Schools to open as planned in Jan, says Michael Gove.

[DonLewis]

Breaking news.

I can't help but think this is madness.

I will not be administering any tests. I'm a teacher and not insured for anything medical. And I'm not doing it.
And schools will close as staff will get sick again. Some will die. If this goes ahead I am resigning. I've had enough of my life being disposable.

@Pastanred
*teachers dont need ppe to test asymptomtic peopole.

im a teacher and most of my colleagues are totally not even arsed so stop bloody putting threads on daily like we are the worried well - we are not*

🤦‍♀️

If my DD is back in school next week I'll eat my hat. It seems the very strongest predictor of a government action is them saying the firm opposite.

It takes a couple of weeks for mixing to result in increased cases, hospital admissions and then deaths. So the rocketing numbers we are seeing at the moment is due partly to the mixing in schools at the end of term.

Couldn’t the huge rise in cases be explained by the incubation period?

Unsafe. Absolute madness. Hospitals will not cope.

Its looking likely that high schools will be online learning until at least the 18th.

I think they will try and open the primary schools - at least in T2 and T3. Which may or may not go badly.

The reason there is loads in the paper today is there is a big argument going on within the Cabinet about it. Williamson wants the schools open but (I think) Hancock doesn't. So its playing out in the papers to win public support.

Personally if Gove says something I'd ignore it, because when The Gove is deployed it means no one else is willing to go record.

@notevenat20 the rise in cases you can't say not down to schools yet they only broke up
Just over a week ago, as the virus can take upto 10 days to show plus a few days for people to test there is no way of knowing
Only with schools closed for a few weeks will you know about schools
Plus they have data on how many have got at school , wether they also have the data to show how many then caught off their children I don't know
A friend of mine ds got positive test results on xmas day after catching from school ( there was several cases in the school )

@donewithitalltodayandxmas

Last day of term was 17 December for most schools. It's very unlikely that anyone showing symptoms for the first time today would have caught it before then. You are right that everything is delayed though and it's hard to separate individual effects (e.g. the tiers changed again).

I really think there needs to be some kind of localised closures if necessary rather than a "one size fits all." I can understand the need for closures in tier 4 areas where cases are sky high but I'd hate to see DS's school closed when our local rate is only 151 per 100k and there have been no Covid cases in school since October.

I'd like to see more power given to heads as well to make the best decisions for their school and the power to decide to move online if necessary, they're the ones that have to be there every day and know the situation.

And bloody let parents who want to keep their kids home do so without threatening fines!

Also one child in the family could be asymptomatic, got it from school, and then pass it on to another family member so that person has unwittingly caught it via school

Many months ago the Government announced a tier system for schools which detailed when schools in certain areas might have to go on a rota system/close but it has never been mentioned since.

@Bluewavescrashing

Like fuck will I be swabbing the 5 and 6 year olds in my class. I found the test unpleasant as an adult. I have no medical training, no ppe.

DfE always knew this would be the hardest time of year. They could have spent the last few months putting plans in place. Rotas, smaller teaching groups, using other public spaces for teaching, training up staff for testing, setting up marquees, installing more handwashing stations, getting a bombproof online learning programme up and running that children could use if self isolating. But, no.

This. I find it astonishing that we are a year in from the first rumours of this disease, and education has still not been properly resolved. Apart from the fact that children clearly fuel spread and we have a far more contagious new strain, what about teaching staff ? They still expect teachers, many of whom are in riskier age groups, to spend their days in a room with so many others for hours on end ? When they can’t go to a restaurant or pub as that is too risky ?

What's going to be even stranger is that if we are in close contact with a positive case we won't be isolating. Oh no. We will be tested for 5 days. Meantime we will be in work and if I'm in work I must also be ok to go to the supermarket and on public transport. I mean, what could possible go wrong with that scenario - which starts on Monday. No pesky 10 day isolating any more for school staff.

@ineedaholidaynow

Many months ago the Government announced a tier system for schools which detailed when schools in certain areas might have to go on a rota system/close but it has never been mentioned since.

Yes. People keep saying it needs to be a tiered approach to closures, but this was the Govs plan before schools opened and it was never implemented.

All schools, colleges and other education settings are opening for the start of term, with all those in areas subject to local restrictions currently at Tier 1 – fully open to all pupils full time, with face coverings required in corridors and communal areas for pupils in Year 7 and above.

If all other measures have been exhausted, Tier 2 would advise secondary schools and colleges in a restricted area to use rotas to help break chains of transmission of coronavirus, while primary schools remain open to all pupils.

Tiers 3 and 4 introduce remote learning full time for wider groups of pupils, with vulnerable children and children of critical workers continuing to attend.

www.gov.uk/government/news/all-possible-measures-to-be-taken-before-schools-and-colleges-close

Primary schools are where adults have to mix.

Parents crammed together on pavements whilst waiting for the school gate to open, chatting to the other parents, brushing against each other etc.

For those reasons alone I imagine transmission rates and infection rates would reduce if Primary Schools are closed.

Yes they’re outside and yes the majority are probably wearing masks, but Primary Schools being open means gatherings of people.

And of course there is this new variant which may affect children more than the original strain and also transmits at a much faster rate.

And all the teachers being made to work in that environment with no protection. Of course it’s likely that some of them will catch it and then take it home to the families.

It will be really awful for a lot of families if they do close, but if the infection rates and death rates spiral out of control and the NHS can’t cope then I guess there will be no option but to close them.

Michael Gove may have said that Primary Schools will be returning as normal but I will believe it when I see it.

I'm in a tier 3 area and know lots of kids, both primary and secondary that have had Covid in the last month or so, including my DD. From this not very robust sample, none of their parents have become ill. But it's certainly spreading a lot in schools once it gets a toe hold.
I'd be very happy for kids to go back to blended learning, with those that can be taught at home staying at home and thus creating more space in schools for those that can't.

There should not just be blanket school closures. Keep it localised. It's not fair to close them in areas where cases are low because how long is it going to be for? I'm sorry but 6 months was more than long enough. A 2 week circuit break maybe but not months and months like last time. I am school staff too.

I hope this is the case. The first lockdown broke us - I am a lone parents of a child with complex needs. I would not cope with another school closure.

@Themanofmydreams if you're school staff then how was your school closed for 6 months ? We went in like mid March and schools break up mid July, with 3 weeks of holiday in there. So closed 3.5 months at the most ?

Here's what will happen:

They'll keep primary schools open so that they can keep spouting their 'prioritising education' (while doing nothing) bullshit.

The rates won't go down enough. That's because hundreds of people will still be mixing every day, with on social distancing. And positive cases will be spread FURTHER in schools due to the 48% accurate tests that are going to be used to replace isolation of contacts. In the meantime, people will continue with sleepovers and playdates outside of school because 'all the kids are in her bubble' (yes, this is happening 100%). On top of that, the secondary schools that are closed, many parents will allow their children to meet up because their younger children are going to school and meeting up so they're not isolated as a family.

I am a very careful, cautious person, but I must say that with the kids in school, I'm far less cautious as I'm already a total sitting duck exposed to hundreds of possible links/cases per day so what does it matter if I go here or there as well?!

Then when the numbers don't go down, they'll shut primary as well. All the time with secondaries online will have been wasted as it'll effectively be the ACTUAL start of lockdown.

I'm amazed that business owners are not furious at their livelihoods being trashed for this kind of ill-thought-out plan.

@NotaChocoholic

The first lockdown broke us - I am a lone parents of a child with complex needs. I would not cope with another school closure.

If your child has special needs, or is vulnerable due to your mental health then they can go to school.

I think it’s far too risky to be at school at the minute but also don’t feel happy to send my child (yr4) to wash hands at an outdoor basin with cold water and no option to dry them on a freezing day before they even go in.
Washing them absolutely needs to happen to help with safety measures but it’s bloody cruel in this temperature.

The caveat here is 'says Michael Gove.'

Michael Gove says a lot of things, but unfortunately not a lot of them turn out to be true.

I do really hope that they reopen primaries as WFH & homeschool is just so difficult but I think we're still 50/50 at best.

@mumsneedwine 6 months for my KS2 child at another school and 6 months I didn't work (lunchtime staff). I wanted to work.