So Gav says schools could stay shut beyond half term.....

[Coldwinterahead1]

I'm guessing after Easter. What does everyone else think?

Also note that she actually said ASAP not open them now! As soon as its possible.....whats wrong with saying that?

3littlewords there's nothing wrong with saying that schools should be open asap. I don't think many people would disagree with that in principle.

The question is more 'how can they be opened in as safe and sustainable way as possible?'

Unfortunately, the government don't really seem to be on this.

@DecemberSun

It’s a shame teachers aren’t more like other key workers such as NHS staff, shop workers, public transport staff etc. They accept we are all in this together, accept we need to keep the country running and just get on with their jobs.

The ignorance is staggering.

All the people you mention can wear masks, the people they deal with have to wear masks and social distancing is enforced. If we are all in this together let the teachers have the same protection as the workers you mention.

I cannot believe the level of ignorance that must exist to not know that.

My flabber is gasted. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Is that poster for real?

Clearly just opening them ASAP without any other changes to schools would be a mistake and lead us right back to the awful situation we are in now. Hopefully nobody would be suggesting that.

noblegiraffe has been proven right, time and time again. What a shame U4T types actively spoke against her practical and entirely manageable solutions to keep schools open safely.

I’m a teacher and I would LOVE the vaccine. I’d pay for it. I’d get up at 3:30 for it. I’d take the Oxford vaccine or t’other one. It would ease my mind about teaching in a classroom (along with children wearing masks) and I’d be much happier back in school than teaching online. But the government don’t actually care about me. They care about community transmission - and giving me the vaccine ASAP (yes, please) solves my problems but not the fact that children will take the virus back to their parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and all their contacts.

Schools can’t open without a big drop in the R rate and proper mitigation, I’m afraid.

@christinarossetti19

3littlewords there's nothing wrong with saying that schools should be open asap. I don't think many people would disagree with that in principle.

The question is more 'how can they be opened in as safe and sustainable way as possible?'

Unfortunately, the government don't really seem to be on this.

There also needs to be a question of how we can get through this with the least possible impact on everybody's mental health, the children's education, the economy, and our emotional well-being? Yet any time someone dares raises these points they get shot down in flames and accused of not wanting safer schools when thats not what has been said at all? BOTH issues are equally as valid just because someone highlights one of those issues does not mean they don't care about the other. Yet far to many times people jump to wrong conclusions and make up things that haven't been said at all. Its ridiculous

Teachers have said all along schools aren't safe. Most were flamed for being negative, lazy etc.

The problem is schools reopened unsafely. My school opened for keyworkers and vulnerables on the 4th by Friday 8th 3 bubbles were closed. My bubble is at 8 positives. That's all in one week. This is not safe. I am at home self isolating but next week I will have to be back hoping I am lucky again and don't catch it next time.

3littlewords

There also needs to be a question of how we can get through this with the least possible impact on everybody's mental health, the children's education, the economy, and our emotional well-being? Yet any time someone dares raises these points they get shot down in flames and accused of not wanting safer schools when thats not what has been said at all?
BOTH issues are equally as valid just because someone highlights one of those issues does not mean they don't care about the other. Yet far to many times people jump to wrong conclusions and make up things that haven't been said at all. Its ridiculous

All of these issues would be somewhat resolved if school's could open in a safe and sustainable manner.

@FrippEnos of course it would but people are allowed to express the concern about the effects of closures and lockdown without having to caveat safer measures in school every time to justify themselves and stop the wolf pack attacking them for things that they haven't said

@3littlewords - what the PP said was to vaccinate all of the teachers then return to the bubbles we had after last lockdown. But those bubbles did not work - schools became rife with infections and classes / year groups / whole schools had to close, often multiple times. There was no suggestion that any other measures should be put in place to make schools safer.

@DollyParton2

I’m all 4 of those sundowners & completely agree with you as do 99.9999% of any working parents I know in reality. Vaccinate teachers. Have kids back in bubbles, even for 1 or 2 days a week after half term. These strange people who like to dominate on these threads are definitely not the general consensus in reality or as you say facing all the scenarios you list.

How does this work exactly when you already have 50% of the kids in school? The other 50% need teaching online still. This is increasing the work load for teachers as it is.

We have two classes per year, so each year is being split into two bubbles of 15. They are all vulnerable or key worker kids.

They've had to send some home as it is, because there were too many in school and they couldn't manage anymore.

How do you propose the other 50% of kids get time in school when you've no more classrooms and already the max size for a bubble with just the essential worker and vulnerable kids? You can't send them home.

Where do the other 50% go?

Its like the impossible maths question that everytime its asked magically gets ignored.

I know from parents at dc school, that some have crazy expectations of their dc day, and seem to lack imagination and flexibility of thinking in the light of the crisis.

The ideal situation is that children are simply taught as per time table but with younger dc that's tricky.
Nothing is ideal at the moment, I can't understand why some dp can't slacken a little and lower expectations, let dc watch a film or TV, or play on a game
There is a serious threat to life hanging over us all, we need to be realistic and flexible!

Red, one place has lap top with camera pointed at teacher, so students at home watch just as those in class.

Simultaneously.

@LickEmbysmiling

Red, one place has lap top with camera pointed at teacher, so students at home watch just as those in class.

Simultaneously.

I’m using my laptop to teach on though, if I was in school, I’d need an second laptop pointing at me to film! Our schools laptops are really crap as well, so I rather suspect we’d need a large cash injection to get anything like that up and running.

Vaccinating teachers isn’t going to stop schools being ‘vectors for transmission’, it will just keep the unions happy.

Vaccinating teachers would keep schools open because teachers wouldn’t be getting sick with Covid.
(Implementing better mitigation measures in schools would reduce their role in being vectors of transmission.)

@RedToothBrush How does this work exactly when you already have 50% of the kids in school? The other 50% need teaching online still. This is increasing the work load for teachers as it is.We have two classes per year, so each year is being split into two bubbles of 15. They are all vulnerable or key worker kid

Obviously understand and agree those children are priority groups and need to be in school throughout but where does that leave the remaining children in terms of returning to onsite education? If theres not the room / teachers to do rotas for all then how do the other children get back to face to face lessons and seeing their peer group and how can schools be made a safer place for staff to enable other children back?

@sundowners

I know so many people seriously close to breaking point. There will be so much damage to kids and parents mental health, kids education, so much increase in domestic/child abuse- people cant cope with the strain of this for months.... Its already overwhelming 1.5 weeks in. Primary schools need to go back ASAP!!!

@pinkpip100 this was the post that was jumped upon and where it was assumed and added too that she had insisted she had said she wanted schools open without any safety measures in place when in fact it said nothing of the sort. This comment was picked apart and made out she had said things she clearly didn't

What did Stacey say?

@gottakeeponmovin

What did Stacey say?

I work in a SEN school for children ages 8-19 and we have been open through every lockdown due to the intense needs of our pupils.

There is no excuse for rapid testing not to be up and running by half term therefore making the spreading of the virus increasingly less likely.

I seriously hope not but I think you’re right !

What did Stacey say?

"He's a right knobhead, that Williamson bloke Ness"
Nessa: "Iz know"

@Sarahrellyboo1987

I work in a SEN school for children ages 8-19 and we have been open through every lockdown due to the intense needs of our pupils.

There is no excuse for rapid testing not to be up and running by half term therefore making the spreading of the virus increasingly less likely.

I don’t think that the use of lateral flow tests to replace the isolation of positive contacts in school will do anything to decrease the spread of the virus. It’ll probably make it worse in schools. The tests have dreadful sensitivity.

There is no excuse for rapid testing not to be up and running by half term therefore making the spreading of the virus increasingly less likely.

If they use it instead of isolating close contacts as planned, it will make spreading the virus more likely.

@LickEmbysmiling

Red, one place has lap top with camera pointed at teacher, so students at home watch just as those in class.

Simultaneously.

The question is how do you get ALL kids back into a school setting so that they can learn.

If 50% of the kids HAVE to be in school ALL of the time, how do you get the chicken, grain and the fox across the river when you've got no fucking boats and theres man eating crocodiles in the river prevent the other 50% of the kids into school when there are zero spaces to put them?

If you think a 4, 5 or 6 year old can manage a full day on zoom i'll happily share the alcoholic you are pissed on with you.

As i say, this is the magic maths problem everyone likes to ignore or comes up with an utterly ridiculous answer to because they didn't read or understand the question properly in the first place.

Not how do you teach all the kids at the same time.