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.

TessApricot really sorry you are so stressed, completely understandable. Thank you for teaching in such difficult circumstances. 💐

Cutting down pupil numbers would at least still cut the risk of spread for those pupils in school, but I appreciate why you would feel nervous as a key worker parent.

It seems to be the pattern of the U-turns that the pressure seems to increase and increase before one. Personally I think the signs are there.

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

They're probably holding off as long as possible because as soon as they say all systems go, back on Monday, it's sods law there will be another u-turn, and they'll have to send another email saying the complete opposite.

@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.

Lovely post.

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 @LacyEdge. We just want masks and money for cleaning products so we can do our jobs.

I don't see why all schools should close- it should be on an area by area basis. I'm in a Tiier 3 area and the current infection rate has fallen to less than half of what it was a few weeks ago. So if schools were open then, why should they be closed now?

@louisejxxx

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.

Yes. WHY does the Govt persist in making a bad situation worse? Again and again and again. They do NOT learn, it seems!

I think they will send a few back, hodge podge, and then schools will have to remain closed far longer through the spring than if they had kept them shut for the first 2/3 weeks of term, in a planned and therefore semi manageable way.

My daughter is a secondary school teacher. Planned return was 11th January anyway with the school having been selected for mass testing. She was told yesterday that the students will now return on the 12th. Teachers will be in on 11th in order to organise for testing of the whole school which will be done ASAP when the students return. They will then continue to test, track, isolate etc on a bubble basis. This seems very sensible to me or am I missing something?

My daughter is a secondary school teacher. Planned return was 11th January anyway with the school having been selected for mass testing. She was told yesterday that the students will now return on the 12th. Teachers will be in on 11th in order to organise for testing of the whole school which will be done ASAP when the students return. They will then continue to test, track, isolate etc on a bubble basis. This seems very sensible to me or am I missing something?

We are in tier 4 - coouncil this week said cases were 400 per 100,000 but predicted to go up to 800 per 100,000 next week. No suggestion of our schools remaining closed. Its crazy.
If they want to test they should send out PCR home kits to children and then they need a negative test to restart school. Some people have issue with the army testing their kids or the accuracy of the lateral tests. So use the lab testing and isolate until the results come back. I know this would be an expensive option but at least if they did this for the exam years they could commence school again.

I wish they would hurry up and decide. Selfishly, I want them open. My kids are so fed up with being at home plus I teach and am expected to be able to conduct online classes whilst DH works on calls also, whilst tutoring 2 kids. Even if I don't tutor them, they need supervising at their age which means they will be making noise in the background of the classes.

That said if the science says we need to close the schools then we should. I just don't know how people will be able to manage though yet again.

Yes, closed by the end of the week.

And I add my thanks @LacyEdge, teachers are they ones that have and are at the coal front dealing with it. Our HT contacted us all within hours of the announcement, and apologised for contacting us on our off days! They are amazing

If it isn't safe for London schools then it isn't safe for any tier 4 schools. Hope they are all shut.

Thank you, @LacyEdge.

This is a shit situation all-round for so many, but small shows of appreciation like that do help.

@Timeturnerplease

Surely all schools have enough money for cleaning spray and a cloth? And what is stopping you wearing a mask if you wish?

@AgnesNaismith

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.

Exactly this

The army wont be testing kids. Kids will be testing theirselves using crap tests.

If they let the schools in tier 4 areas open it will just be a matter of weeks before more teachers will start getting ill or being signed off for stress and schools will start closing anyway. What a mess. As a teacher I do feel a bit like cannon fodder right now.

I don't understand why the government have not allowed schools to do more in the way of phased returns and limiting numbers. Other countries have been doing this. We could easily say certain year groups are in on certain days or just mornings etc. This would allow numbers to be limited and therefore more social distancing etc. More should be done to support outdoor learning as well.

@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.

This is appreciated.

If they are going to do it I’d rather they did it now rather than letting the kids go back on next week with kids whose families might have been mixing/not following guidelines etc. I don’t want schools to close but if they have to then I’d rather they didn’t reopen next week

[quote FreekStar]@Timeturnerplease

Surely all schools have enough money for cleaning spray and a cloth? And what is stopping you wearing a mask if you wish?[/quote]
Sanitiser, cleaning spray and cloths cost us thousands in the first term. Thousands of pounds which now cannot be spent on things like books, paper, photocopying. There is no spare money in state schools.

The DfE specifically states that masks are to be avoided in classrooms because they are a barrier to learning. Many schools are following this to the letter and banning mask wearing.

53000 new infections and about 700 dead daily.
Of course schools will close.

I even suspect that the whole UK will be in lockdown till Easter to allow the vaccines to get out there.

Leaving schools open in tier 4 is lunacy.

Before Xmas we were told online learning until the 11th and last week updated to online until the 18th. We are tier 4 state secondary outside London with only 2 cases from Sept to Dec

All very clear communication. I don't know if the school has just chosen to do this but no last minute panics. Just an extension of a sensible precaution communicated on 18/12 when we were in Tier 2.

Can schools just choose to do their own thing?

[quote FreekStar]@Timeturnerplease

Surely all schools have enough money for cleaning spray and a cloth? And what is stopping you wearing a mask if you wish?[/quote]
What a stupid, minimising comment.

Make that 75 bottles of virucidal spray and hand sanitizer per day and a roll of blue paper towels per day and you'd be in the region. We've been chuffing out for this since September. See the problem yet?

Yes I thought the same too. Whatever the decision is they need to make it before the start of the new term. I’m not sending my children back just for them to close it in a week. All the exposure with none of the benefits of closure.