If so many people wanted schools closed then why are some schools seeing up to 75% of children in?

[Waxonwaxoff0]

I have never wanted schools closed although I do recognise why they need to and that they need to be made safer.

Yet it seemed like I was in the minority, all over the internet people wanted schools closed and their children safely at home.

So why are so many trying to send their children in? Is it a case of "schools should be closed except for my child?"

[quote DarlingCoffee]@whittystitties you’re being very naive if you think that[/quote]
I'm not naive, I'm a realist, this pandemic isn't going anywhere and I do think like a previous posts said, we can hope that public opinion on schooling will change fairly rapidly once parents wake up and smell the coffee. Our children are being shoved to the bottom of the list of priorities. Teachers get paid a decent salary, but our children are not getting a look in.

@Carlislemumof4

Who are "The Unions"?

@carlisle mum I agree that people working from home should not get paid.

Oh, no I don't, because that would be stupid.

All this talk of "let's lockdown one last time to stop the virus" is bloody insane

It's not every going to go away, we have to learn to live with it, like flu.

In answer, I'm not sure exactly how many now, but in 2015, 97% of teachers belonged to a union.
Unions are just collections of workers, coming together to protect their rights, like right to a safe workplace.

Of course we all have to take all the responsibility we can. But at the end of the day, you or I can't close the airports, or help people on tight incomes tell their bosses that they want to keep their children home, or invest in getting more hospital staff trained, or put back bursaries for nurses, etc. That's all government.

And yes, we are stuck with it till next election, but we need to remember to vote in a party that cares about the NHS next time, and not let this one get away with pitting people against each other.

Well, the good news about the hospitals being about to be totally overrun is that people are going to stop spouting this "it's just like flu" bullshit.

Small consolation.

@whittystitties your school has low numbers in, that is not the case everywhere. Many schools are going to have to look at numbers and change their risk assessments so reduce the number of children in school

Our school was overall 30.95% full today. I know the exact number of children in and did the calculation for those of you who think we're pulling figures out of thin air. However there were 17/30 children in in the class.

Our updated risk-assessment says we should have 2m social-distancing at all times. Before school returned in a limited capacity in June, we physically measured out the classroom and found that at a pinch we could fit 10 children in with 2m distancing.

The WhatsApp chatter among the kids is that more are intending to come in on Monday. Some of the ones already in have only one kw parent and the other parent stays at home. Not works from home - they don't have a job. People are taking the piss.

@Nellodee

Well, the good news about the hospitals being about to be totally overrun is that people are going to stop spouting this "it's just like flu" bullshit.

Small consolation.

It isn't flu, but we do have to treat it as such and start to find ways to accept it's not going away and we cannot lick ourselves indoors forever

@whittystitties
First, we have vaccines for the flu to 'help us live with' it.
And secondly, it's not possible to live with something this contagious. What we're doing is dying with it. There aren't enough vaccines left, so all we can do at the moment is stop it hopping from one person to another as much as possible, and that means lockdown.

@Carlislemumof4

So school staff should be willing to put their actual lives on the line and those of their family, to balance the risk of your kids not receiving their full education?

O.K.

I tell you what, apply for the pupil funding, ensure it comes out of the nasty schools bank account...I couldn’t give a shit.

I wouldn’t risk my husband or son’s life, for my own son’s education, so I’m sure as hell not going to risk it for yours.

Whitty THIS IS NOT THE FLU.

Anyone with even half a brain can see that we are in a serious situation here. The NHS is about to be overrun and thousands of people are dying and many more age going to start dying again - not from Covud but because they cannot access essential healthcare.

You may think that's an acceptable price to pay for your freedoms - I don't.

If had asked me on Dec 18th if primary schools needed to close i would have said no.

But you need to move with the times, and this exponential growth is like nothing we have ever seen before.
This is a lot worse than March.

My kids need schools to be open - but it can't be now.

We are not going to be the only country hit in this way. This strain is going spread around the world. If not this one, the SA variant which is even more scary.

The unions had nothing to do with the schools closing. And schools aren't closed anyway

[quote ineedaholidaynow]@whittystitties your school has low numbers in, that is not the case everywhere. Many schools are going to have to look at numbers and change their risk assessments so reduce the number of children in school[/quote]
Many?

How many, are you the leading expert?

[quote duffeldaisy]@Carlislemumof4

Who are "The Unions"?[/quote]
Yes, which unions could I possibly be referring to. The teaching unions involved in kicking a percentage of children out of their education and in to further social isolation just few days ago perhaps.

Not their own members children of course. They can still access a classroom. Non keyworkers children are the inconvenient statistics who they are attempting to throw under the bus with 'stick 7 year olds on Zoom! They'll be fine for a few months'.

On Tuesday and yesterday I felt a little despairing about it but as more parents speak up, and the government have indicated they will look to open primaries before anything else, it's feeling more likely my DCs could see a classroom before July.

[quote DBML]@Carlislemumof4

So school staff should be willing to put their actual lives on the line and those of their family, to balance the risk of your kids not receiving their full education?

O.K.

I tell you what, apply for the pupil funding, ensure it comes out of the nasty schools bank account...I couldn’t give a shit.

I wouldn’t risk my husband or son’s life, for my own son’s education, so I’m sure as hell not going to risk it for yours. [/quote]
Unless your are vulnerable your risking nothing, you can die of alsorts you know, not just covid

@whittystitties are you in education?

@ineedaholidaynow

The unions had nothing to do with the schools closing. And schools aren't closed anyway

To non KW they are not open

Do you think unions section 44 walk out had any impact on government?

I’ve seen people claim either way on here

@Carlislemumof4

You missed the point. Union members are made up of teachers. If you say 'The Unions' want schools to close, you may as well say 'the vast majority of teachers' want schools to close because it's the same thing.

There is an answer to your problem, if you feel it's unfair on teachers getting their children's places as key workers. There are lots of vacancies in teaching, and as you feel it's such a safe environment, you'll be fine and you'll get keyworker status.

I've had it by the way, if you are healthy you'll be fine, don't stop living in fear it's going to strike you down, know your risks, if you have them of course, live conservatively. No one is saying it doesn't exist, but honestly, it's been a year, it's not coming to an end at Easter, it will carry on, and I for one am not prepared to shut myself off from live and ruin my kids mental health.

[quote ineedaholidaynow]@whittystitties are you in education?[/quote]
No thank god, if I was though, I'd be in the classroom

Some of us are vulnerable. I am not ecv or cv but according to my union I am higher-risk due to age and bmi. They say I am entitled to ask to work from home. Maybe all of us over 50 or bmi 30 should do just that and see how many staff are left to run the schools for all these children?

@whittystitties

Ok. What if my immediate family members are?
My 15 year old for instance.

Should I just go into school for a greater good then? For your kids?

[quote DBML]@whittystitties

Ok. What if my immediate family members are?
My 15 year old for instance.

Should I just go into school for a greater good then? For your kids?[/quote]
If you are shielding then you've been told to stay home