Statement in parliament this afternoon on 'reopening of schools in England'

[DownRightAmazing]

By Gavin.

I'm aware there are a million threads on this generally but this is specifically regarding the statement - any leaks/clues/predictions?

To state my own position: I think schools need to close to all except keyworker and vulnerable children. I feel it's obvious this needs to happen. My own two children are thriving at school and I'm not concerned about them at all - if their (primary) school is open, I will send them - but I worry for their teachers, any vulnerable parents of their classmates and of course the NHS.

My prediction (based on nothing): secondary schools blended/part time. Primary fully open. We are tier 4 fwiw and I disagree with opening schools in January...

I don't get the testing thing?

So every child (and staff member) will test themselves at home before returning to school in 2 weeks?

I cannot see what difference testing will make tbh, especially considering how unreliable the tests are meant to be when the person is asymptomatic. It's really just a sticking plaster, like masks.

Interesting results from YouGov poll today on this question:

Would you support or oppose keeping schools in England closed for two further weeks after the Christmas break?

67% support, 19% oppose

Less support in North than in London, less support among Tories, but still majority support

yougov.co.uk/topics/education/survey-results/daily/2020/12/30/2ac0b/3?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=daily_agenda&utm_campaign=30_Dec_2020_3&fbclid=IwAR37bxG4-aXbAzc7msAImD2OMWbmO25bpqd3s_5XOCTGgEIbhWs1idjbfqk

So every child (and staff member) will test themselves at home before returning to school in 2 weeks?

Yes. In theory. I have to get a test within 5 days of starting work.

@Passmeabottlemrjones

I don't get the testing thing?

So every child (and staff member) will test themselves at home before returning to school in 2 weeks?

Except primary, where all staff and children return without tests, on Monday.

Then the testing in secondaries will replace self-isolation if you’ve been in contact with a positive covid case.

I hope they reference special schools specifically too.

These are often primary and secondary in one school. All come under vulnerable students who should attend. And won't be taking up testing from ones I've heard from due to logistics.

Majority support is no surprise. The majority of adults do not have school age children or will not be the ones having to home school them.

@Pissedoff1234 I’m in Sheffield and our hospital is packed to bursting too! We had 8 die yesterday.

@Passmeabottlemrjones

Yes, they may well go for the shit sandwich - an approach that every teacher in the country is very familiar with

Yes!!!! I remember attending a parents Eve for ds once and the opening line was a huge praise of something and my response was "a big up opening line - what's the bad bit in the middle?"

His teacher laughed

Prediction:

They will stop teenagers mixing in out of school groups of up to six.
They will close schools until half term
Teachers will not be put ahead for vaccination - they are not the only people who are having to work.

Then the testing in secondaries will replace self-isolation if you’ve been in contact with a positive covid case.

How ridiculous, I though the lateral flow tests were supposed to be particularly unreliable on asymptomatic people?

@Bewareoftheblob

Then the testing in secondaries will replace self-isolation if you’ve been in contact with a positive covid case.

How ridiculous, I though the lateral flow tests were supposed to be particularly unreliable on asymptomatic people?

They are.

I think the government needs to mandate mask wearing for all staff and pupils for the whole day in school. I am sure this would help no end. Apart from those medically exempt or too young. Perhaps upwards of age 8. Certainly in secondary no matter what year.

@RaffertyBear

Prediction:

They will stop teenagers mixing in out of school groups of up to six.
They will close schools until half term
Teachers will not be put ahead for vaccination - they are not the only people who are having to work.

The press conference with the JCVI chair stated teachers may be phase 2 of vaccination rollout but not priority now and also said what you said, others have to work and many other keyworkers out there. I still believe teachers should get priority after care workers and NHS have received theirs.

@Char2015

They've know about the new variant since September. Why don't you think it was the cause of the spread in the North during Oct / Nov?

I have one in primary and one in secondary, I won't be sending ds2 while ds1 is off regardless of what the government say today.

Mine were fine learning at home and I can work around them and in the evenings. They need to make provision for children who struggled last time.

Schools need some serious funding to increase safety and teachers need to be vaccinated ASAP. I hate the way teachers have been treated since the beginning of all this.

@Char2015

I think people are getting confused with the 'old/original variant' and this 'new variant' which is evidently more transmissible.

No I'm not. I accept that the new variant appears to be more contagious. However I dispute that school children are more affected. It suits the narrative to say the only reason the schools now need to close is because of the new variant, it was spreading like wildfire in the NE schools before the new variant appeared.

The majority poll on YOUGOV - it’s very obviously not a poll of all adults including the very many who will not need to work from home whilst looking after children. It’s easily interpreted a poll of parents of school aged children and worth remembering that it’s not.!

There should be mask wearing indoors in all schools. It’s helped in other countries. Everything needs to be considered now.

@MissMarpletheMurderer

Teachers becoming a priority for the vaccine is my guess, has a nice soundbite to it, populist, 'see we are not shutting schools' but in practice badly thought out and not going to help in the short term. Followed by a school is closed broadcast on Sunday evening if we are lucky but more likely Monday morning, possibly after some kids have already started school.

I agree @MissMarpletheMurderer except I don't think there will be a Sunday announcement. I think they will make them all go back and then there will be utter carnage in 14 -21 days as the Xmas Mixing figs and the New Term infections go stratospheric. Then there will be a last min 'Sunday' brief which will be at teatime / Monday morning with kids on buses. Johnson simply doesn't care how many of us are ill / go bankrupt / die. His Cabinet are in way above their heads. 'The Science' is ignored. He has his 'place in History' now, with his Wonderful Brexit Deal.

@MissMarpletheMurderer

I'm not disputing the spread and numbers in the NE, but evidently, this new variant IS affecting children more. That's not me just coming out with it. This is what the data is saying.

I fully supported schools closing in NE when numbers were high with this old variant. In fact I still think all schools should be delaying their return not just secondary and T4 primaries (which has been reported). The Gov were wrong not to close NE schools.

It's a poll of people posture. The whole of society is a stakeholder in covid.

But if you want a poll of parents, ParentPing found only 5% of respondents agreed with a full return to schools with no delay and 54% agreed the start of terms should be delayed for all pupils (there were shades of choice in between).

AFAIK the earliest example of the new variant was traced back to September but it only really started to spread rapidly during the second lockdown. As of last week only about 5% of cases in the nw were the new variant so it likely wasn't to blame for the spread in schools before late November.

Teachers need the vaccine. They have no ppe, no social distance, But they need to safe. Since March the government could have made classroom bigger built new schools, had more cleaners spurted out laptops etc. Instead they done fuck all.they don’t can about teaching staff your children or you.