Notified at 5pm tonight that primary school not opening tomorrow

[Rinoachicken]

Just received notification from school. INSET tomorrow and then home learning Tues and Wednesday. Keyworker and vulnerable children only. No hint of what happens Thursday onwards.

The late notice aside...it does make me wonder if they know something about what the govt is planning to say on Wednesday...

For context, I live in Surrey, Tier 4, but my kids primary had no cases from September.

[quote saraclara]@Sedona123 my local school didn't have any known cases last term either. But over the holiday the rate in our catchment area has increased SEVENFOLD. Almost 1% of the population is infected right now. And that's the infections we know about.

One infected person walking into a year group with a new and far more contagious variant of the virus, unmasked and in close proximity to other children and staff is going to cause mayhem.[/quote]
Doesn't sound great, but my tiny postcode went from 58 cases/551 rolling rate early December to 176 cases/1674 rolling rate on the 21st December. We still had no covid cases in school.

@Fivefatsausages - I suggest you go away and educate yourself on the facts.

I'm trying to avoid the teacher-bashing threads for my own sanity, but have to say a few things.

The decision to close a school may or may not have anything to do with Section 44s from staff. It may have been taken by a leadership team who have looked at the SAGE advice and are acting accordingly.

Schools are a hotbed for spreading the virus. That is a fact and the ONS statistics bear that out. This was the case even before Xmas, before people started breaking lockdown to see family/friends over the break (look at many many Mumsnet posters proudly declaring their intention to break the rules). So the risk will be worse now than early December.

Infection works two ways. It comes in to schools and it goes out of schools. So closing them is not purely to protect staff, it's to protect the community from the virus coming in and bouncing back out of the school, especially into potentially vulnerable households.

Unless schools remain shut we will not defeat this virus. The last minute shilly-shallying is from the government. Teaching unions should be lauded for protecting the community, not derided.

And yes, it's all last minute. It changes from hour to hour. It can be illogical and unpopular. Welcome to the world that schools have been living in since March.

Same for us but not even open for keyworkers which we both are. Totally screwed

@Tenyearsgone

*Do you not think the impact of feeling unsafe in work on teachers has many of their mental health at breaking point as well? But sure as long as your kids are OK what does it matter !*

A teachers mental health is not more important than a childs.

It is not more important than a child's but a child's is not more important than a teachers either ! Everyone's is equally as important !

They know nothing.

Teacher friend of mine summoned to zoom meeting, this afternoon, with school leadership team to discuss tomorrow.

I heard that schools have had 20 official government updates since new year’s eve. (BBC news)

My, teacher, daughter isn’t 100% sure what’s going to happen tomorrow.

Tier 4 Manchester here. We heard at 6pm that school is open as normal from tomorrow.

I'm sending my kids for mental health reasons (theirs not mine!) but have concerns that this may put the teachers, kids and vulnerable family members at risk.

And to be honest I'd rather my children's teachers were in a good place with their mental health and in a fit state to provide my children with the best education they possibly can !

Some of the data is very similar to areas of London.

Some Councils have just informed schools they must decide what is best.

They don't know but exactly what the government will say on Wednesday but like the rest of us they know that the government have previous upon previous of making u-turns all the time. I think it's clear - and if they actually followed the science like they pretend to do - that schools need to close for a while, possibly all of January, possibly a bit longer. I honestly expected the backing down to happen tonight but I think your primary is just getting everything sorted so that they can start the ensuing closure with everything up and running.

@ThreeImaginaryBoys

I'm trying to avoid the teacher-bashing threads for my own sanity, but have to say a few things.

The decision to close a school may or may not have anything to do with Section 44s from staff. It may have been taken by a leadership team who have looked at the SAGE advice and are acting accordingly.

Schools are a hotbed for spreading the virus. That is a fact and the ONS statistics bear that out. This was the case even before Xmas, before people started breaking lockdown to see family/friends over the break (look at many many Mumsnet posters proudly declaring their intention to break the rules). So the risk will be worse now than early December.

Infection works two ways. It comes in to schools and it goes out of schools. So closing them is not purely to protect staff, it's to protect the community from the virus coming in and bouncing back out of the school, especially into potentially vulnerable households.

Unless schools remain shut we will not defeat this virus. The last minute shilly-shallying is from the government. Teaching unions should be lauded for protecting the community, not derided.

And yes, it's all last minute. It changes from hour to hour. It can be illogical and unpopular. Welcome to the world that schools have been living in since March.

Our local area is doing exactly what the figures in the SE were doing pre Christmas. Its known there is a higher level of the new strain than other areas.

Our head frequently refers to the school community and its place with and role /responsibility within the wider community.

She smart. Generally get the impression shes sympathetic to the tory party. She's pulled tomorrow. Local council have just said that they expect schools to be open, so she's on her own.

But i bet she's following things closely and knows the score... And possibly gambling on what will happen tomorrow...

If two critical workers in a couple are not provided with a school place then I presume you can sue and/or send the childcare bill to the school/local authority.

We are Lancashire, tier 4, school is open. Dh is vulnerable. If I don't send the children will I be fined? I don't want to lie and say they are isolating.

You could try xenia but I'm not sure what it would achieve.

Jesus Christ @Xenia that's a bit dramatic!!

The schools not offering keyworker provision are most likely shut due to illness, rather than the NEU and Unison members' actions, as they will have made themselves available for remote learning and provision for keyworker and vulnerable children. It is not action to shut schools, it is action because opening fully is unsafe for children and adults, but the government won't listen. This is not a strike, but a refusal to work in unsafe conditions.

My HT friend's school has had 8 members of staff and partners ill over Christmas, including her and her husband. They are still unwell. She can't get cover or even go in herself to organise things, so they just can't reopen.

If it is so unsafe then it is unsafe for children of key workers too. Then all nurses and doctors should stay at home and look after their kids and not go to work.

Then what?

How far we are going to go? Where will we stop?

@MamuleMu

It allows schools to reduce ratios, and have lower numbers of children in classrooms.

33 children together in a classroom is going to result in more transmission than 8 kids in a classroom.

@MamuleMu

What about the schools where too many staff are sick for the school to open? How should they open?

The late notice isn't because they have any inside info. It's because there was a NEU (National Education Union) meeting this morning (with something like 400,000 attendees online - a record?!) where they advised their members to stay at home. So, schools have had meetings today to discuss this.

Basically, the teachers have been forced to act given the government's shambolic handling of this crisis and because it's bloody obvious schools in Tier 4 areas, at least, shouldn't be opening.

If it is so unsafe then it is unsafe for children of key workers too. Then all nurses and doctors should stay at home and look after their kids and not go to work.

You understand safety isn't an on/off switch, right? There are different levels of risk. 30 kids in a class is a much bigger risk than 8.

Key workers not going to work is a much bigger impact to the community than non-keyworkers staying at home.

@BelleSausage

I didn’t say they should.

I have asked the rhetorical question.

If hospital doesn’t have staff to open safely? Would you rather have hospital closed? Or looked after with higher ration of patients per nurse?

Where we will draw the line? If teachers don’t go to work, will nurses be next? Will nursing union give same advise to their members?

I am not saying anyone should go and do what is unsafe, but if nursing union made this statement I am sure reaction would be different. Mental health of NHS and Care staff is terrible and only going to get worse ad pressure of childcare on this and you will have people braking down...

The NEU is sharing this chart of ONS stats on their twitter.

I'm trying to understand what it means - is it basically saying that 3% of secondary school kids had covid, and 2% of primary kids, in mid December? Or something else?

@fastwigglylines

Risk to who? To one of these 8 kids in class? To the teacher? Is teacher's mental health suddenly gets better if she looks after 8 kids?

Teacher is a key-worker.

This chart's pretty sobering too.