London School of Hygiene & Medicine states that all schools need to be closed

[SoscaredforJan]

Pre-print of the new B.1.1.7 lineage published 23rd Dec 2020.

“Our estimates suggest that control measures of a similar stringency to the national lockdown implemented in England in November 2020 are unlikely to reduce the effective reproduction number Rt to less than 1, unless primary schools, secondary schools, and universities are also closed.

We project that large resurgences of the virus are likely to occur following easing of control measures.

It may be necessary to greatly accelerate vaccine roll-out to have an appreciable impact in suppressing the resulting disease burden.”

cmmid.github.io/topics/covid19/uk-novel-variant.html

@CleverCatty. In the last lockdown, my DS 2.5 ended up with a huge lump on his head because, instead of supervising him, I was teaching an online class in the next door room. He was meant to be watching cartoons but got bored and started jumping off the sofa.

I'm not putting us both through that again. He spent 6-7 hours in front of the TV some days. I'd rather quit.

@RosesAndHellebores

The illness in children and young people is relatively mild. Schools and universities must remain open. However to facilitate that we need to think more carefully about the distribution of the vaccine and teachers/lecturers must be given parity with front line NHS staff. I agree with Prue Leith's comments and know the children's (albeit grown up ones) grannies in their 80s would too.

We need to facilitate the working population and continue shielding the elderly population.

This is dangerous UsRThem and Dr Quack nonsense. You can attempt to shield the elderly and the vulnerable as much as you want to but it won’t work. It is that demographic that has to access hospitals and personal care the most. If Covid is raging through the country it will be raging through those services they need to use so they will catch it.

Also, read any account of the ICU staff. ICU’s are at least half full of working age people. How would that work? It’s an utter nonsense to suggest it.

Fine close the schools but who is paying all these parents wages??????????

I for one am not prepared to do 2 jobs at the same time and no fucker is going to pay my full time wage are they.

We are at risk of having a generation of not very advanced children who would go on to uni etc.

Please can someone please explain how you would teach my 3 primary aged (5, 8, 10) children online, without any assistance from me? Ensuring they understand the new tooic/content etc, providing feedback?

My husband and I both work full time.

Thank you

It's all well and good saying furlough the parents but my office of 3 nhs workers would be down to 1 very part time post. How's that gonna work? Oh furlough the other parent I hear you cry. Same problem. It would be a logistical nightmare.

@TheHoneyBadger

I think mainly people believe what they want to believe. No one can rationally understand the risks involved and the situation in schools and believe they should carry on as normal. Or perhaps that's me believing what I need to believe because I can't cope with thinking anyone could really be that selfish

@TheHoneyBadger

Unfortunately I suspect the government put a lot of time and effort over the summer into convincing people that schools were totally safe. I couldn't believe the number of news articles from generally reputable places I saw that were clearly pushing that rhetoric, and none, from what I saw, were asking the questions that to me were obvious.
That mixed with "bad for children's mental health", which, I would agree it has been bad for some-but equally well it has been brilliant for others, has put it into the public consciousness that Schools Must Not Close Whatever.

I think there is a mixture of people who have ingested the above and it will take a long time, or a serious incident, to change their mind.

Then you have people who it would be inconvenient to have the children at home. I suspect with them there is an aspect of fingers in ears, because they don't want to know.

Then you have the people who aren't looking too far into it. They've heard children don't get seriously ill, so think it doesn't matter if it runs rampant through schools because the children won't get very ill. They haven't seen the implications-vulnerable children/teachers, plus also that if children have it, then it will spread out to parents/grandparents.

@Jinglingmod

Most of the students I actively talk to about this say their mental health is much worse since September than during lockdown. They're worried about isolating (some have had to do it much more than others and they all know it's unfair), they're worried about taking the virus out of school to their families or into school to their teachers, they're worried about their exams and the risible govt response last year, they hate the changes on school which mean it's NOT normal...

Just put it this way. I was recently diagnosed with COVID and have been unwell. The whole family now has the virus

My year 12 dd caught the virus from school.
She now feels guilty that she brought the virus home

[quote MessAllOver]@CleverCatty. In the last lockdown, my DS 2.5 ended up with a huge lump on his head because, instead of supervising him, I was teaching an online class in the next door room. He was meant to be watching cartoons but got bored and started jumping off the sofa.

I'm not putting us both through that again. He spent 6-7 hours in front of the TV some days. I'd rather quit.[/quote]
That sounds awful. Sorry to hear that.

I totally agree with you that working and working and caring for young children at the same time doesn't or is very hard to make work!

My DM was a primary school teacher for many years too and a few friends are primary school teachers so I know how hard teachers have it!

If you are NHS then you would likely class as a key worker so wouldn't need furlough. People who are public sector doing essentially the same job as me are KW, private sector aren't given that status. Furlough aligns that disparity I think.

The government should have in invested in schools March, making them bigger building more. Are schools have been overcrowded for years. Instead they pay for us to eat out to get fat and spread the virus. And waste 100000 on an app that doesn’t work and give there friends contracts. Children are spreaders.

@Benhew

If you are NHS then you would likely class as a key worker so wouldn't need furlough. People who are public sector doing essentially the same job as me are KW, private sector aren't given that status. Furlough aligns that disparity I think.

Yeah but if you can wfh school won't necessarily give you a place.

@Gobbolino7825

Please can someone please explain how you would teach my 3 primary aged (5, 8, 10) children online, without any assistance from me? Ensuring they understand the new tooic/content etc, providing feedback?

My husband and I both work full time.

Thank you

You really can't do it - or not effectively - you need one parent who is able to supervise and help them learn.

Which is where furlough for one working parent should come in.

Such a shame we didn't have masks and money to enable as much social distancing as possible since September.

If we'd had these ways to reduce risk of airborne spread, it might not have come to this.

I've been writing to my MP and headteachers saying this since August.

Parents who want schools open need to put their money where their mouth is and demand masks (and model good mask wearing to their kids too). I don't think now that will be enough, but it might be a way to go back sooner than otherwise possible. Plus good testing, funded properly (not lateral flow and not done by teachers or volunteers).

Norris said schools are safe, I never believed him I can’t believe people did

Ilovejkrowling.well said

Yeah but if you can wfh school won't necessarily give you a place.

Ours definitely don't. If you WFH you do not get keyworker places for school or nursery, no matter what your job is.

@CleverCatty unfortunately both the jobs my husband and I do can't be furloughed or the businesses we work for would fail. We are not classified as key workers, but are in high pressured jobs where the businesses we work for rely on us.

If people want teaching to be moved to online - I expect just that - for my children to be taught by their teachers. I'm not against the idea per se, but it cannot be expected for parents do do the job their teachers are paid to do, while also doing the job we are paid do do!

Parents with children who are primary school age should get 100 percent furlong pay but can someone tell me who will look after my children when me and dh are in hospital or dead

I wish it would be recognised that WFH still means working, its absurd it is seen as anything else. I ended up taking a large period unpaid in the last lockdown as my youngest could not be left unsupervised, it just wasn't safe for me to do my job and be in calls while he was left alone but I wasn't able to claim any financial assistance. Unfortunately unless they recognise this issue people will have no choice but to break the rules and use various family members if the schools close again as bills need paying.

[quote Gobbolino7825]@CleverCatty unfortunately both the jobs my husband and I do can't be furloughed or the businesses we work for would fail. We are not classified as key workers, but are in high pressured jobs where the businesses we work for rely on us.

If people want teaching to be moved to online - I expect just that - for my children to be taught by their teachers. I'm not against the idea per se, but it cannot be expected for parents do do the job their teachers are paid to do, while also doing the job we are paid do do![/quote]
I totally agree teachers should teach online too!

I haven't made myself clear. I think teachers should teach online.

But if not possible for teachers to teach online then parents (one or other) should be furloughed.

But if I can work and do Zoom classes etc online then teachers should be able to teach online.

I absolutely agree with you that most parents cannot do an adequate job of teaching their DC online and that teachers should do this!

@GoldenOmber

Yeah but if you can wfh school won't necessarily give you a place.

Ours definitely don't. If you WFH you do not get keyworker places for school or nursery, no matter what your job is.

Nor if you’ve been on a night shift and need to sleep or are on call.

I think the childcare is slightly improved over last time as childcare and support bubbles are now allowed which could potentially allow people to share with another family etc. Unfortunately there’s no easy answers, I know many key worker staff weren’t very happy about having to send children to school when others could be shielded from risk and be with their families. Tough times for everyone with children I think

I honestly think they need to consider that children have now missed the bulk of 2 terms of education and likely more on the horizon that something with the school year needs to be done rather than heap pressure on parents to educate.

The problem is Boris has put his head in the sand

@CleverCatty I guess I just want to know how this would work in practice. Lots of people can't be furloughed as the jobs they do are too important to the businesses they work in. There is literally no one else who can do the job I do at my work, but I also cannot adequately supervise home learning if it is not very heavily teacher led, online, live etc. A few worksheets / videos uploaded to Google classroom or whatever is not adequate teaching when it comes to remote learning. I fear that is what is in store for us if the schools close in our area as the provision was absolutely shocking during the first lockdown.

@Benhew how have they missed 2 terms !??? We have been open (as much as we could) last term, and taught on line for summer term. I'm confused as to why any child can have missed 2 terms.