They are going to close the schools again aren’t they.

[Amithetoxicone]

😱

@Fallingrain

I disagree March to June (typo) actually. The kids who were in school and mixing were the kids of key workers so at massively increased risk of contracting the virus. Look at any covid study (eg BMJ study published in August). The risk to children themselves is minimal. There is an argument about infecting others/transmission but not about children being seriously ill themselves.

Nope. KW children were at school in such small numbers they could easily be socially distanced. Much safer systems could be put in place with heavily reduced numbers.

@Redlocks28 But ten kids. Ten in 4 months. As of August, zero children who were not already ill had died of covid. Of course, as I’ve said, if your child is vulnerable, or in contact with vulnerable people, then it’s very different, but for the others, the risk is very small. Every parent has to make their own decision but my son was massively struggling and he’s a bright kid with a device at home and parents who could help him. Even then his teachers said he’d slipped a lot. Part of the issue was the fairly woeful online offering by the school but that will be the same in many schools I’m sure (for good reason - it’s hard to pivot to online learning with new platforms etc). I’ve been a governor in inner city primary schools and I can tell you that the first lockdown was absolutely catastrophic for many kids. A great deal more kids than will get seriously ill from covid. The divide is already a gulf.

Home schooling was a nightmare, I really hope if my little ones school shuts, they do zoom lessons or something instead of just setting lots of work. My children’s school set loads more work than friends children’s schools & teachers I know in other schools, it was so stressful. The child I’m most worried about though, is my toddler, we only do one class a week which is brilliantly set up for social distancing, & my child is naturally a bit shy, but Covid has emphasised that hugely, every time they build their confidence, & start to interact, another lockdown comes. So if we are going to have another lockdown, please god let it be:
Long enough
Strict enough
Policed more
And the last one we ever do
I can’t bear this in out in out shake it all about, it’s got to be all or nothing for me

I don't envy any school SLTs this week. They only made decisions today because the latest data was only released at 3pm today! Showing 79,000 people tested positive on 29th Dec.

There will have been over a third of a million people test positive in UK in last 6 days. That will lead to over a million people needing to be contact traced and asked to isolate. That's over 50,000 primary aged kids, based on average age distribution.

How many of them will have ACTUALLY been contacted by Dido's hopeless test & trace system by 8am tomorrow morning?

What is the point in allowing 50,000 kids who are known contacts of known positive cases from the last week go into classrooms of 30 other kids tomorrow and set up a whole new raft of transmission chains?

Exactly @MeandT

And probably only for a few days.

[quote Fallingrain]@Yorkshiretolondon yes, that is certainly a concern and as I said, if the adults working in schools are vulnerable or if either have vulnerable people in their household, that is a very different scenario and I wouldn’t send my kid in. But I don’t think that keeping all children off to avoid transmission in a general sense is proportionate.[/quote]
But until there is track and trace it’s unmanageable .... and let’s be fair people with no underlying issues have died also- not on the same scale but is it worth the risk

@Yorkshiretolondon Yes, for me it certainly is. I’ve seen first hand the impact on already struggling kids and their families. The impact on them is far worse, in my opinion. But I respect your view and it isn’t easy.

I work in a school that’s ‘closed’ next week. Apart from nursery reception key workers children. Vulnerable children and children with special needs. So that’s pretty much a quarter of the school at least. I don’t call that closed!

I want all schools to close - from nursery schools to further education.

Some parents don’t conform to 2 metre rule meaning the virus will spread.
We are told not to go out unless we need to.
Why are the high streets so busy.
Wear masks at all times we are told but many of mothers are not wearing masks and not social distancing.
If we can’t wear a mask just stay at home.
Better to be home and lonely than dead.
Yes keep the schools closed.

Good if they are, we need to protect our teachers and the rest of the staff that contribute to a running of a school.., this sh*t ain't going nowhere fast, and had Boj job and his mates made it a proper lock down weeks ago, a serious lock down, then maybe things wouldn't be this dire right now.

Our will be open as usual unless during our inset today things change. We went from T2-T3 and next day T4 with 6 hours until implicated. I get ( and it’s probably been said over and over in this thread) yes education is important for the children, yes their mental health and well-being is priority but so is ours. I’ve gone from a tough ol bird who’d take on the world to one who hardly goes out just a quick walk to shop for bits when I know it’s quiet and to and from work. Hubby has been shielding since March, he’s probably been about 1/2 dozen times so my son and I have to be overly cautious and careful at work. Working 1-1 at the moment fills me with dread as the child I’m placed with has behaviour issues and no spacial awareness, we are not allowed masks in class ( only in communal areas.
Would just like those moaning about education staff and also those in government to actually come stand ( no not all support staff have our own chairs) in a class with another two adults and 30 children: sneezing and coughing picking their noses and I won’t mention where they put their hands, where no 2metre rule can be adhered to -not even 1/2 a metre in some rooms, windows open meaning we have so many layers on it’s uncomfortable trying move around helping the children-6 hours tethered to the germ balls including a 15min lunch break but having to eat lunch I n the classroom with them and supervising them break/lunch plays - no down time until we leave at the end of the day.

@Frazzled50 - honestly, I think you’re a hero. I have untold admiration for school staff, especially during the pandemic. Not enough is said about how you guys are quite literally putting your lives on the line to keep our country going. Hats off.

Teachers have definitely got the raw end of the deal. I definitely have more admiration for them since March. Homeschooling was tough, I couldn't imagine trying to control 30 children at once! Our school has been amazing, our teachers are brilliant. Its a lovely little community school but I have decided to keep mine home. I can homeschool, I feel more at ease doing it at the moment and I'm sure some teachers would appreciate a smaller class. I'm hoping it won't be for long this time. I think our school will close by the end of the week too.

@MeandT

I don't envy any school SLTs this week. They only made decisions today because the latest data was only released at 3pm today! Showing 79,000 people tested positive on 29th Dec.

There will have been over a third of a million people test positive in UK in last 6 days. That will lead to over a million people needing to be contact traced and asked to isolate. That's over 50,000 primary aged kids, based on average age distribution.

How many of them will have ACTUALLY been contacted by Dido's hopeless test & trace system by 8am tomorrow morning?

What is the point in allowing 50,000 kids who are known contacts of known positive cases from the last week go into classrooms of 30 other kids tomorrow and set up a whole new raft of transmission chains?

Those statistics are terrifying. I'm not 'glad' to have read them, but thank you for posting them.

@Frazzled50

Our will be open as usual unless during our inset today things change. We went from T2-T3 and next day T4 with 6 hours until implicated. I get ( and it’s probably been said over and over in this thread) yes education is important for the children, yes their mental health and well-being is priority but so is ours. I’ve gone from a tough ol bird who’d take on the world to one who hardly goes out just a quick walk to shop for bits when I know it’s quiet and to and from work. Hubby has been shielding since March, he’s probably been about 1/2 dozen times so my son and I have to be overly cautious and careful at work. Working 1-1 at the moment fills me with dread as the child I’m placed with has behaviour issues and no spacial awareness, we are not allowed masks in class ( only in communal areas. Would just like those moaning about education staff and also those in government to actually come stand ( no not all support staff have our own chairs) in a class with another two adults and 30 children: sneezing and coughing picking their noses and I won’t mention where they put their hands, where no 2metre rule can be adhered to -not even 1/2 a metre in some rooms, windows open meaning we have so many layers on it’s uncomfortable trying move around helping the children-6 hours tethered to the germ balls including a 15min lunch break but having to eat lunch I n the classroom with them and supervising them break/lunch plays - no down time until we leave at the end of the day.

I genuinely think it sounds like you're in the wrong job. You really dislike what you do, don't you? In fact it sounds like you really dislike the kids!

Re the issue being discussed, remember if schools close then a large chunk of the NHS will be absent due to lack of childcare.

Key worker chn(nhs parents) will go to school.

Many tourist areas lost a lot of money last summer they need a decent turn of cash this year or you'll be killing thousands of jobs elsewhere.

Cut the summer vacation to two weeks, with the timing of the two weeks to be staggered among regions (any time from the start of June to end Septemberexample: "South Yorkshire gets its school summer vacation in the last two weeks of June"). Let people know as soon as possible when their two weeks will be, so that they can book. People can go on holiday during their two week slot (assuming that they even want to-some people will not be holidaying no matter how long the kids are off in summer).

A six-week summer holiday is not required to allow people to go on holiday trips---almost nobody goes away on a trip for more than a week or two!

Fines for those who do not comply because they want to take holidays at different times. I think fines should be lifted for those who are withdrawing for school due to virus worries, but taking kids out purely for holidays should not be allowed this year, assuming that a short two-week summer break is permitted. Disadvantaged children face a compromised future unless they can make up for learning losses incurred this year and last year.

Just throwing this out there:

Fast track teachers for the vaccine, in exchange for above program (cutting summer break to two weeks, staggered among regions).

I'd totally go for this.

There’s no point suggesting the unworkable.

London Tier 4 - I was just out lawful business. I saw one secondary school at 11.45am with a long line of distanced pupils going in - presumably staggered start and perhaps an exam year.

Local private primary had staff cars there. They usually reopen around 12 Jan after Christmas as longer holidays for private schools.

..out on lawful business....

If it was a long line of distanced pupils then it will be for the lateral flow testing. Got to protect the volunteers.

my situation and thoughts FWIW is:
I am a student nurse doing 40 hour weeks in a placement, shifts have been accommodated to take into account lack of childcare, however, as my work times are 8-5 I can't use the school and have to use the provision in my local nursery for 5 children I usually only have to pay for my breakfast/ after school club but will instead have to pay for the whole day for all 5 kids, my childcare grant from SAAS is at the maximum £2000 which covers the after school club for my children and I suck up the cost of the breakfast club from my living expenses bursary. I can't afford the extra £ that this will cost me so I don't lose my job/place at uni.
It sucks but we all have to do our bit to protect society.
I don't like working in a clinical setting during a pandemic and then coming home to my kids exhausted when they are too.
If the schools/nursery close completely I will lose my place at uni, as will many others that I am training with and then you will have far less nurses qualifying to replace those retiring/sick/ fed up and leaving the profession.

[quote Fallingrain]@Yorkshiretolondon Yes, for me it certainly is. I’ve seen first hand the impact on already struggling kids and their families. The impact on them is far worse, in my opinion. But I respect your view and it isn’t easy.[/quote]
not worse than struggling with a death in the family.....schools need to be open FULLY yes yes yes ....but time to plan and organise how its going to be managed better - not by the schools themselves but the government

Well that’s us in jock land in full lockdown till end of jan, I believe it will be longer than that though.