Will there be a U turn over primary schools in the next few days?

[SoscaredforJan]

Just that really. If things carry on getting worse over the next few days are they really going to send primary schools back into the Covid hell?

At what point will we have to have a national lockdown to stop the hospitals from being overwhelmed?

Ten days may be all it takes. Deal with the rest of January when you get to it.

My DH won't agree to me lying and also he would have to be at work (hes quite well known, local funeral director) so saying we are SI wouldnt work.

I don't agree with this idea that anyone who sends their children into school isn't worried. Im absolutely terrified but feel completely backed into a corner. If schools were closed I wouldn't have the added pressure of her falling behind her peers and missing her friends as everyone would be absent. Schools just shouldn't be open but the government seem hell bent on it.

I’m up north. While cases are rising here they were much higher in November and we got through it somehow.
I do think the new strain is worrying though and personally a complete shutdown for at least a fortnight is needed. I think kids will mostly go back next week but a couple of weeks down the line the government will realise it was a stupid idea and close them, obviously by then thousands more will have died.

The U turn will come 2 weeks after they go back, as numbers will continue to increase, staff can't take any more stress and parents fed up of isolating members of their families.

I hope not but I do think it might happen :(

I guess I mean why aren't parents kicking off? Why aren't we kicking off?

@SabrinaTheMiddleAgedBitch

My DH won't agree to me lying and also he would have to be at work (hes quite well known, local funeral director) so saying we are SI wouldnt work.

I don't agree with this idea that anyone who sends their children into school isn't worried. Im absolutely terrified but feel completely backed into a corner. If schools were closed I wouldn't have the added pressure of her falling behind her peers and missing her friends as everyone would be absent. Schools just shouldn't be open but the government seem hell bent on it.

It’s hard if you feel terrified.

I overreacted (in hindsight) in that last week of school in March but I wasn’t keen on anyone else saying much on it. Hard if that’s his stance.

No I don’t think they will close because it is in the best interest of the children to be at school. Anxiety is a terrible thing however do I do feel for you.

My DD will be back at school on Monday but I assume it won't be for very long. She's an only child so I want her to have a brief period of being able to play with another child before the school inevitably closes or she is told to isolate.

I hope there will be but feel like they wont

We are tier 4 but rate under 200

My dcs primary school had an awful time with it before christmas with a full school closure. One class out three times, several more out twice, atleast one member of staff off sick for weeks.

I think they should all shut until atleast the 18th and then see what the numbers are like

@inquietant

I guess I mean why aren't parents kicking off? Why aren't we kicking off?

Because many parents don’t want schools to close, is my guess. There are too many parents who know their work will nosedive again, and there are quite a few people who live in low number areas who don’t see the need. My area is 146/100,000, compared to the London boroughs etc those numbers are low. We didn’t have a single case in our primary school last term. I have a non keyworker job that still requires me to be physically present at work. My DC2 really struggled with the last lockdown. Etc etc. I would accept a national lockdown of schools if that is necessary but I’m not going to kick off demanding one. I would imagine there are quite a lot of parents feeling like me.

Yes at least keep all tier 4 schools closed until the 18th to see what the Christmas numbers turn out to be.

What @borageforager said exactly. I think if you are in an area with high rates then you probably feel differently, as a single working parent in a fairly low case area with an only child who struggled during school closure I'm more than happy for him to be going back next week. I understand why some people don't want to send their DC and they should be given a choice and not penalised but I want mine in school as much as possible.

@inquietant

I guess I mean why aren't parents kicking off? Why aren't we kicking off?

Because parents who have to work or starve and don’t have a way round it are having to subdue their fears and send their dc in anyway?

Personally I am kicking off, and I wfh and will be able move work into non-standard hours to accommodate home learning. But I know most workers aren’t in that position.

It’s all academic really, because sooner or later the government will have to close everything including schools. It’s just a question of how many unnecessary excess deaths have to happen first. They take incompetence to a whole new level.

It's just the lack of concern for school staff and their families that really feels like a kick in the teeth.
My lovely colleague caught it from school in November ( 3 in her class got it.)We were all sent home (all of KS2 - small school) . She felt ill for a few days but soldiered on with the home learning. I'm getting forward with my planning so I don't drop her in it, but I promise that if I get it I will not lift one finger until I am completely recovered. It's barbaric what they are expecting of us!

They will probably panic when the new variant explodes in communities because of school transmission- it's a car crash waiting to happen.

They are going to close. Just like everything else the Government will do a u turn when the numbers become overwhelming and school staff start dying. It will be too little too late.

We are tier 4, most areas around us have shut schools, ours haven't. I'm very pleased. DC need socialising and proper education from qualified teachers, not the mess I can provide while working full time. There's also the issue of a lack of notice. Fine, shut schools but give working parents at least 2 weeks to sort out what the hell we are to do. These constant swip swap policies are half the problem with the government strategy, it's impossible to get any continuity, even if that continuity would be lockdown misery at least we'd know where we stand and not having employers getting increasingly frustrated at our availability as workers.

@inquietant

I guess I mean why aren't parents kicking off? Why aren't we kicking off?

Because most people who are not ECV or CV outside of MN are not anxious or 'terrified' by the virus.

Why are people not able to make a choice? We work from home and would gladly keep dcs with us at home rather than take further risks which could put additional stress on the NHS. I feel awful for the nurses, doctors and NHS staff.

Local authority says they will still fine parents if we keep our kids home, we don’t want to lose our school places but it’s beyond ludicrous.

So they're planning on eventually rolling out the lateral flow testing to primary schools. I was thinking last night how bizarre this is considering their stance on masks. They believe that under 11s cannot cope with wearing masks and yet somehow think they can cope with an invasive swab each day for 7 days. I'd imagine many more children can cope with wearing a mask, but would struggle with the swabs as opposed to the other way round.

Honestly testing will be such a shit show in secondaries i cannot see it happening in primaries

Yep, there will most definitely be a u-turn or 'review' within the next couple of days I expect. It is ludicrous that some schools are closed, where a couple of miles away in a neighbouring area, schools are open! Will only be a matter of time until they close unfortunately. Fairly obvious that the Tier system is not preventing spiralling cases in many areas. Just hoping January won't be a complete write off but thinking another lockdown may be imminent. If so, I wish they would get on with it and do it now, rather than waiting a couple more weeks. The amount of dithering is costing lives.

Dithering has been the problem with the government all through this pandemic.

I am not sure secondary schools are going back any time soon.

Depending on the dc age, there is noway keeping them out for a few weeks is going to put them behind their peers.

If you can keep getting them to read, keep up the maths level, the spellings and any project eg volcanoes?.
It's not going to set them back for life.