Looking likely schools will close. When should they be allowed to open?

[Billie18]

For those that believe they should close what would have to change for you to be happy with them opening? Is it a level of vaccinations if so what level? A lower daily hospital admission or death rate? Extra PPE? More Social distancing measures? Or is there a time limit on how long you think children should not be in school? Do you see any of these things changing in the near future?

Will just say that in my opinion they should stay open and I'm very concerned that they are closing.

Well I’d like teachers to be vaccinated for a start.

And then some consideration to be given to parents who are vulnerable - ok for the child to go to school as small risk to them - but what when they bring covid home and make their parents ill?

I’d like schools to be closed until perhaps the NHS has capacity and teachers are vaccinated. But really for the government it’s a numbers and politics game and some individuals are essentially just going to be murdered.

This the latest usforthem campaign to push for teachers and school staff to be vaccinated. Thanks for your concern about our welfare. It is touching.

Shame back in the Summer, people posting on here were calling for schools to open with no social distancing and no masks because their children would suffer mentally.

"I know this may seem dramatic but schools have already been closed for a year and I can see no way out if they close now."

What ARE you on about? Closed for a year? What planet are you living on?

Have never known Peston to leak something that hasn’t turned out to be true

@CallmeAngelina

"I know this may seem dramatic but schools have already been closed for a year and I can see no way out if they close now."

What ARE you on about? Closed for a year? What planet are you living on?

Closed in March last year. A few may have opened before summer but not all. Started back in September but many shut year groups or closed altogether because of test and trace. Summer exams cancelled. This years exams cancelled in Wales and Scotland and calls for them to be cancelled in England. Some children still missing from the register since last March. Schools have not been fully open since last March.

The only children who have had full access to schools are children of essential workers and vulnerable children and the numbers attending previously in this category were less than expected.

Billie did you advocate for schools to open safely in September with masks, social distancing, improvements to the school buildings? Or did you state that schools needed to return with no masks and no social distancing? Be honest and say what you were expecting.

From Guardian's live feed:

According to the Financial Times (paywall), which says it has been briefed by “several Whitehall officials”, cabinet ministers agreed this afternoon that “primary and secondary schools would probably close until the mid-February half-term break”.

@StatisticalSense

So you want children to have no breaks whatsoever from May to October?!

@TrustTheGeneGenie

Judging by a lot of opinions on here not until they have eradicated covid and every other infectious disease.

This.

However, in the real world if they get on with vaccinating people it should be possible to reopen at the end of this month. I can't see why it needs to be any longer and certainly not until Feb half term or even Easter.

Bloody hell. Would you not just stop, think and reflect for a minute. Be realistic. Read and inform yourself about the vaccination program so then you won't have these unachievable expectations. There is no quick fix and they'll be done before February.

"Schools have not been fully open since last March."

That is just bollocks. The vast majority of schools remained open right from the get-go, right through holiday periods, for KW and vulnerable children. Home learning was provided/available for others, over and above what the government recommended at the time. Some families, as evidenced here on MN, did not complete the work, for a range of reasons.

My own school opened up to face-to-face teaching to the maximum allowed by the government from the 1st June to any pupil who was eligible. We then opened further on a rota basis to any family who required a place from June 22nd. From September, every year group has been open fully, apart from two isolations in one year group.
There are many similar stories in other schools.

You are exaggerating and catastrophising, which does your argument no favours at all.

I caught COVID at work in my Covid-safe government office. Where we are all well over 2m apart at all times and everything is cleaned continuously.

DH works in the food industry in closed environments being continuously bumped into by dozens of workers, mostly wearing the PPE incorrectly or not at all. Usually 4-5 different places every week.

DSibling is in construction and visits peoples homes every day. They don't wear PPE in their own homes.

Ffs. Teachers are not special.
Schools should stay open.

@Reachersloveinterest

Ffs. Teachers are not special.
Schools should stay open.

While I’m completely sympathetic to teachers concerns about safety, schools are not being closed to protect them, they’re being closed to reduce the spread of the virus through the population.

Well they are closed now officially. Not because of the unions or the teachers but because the prime minister has confirmed they are vectors of transmission and need to close to stop the NHS from collapsing.

Yes, @mrshoho, and that ought to be the end of the bashing discussion.