Are we being primed for all schools to close next week?

[Lemons1571]

All I can see on Sky News and the BBC is that the “teaching unions are telling the government that all schools must be closed NOW”. Don’t usually see the media reporting this unless the government want to get us used to the idea.

Hmm I was just thinking that! Wish they would ljust say I hate the last minute scramble!

That would be FAR too sensible...

It’s really irritating that they’re attributing it to teaching unions. Teachers are only asking for schools to be made safe. It’s parents like me who are saying close them now. They’re spinning it as a lazy teachers thing again and it really isn’t fair or accurate. Sorry you’re dealing with this shit yet again, teachers.

Well it’s quite clear that the government don’t seem to be interested in what the unions say so that in itself doesn’t mean much.
Pressure is mounting definitely.
We’re not being primed- government will stick to the plan until it is clear it can’t, which might not come until 2 weeks after reopening and thousands more kids and teachers are ill. Is an epic cock up.

I think it's foreshadowing a new tier 5

Which will be tier 4 plus schools online, plus even more restriction on retail (shops required to admit only individuals not couples or groups (unless carer required or DC under a certain age), plus any other lockdown1 measures that haven't yet been reactivated

It’s really irritating that they’re attributing it to teaching unions.

I agree with this, it's not just teaching unions who are expressing concern. SAGE also said schools should close.

Ugh, this is causing my mental health issues. Why can’t they just fucking front it up when it’s obvious it will happen. Yes they should close and it’s not unacceptable to expect reasonable notice - even in a pandemic.

It’s like looking at a train hurtling towards you and being pushed out of the way at the last minute on a monthly basis.

I bloody hope so.

I'm in Tandridge and it's totally unfair and unsafe to expect my children and their teachers to be in school in 2 days.

Teaching unions are rather toothless. I’ll be very surprised if it comes to anything as it will be;

Unions- Close the schools!
Govt- No.
Unions- Well we’re not happy about that.
Govt- going to do anything?
Unions- we’re going to be very unhappy, ok?
Govt- ok.

They seem adamant they are not closing schools my son is due in on Tuesday so we shall see

I expect an announcement tomorrow last minute for a complete u turn to say they've decided to not reopen primary schools.

I will be interested to see what that then means for other places like non essential retail in tier 3 areas, if schools shut surely they should close too.

Think so yes, assuming a nationwide shutdown for the rest of the academic year myself.

I hope so.

It’s like looking at a train hurtling towards you and being pushed out of the way at the last minute on a monthly basis

This.

Every time I hear Johnson, Gove etc say something I know I must prepare for the opposite....

Yes.

@LacyEdge

It’s really irritating that they’re attributing it to teaching unions. Teachers are only asking for schools to be made safe. It’s parents like me who are saying close them now. They’re spinning it as a lazy teachers thing again and it really isn’t fair or accurate. Sorry you’re dealing with this shit yet again, teachers.

Thank you.

My step mother is a head teacher at a primary school in England. 2 of her teachers are in hospital with Covid and another teachers daughter is in hospital with it. She doesn't know how she's meant to open so short staffed. She's also clinically extremely vulnerable so can't risk covering classes herself.

It seems the councils in London gave legal reasons to get the schools closed there. Would this happen in other areas now?

It seems inevitable schools will have to close at some point. Not sure why govt would send everyone in after Christmas mixing first, to spread the virus everywhere...

DH and I are teachers and have primary aged kids. I am so anxious not knowing what’s going to happen but also completely stressed about whether I need to plan for online or class teaching.

Either way my kids will have to be in school as key worker kids. There are so many key worker children at our school that they’ll all be mixing anyway - this doesn’t seem safe either but I have no choice!

At the moment it’s all systems go where we are. Kids back on Monday.

Whatever it is, I wish they’d get on with it tbh. I think they’re calling for all schools to close for the 2 weeks that secondaries already are - this makes sense to me and I feel I could manage it, if they put it in place now. What I’m not able to manage is keeping us dangling until the last minute and then doing it, or worse yet - not doing it now, then having to shut them completely mid-Jan for an extended period of time.

I live in a tier 4 area outside of London with worse figures than many areas of London. I just can’t work out how they’ve made decisions as to which areas in which to close schools. Our rate has increased rapidly over last four weeks so likely to be due to this new strain. I would be very surprised if it didn’t continue to get worse resulting in schools closing. To do in a week or two is ridiculous considering we’ve just had a two week holiday. Far better to tag the inevitable closures onto the holiday. I’m not only concerned about risk to staff but more so the wider community spread. They need to rethink tier 4 school openings, particularly in areas that are over 600 per 100000.

I think they will close but only after theyve been back in for a few days first sharing all their germs

There just doesn’t seem to be any logic to it...

Even the whole testing thing, why not test primary aged children wait for the result and then send back what’s the point on spending money on a badly organised scheme ran by people that are not qualified to test properly and the. Sending all the children back in to mix any way...

About as much use as a chocolate fire guard....

Interesting enough we have had nothing from my youngest’s primary school no idea what’s going on .