London being prioritised for schools reopening as usual...widening the education divide

[CaughtInTheCovid]

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/19/english-schools-may-reopen-regionally-medical-chief-suggests-covid?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Why is it more important to open schools in London than anywhere else? We are in the NW and have had the most severe lockdowns for the longest. I will be raging if our schools are kept closed when our numbers are half that of London.

TonMoulin How many more times, London is NOT being prioritised in this instance. Our schools are not getting preferential treatment to reopen first. If the gap is widening between north and south, it's not London's fault and it's not our children's fault, so why should they suffer? Blame the politicians who run the country.

Plus, the north doesn't have the monopoly on child poverty or disadvantaged families. London has huge areas of deprivation. My OH teaches in an area of east London where 70% of the children are on FSM.

For those that don’t want to click the link this is from the website

Children in London are more likely to grow up in poverty than children elsewhere in the UK. In fact, 37% of London's children (that's 700,000 children) live in poverty after housing costs are taken into account. London has the highest rate of child poverty of any English region, and there are as many poor children in London as in all of Scotland and Wales.

@geckogirl13

The guardian is so london-centic. Does my head in, especially as it was originally founded in Manchester!

The Guardian didn't make the announcement. They were reporting.

@MrsFrisbyMouse

But no one had said this is even going to happen. Everyone is getting outraged over something that hasn't even happened or even been confirmed as happening. It is merely speculation on behalf of the Guardian. Designed to grab headlines and grab clicks. You have been media fished.

The Guardian is reporting what Harries said.They are not speculating.

Some people on this thread really need to move to a country of which London is not the capital.

You'll feel much better after you've made the move, honestly. So much bitterness will dissipate.

Actual statistics for child poverty in Middlesborough
Middlesbrough has the highest rate of child poverty in the northeast currently at 34% compared with 23% regionally and 21.3% nationally. Looking at Child Poverty across wards in Middlesbrough shows that there are huge differences in the levels of Child Poverty across Middlesbrough, they vary from 5% to 60%.

@Burpeesshmurpees

Oh great another thread about how easy everyone in London has it. It's not fair. blah blah. You do know we're not all second home owners that send our kids to Eton, right? Also that we've had the least amount of vaccines per capita in England? Or that we weren't allowed to see anyone at all at Christmas? Maybe, just maybe, if London schools do open first it will be because our numbers are finally dropping while in some other areas they're rising. Or maybe it's just because we always get special treatment

So true

Think it's time we had a Londoners section on MN.....

@echt

No they are speculating and making inferences.

What she said was "“On the broad epidemiology, it’s highly likely that when we come out of this national lockdown, we will not have consistent patterns of infection in our communities across the country.

“And therefore, as we had prior to national lockdown, it may well be possible we need to have some differential application"

“[The] short answer is, I think it’s likely we will have some sort of regional separation of interventions."

She then added "that there were glimmers of hope in London."

It may well be that there are also glimmers of hope in other areas of the country - she did not say that London schools would open first.

It’s true London does have some of the higest rates of child poverty in the UK, there is such a huge spectrum of the richest to the poorest in London too. Without taking the article for gospel as it only speculates, IMO all schools should probably go back at the same time. Every child deserves the same treatment no matter where they are from

@echt But they are not quoting her when they mention London, so how do you know what she said exactly? Do you have a transcript of her comments because I would like to see it?

@ConfusedcomMum

Think it's time we had a Londoners section on MN.....

I agree, although Mumsnet will probably be accused of giving us preferential treatment if they let us set one up...

there used to be (may still be) local sections for geographical areas on here

The media really do need to start printing actual facts and not 2&2 an d come up with 5 , they have all been awful through this.
Also I don't think london felt special when they were banned from any mixing on xmas day whilst the rest of us got a choice.
Also most of the goverment / mp's do not come fromor live in london.
The new variant is why schools hot closed as cases went up drastically in a short time.

Also aren't london low on the list for vaccinations received. Stop with the london bashing all the time,

Also how people can use the word like london centric etc , its the bloody capital of the country .

@donewithitalltodayandxmas

Also aren't london low on the list for vaccinations received. Stop with the london bashing all the time,

Yes, but that’s ok because it’s only unfair when it’s Northern England, people in London deserve it.

Also if you read it , the paper has put glimmer of hope in london regarding infections and possible schools going back at different times based on cases together and came up with london schools, totally twisted.

@echt no the guardian have taken what she said out of context , no where does she say schools in london will open first , nowhere at all.
Media are atrocious , they all need a kick up the arse

Sorry but that is pure speculation from the Guardian.

London rates are crazily high so it makes more sense that we'd be the last to go back. It's going to take a lot longer to come down to a sensible rate from 890 per 100k where I live than other places where the rate is 200.

OP, here are a couple of examples of why you shouldn’t believe everything you read in the papers. Many of them (on both sides of the political spectrum) have an agenda.

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/14/coronavirus-vaccine-delays-brexit-ema-expensive

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/10/uk-poised-to-shun-eu-coronavirus-vaccine-scheme

Tbf The Guardian has taken a dive for fact based articles