Email from Head - primary school will be open on Monday

[CloseSchoolsProtecttheNHS]

Just had an email from our head teacher 'reassuring' us that the (primary) school will be open as usual to all pupils on Monday morning. Personally, I find this far from reassuring in the middle of the worst part of a pandemic. We are in a county that borders London and rates are over 600 per 100,000.

I'm assuming the staff are either non NEU or have agreed to go in anyway? How can the Head be SO sure they'll open, as to actually write an email on a Saturday night saying so?

I’m in tier 4 in Manchester & one of our local primary schools has advised parents they are shutting. This is the headteacher who has taken the decision. None of the other schools in the area have done the same as far as I know. I’m sending my kids if they open as I have to work but I’m not 100% comfortable with it.

An ewo officer has been on and stated that school can't just chuck a child out of their school place.. It's a legal process with things to follow.

Anyone worried, just say they are ill, buy a week or more... No one can prove it either way... Buy a few weeks...

I’ve heard nothing from school.
I live in a tier 3 area with relatively low Covid rates, although numbers have doubled in the last week, so I imagine school will remain open.
My area has not been hit badly, which means people tend to be complacent.

Even though numbers are low I still think schools should be closed in order to make things safe. It all feels like other government decisions. “It’s fine, crack on” followed by “panic, panic, stop what you’re doing” when it’s too late.
Time for a proactive approach which actually stands a chance of controlling the virus, instead of sticking their heads in the sand and pretending that it’s fine to send millions of children back to school.

@Panickingpavlova

An ewo officer has been on and stated that school can't just chuck a child out of their school place.. It's a legal process with things to follow.

Anyone worried, just say they are ill, buy a week or more... No one can prove it either way... Buy a few weeks...

That's true it's called off rolling and schools fail ofsted inspections where there is evidence they have done so.

If this board was representative of real life then 80% kids wouldn't be returning to school by parents keeping them off.

Agree it’s not representative. You get the impression it’s a much higher proportion that want to and will keep dc home.

220/100,000 in my area so all open as normal! We haven't had a single COVID case in either of my kids school/nursery and I think that's only a matter on time!! Im expecting quite the rise in the next few weeks, which will almost certainly take us to tier 4.

One of our local Primary schools had about a third of their pupils out of school just before the first lockdown because parents were worried not because the children were sick. I can see the same thing happening this term. A number also deregistered in the summer. And we are in an area of reasonably low rate (at the moment)

@SansaSnark

My DC are 5 and 7 they will not be wearing a mask in class.

Attitudes like this are why we have got to this point.

If parents had been more willing to accept mask willing, teachers would have felt less pushed to the brink.

Quite - I really don't understand this attitude re NT children (I totally understand that there will be children with sensory issues etc).

My DC are 6 and 8 and we bought them masks for when we went to France in the summer. We made it into a game for them - they chose ones with characters on that they like and pretended they were ninjas/spies etc. If they have to come to the supermarket with me they ask to wear them. If they were asked to wear masks to school, I wouldn't have a problem with that at all.

@Redwinestillfine

I'd rather have my primary kids home than forced to wear masks all day. Online learning is fine for a while.

For your children, maybe. It's fine for mine as well - although I WFH full time and DH is an ITU doctor and it was a bloody nightmare last time we are lucky to able to afford a zoom tutor for the DC - but this is a wider issue than just I'm alright Jack.

What about all those children that it isn't fine for? What about those children whose parents don't give a shit/aren't capable of home schooling them/can't afford the IT equipment etc? I am appalled at all these blinkered people in their ivory towers banging on about remote learning being ok for them and not considering the wider implications for more vulnerable children.

I am keeping my YR child home. She can be 'ill' for a week or two by which time I fully expect all schools to be shut anyway. Missing a bit of YR isn't going to impact her greatly and I can homeschool for a while. I think this is an utter shitshow and cannot believe that parents are not being given the choice to keep kids home, and that teachers are being treated so appallingly. Our teachers and TAs are amazing, worth their weight in bloody gold. I don't want them getting sick! I know not all teachers are but I'm very fond of ours (small rural school, we all know each other well).

In any normal times my child has (so far, obvs she hasn't been there long but including preschool too) something like 99% attendance. I believe in prioritising education, I don't fanny about with keeping her off for every tiny sniffle. But I truly believe it's not safe and I will not be part of the problem by sending her in. No way. But I am lucky, because I have the choice, and I appreciate that not all parents do.

Tier 4, 500 cases per 100000, but we were Tier 2 before Christmas. And no cases in her school at all last term. Won't stay like that for long though!

@TheWayOfTheWorld - unfortunately not all parents are as sensible as you regarding masks.
The government and teaching unions have let teachers down badly and should have made mask wearing compulsory from the start. If teachers and children in primary and secondary had done this we might not be in the mess we are now.
Britain has too many parents who think their DC’s are ‘special’ and shouldn’t have to do basic things to help others.

@Parker231 💯💯 too many precious DC with idiotic selfish twatty parents who think rule following to help others isn’t for them. Usually insecure pricks trying to prove a point or so deeply unhappy with themselves they have to spread misery to others.

[quote Thewiseoneincognito]@Parker231 💯💯 too many precious DC with idiotic selfish twatty parents who think rule following to help others isn’t for them. Usually insecure pricks trying to prove a point or so deeply unhappy with themselves they have to spread misery to others.[/quote]

The week before October half term my ds7’s primary class was the only one left in his school as all other bubbles had cases, since October half term they have not had a single case. Tier 3 and currently 168 per 100,000 in our area. School is due back tomorrow and haven’t heard anything yet from the head. I will be sending ds in but me and dh have already put plans in place for when schools close with regards to work and homeschooling as I do think it is only a matter of time until all schools have to close again as cases have spiralled out of control in most of the country

Ds’s school now closed Mon/Tues

I think this is an utter shitshow and cannot believe that parents are not being given the choice to keep kids home, and that teachers are being treated so appallingly. Our teachers and TAs are amazing, worth their weight in bloody gold. I don't want them getting sick!

All this. Still no word from our HTs. I feel sick at the thought of it all opening up like normal with no mitigating measures. Like the opening credits of a disaster movie.

No news from our head either. She's nice enough (for an uber tory) but has been so inflexible over attendance despite my medical conditions, so I'm not looking forward to having to lie to her tomorrow about why I'm keeping the DC's off. I may be a wimp and get DH to do it .

@LacyEdge

I think this is an utter shitshow and cannot believe that parents are not being given the choice to keep kids home, and that teachers are being treated so appallingly. Our teachers and TAs are amazing, worth their weight in bloody gold. I don't want them getting sick!

All this. Still no word from our HTs. I feel sick at the thought of it all opening up like normal with no mitigating measures. Like the opening credits of a disaster movie.

I feel exactly the same. I don’t want to send my youngest in tomorrow (tier 3 but with rapidly climbing numbers), I wish they would just give us the option of making an informed choice for our own children. Eldest is in seconds so won’t be in until 18th - I cant see the logic in her staying off but sending our youngest in.

Haven’t heard anything from our head teacher but I imagine she will tow the ‘school is safe’ line. If no-one stands up and takes charge of the situation this afternoon I will be forced to say my child is ‘sick’ this week until no doubt Boris u-turns and closes schools anyway!

Heads are most probably busy trying to work out how many teachers and staff will be in as many teachers were waiting to see if Bojo acted first. Then they’ll contact you if they have enough staff or don’t.

I teach a couple of hours a week in several primaries. I'm waiting to hear from the HT of the school I teach at on Mondays whether they'll be open tomorrow. I've said I'll go in if they are. Me not being in would make no difference to whether they'd stay open, but it would potentially deprive teachers who are in school of their PPA time, so I don't think I should stay off out of solidarity really.

Just had an email from DS's school.

Its closed tomorrow. I thought DS was going to be in as I'd heard nothing so far. 4.30pm the day before.

Head is trying to find out the position before making a further decision.

Kind of glad though.