Vulnerability is not just to the virus.

[OpheliasCrayon]

I'm getting increasingly frustrated with people just calling for schools to be shut immediately. I absolutely understand the risks in keeping them open, I work in them and have seen covid spread in my workplace like wildfire. I also don't know what the correct answer is. Fortunately I don't have to make the choices though and for as long as I am required to be in work, I will be, gladly.

I am not in this for a fight. I definitely can't be bothered with that. But I do want to explain and remind people of something which does not come from Science papers, medical journals or government policy. Rather from what I've seen and worked alongside during decades of experience in the classroom working with vulnerable children.

Vulnerability in this situation does not just relate to becoming unwell with covid and dying or getting long term illnesses. I don't belittle those things, this said, I have multiple chronic illnesses and have lived with them for decades and ive lost a child (not to covid) so, I wouldn't ever belittle either thing and understand the gravity and tragedy of both situations...

However when people say that vulnerable children may be in school I'm not sure they are truly understanding the situation. It's true, they can be in school, they should be in school..... Tragically though, the children who are the most vulnerable are not likely to be in school. Their parents for whatever reason may not want /be able to take their children into school. Therefore we, as education staff, cannot keep an eye on the children we MOST desperately need to keep an eye on. Abused, neglected, malnourished children aren't going to be willingly brought into school during a lockdown and if they are not in school them we cannot monitor what is happening to them. If people from outside the family cannot monitor what is going on then we cannot act to keep these children safe.

We may well be protecting the most vulnerable to covid, if we lockdown (I'm CEV so that does technically apply to me although I haven't shieled and worked throughout despite letters but I reserve my right to my personal choice )...but surely we need to, people need to realise that there are other extremely vulnerable people, people who cannot and will not speak out for themselves in the vast majority of cases, people who need us to look out for them.

There is more to life than covid and there are more vulnerabilities than covid. But because of covid we are losing sight of these vulnerable young children more and more and I am wondering do we have chance to get them back into our care if this continues?

Im an SEN teacher but I have been in countless mainstream schools over the years and have enough experience and knowledge in all settings to know these vulnerable children are across all settings.

For those of you who did realise this theny apologies. For those of you who didn't.. then please understand that whilst I hope for you your children are safe, fed, loved and cared for, this is not the same for all children. I have seen things over my years of work which have affected me still 20 years on. I'm not going to repeat them because this isn't what this is about , I'm not going to give details of children's desperately tragic lives to prove my point. But every time we mention vulnerable, we are thinking of the most obvious sort of risk - that of covid itself, but whilst you're calling for schools to shut, please realise what that means.

If we are working together to protect the vulnerable, why are we also not working together to protect the most vulnerable children,? By which I mean mandating school attendance so they have to attend along with their peers, and we can keep the eye that we very much need to keep on ALL the children in our care.

I do not want schools to close. I have 2 dds who need to be in school and benefit from being in school. But for some dc school is not a safe space. One of my dds is no longer attending school as it is not suitable for her.

I'm getting increasingly frustrated with people just calling for schools to be shut immediately

I'm not really seeing this view.

I've seen many posts about the need for safer schools.

I have seen some acknowledging the possibility that schools might start late in January, and trying to,work out his best to manage it if it becomes truly necessary. Including how to reduce the impact on the socially vulnerable and those with little/no access to adequate tech.

But actively advocating it? No.

@Freddiefox

Our whole approach to vulnerable children and the pressure we put on schools to pick up the slack of underfunded services is unfair and is just a sticking plaster for the children. We need to look at a longer term approach for the children.

This. While i don't deny its awful for vunerable children, Schools are not the only place that helps and are really only part of a multi-organisational approach. Social work is where the involvement is. They can monitor children at home etc. To me, the mantra so quickly verbalised about vunerable children is being used quite frankly to justify schools being kept open. There are other organisations that can be far more involved than schools. Schools should NOT be soley responsible. I absolutely DONT hear anyone talking about vunerable children during their summer holidays. Why is that? I have NEVER seen a thread on here about it!

At the moment the virus has changed. Children who were largely unaffected are suggested to catch the virus like adults. This means it will spread covid far and wide. To the vunerable, to vunerable children etc. It also means that the rate of Multi-inflammatory disease will increase [ A by product of covid and a reaction from the immune system]
A baby under 1 just recently died in Scotland of covid.

If its also allowed to spread, deaths will increase, hospitals overrun and the potential for the virus to further mutate is there.

Today there were nearly 40000 cases. Absolutely an awful situation. I cannot understand why parents would want to risk schools when clearly It is NOT SAFE.

It's all about saving the greatest number of lives though OP.
It's very hard for policy makers are there are harms to closing schools and harms to keeping them open. Same for lockdown. Who is to say who the most vulnerable in society is?
At the end of the day policy makers should act to save the greatest number of lives.

I've reported @Leafyhouse's post for false information

@Fortherosesjoni70

At the moment the virus has changed. Children who were largely unaffected are suggested to catch the virus like adults. This means it will spread covid far and wide. To the vunerable, to vunerable children etc. It also means that the rate of Multi-inflammatory disease will increase [ A by product of covid and a reaction from the immune system] A baby under 1 just recently died in Scotland of covid.

@Fortherosesjoni70 NO, they do not. They catch the new strain as often as adults, they are not dying at the same rate of adults.

The Uk variant is more easily transmissible. It's the South African variant that is making young people seriously ill.

It’s Christmas Eve so schools are closed right now! They are not likely to go back until the end of Jan due to the new strain of Covid. I am in an area that’s rife with it and school isn’t a safe place for teachers at the moment.

Not all children are happy in school. Some benefitted hugely from the extended break in the summer and the chance to pursue their interests rather than a treadmill of testing. One size doesn’t fit all.

Yes totally agree OP

@Grobagsforever read my post. I didnt say they were. I am saying that if more children are catching it now and are affected by it, it stands to reason more children will get MIS.

@TorringtonDean

It’s Christmas Eve so schools are closed right now! They are not likely to go back until the end of Jan due to the new strain of Covid. I am in an area that’s rife with it and school isn’t a safe place for teachers at the moment.

Not all children are happy in school. Some benefitted hugely from the extended break in the summer and the chance to pursue their interests rather than a treadmill of testing. One size doesn’t fit all.

My children were jumping from the lights [with happiness]that they dont have to go back to school until after the 18th January. They are doing online teaching in Scotland. They may not even go back then. I am a teacher and am expected in school on the 6th January without the children. Weird but maybe we are to set thing up.

If children aren’t safe at home between 9 and 3 M-F then they’re not safe at home evenings and weekends either.

Completely agree op. It’s not about the schools picking up all the pieces it’s about giving children at least a chance to be identified and supported by the right agencies. It’s about having a structured supportive environment for children to learn effectively with peers, it’s about social development and safeguarding as well as every child getting the opportunity to learn.

Being a parent is a relationship, being a teacher is a skilled professional role. I can’t believe it’s controversial to want children educated appropriately and to have access to trusted adults they can disclose to if needed. One day these children will be adults and there will be an inquiry into the way they were treated. I think we need to reflect how just saying Covid will look to those who have suffered immense loss in the future.

But we won’t the schools will shut, the kids will suffer and in a few years we’ll all be here wondering why they’re screwed up.

Don’t know what I think about school closures there are costs and risks in both directions. But my 2 thoughts are wouldn’t that be mitigated if vulnerable children were entitled to attend school as they were in the first lockdown alongside key worker children? The types of issues I think you are referring to don’t feel like they are (or should be) predominantly for teachers. If Covid and budgets weren’t an issue, what would be the best types of support and intervention for vulnerable children.

In the 1st world country where I live (not uk) it was estimated that 5000 of the most vulnerable children disappeared for the duration without trace during the 1st lockdown. No agencies at all had contact with them during that time.

I assume when the schools reopened they mostly reappeared but I don't know for sure.

@tldr

If children aren’t safe at home between 9 and 3 M-F then they’re not safe at home evenings and weekends either.

Exactly. Didnt here these people mentioning the summer holidays either? Where were you when you were away on your summer break? When were you worrying about vunerable children when you were on the beach sunning yourself.

FFS

[quote Fortherosesjoni70]@Grobagsforever read my post. I didnt say they were. I am saying that if more children are catching it now and are affected by it, it stands to reason more children will get MIS.[/quote]
@Fortherosesjoni70

I don't think that link was ever proved though.

It absolutely was!

www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mis-c-in-kids-covid-19/symptoms-causes/syc-20502550#:~:text=%20Multisystem%20inflammatory%20syndrome%20in%20children%20%28MIS-C%29%20and,children%20have%20been%20diagnosed%20with%20MIS-C...%20More%20

I fully agree op.

The reaction to covid is hysterical. I’ve seen no information to suggest the new mutations are more dangerous for children, or anyone else for that matter.

My children are lucky ones and are safe, but they still need school anyway for their mental health amongst other things.

The exact cause of MIS-C is not known yet, but it appears to be an excessive immune response related to COVID-19. Many children with MIS-C have a positive antibody test result. This means they've had a recent infection with the COVID-19 virus. Some may have a current infection with the virus.

and if you dig further, i am sure you will find more things that link the two.

@festivetimes

I fully agree op.

The reaction to covid is hysterical. I’ve seen no information to suggest the new mutations are more dangerous for children, or anyone else for that matter.

My children are lucky ones and are safe, but they still need school anyway for their mental health amongst other things.

They are NOT more dangerous to children but if more children are susceptible it may mean more will have MIS.