As the majority of DC, teachers and parents of school age DC won't need hospitalisation

[Lucyandbet]

Why are so many people on MN so gleeful at the prospect of them shutting again? Aren't we focusing on the wrong age group to impose weeks/months more isolation and crappiness on? Why does everyone seem so happy at the prospect of shut schools?

Schools need to do their part by ensuring there is support for vunerable children, enough laptops for those that need them and adequate online learning so children do not fall behind. Thats down to the government and funding. Parents should not be berated for wanting their children in school or be accused of trying to kill CEV teachers and other people. Children need education and socialisation.

No I agree with you, absolutely parents should not be berated for that.

Parents (including me) need to direct our ire at the government for failing to even provide enough laptops to Year 10 students (which the govt failed on that promise) let alone all the other year groups, rather than blame schools for that.

Vulnerable children should still be allowed in schools and equally, agencies such as CAMHS, Social Services etc need to step up more here and do their part rather than leaving so much of the face to face aspects to schools these past few months.

Wanting socialisation and getting it are two very different issues in the current climate and this may have to take a hit, just like the thousands of children last term who had to take the hit to self isolate, many for multiple times, and were not even allowed to leave their homes for fresh air, let alone to socialise, so as schools could function normally for other children.

Live teaching is certainly more possible for more this time around, but even on another thread in Coronavirus right now, about closing primaries, the OP was very much against live lessons and wanted alternatives, so therefore, as a parent, I would contact my child’s school/teachers in the event of staggered starts and temporary closures and ask for what I needed, rather than expect something specific.

Exactly Barbie. There have been repeated calls for release of data about the impact on school staff from all the unions, individuals and a few decent MPs since September. There has been a deafening silence. They are surpressed. Anecdotally I know of many teachers and TA's who have been seriously ill.

@DBML

Being a respiratory physio working in ITU with Covid patients, I’d have thought you’d of all people would have understood the importance of reducing the spread...especially with two virulent new strains circulating? Strange that you’re not advocating a more cautious and measured return to school, when school outbreaks are causing some of the biggest rises in cases, particularly in secondary.

Same

My next door neighbours are drs. The neighbour next to that is an nurse.

Not one of those seem to say. Yeah. This is so easy! Most are just exhausted. Like mentally and physically beaten down.

@happystone

It should not be schools open or schools closed.it should be schools safe. To get schools safe would mean spending money. Our government won’t give schools money. They don’t give a shit about school staff or the children, they have had since March to sourt this out. .

This is spades.

Schools could have opened safely. Things could have been done to make schools safer and provide a safer and better education.

Government won't fund it. They even wrote that in the guidance which also just says "where possible".

They decided the hill they were going to die on was schools and teachers being lazy.

Except it's not the politicians dying .......

@ChloeDecker

Schools need to do their part by ensuring there is support for vunerable children, enough laptops for those that need them and adequate online learning so children do not fall behind. Thats down to the government and funding. Parents should not be berated for wanting their children in school or be accused of trying to kill CEV teachers and other people. Children need education and socialisation.

No I agree with you, absolutely parents should not be berated for that.

Parents (including me) need to direct our ire at the government for failing to even provide enough laptops to Year 10 students (which the govt failed on that promise) let alone all the other year groups, rather than blame schools for that.

Vulnerable children should still be allowed in schools and equally, agencies such as CAMHS, Social Services etc need to step up more here and do their part rather than leaving so much of the face to face aspects to schools these past few months.

Wanting socialisation and getting it are two very different issues in the current climate and this may have to take a hit, just like the thousands of children last term who had to take the hit to self isolate, many for multiple times, and were not even allowed to leave their homes for fresh air, let alone to socialise, so as schools could function normally for other children.

Live teaching is certainly more possible for more this time around, but even on another thread in Coronavirus right now, about closing primaries, the OP was very much against live lessons and wanted alternatives, so therefore, as a parent, I would contact my child’s school/teachers in the event of staggered starts and temporary closures and ask for what I needed, rather than expect something specific.

This, so much.

Last term was crap for vulnerable children. The summer term, not so much. It wasn't great, but at least they could reliably come to school and not face being sent home repeatedly at a moment's notice.

Supporting the most vulnerable and allowing children to socialise isn't actually compatible with having schools open as normal.

Your post is nonsense because of two things:

1. Lots of families, teachers and a small percentage of children ARE vulnerable. Obesity is a vulnerability and that's over 30% of the population. And that's not counting all the other ways you can be vulnerable to this in school and in the home.

2. Schools don't exist in a vacuum - they are in society, right in the middle of society, with contacts from babies through to the elderly.

3. I'm fucking delighted at the prospect of schools closing BECAUSE THEY ARE UNSAFE AND HAVE NEVER BEEN MADE SAFE.

I’m going to be really pissed off if I’ve got this far and then die before the vaccination.

I'm aghast that the OP can't see the point that if we let it run through everyone under 70 that we won't have any doctors or nurses or hospitals available should we have an accident or other life-threatening emergency.

I'm really interested in how you prevent all accidents and other non-covid illnesses that could require hospitalisation while you let covid run through schools with absolutely no measures to stop it.

There is another thread right now saying one London hospital has declared a state of emergency and can't cope.

And that's before you get to the point that essentially saying that people who are different in some way (whether through age, health status, or race) should be treated differently and are somehow less worthy than everyone else is a slippery, slippery slope. That you should 'impose weeks/months more isolation and crappiness' on them so everyone else can carry on. After all many people with disabilities are more vulnerable to covid as are the BAME population. So is the OP saying, let's open schools to all fit, healthy, thin white families while we lock everyone else away?

How Callous. What about the the teaching staff and children that do end up very ill?

1) Lots of families, teachers and a small percentage of children ARE vulnerable. Obesity is a vulnerability and that's over 30% of the population. And that's not counting all the other ways you can be vulnerable to this in school and in the home.

This is such a frustrating reason to be classed as vulnerable. Lose weight! Intermittent fasting combined with low carb is such a quick way to lose weight and get yourself out of this category.

@justanotherneighinparadise

1) Lots of families, teachers and a small percentage of children ARE vulnerable. Obesity is a vulnerability and that's over 30% of the population. And that's not counting all the other ways you can be vulnerable to this in school and in the home.

This is such a frustrating reason to be classed as vulnerable. Lose weight! Intermittent fasting combined with low carb is such a quick way to lose weight and get yourself out of this category.

You clearly have no understanding of the myriad of complex reasons people are overweight in the first place. If it's as easy as "lose weight" then our population would all be stick thin already, FFS.

Why are teachers not wearing masks in lessons? I find it very odd because child's secondary school has had all staff and students in masks in school, in lessons, in corridors, everywhere except outside PE and outside breaks when students told to stand 2 metres apart. Who is stopping so many teachers from wearing masks, and why when it is safer and some schools are doing this?

@caringcarer

Why are teachers not wearing masks in lessons? I find it very odd because child's secondary school has had all staff and students in masks in school, in lessons, in corridors, everywhere except outside PE and outside breaks when students told to stand 2 metres apart. Who is stopping so many teachers from wearing masks, and why when it is safer and some schools are doing this?

Because the DfE told us not to, and so some heads (as they are not public health experts) are following the guidance to the letter.

@justanotherneighinparadise

1) Lots of families, teachers and a small percentage of children ARE vulnerable. Obesity is a vulnerability and that's over 30% of the population. And that's not counting all the other ways you can be vulnerable to this in school and in the home.

This is such a frustrating reason to be classed as vulnerable. Lose weight! Intermittent fasting combined with low carb is such a quick way to lose weight and get yourself out of this category.

I’m overweight because I’ve had fertility treatment (with drugs that make you put on weight), 2 children and 10 miscarriages in between. As I was recovering from PTSD and PND, losing weight wasn't the first thing on my mind. I’m working on it now but it’s not easy.

Being overweight can be just as hard to deal with as for people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol and a lot of it is related to mental health....not quite as simple as missing breakfast and then eating just eggs and cheese

@caringcarer

Why are teachers not wearing masks in lessons? I find it very odd because child's secondary school has had all staff and students in masks in school, in lessons, in corridors, everywhere except outside PE and outside breaks when students told to stand 2 metres apart. Who is stopping so many teachers from wearing masks, and why when it is safer and some schools are doing this?

I know you have been on lots of threads about this but I’ll just remind again that the guidance for England is to avoid masks in classrooms and most Heads don’t want to go against guidance and leave themselves open to being sued by parents. So many schools are currently still having to deal with many parents suing them over the CAG grades for A Levels that I can see why they would follow this guidance to the letter. The easy fix for this is for the government to change their guidance.

@SoscaredforJan

Do you work in an environment where you sit in a room, often with no windows that open, no PPE with 30 other people for 6 hours a day??

Thought not so don’t be so bloody selfish.

Focus your

This.

As pps have pointed out, Heaven help you if you ( by you I mean lucky person who shrugs off Covid) need hospital treatment for anything else if Covid is allowed to spread further. Hospitals are at breaking point, so if your child has a sudden allergic reaction, or an asthma attack , or you trip over and break something, or crash your car then there might not be an ambulance available.

@ragged I think that is my favourite post ever

@Beebityboo

Because I'm in the minority that probably will require hospitalisation and I'm still being forced to send 2DC into school with threat of fines/off rolling. Glad everyone else will be alright though

Yes, same position. When we had cases I was lucky school cooperated and provided learning (primary) this time.

I'm already of the opinion that I won't send back for a couple of weeks minimum, regardless of what the government announces in the hope that this will mean cases that are going to happen will become evident and have meant that its "safer". Though ideally, I'd rather we closed them for a month minimum like in March.

@Lucyandbet

Why are so many people on MN so gleeful at the prospect of them shutting again? Aren't we focusing on the wrong age group to impose weeks/months more isolation and crappiness on? Why does everyone seem so happy at the prospect of shut schools?

Who is gleeful? I don’t see everyone being happy. You’re imagining things.

Why are so many people on MN so gleeful at the prospect of them shutting again? Aren't we focusing on the wrong age group to impose weeks/months more isolation and crappiness on? Why does everyone seem so happy at the prospect of shut schools?

Who is gleeful? Where is the everyone who is happy at the prospect of shut schools? You’re just making it up, aren’t you?

Oops so gleeful I double posted!

Gleeful ? It is horrendous. I have a child about to sit her AS levels, and another who had already missed a massive amount of school due to a serious illness. Elder child and I have autoimmune issues which may cause us problems with Covid. I would like nothing more than for school to be safe for children, families and staff, but they demonstrably are not.
I am very grateful to the hard working and kind staff at my dc’s school and I don’t want them risking long term damage to their health, or death. Nor do I want further community spread which is inevitable if schools are open with the measures they have at present.

And those vulnerable people are going to be vaccinated.

Not sure why the quote didn’t work. That was to @Kazzyhoward