What do you think? Are schools going to be closed?

[mamamia2020]

We've just returned to the UK to live, my youngest is due to start his new school on 5th January. Big change, new country, brand new town. We're in a Tier 3 area. I know that it's all speculation but what do you think? I've been gearing my son up for his new school now thinking about adding the caveat that it might be delayed. I do hope whatever the decision it isn't left until the last minute...

www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/crunch-meeting-held-whether-reopen-19525748?ref=BNTMedia&utm_medium=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0nIDo3bQOuMbpRfY9MiPun9272DuWDmthepLXabmNC8tnAgPsNPiuH7N4

It's very annoying as if schools close working parents need to make other plans, ie I could sacrifice a week's leave now to do work while DH is off. But of course it's nothing but a last minute shambles with this Government.

I hope so.

@MargosKaftan

Not in tier 4 in London and South east - it was announced on 19th that Christmas was cancelled. We've not even been allowed to meet up outside.

But even then, if the problem is people mixing outside of school /what they are allowed in their tier, closing schools won't fix that.

And everyone follows the rules?

There have to be priorities and schools should rightly be one of those.

However, when you consider the restrictions placed on those in tier 4, you can understand why some people will not follow them whilst schools continue as last term.

Why would people restrict themselves so much when all that close contact mixing happens without even basic social distancing.

This implies the return to secondary will be delayed by another week.

So Y11 and 13 in wc 11th and everyone else from 18th. Primaries back from 4th as planned.

www.tes.com/news/exclusive-new-school-opening-delay-agreed-ministers

Time will tell though

Well I'm not sending mine into this, I don't want them catching anything at all for the next few weeks.

I'll have to go in but my exposure is at least more under my control. On one day its very poor, the working conditions...

Remember this? Maybe it will surface again this week...

It’s bonkers. I’m hoping this whole pantomime is just the government educating all the people that believed the schools are safe and it doesn’t affect children narrative of the last six months.

Schools aren’t covid secure.
Children can catch covid.
Children can get sick from covid.
Children can get long covid.
Children can transmit covid to families and communities.
Hospitals are overwhelmed already and it’s still on the way up.
Schools have to close.
Yes parents need support and it is crap.
But it’s a pandemic, those that can home ed need to home ed.
Teachers, children and families deserve and are entitled to as much protection as everyone else.
I want to protect my children and I want schools to be as safe as possible for those that need to attend.
The bung then all in approach has cost lives and arguably caused mutations.

@MrsSalvador

Remember this? Maybe it will surface again this week...

Not another set. Is this the current tiers, aligned to the jcb alert levels, or something else entirely??

@wondersun

It’s bonkers. I’m hoping this whole pantomime is just the government educating all the people that believed the schools are safe and it doesn’t affect children narrative of the last six months.

Schools aren’t covid secure.
Children can catch covid.
Children can get sick from covid.
Children can get long covid.
Children can transmit covid to families and communities.
Hospitals are overwhelmed already and it’s still on the way up.
Schools have to close.
Yes parents need support and it is crap.
But it’s a pandemic, those that can home ed need to home ed.
Teachers, children and families deserve and are entitled to as much protection as everyone else.
I want to protect my children and I want schools to be as safe as possible for those that need to attend.
The bung then all in approach has cost lives and arguably caused mutations.

This a million times.

Well thank fuck im in Scotland.
All primaries and secondaries closed until at least the 18th January.
Fuckwits in Westminster. I really do feel sooo sorry for the teaching staff.

..and the parents who WILL now catch it and who may be vunverable.

..and the rise in multi inflammatory due to the rise of covid infections in children.

It's such a nightmare for school staff.

With the stuff I'm reading about London hospitals being so full it would be criminal to let London secondary schools open imo. My dd came home at the end of term with Covid, passed it on to everyone in the family. I'm sure we can't be unusual...

I’m really anxious about this. We have dc in private primary. I taught dc at home before Christmas because of vulnerable family members. There was covid going around her school, staff (not all by any means) not following the risk assessment and parents not following the rules and indeed threatening to pull children from the school because they felt the school shouldn’t have to enforce the govts draconian school measures. They also did a lot more and had a lot more potential for spreading than any of my friends dc in their schools eg by having over 10 different teachers a week, offering clubs and wrap around etc etc between bubbles.

The school started off saying they would support us but have changed their policy and decided if we continue to do this we will be deregistered from the school. I’m broken. I don’t want dd to lose her place and have been happily accepting any work they send home (which are ppts of about half the lessons. Nothing is taught (which is fine, I don’t expect it) or marked. If primaries aren't closed I’m in an impossible situ and I’m not sure how we’ll manage as many of the other parents have no respect for following the rules and it was spreading last term like wildfire

To finish my point, please at least let parents make the choice to keep children hone. This would in turn reduce class sizes. Have those in school in for 4 days a week with the other day fir school staff to set and mark work for those working at home

@YuleAreBeingUnREASTIEable does the government decision on this make any difference to what your dc’s private school decide?

Surely they’re a private business and can make independent decisions about who they deregister regardless of what Boris/Drakeford/Sturgeon (I don’t know where you live) decide for state schools.

@YuleAreBeingUnREASTIEable do you know any teachers?
I'm presuming not, as otherwise there is no way you'd believe a single day is long enough to produce decent online work, which would need to be prepared in addition to planning lessons for those in school, let alone doing any marking!

I'm amazed at that reastie. As a pp said surely they have more flexibility than what the UK govt dictate.

@mineofuselessinformation I am a teacher!

@StealthPolarBear they don’t have to, they have flexibility, they have just chosen not to.

@Muchtoomuchtodo they have to follow govt eg if schools are to close, they have to too. But if schools are to remain open, they don’t have to deregister those who want to wfh, but they have chosen they will.

Scotland has reported their highest number of daily cases... no shit Sherlock!! The health boards, schools and unions begged the Scottish Government to shut schools before the 23rd, they refused. What the hell did they expect?

Scotland have also not reported numbers for the past 5 days. So I'm not suprised the numbers are high if it is a catch up of test results over Christmas.

Course they haven't submitted figures as they can't bear to prove that the health boards/track and trace were right. It's just like they said there were no in school transmissions in October when schools in Renfrewshire and across the central belt were riddled with it. Everybody had obviously caught it elsewhere despite going nowhere else due to lockdown...

@InTheLongGrass

Scotland have also not reported numbers for the past 5 days. So I'm not suprised the numbers are high if it is a catch up of test results over Christmas.

Checking with the scottish papers 7 deaths over the xmas period, so that is good news for Scotland.

www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsscotland/coronavirus-in-scotland-seven-deaths-over-christmas-as-1895-new-cases-recorded-in-last-24-hours/ar-BB1cjX5h

Matt Hancock on good morning Britain says a plan for schools will be set out today. I got the impression he was hinting that schools wouldn't return as normal but I could be wrong!