Will schools re-open?

[TVDFan]

Do you think schools will re-open after the February half-term?

YABU - Yes I think they'll re-open after half term.

YANBU - They will remain closed for longer.

No way can schools not go back until summer. Every year would need to resit and that's not as easy as it sounds. You'd be making permanent changes to the complete education system.

Well in my school, TAs are supervising the children in school not teachers as teachers are at home delivering online learning. TAs are there to suppervise not teach or support. They will obviously help stuck pupils but at a same distance.

@Lockdownbear

No way can schools not go back until summer. Every year would need to resit and that's not as easy as it sounds. You'd be making permanent changes to the complete education system.

Even if they go back before Easter, they would have missed so much. A few months last year( March - July) , many haven’t been in school during Autumn term ( September- December) because of the number of positive cases which has meant that many children were self isolating. Now , the children may not go back to school until Easter. That is one full academic year. Obviously, it will be difficult to repeat a year, but as the government keep reminding us, we are in unprecedented times. Something has to be done.

@Lockdownbear

No way can schools not go back until summer. Every year would need to resit and that's not as easy as it sounds. You'd be making permanent changes to the complete education system.

Utter nonsense

Apologies, I read your post as "No way can schools go back until summer" and missed the 'not'

@LimitIsUp

Apologies, I read your post as "No way can schools go back until summer" and missed the 'not'

No worries!

One thing about the later exam years, lots of stuff taught will never really be used. Like Higher / A Levels maths unless your going to study engineering or something at which point the unis need to support the students and offer an extra semester for stuff they have missed.

I think part of it is we need far greater online provision and parity between schools. I had hoped that the gov mandate about online learning would help with this it maybe not. I teach in a private school and we are live teaching a full timetable every day. Other schools are providing very little in terms of live or teacher contact. I am aware that I teach very privileged students who are able to access tech etc, but the vast majority of teenagers have a device nowadays. This would then lessen the impact on student progress and mean that schools were not forced to reopen before ready.

It would certainly be a help for all kids to have live lessons. The argument always seems to come down to resources.

Maybe an answer for older kids who don't have devices and wifi at home would be to give them access to a school hall where they could access wifi to tune into online lessons.

But make it clear if they mess around they'll be put out and asked not to return. And it's to access the same stuff that kids at home would get.

@shittingthreeeyedraven

I think part of it is we need far greater online provision and parity between schools. I had hoped that the gov mandate about online learning would help with this it maybe not. I teach in a private school and we are live teaching a full timetable every day. Other schools are providing very little in terms of live or teacher contact. I am aware that I teach very privileged students who are able to access tech etc, but the vast majority of teenagers have a device nowadays. This would then lessen the impact on student progress and mean that schools were not forced to reopen before ready.

This, a thousand times this. It would help in 2 ways: it would address the actual educational needs, but at the same time, it would reduce the number of children in schools in KW places and get transmission down more quickly. We have DD using a KW place (both KW, 1 at home 1 not) because her school have provided very little remote learning (worksheets and powerpoint and a link to Oak), with no actual teaching or contact with teachers at all. I could have her at home if I knew that she would be receiving sufficient remote education.

@katedan

For those saying once more people are vaccinated can I ask how many people this needs to be before the unions will allow teachers back? Most teachers are under 50 and will not be in phase 1 of the rollout, phase 2 will not start till at least Sept 21 so do you feel schools should be closed the whole of 2021! Children will not get the vaccination unless they have an underlying health condition so linking schools re opening with the vaccine makes no sense and is very damaging to childrens education.

This. It probably won’t be the right vaccine.

I am very annoyed at the amount of children in schools, 75% in some locally. My children will fall way behind as my husband and I are working at home and having KS1 and KS2 children means we simply cannot facilitate home learning effectively. This is truly unfair that the KW provision is so wide now and if they are off all term or even more where does that leave those kids at home who just cannot access the live lessons or resources due to working parents (or other limitations)! So many being in school will delay the re-opening if the lockdown isn't effective. Poor kids.