School closures coming in thick and fast!....

[november90]

It's all over fb that our local primary schools are closing tomorrow. My son is in nursery so I'm assuming that will follow suit. He will be so upset as he's been so excited about going back :(
We're in Lancashire. This happening anywhere else?

@SinisterBumFacedCat I’m in Surrey Toryville too I almost choked when they said one of my sons schools was closing. My eldest sons is still staying open though, and I’m sure if I took him out they’d be outside my house with pitchforks. Ho hum! Gotta love Surrey ...!

South Yorks here and we’ve had an email saying school is staying open so far. They have an inset day Monday (always have been not an emergency one) and they look forward to the kids coming back Tuesday.

The letter also stated our town’s position, we currently have 260/100,000 cases as at 28th December. In November we had over 550/100,000 so it makes no sense for us to shut schools now when the risk was much higher a month or so ago.

Tier 4 - North East. Both of our schools are closed. 1 let parents know about lunchtime, was due to return tomorrow that it's "initially for 2 weeks". The other in another area, SEN school let us know at 5:30ish that Tuesday would be another inset day and provision for online learning from Weds 'short term measure'

Only seen one closure for this area mentioned on Facebook. South Yorkshire. Tier 3.

Mine not due back till Wednesday due to inset days so I'm keeping everything crossed that they close.

I think the government will have to do something soon in light of all the schools closing though.

South west Hampshire here. Tier 4 but cases not to high right here. Out primary is open. If it closes for more than a few weeks I will not be able to continue my work.

*South Yorks here and we’ve had an email saying school is staying open so far. They have an inset day Monday (always have been not an emergency one) and they look forward to the kids coming back Tuesday.

The letter also stated our town’s position, we currently have 260/100,000 cases as at 28th December. In November we had over 550/100,000 so it makes no sense for us to shut schools now when the risk was much higher a month or so ago.*

I can see your point with that but when you think how low numbers in South York's were when they went back in September, they are so so much higher now.

Just because schools didn't move online when numbers were really high in November, that doesn't mean it was safe for them to open at that point.

Whatever the numbers are now they are going to go through the roof once schools go back.

@cabbageking

Our Council has left it for individual schools to decide.

That is what I hope the government and councils will all do eventually or at least let them have a good say in it.

Still no word from DS's school so I'm assuming it is opening tomorrow.

@cabbageking

Our Council has left it for individual schools to decide.

Could they not leave it for individual parents to decide? (they wouldn't have to oversee or mark work, just give some suggestions for kids at home ) for the next 2 weeks.

then parents who need kids at school to work could go to work, vulnerable kids could stay in school and CEV families who want to homeschool could homeschool

I am in Essex and had an email at 6pm to say school is closed monday and tuesday. Yet I work in a preschool and we will be opening. Madness!

@Iremembertheelderlykoreanlady I know, I’m fully expecting the rates to rise and am preparing for the possibility of them closing, it’s just how it came across in the letter, it was like ‘look rates were higher last month, we’re doing well, schools open.’

"lancashire cases are currently well lower - upto a 1/4 of what they were sept-dec"

Not in Lancaster and Morecambe they're not!

[quote KeysDontBelongInTheFridge]@SinisterBumFacedCat I’m in Surrey Toryville too I almost choked when they said one of my sons schools was closing. My eldest sons is still staying open though, and I’m sure if I took him out they’d be outside my house with pitchforks. Ho hum! Gotta love Surrey ...![/quote]
Apparently 6 Surrey schools have rebelled and closed. 6. Slow fucking handclap. I bloody hate it round here.

DD1’s school is in the London borough we live in and closed (well, online for 2 weeks -secondary, not delaying start of term)

DD2 is at school across the border in Surrey, same tier 4, higher rates, but still open.

Seven days to 29 December 2020 in
Total cases 7 per 100,000 in local area.
The rate has decreased relative to the previous week.-5 (-41.7%)

Our primary schools have currently not made any announcement but have a planned inset day tomorrow. Only in tier 3 due to a city miles away!

This government is chaos, but even I didn't think they would let it come to this. DS is in secondary so I'm lucky in that he doesn't have to go back til 18th Jan anyway. But looking at the figures and rate of increase, I just can't see how they can leave schools open . Deaths on some days are reaching what they were in the peak in April, and we were on full lockdown then, we're still not on full lockdown but government are ploughing on with the schools being open. I can't work out if it's just because they want the little people in work and don't want to pay out for furlough again, or if it's an ideological position that's making them put education before health (education is of course extremely important but in the middle of a pandemic we need to balance those needs). Maybe both. Either way, it's leaving chaos for kids and their parents, and leaving kids and school staff in unsafe situations. I feel as scared now as I did in March, I know a few people with covid and it feels like it's spreading rapidly again. I'm in Liverpool so although they are actually still lower than they were before October half term, cases have more than tripled here in two weeks, and that's with schools closed for christmas, and mass testing widely available here too. Liverpool City Council have said no parents will be fined if they don't send their kids in tomorrow (not sure what the position will be after that) but all the schools are open. I know it's a nightmare for working parents, but I think lots of parents who are in a position to keep their kids off tomorrow will do so now they have said that. I do think schools will eventually have to close apart from to vulnerable and keyworker kids, and although its's far from ideal, I think at this time it's the right thing to do (if they had opened schools more safely in the first place, we might not be in this position).

Northamptonshire and yes, lots of local schools are emailing parents tonight to tell them school is shut next week now, other than for keyworker children.

@TammyTwoSwanson

I'm in Northamptonshire as well and not heard of any. Which area are you in?

The nurseries seem to be remaining open though
As far as I’m aware, many early years provisions are staying open mainly because they are privately funded. If we don’t work, we do not get paid. The last lockdown was shambolic for early years funding and many settings struggled to make it through. They couldn’t get full furlough pay for there staff as they were still claiming funded hours for some children. Many childminders and nurseries were not eligible for any state financial help at all, so it is literally, close before government uturn and loose family’s who might not return and loose all income. Or stay open and be able to pay staff and put food on the table.
Early years staff are as much at risk as teachers, but as we are funded completely differently, we have far fewer choices.

I'm furious just reading this thread at the number of schools that seem to have taken it upon themselves to arbitrarily make up their own rules. Including giving some children (keyworkers) education and others not. How dare they.

I bet many of the same adults refusing to go to work this week will have been shoulder to shoulder with everyone else en masse at the supermarkets less than 2 weeks ago in the lead up to Xmas. Not bothered about covid then - so many people were packed in and sprawling over each other. Those were adults doing exactly what they wanted. But when it comes to children, their education and mental wellbeing - no, can't possibly put anyone at risk.

Worcestershire here and dd’s primary open tmrw, not even an inset day! Wanted them closed

@AlbusSeverusMalfoy

Reading, Berkshire slowly closing.

We're Oxfordshire no cases since never! And they've still closed our school I'm bloomin fuming

I’m in sussex - just had an email from nursery to say that they’ve been told primary schools are closing Tuesday and that they are trying to work out the staffing for keyworker children

lancaster rate now is 250

lancaster wc 10/10/20 - 358 so was actually higher then

[quote hedgehogsarecosy]@TammyTwoSwanson

I'm in Northamptonshire as well and not heard of any. Which area are you in?[/quote]
I've seen 3 in the north of the county