When will they decide about schools?

[FlatteredRhubardFool]

Ffs hurry up and let parents and teachers know what is happening. I was expecting some kind of announcement today but maybe they will see what the figures are like then tweet it later via some obscure number 10 person the resident mouse. I'm autistic and struggle so much with not knowing what's happening img. Tier 4 for us and rates have doubled in a week. I won't be sending primary ds back as I'm CEV and a lone parent but I wish they'd at least give us the choice and no threats of fines. I want him in school but he needs me to be alive more then he needs to be in school for the next month or so. He isn't due back until the end of the week anyway but ffs lots of schools are due back on Monday and still don't know what's happening 🤬

In fact even in tier 4 early years is expected to open to all children, even if schools close and only take Keyworker children. I personally can’t see why preschools are safer to be around. You can’t social distance at all with little ones, but I still believe that children need to be in school, preschool. We have seen some many children with speech and language delay and behaviour problems since they have started in September. An impact of lockdowns.

Birmingham City Council is now asking Gavin for Birmingham primary schools to delay full opening and have remote education instead. With the full backing by a Birmingham MP.

Good. I'm sick of the Midlands being forgotten in all this. Our rates have been consistently terrible. So much death.

@Beebityboo yep. I'm Black Country. Sandwell has been shocking.

Agreed about the Midlands. Someone needs to remind the government they exist!

The unions have started legal action based on schools being unsafe. The govt are going to need to counter argue that schools are safe. That is going to be ... very difficult

Also sets a very dangerous precendent going forward if the unions were to win. I mean, if its legally deemed unsafe for teachers to work then how long before other occupations follow suit, prison officers for example.

I live in Thanet and I'm scared witless about being forced to send my children in on Monday what with this new strain and our numbers not being much better than Tonbridge who's schools aren't opening. Like you i struggle when i don't no times dates or orders of something. I want to know wtf the government thinks it's playing at. I'm not putting my kids at risk or myself at risk just because they think it might be okay. My local hospital is at maximum capacity and is even air lifting people to Bristol!! How can they say schools here will be safe. I have to think of my individual family and i will be taken to court if I'm fined. I'm past caring, my children belong to me not Boris.

@pennylane83

The unions have started legal action based on schools being unsafe. The govt are going to need to counter argue that schools are safe. That is going to be ... very difficult

Also sets a very dangerous precendent going forward if the unions were to win. I mean, if its legally deemed unsafe for teachers to work then how long before other occupations follow suit, prison officers for example.

I dunno. Unison have been useless for us.

I don’t think they will close the schools. It doesn’t fit with herd immunity by the back door. They will wait till everything is overwhelmed

@pennylane83 well prison officers could discuss safety with their employer? What the NEU and other unions are calling for is investment in schools so that they can be made safer. A window open and inch and some hand washing isn't enough. The government aren't even providing extra funding for hand gel, soap, paper towels, extra cleaning.

There are so many things that the government could do to make schools safer. And they've had since last March to do it. But they have ignored it over and over and just repeated that schools are safe.

Nobody should be made to work in a unsafe workplace. Not prison officers, NHS staff, supermarket staff or teachers.

It's not terrible everywhere in the midlands. I'm in Nottingham/Derbyshire border and Nottingham has really improved since the high numbers in October. Rates are still lower than the average and not really climbing much compared to other areas.

I quite like the supermarket worker versus school teacher comparison in fact. Supermarket workers get a visor and/or mask but are in close proximity to many more people in the day. We know that masks/visors only reduce the risk rather than eliminate it. I have no idea who is at more risk.

They are playing chicken with the unions.

They are waiting to see how many schools will close and what local councils might do.

Legal liability might force councils hands before the government as they are the direct employers of teachers.

If Labour councils start to support unions we may see a domino effect.

But the government won't do anything now until they are forced to. That might come as early as tomorrow afternoon or even after the schools go back on Monday. (Unlucky if your school hasn't got an inset day)

I personally think its all a load of posturing because as soon as the schools do go back the number of cases will start to skyrocket again, and the government's current position will be untenable within a fortnight. The 'baked in' projections are already suggesting a complete overwhelming of the NHS by 12th Jan. Crucially hospitalisations have a lag behind cases - and cases are yet to peak...

In the meantime its dumped on teachers and risks local communities in a way thats unnecessary.

Whats going to happen with cases is predictable, and we know the new strain is already across the country, so its just all making a bad situation worse.

Its not what anyone wants to do. But its an inevitability. Its not an if its a when.

@notevenat20

I quite like the supermarket worker versus school teacher comparison in fact. Supermarket workers get a visor and/or mask but are in close proximity to many more people in the day. We know that masks/visors only reduce the risk rather than eliminate it. I have no idea who is at more risk.

There is a threshold of within 2m for 15 minutes or more to classify as a close contact, according to PHE. I wonder how many supermarket customers / staff are within that sort of range, without a mask, for that sort of time. Not many, I imagine.

The way the figures are and a chat earlier on with my nurses friends makes me consider just keeping the kids home this week and waiting to see what happens. Sending them seems a bit feckless now. Risking needing any healthcare just now seems really feckless. My dds are very secure in their age related expectations - it won't hurt them but it might save someone

I find Government's silence today extremely disrespectful to school staff, to students and their parents and to the wider community. Shame on them.

Agree Char it is unacceptable.

I think the silence indicates no closure tomorrow. They're going to wait to see how chaotic shit gets next week.

Exactly Boris needs to get out of bed and do a briefing. There needs to be daily briefings every day until this situation dampens. I find it scary the governments silence and inaction to do anything.

There is a threshold of within 2m for 15 minutes or more to classify as a close contact, according to PHE. I wonder how many supermarket customers / staff are within that sort of range, without a mask, for that sort of time. Not many, I imagine.

Masks don't eliminate risk they just reduce it. And the figures you have are general guidelines and not hard and fast scientific facts. You can get infected by someone 6 metres away if that is the direction of the airflow or in 3 minutes if you are unlucky.

People need to eat or they will starve, shame supermarket staff can't be furloughed and all shopping online only . But schools could teach online learning, there is no need for them to be open to the masses in the midst of a pandemic spiralled out of control. Except for people that are keyworkers & the vunerable

I'm left wondering what the compromise might be?

Decent online learning and schools open as and when numbers drop significantly and when teachers have all been vaccinated. Until then not safe

I'm a teacher and I just want to do my job. The kids would benefit massively from being in but parents should have the choice to keep them at home if they feel it's unsafe imo.

I'd quite like to know what is expected of me next week as quite frankly I now have no idea whether my several days worth of planning are utterly useless as it didn't have online learning in mind.

It's an utter farce that schools and parents aren't being told anything. How are schools supposed to provide high quality learning when the goalposts are in a different stratosphere and how can parents organise their own work, childcare etc with 1 day notice? It's crazy.