When do you predict primary schools will reopen?

[felicitywishdoll]

Just interested, there doesn’t appear to be any general consensus on this? I’ve seen some say after Feb half term but I’m doubting that.

If numbers have fallen and the vaccine programme is going as planned I think they will try and get primary schools back after the Feb half term. Now exams are cancelled
I don’t think secondary will go back until after Easter.

I think Easter at the earliest. Agree that there are too many children attending school still for lock down to do anything so it'll go on and on unless they really ramp up the vaccination programme. Non key worker children have been completely thrown under the bus in all of this.

Easter

If only the vaccine was being rolled out by a competent administration, that "test and trace" was still even a thing and some investment, creativity and strategic thinking had gone into making education settings safe.

@Aroundtheworldin80moves

Im hoping they don't prioritise year groups in Primary again. It was great for them, rubbish for the rest of the school with no teachers available for the 'home school' part. Rotas before that, if anything.

Oh, I would imagine that’s exactly what they will do again. Reception and Y1 top of the list.

The thing is, so many people have sent their kids in due to the government change of criteria-a rota simply won’t work now. If a teacher has 20/30 of the class who ‘must’ have a KW place every day, there’s no room for anyone else.

Rotas would have been the best idea all round though, I completely agree.

If they do the same years at least it’s mostly different year group ie yr 5 would be it 6. Doesn’t help yr 3 or 4 much.

But agree with pp non KW children are taking biggest hit again

Education in School won't start again until after Easter I suspect.
Plasces at present are not for taught classes but supervised rooms.
Work being sent home for Secondaries, esp exam years, is no substitute for teaching. They are all missing out but there is no alternative now with the infection rates / death figures due to keep climbing for now.

@Monkeytennis97

I think primaries will go back in March and secondaries after Easter but staggered possibly.

I don't know why, but I also think this!

Nobody knows though.

I know someone who works at a Westminster and even she keeps predicting things all wrong at the moment. She normally has her finger on the pulse, obviously, but she said a couple of weeks ago that primaries would probably be reopening. I half joked that if Michael Gove said that with absolute confidence, a week of press leaks would follow and then a u turn. I mean, it sucks, but at least I can wallow in my correct forecast .

If we'd had rotas in place, as part of a strategy for safe educational settings - we might likely have not have been in this locked down position again.

A part-time place - even one day per week - would have been enough to keep my DC learning, motivated and mental health on an even keel through the last lockdown too.

Im a teacher and have no idea really! Here is Wales they haven't even said half term yet..currently due back 18th Jan. I am praying if its extended then only until half term as I really do find online learning with young ones the pits and just want to do ky job as I have all term with no closures in Autumn Term at all. I cant accept it may be longer than Easter at the mo

*in Wales

SATS and all primary teacher assessment cancelled today too. Suggests it will be a long time before schools are back to normal.

I doubt it will be before Easter. That's what I am planning on. Anything longer than that and I will be climbing the walls.

Seems unlikely to be until after Easter to me.

I have a faint hope that it will be staggered based on community transmission/R rate, as we are not in a very high risk area. But it probably won't be.

We are certainly having to plan differently this time. Last time there was an air of general 'wing-it' from our employers wrt homeschool and working hours. Now, whilst there is understanding and flex, there is also much more of a business as usual everything carries on mentality, and that is going to be very hard if this is prolonged past Feb half term.

1. Because everyone expects this to be for a long time, not a short time. So the expectation is that winging it won't suffice. And various forms of lockdown have gone on for so long clients expect more.
2. So much now remains open, in contrast to last time, so workload is higher, expectations higher, etc. Furlough less likely therefore. At the same time redundancies have now occurred so as workload picks up there's no slack at all.
3. Other employees aren't in the same situation with school closures - there are more parents eligible to send their children in. So that makes conversations harder, because other people appear to be managing it better.

It'll be fine. There are others who have it much, much harder. It's still stressful though, and the worst time of year for feeling positive about what's ahead.

Easter. I don't think they'll be shut the rest of the year as rumours have it, but I think Feb half term is unrealistic as Boris was over-promising as usual...

Work being sent home for Secondaries, esp exam years, is no substitute for teaching.

52andblue what are you getting from your secondary for exam year? Or do you mean on a more general level for all students in exam years?

Now they've got rid of exams I don't think we'll return until Easter and my department are preparing to have online work preprepared until then.

Oh, and I forgot reason 4) of why it will be so hard:

4. School expects 'attendance' at key times during each day and for primary this means the parent must be available at those key times with a device to log them on and that means they can't be on a work video call at key times and that creates issues. Last time you could do school work around your employer timetable as much as possible - this time will be different.

After Feb half term - Reception, year 1 and year 6. Like last year. Bubbles of bubbles 15. 3 weeks later all back, but again bubbles of 15 (so some schools will get all kids back and some won’t). Secondary all at home.

After Easter all children back, probably on the back of teachers (who haven’t been vaccinated in first priority group) being first priority in second wave.

People saying schools aren't teaching those in, ours certainly is

I hope after half term, our online learning platform wasn't working all day

@Mumofsend

People saying schools aren't teaching those in, ours certainly is

What’s it like for those not in? Can they do both well

It's going to be a hard old slog if its Easter as they'll be the first to open they've said which means nothing else will be open until then either

I think primary might well go back at half term.

The optimist in me says after Feb half term, the pessimist in me says September, the realist in me says after Easter holidays

@MarshaBradyo in DDs school its three form entry and each year group has a HLTA. Kids with 1-1s are in and still have them so those ones aren't being included in provision, my DD has her 1-1 and its business as usual.

For the rest of the kids theres two groups of ten in school. The HLTA and one teacher are with them. The other two teachers are doing the online provision. Early days but it works.

I'd like to think they would get y10 and y11 back in secondary asap tbh, and possibly the younger primary even if it was just part Time for some stability and socialisation. 3 months is a long time for the young ones to be kept away from their peers again