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.

@toptreeroots1

Genuine question to people saying September? It wasn't January to September last time ?! Why would it be this time ?

Last time it was 23rd March? To the summer holidays for most ?

I agree, they didn’t close schools until just before the easter hols last year, so roughly closed for one term (ignoring holidays). That means after Easter at the latest 🤞

If it's the next academic year and they are the first to open then we would be truly fucked. I don't think barring a complete and utter disaster re vaccines that's a likely scenario?

It is a bit of an unknown, bad - variant good - vaccine & better treatments

Hardly seems worth closing schools when 40-50% are still in school. Not fair on teachers. How can they provide decent online provision to those at home when they are so stretched within school.
Agree with previous poster that non-key worker kids are being thrown under the bus.

To those asking if KW/vulnerable students in school and those learning remotely at home are getting the same quality of teaching at the same time ‐ yes.

Different teachers ‐ some are on the rota teaching in school while others are teaching remotely to those at home.

Once it’s safer to do so...

Non keyworker kids would massively benefit from occasional day at school just to keep them hopeful and positive.

Without it - learning pretty quickly goes to shit.

We struggled today to stay on top of demands from teachers - and do the work we needed to do to pay the mortgage... Imagine that a busy work day will present massive challenges. In our lines of work - this means Monday. So an Easter return is a frightening prospect.

@BraeburnPlace

At this rate, never...due to the ridiculously broad key worker and vulnerable children definitions. In some schools 85% of children can attend. Thanks Gav for broadening the vulnerable category today ( any child with no access to a devise or without a quiet space to work at home...)

Exactly. In terms of any hope of effective reduction of transmission they could hardly be defined as closed. It's a joke.

@Nellle is that at Primary or Secondary?

I think some years will go back before others, just like last time. I’m not totally convinced that any will be back before Easter either.

I am expecting after Easter. By then the most vulnerable will have been vaccinated together with hospitals staff/HCP’s. You’d hope they’d do teachers by then too? Let’s hope Johnson et al get their fingers out out of each other’s backsides and get it done!

We’d also be over the worst of the winter pressure on hospitals and the weather will be getting better which the virus doesn’t like.

It would be nice if they brought the Easter school holidays forward so the kids could go back after Easter weekend. Be quite fitting what with it being a festival about returning from the dead.

Doubt that would happen though.

Hmmm. I have 2 kids at 2 diff primaries one is y1 and attends a small state primary in a village and the whole school has 100 kids and 5 class rooms. No cases.of covid and she is been taught by her usual teacher and curriculum as most of the class is in on key worker card. The head is mad of the closure and has also said all key workers need to attend 5 days per week even if work 1 day a week and no proof needed. She has said back feb. Now the other school where my child is at (y6) its a keyworker provision all mixed ages and they are fighting to not have kids in school.

I think spring.

@HauntedPencil

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.

This. Education was stated multiple times today by the government as being the priority and the first thing to be released.

If people are saying September that basically means this full lockdown will continue into the Summer which is unrealistic. Unless of course the Gvt have another u turn on this (which is of course with this one possible).

If you think about the last lockdown April and May (so 2 months) meant that some years it was open for in June (so the equilvalent of Feb half term if you think for some places this lockdown started in December)

The rest I think would have been ready to go back mid July were it not for the summer holidays getting in the way.

Which for this one would be after Easter.

It really depends I think how much we can reduce the numbers down in lockdown (alongside the vaccine). What is concerning is that actually that is never mentioned just the vaccine bit

Different teachers ‐ some are on the rota teaching in school while others are teaching remotely to those at home.

Mine aren’t being taught remotely. They are being set work on google classroom for 5 classes a day. (In school in normal times there are 9 classes adding up to 4.5 hours) The classes scheduled total 2.5 hours. The work today took about an hour total and was submitted. No feedback received. My children have had no interaction with any of their teachers. How is that the same as being taught in class?

I think after half term primary will begin a phased return.

Maybe infants first and then 2 weeks later juniors.

I think secondary will have yr 10/11 returning on blended learning /rota approach after half term until Easter holidays. Then rest rerun on rota until after May.

I think yr 13 will follow the same.

What's the real shame is if people took this seriously we could probably open schools earlier.

I personally would like to see all these refusals for £10k fines followed up,enforced and the money use for nhs and towards tech for pupils, tutors act.

What's even worse is as schools are opening first it's likely to mean other things won't start opening until we enter summer.

I despair at those not following guidance. They are the ones threatening children's education and futures - not unions teachers or even the government

@BraeburnPlace

At this rate, never...due to the ridiculously broad key worker and vulnerable children definitions. In some schools 85% of children can attend. Thanks Gav for broadening the vulnerable category today ( any child with no access to a devise or without a quiet space to work at home...)

They've basically given in and closed schools but as the didn't want to and unions took action they've stealthily opened them up to nearly everyone anyway.

They really are egotistical twats.

And because unions suggested teachers offered to work with KW and vulnerable they've basically made sure they put kids into this category.

I mean - did what's actually best for everyone. A shirt sharp lockdown rather than a long drawn out one.

.

Can I reword my above post? don't mean it's worse schools are opening first. I meant it's worse if they are delayed because of people behaviour because that means other things don't get opened up either.

@MarshaBradyo No.

My saying September is because "this government" has not had the power to deliver almost anything that they say in relation to schools so far, so it does not matter however much they want it.

And yes, they will open the pubs before, because it will be right for the country to open up (isolation kills people by destroying their health regardless of the also impact of money) and by doing so it would increase the pressure to open schools. But opening schools is not wholly in their control, if it was, they probably wouldn't've closed this week

"Different teachers ‐ some are on the rota teaching in school while others are teaching remotely to those at home."
My sons teacher is not teaching remotely.
Shes uploading lessons/tasks onto purple mash for me to teach him.
So no the kids at home are not getting the same if the kids in school are getting active teaching by a qualified teacher.
She did give feed back so its 100% better than we had last time.

@itsgettingweird I agree. They've basically put in place a school closure ensuring that in many schools it isn't a closure at all and does nothing to reduce transmission.

@Nellle

To those asking if KW/vulnerable students in school and those learning remotely at home are getting the same quality of teaching at the same time ‐ yes.

Different teachers ‐ some are on the rota teaching in school while others are teaching remotely to those at home.

Not in ours.

Poor frazzled teacher trying to control a class of 21 while simultaneously teaching 9 dc online. It’s chaos.

Not her fault but dd is getting about 5 minutes explanation of a work sheet and then is left looking at the side of her teachers head/an empty chair while listening to a general din of noise.

If we continue with a trend of 1000+ deaths daily there’s no way schools will open.
The R rate and daily cases/rates will have to come right down or there’s not point in the government making is go through a lockdown again.

[quote sirfredfredgeorge]@MarshaBradyo No.

My saying September is because "this government" has not had the power to deliver almost anything that they say in relation to schools so far, so it does not matter however much they want it.

And yes, they will open the pubs before, because it will be right for the country to open up (isolation kills people by destroying their health regardless of the also impact of money) and by doing so it would increase the pressure to open schools. But opening schools is not wholly in their control, if it was, they probably wouldn't've closed this week[/quote]
I’m not sure if union pressure moved us to close schools or numbers would have alone.

But we have vaccines and could use them to stop section 44 if teachers have them

Then it’s down to hospitalisation pressure - again down to vaccines

I don’t know as hard to gauge but I’m hoping vaccine is way out. Without it we’d be stuffed

Our school has over half students in anyway and all the staff, the rates aren't coming down anytime soon if all primaries are like this. Nurseries open, special schools running as normal.

Feeling the pressure this time. Really shitty tone from newsletters coming home, basically you must log on, you must complete the work, work will be progressive. The work being set is not anything the children have already learned, lots are cut and stick or print offs... we don’t have a printer and only one SLOW laptop. Oh and I work full time in a job that requires me to work my hours at set times and I’m expected to work the entire time Oh and eldest is asd/adhd which is fun to teach

Though under the new 'vulnerable' criteria (lack of devices, lack of a quiet place to work) you would genuinely qualify for your children to be in school @Sorryusernamealreadyexists

On the side of the school, we have been threatened by Gav, with parents being able to report poor remote learning to OFSTED and them inspecting. You can understand why schools now have to up the pressure.