Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Covid

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Can we unlock the schools at start of Feb?

776 replies

MeandT · 21/01/2021 17:49

I'm totally supportive of the lockdown BUT by the end of next week, case numbers nationally will be the same as they were at end of November. Hospital admissions are falling again.

Rather than going back into tiers with the shops and food pubs open (where all the spreading happened in December), can we not issue all the teachers with N95 masks (and vaccines for the clinically vulnerable), make all the kids wear triple layer face masks all the time, and just get on with the important job of educating this country's kids in person? Starting again 1st of Feb.

AIBU to ask if we can send the kids back as soon as we hit the case rate we unlocked at on 2nd December?

IABU= no way, the cases will shoot up too quickly again, even if they all wear masks all day.

IANBU = yes, get them back before half term, the only reason it went nuts in December was because everyone was out Christmas shopping and seeing family.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
10
PurpleDaisies · 22/01/2021 00:22

It also solves the practically of what you do with them with a 6 week holiday when you have no annual leave left because of Covid.
I’m a teacher. Not bloody childcare.

Plus, plenty of teachers would have their own children to suddenly find childcare for.

Wheresmykimchi · 22/01/2021 00:23

@PurpleDaisies

It also solves the practically of what you do with them with a 6 week holiday when you have no annual leave left because of Covid. I’m a teacher. Not bloody childcare.

Plus, plenty of teachers would have their own children to suddenly find childcare for.

Don't be daft. You're not allowed your own life!
PurpleDaisies · 22/01/2021 00:24

Don't be daft. You're not allowed your own life!

Sorry I forgot. Grin

IdblowJonSnow · 22/01/2021 00:24

No. Far too soon. And of course schools are instrumental in transmission.
My mate is a teacher who tested positive along with 12 of her colleagues.

Wheresmykimchi · 22/01/2021 00:25

@PurpleDaisies

Don't be daft. You're not allowed your own life!

Sorry I forgot. Grin

It bloody infuriates me. Mainly the faux 'oh but it's great for the children'

No.

Wheresmykimchi · 22/01/2021 00:26

Are PP aware that there are different rules for different areas?

Sending us in in summer is great but if our ow children's schools make a different decision, our kids are stuffed while we provide for yours.

PurpleDaisies · 22/01/2021 00:27

It bloody infuriates me.
Mainly the faux 'oh but it's great for the children'

Me too. If it’s safe enough for schools to be open, the kids can all catch up with each other in (outdoor/safe) social settings. That’s probably what they really need most anyway. All the academic stuff can be dealt with later.

Wheresmykimchi · 22/01/2021 00:29

@PurpleDaisies

It bloody infuriates me. Mainly the faux 'oh but it's great for the children'

Me too. If it’s safe enough for schools to be open, the kids can all catch up with each other in (outdoor/safe) social settings. That’s probably what they really need most anyway. All the academic stuff can be dealt with later.

I know.

And the audacity of us to not want to work in summer. We've had all this time off!

Greenygrape · 22/01/2021 00:37

@purpledaisies no, you're not childcare but when you're emailing me at work asking while my child hasn't done their phonics I'd say I'm not a bloody school either.

Teachers can talk about entitlement but haven't got a bloody clue.

Hope you enjoy all your holidays - the kids can stuff, we all know that.

Greenygrape · 22/01/2021 00:38

All the academic stuff can be dealt with later. spoken like a true teacher!

When? 2022?

Whatever

PurpleDaisies · 22/01/2021 00:39

no, you're not childcare but when you're emailing me at work asking while my child hasn't done their phonics I'd say I'm not a bloody school either.

Teachers can’t do right for doing wrong. What was the response to you saying it was because you were working? We’ve been really understanding that parents have been in an awful position and are mainly just doing their best.

Hope you enjoy all your holidays - the kids can stuff, we all know that.

What’s this supposed to mean?

Wheresmykimchi · 22/01/2021 00:41

[quote Greenygrape]@purpledaisies no, you're not childcare but when you're emailing me at work asking while my child hasn't done their phonics I'd say I'm not a bloody school either.

Teachers can talk about entitlement but haven't got a bloody clue.

Hope you enjoy all your holidays - the kids can stuff, we all know that.[/quote]
We can't win there. There are multiple threads on here moaning about us not responding to every email, but if we do, the likes of you moan.

We are supposed to be setting the work and responding and you are supposed to be home schooling. We didn't make the rules.

Out of interest, what have we not got a clue about? Have you considered that many (including purple) are having to teach from home AND home school their own children?! I along with many other staff am actually in school at the moment, so is that OK with you?

Oh whatever, Greeny. I'm not sure what "the kids can stuff" but I get your sentiment. You're getting yourself right pissed off because we aren't volunteering to go into school so that you can have a bloody holiday!

We will all be "enjoying" our holidays - have you forgotten we are people too with relatives we are worried about, children, etc etc etc? Purple didn't say "no i dont want to work the holidays so I can relax, she said that she has her own children to provide for! So when exactly does she get a break?

PurpleDaisies · 22/01/2021 00:42

All the academic stuff can be dealt with later. spoken like a true teacher!

Whenever they’re back properly. There’s no fixed rule about what needs to be covered by when. There will need to be curriculum and examination changes. It’s an exceptional circumstance.

If I was speaking as a “true teacher”, I’d remind you that sentences start with a capital letter. Wink

Wheresmykimchi · 22/01/2021 00:42

@Greenygrape

All the academic stuff can be dealt with later. spoken like a true teacher!

When? 2022?

Whatever

Yeah, Purple is outrageous. How dare she realise that their welfare is the most important thing yet.

Because your proposition for putting kids in school in summer was totally based on their academics. My arse.

"Spoken like a true teacher". Have a wee search for teacher bashing threads, you'll find your people.

Lippyheaven · 22/01/2021 00:46

Not saying all, but some parents that want to keep the schools shut are the ones that are sending them to school already. There were a one on fb, saying the schools should stay shut till April, but she has both children at school, she’s a sahm, husband a broadband engineer not working from home.

Wheresmykimchi · 22/01/2021 00:47

The problem with people sending their kids to school is that it tightens the restrictions for other people who do actually genuinely need the places but aren't entitled to it.

DBLM · 22/01/2021 00:52

@Greenygrape

Let me try to illustrate the problem for you.

Imagine you take a job that is September to July. You aren’t paid August. You get money in August, but only what’s been held back from the other months. You agree to these terms

You decide to take on another job during the holidays. It perhaps pays for some luxuries, affords you a nice vacation every few years.

Would you find it easy...or appealing...or fair, to suddenly be expected to change this? Particularly if during a pandemic you’d been expected to work extra hard; on extra work; for longer and with additional risk to your health?

The problem is that many people see teachers as not working right now. They forget that teachers are not paid for 13 weeks holiday a year. But would you in all honesty do your job for free? At a time you didn’t want to work or had made other plans? No you wouldn’t. But teachers are expected to feel differently for the sake of families that are unrelated to us and often at the expense of our our families and our own MH.

You are not being fair. Your suggestion is not just unfair, it is insulting. You need to be told this.

Wheresmykimchi · 22/01/2021 00:53

[quote DBLM]@Greenygrape

Let me try to illustrate the problem for you.

Imagine you take a job that is September to July. You aren’t paid August. You get money in August, but only what’s been held back from the other months. You agree to these terms

You decide to take on another job during the holidays. It perhaps pays for some luxuries, affords you a nice vacation every few years.

Would you find it easy...or appealing...or fair, to suddenly be expected to change this? Particularly if during a pandemic you’d been expected to work extra hard; on extra work; for longer and with additional risk to your health?

The problem is that many people see teachers as not working right now. They forget that teachers are not paid for 13 weeks holiday a year. But would you in all honesty do your job for free? At a time you didn’t want to work or had made other plans? No you wouldn’t. But teachers are expected to feel differently for the sake of families that are unrelated to us and often at the expense of our our families and our own MH.

You are not being fair. Your suggestion is not just unfair, it is insulting. You need to be told this.[/quote]
Thank you DBLM.

I could have been kinder in my response, but the mist does descend.

DBLM · 22/01/2021 01:07

@Wheresmykimchi

There’s nothing more irritating than hearing someone say or imply that ‘teachers get enough holidays’.

It should be made clear to every parent when their child starts school that a teacher has a salary for 195 days work, 5 of which must be inset. That they have statutory holiday pay built into that salary and that all other ‘holiday’ time is unpaid.

Perhaps if more people were aware of this, they would realise that this is also the reason their child has those ‘days off’ for inset or why the school won’t run an Easter club etc.

When people demand that our holidays should just be changed for a greater good (which is normally greater for them), I usually just assume that they are simply uneducated.

Wheresmykimchi · 22/01/2021 01:14

[quote DBLM]@Wheresmykimchi

There’s nothing more irritating than hearing someone say or imply that ‘teachers get enough holidays’.

It should be made clear to every parent when their child starts school that a teacher has a salary for 195 days work, 5 of which must be inset. That they have statutory holiday pay built into that salary and that all other ‘holiday’ time is unpaid.

Perhaps if more people were aware of this, they would realise that this is also the reason their child has those ‘days off’ for inset or why the school won’t run an Easter club etc.

When people demand that our holidays should just be changed for a greater good (which is normally greater for them), I usually just assume that they are simply uneducated.[/quote]
I totally agree. It's the audacity that if we say otherwise, we don't care about the kids.

doubleshotespresso · 22/01/2021 01:16

Considering many hospitals are at full capacity currently and predicting yet more pressures I'm amazed you ask this OP.
We all want our children in school but numbers are still incredibly high, do you remember the 5 tests that needed to be met for schools reopening in September?
We need to persevere with this lockdown and ensure numbers stay down before even considering opening schools back up fully yet

EscapeGoated · 22/01/2021 01:25

Not entirely sure why I'm bothering but here goes.

Teachers are working their arses off just now (most of them). It takes easily twice as long to delivery good remote learning than it does in a classroom.

The majority of kids are probably having a more stable education now than they did between summer and Christmas. Just because your school had no cases, doesn't make it true for all. Plenty of schools had a lot of cases and in a secondary 'bubbles' don't exist so one positive case in a class could mean 160+ kids off for 2 weeks to isolate (6 or more different subjects + lunch + PE + form class + bus to school and on and on). In some schools the whole school had to close due to staff and pupils either testing positive or having to isolate. Some kids had to do the 2 weeks isolation more than once (so a month or more off school).

We had huge amounts of kids that suddenly developed asthma and their parents sent a letter saying they were exempt from masks in corridors (after 3, 4, 5 years in the school without a single medical issue or even a hint that they might have asthma on the forms that are completed every year by parents). Huge amounts more that simply didn't bother and our only option to deal with it was 'ask them to wear one and give out a mask to them' - which was usually found on the floor further up the corridor if they even bothered to stop and take it.

You can't just decide to cancel a whole professions contract to suit your childcare needs, and the suggestion that you think we should just not get any break at all is pretty rich considering you're moaning that you can't even get your own child to do one bit of phonics. That's right Your. Own. Child.

How do other European Countries manage to keep schools open? Not all have, and those that do are not packing 30 kids into a room around the size of the average sitting room with zero social distancing or masks. The kids all wear masks in most other countries from as young as 4 or 5 years old, there is not of this 'muzzling' bullshit or claims that we are somehow harming them by getting them to wear a damn mask.
The British public seem to be so damn entitled its no wonder our Covid rates are out of control. This board was FULL of threads before Christmas about people justifying why they were going to break the rules or why they felt the rules shouldn't apply to them. There are stories in the paper every damn day about shit like a houseful of people at a baby gender reveal party (WTF) or a car load of people driving 300 miles for a Macdonalds. Thread upon thread of people justifying why they think their child should be in school right now and fuck everyone else.

Come tell that to the (mid 30's) staff member at my school who spent 3 weeks in intensive care and hasn't been able to return to work since then. Tell that to the kids who have lost a parent to Covid. Tell that to my colleague who was infected with Covid at school and spread it to her partner who died (late 40's btw).

Look at the schools who are having to close now to all including 'keyworkers' children and vulnerable children due to ever spreading infections and staff getting ill. And that is when the schools are meant to be closed to all but those who absolutely have to be in...

Imagine if they were still full?

Hospitals are at or way beyond capacity - in a normal year Scotland has 170 or so ICU beds. At the moment there are over 260 being used with over 160 of that being Covid patients. And Scotland has way lower infection rates than England.
When the NHS is in the position that it is having to cancel or postpone other treatments for serious conditions (even cancer in some places) does that not tell you that the NHS is at breaking point?

Schools aren't closed to protect teachers. They aren't closed to stop children getting Covid. They are closed because they are a big factor in transmitting the virus and the NHS cannot cope at the moment.

Monkeytennis97 · 22/01/2021 01:50

@EscapeGoated

Not entirely sure why I'm bothering but here goes.

Teachers are working their arses off just now (most of them). It takes easily twice as long to delivery good remote learning than it does in a classroom.

The majority of kids are probably having a more stable education now than they did between summer and Christmas. Just because your school had no cases, doesn't make it true for all. Plenty of schools had a lot of cases and in a secondary 'bubbles' don't exist so one positive case in a class could mean 160+ kids off for 2 weeks to isolate (6 or more different subjects + lunch + PE + form class + bus to school and on and on). In some schools the whole school had to close due to staff and pupils either testing positive or having to isolate. Some kids had to do the 2 weeks isolation more than once (so a month or more off school).

We had huge amounts of kids that suddenly developed asthma and their parents sent a letter saying they were exempt from masks in corridors (after 3, 4, 5 years in the school without a single medical issue or even a hint that they might have asthma on the forms that are completed every year by parents). Huge amounts more that simply didn't bother and our only option to deal with it was 'ask them to wear one and give out a mask to them' - which was usually found on the floor further up the corridor if they even bothered to stop and take it.

You can't just decide to cancel a whole professions contract to suit your childcare needs, and the suggestion that you think we should just not get any break at all is pretty rich considering you're moaning that you can't even get your own child to do one bit of phonics. That's right Your. Own. Child.

How do other European Countries manage to keep schools open? Not all have, and those that do are not packing 30 kids into a room around the size of the average sitting room with zero social distancing or masks. The kids all wear masks in most other countries from as young as 4 or 5 years old, there is not of this 'muzzling' bullshit or claims that we are somehow harming them by getting them to wear a damn mask.
The British public seem to be so damn entitled its no wonder our Covid rates are out of control. This board was FULL of threads before Christmas about people justifying why they were going to break the rules or why they felt the rules shouldn't apply to them. There are stories in the paper every damn day about shit like a houseful of people at a baby gender reveal party (WTF) or a car load of people driving 300 miles for a Macdonalds. Thread upon thread of people justifying why they think their child should be in school right now and fuck everyone else.

Come tell that to the (mid 30's) staff member at my school who spent 3 weeks in intensive care and hasn't been able to return to work since then. Tell that to the kids who have lost a parent to Covid. Tell that to my colleague who was infected with Covid at school and spread it to her partner who died (late 40's btw).

Look at the schools who are having to close now to all including 'keyworkers' children and vulnerable children due to ever spreading infections and staff getting ill. And that is when the schools are meant to be closed to all but those who absolutely have to be in...

Imagine if they were still full?

Hospitals are at or way beyond capacity - in a normal year Scotland has 170 or so ICU beds. At the moment there are over 260 being used with over 160 of that being Covid patients. And Scotland has way lower infection rates than England.
When the NHS is in the position that it is having to cancel or postpone other treatments for serious conditions (even cancer in some places) does that not tell you that the NHS is at breaking point?

Schools aren't closed to protect teachers. They aren't closed to stop children getting Covid. They are closed because they are a big factor in transmitting the virus and the NHS cannot cope at the moment.

Hear bloody hear👏🏼
Turtleshelly · 22/01/2021 01:51

The person above moaning when teachers call her is the very same type of poster that moaned teachers didn’t call in the first lockdown. Some people just love to bitch and moan and hate others. Let’s be nice we’re all struggling.

Turtleshelly · 22/01/2021 01:56

@Saturdayrabbit42

ONS shows no increased risk for teachers...
This is not true. There was an ONS study that had been misused by gov and sage and ONS told them to stop going that because the data didn’t prove anything about teacher safety. That data is no longer referenced.

The gov have been heavily criticised for this.

Swipe left for the next trending thread