edinburgh Council's education convener Ian Perry wrote to parents confirming the school holidays would begin on 22 December as planned after the Scottish Government ruled out asking council's to end the term a few days earlier."

www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/edinburgh-school-teachers-vote-potential-19452353[/quote]
We were all unhappy because we were worried about parents and family meeting up for xmas bringing the virus into schools after. We were not also able to isolate and neither were families. However we are at liberty here to remove our children from school without being fined, which i did.

I dont know what the rates were like in other areas in Scotland. It was very much 'media silence'

I do know that we had very few cases when schools went back in August.

In the community i mean at large.
Unions were furious because blended learning was chucked out the window 2 days before schools started. We were all ready for it. We were then told that we would use the blended learning model as a back up if cases were to rise. They never went on to the blended learning model despite cases rising since. That was why the unions stepped in.

They also did not provide any extra mitigations despite being in level 4 [ The top level] except dont do gym inside.

65 staff and pupils will now be isolating on Christmas Day due to a flurry of cases in a Trust that was going to move online for the last week of school and was overruled by Gav.

To be fair though 95.5% of the pupils at the school concerned have English as a second language - and reading progress at the school is well below average (-2.9) - therefore it's a difficult call as to whether those pupils should miss an extra week of face to face teaching for Christmas Day celebrations.

I don't know where to start with that post. Seriously?

@Clavinova

65 staff and pupils will now be isolating on Christmas Day due to a flurry of cases in a Trust that was going to move online for the last week of school and was overruled by Gav.

To be fair though 95.5% of the pupils at the school concerned have English as a second language - and reading progress at the school is well below average (-2.9) - therefore it's a difficult call as to whether those pupils should miss an extra week of face to face teaching for Christmas Day celebrations.

That's an awful thing to say. They should run the risk of serious illness because they don't speak English as their mother tongue?

I don't know where to start with that post. Seriously?

Why are we trying to keep schools open? Presumably to prevent some children from falling further behind their peers.

This mutation has come about because, as a pp said, we made our children available as a reservoir to the virus. I'm so angry

They should run the risk of serious illness because they don't speak English as their mother tongue?

I am guessing (I might be wrong) that the families concerned do not celebrate Christmas Day - so the day itself is not the most important factor in the decision - I said it was a difficult call.

@Clavinova

65 staff and pupils will now be isolating on Christmas Day due to a flurry of cases in a Trust that was going to move online for the last week of school and was overruled by Gav.

To be fair though 95.5% of the pupils at the school concerned have English as a second language - and reading progress at the school is well below average (-2.9) - therefore it's a difficult call as to whether those pupils should miss an extra week of face to face teaching for Christmas Day celebrations.

So what you’re saying is, EAL children don’t deserve a family Christmas. Wow.

There really are no lows to which people will not go.

We are in this mess because of mass, school as normal. It wouldn’t be a school thread without the usual denial though.

@Clavinova

They should run the risk of serious illness because they don't speak English as their mother tongue?

I am guessing (I might be wrong) that the families concerned do not celebrate Christmas Day - so the day itself is not the most important factor in the decision - I said it was a difficult call.

That is a pretty disgusting generalisation. Careful, your mask has slipped.