Can we unlock the schools at start of Feb?

[MeandT]

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.

Us For Them

Let's face it, it was bollocks when school was open.
Kids refusing to wear masks in corridors.
Kids not using hand san, or finding ever more inventive things to do with it.
Kids doing sleepovers etc.
Kids going to parties, catching cv then wiping out half year groups.
Kids not following rules in or out of school.

So bring us all back, but make parents aware that any kid not following the rules will be instantly sent home until they learn how to be part of society. We all hate masks, we all hate having all the windows open, we all hate hand san. But personally, I hate having cv more.

'For younger kids there is social distancing'

And do you also believe in the tooth fairy, father Christmas and the Easter bunny?

Because anyone who thinks primary kids can effectively social distance is delusional.

This post tickled me! It reminded me of how creative kids are! I know when we’re in teacher mode we can’t tolerate it...but looking back some of the things they did with the hand sanitiser and masks I’d never even have thought of!

They discovered that hand sanitiser turns white on the uniform. Hence it was splatted all over the backs of blazers. Or handfuls quickly smeared across someone unsuspecting’s back. Even funnier apparently flicked at the crotch area.

Pools of sanitiser discreetly left on classroom chairs for the unsuspecting next student. It’s difficult to see after all!

Masks used to propel paper aeroplanes or even the aforementioned hand sanitiser across the room. Two elastics and a lovely big sling shot area is actually rather perfect for this.

Masks worn as hats; head bands; chin warmers; even bangles. One young lady created a rather fetching brassiere from two masks that could be worn on the outside of her shirt! Fashion designer in the making!

Kids will always find more interesting things to do with the most mundane of items. What they struggle to do, is use it all properly :)

@Topttumps

They need to go back their education has suffered enough. However there’s no way my 7 year old is being forced to wear a mask all day or sit in a cold room with windows open. So you want your your kid back in school but won’t agree to any mitigation to protect school staff. Nice. *@ImBoredAgain*

Quite.

They need to go back their education has suffered enough. However there’s no way my 7 year old is being forced to wear a mask all day or sit in a cold room with windows open.

And then we wonder why schools ended up having so many cases and why so many school staff have been ill.
Too many people want their kids back in school full time as normal and aren't prepared to take away any of the risk factors.

Sadly infant school aged children cannot socially distance.
Parents wouldn't want them in masks. Many parents still aren't happy if teachers and TAs have masks on - luckily many schools are now ignoring this and allowing their staff to wear them.

Opening the windows is pretty much our only defence, and lots of parents don't like that either!

Because they don’t start school at the age of 6 or 7, they’re 4 years old.

A lot of European countries have state run childcare before that, run similar to their schools. Many attached to schools. A lot of Asian counties have children in school for 2/3y.

Whilst for,al education may start later in some countries this doesn't mean the children are all at home. In many countries their kindergarten is similar to our early years (inc reception) provision and set ups, though many (but not all) do have smaller class sizes.

@noblegiraffe I couldn't agree more with that TES article you posted from yesterday. www.tes.com/news/six-steps-safe-and-full-reopening-schools

@Topttumps fortunately I am an optimist, yes. That along with a strong dose of dark humour helps get through all this. I don't know where you got your numbers from, but the ones I was referring to were new daily cases (positive tests) in the region of 16,000 a day when we 'unlocked' on 2 December and allowed millions of people in England to head off to the shops. See picture direct from UK date of test stats.

This time around, I'm suggesting the schools should be prioritised ahead of the shops and pubs. But also WITH the same safety measures i.e. everyone wears masks indoors at all times.

If a (not medically exempt) child can't keep a mask on, home they go. It would certainly be the fastest way to identify what parents' actual priorities are.

We've allowed far too much oxygen for the anti-science nay sayers in this country, unfortunately.

Putting a mask on does decrease the risks of respiratory viruses spreading. Full stop.

Now let's pilot it in some early opening schools in February. Get better data about exactly how much. And move on with it for all of them as soon as regional cases rates hit the appropriate level.

@MeandT Boris Johnson has said schools will open first.
Hopefully he will take the right advice and do it at the safest time whenever that is.

I think we should clearly see what the peak looks like this time around before taking any steps that may make it even higher in the near future. It is too soon to make any decisions about reopening. Yes, the government should be making plans for when the time is right. No, they should not even think about implementing them until we can see icu occupancy consistently reducing and know there is slack in the R value to ease up on restrictions.

@sundowners I wish it was the case that my dc weren’t being forced back. Unfortunately we have been told right from the start that apart from periods where school is shut our kids must attend in their bubbles of up to 300. We have had periods of self isolation for all 3 dc. It was a scary time. Or maybe we should just accept fines or deregister?
Of course I do still want schools back. Homeschooling is difficult with SEN / probably PDA kids but it needs to be safer for cv school staff and families with CV members. DH Is over 50 and ECV so will get vaccine soon but my health conditions aren’t bad enough for me to me CV but bad enough for my death to be counted as one of the many with pre existing conditions.
The timing of schools going back does matters because dh has lots of hospital appointments. Many are by phone but not all. He also has regular blood tests at the local surgery which has already had one outbreak. If the return to school happens when cases are still high and this increases community transmission than this has an effect on the numbers circulating everywhere including hospitals and surgeries. Indeed there is a thread on here today where someone lost both grandparents to COVID after being admitted to hospital for unrelated things and contracting COVID in hospital.
If the return is a few weeks after ECV and Cv have been vaccinated than fine. I will take my chance. If not they need to have proper provision for school staff and school families with Cv members. But I can’t see them doing that.

I’m one of the many support staff still going in to sit with the Keyworker, vulnerable and really which ever children the HOYs decide to invite in and I can confirm parents are still moaning about the windows being open and kids having to wear masks.

Twats4Themselves have a lot to answer for.

I just don't understand why people on here can't see how awful keeping the schools shut is for children!
COVID is awful but prioritising the old for the young is awful & insane. My son works in a supermarket & he is much more exposed & had many more covid cares in there than any local school by us. Time to step up like everyone else has & work together to open schools for ALL.

Time to step up like everyone else has & work together to open schools for ALL.

Of course - I have already stepped up by working in an unsafe environment from September through to January 4th, and from January 5th have delivered full time online schooling, as has every one of my colleagues, including not only those who are well over 50, those with are CV, and those who are CEV.

I am sure that you agree with me that we all want schools back for all SAFELY (both for children and staff. as children need teachers and TAs) and that the government should work alongside schools - not against them - to deliver the funding, equipment and legislation that will allow this.

I ahve been stepping up since 1996, thanks.

No teacher - no member of school staff - want schools to be shut. We all know that it is safest for children to be in school, especially since so many of the specialists who work with children - social services, therapists, Ed psychs - will not work in person at the moment.

However, as we care for the safety not only of children, but also everyone in the community, we ant to oppen in a manner that doesn't endanger life by mixing so many households in such an unsafe manner.

Open schools safely - of course. Open schols as they were - unfortunately not, which is not the fault of schools but the fault of the government.

I just don't understand why people on here can't see how awful keeping the schools shut is for children!

Many people do realise schools not being open for all (most schools aren't closed) isn't great.

But unfortunately the covid numbers are too high to have that many people all together with no protection, no social distancing, no masks, etc. We tried in September and look what's happened.

It's not just the old who are at risk here. There are many working age people who are clinically extremely vulnerable. If we look at those who don't die, but are pretty ill, maybe need hospital treatment and/or have longer term issues following it then this affects people who are also working age. Many clinically vulnerable people are working age and are at risk - not necessarily of death, but of being very poorly.

Time to step up like everyone else has & work together to open schools for ALL.

And such an ignorant comment???
Another school bashing poster.

Every single teacher and Ta I know have worked full time throughout this pandemic. Many are working harder and longer than ever before.

Unless you mean the DfE et al need to step,up. And you're probably right there. They need to listen to the numerous recommendations of how to,open schools up more safely. Unfortunately they don't seem interested in doing that.

Teachers don’t want schools closed either. We want to be in the classroom.

But it would be stupid to pretend that’s a good idea right now.

We can hope that schools will be made safer so that they can go back sooner than if they’re not.

But we’re governed by idiots who hate the thought of any investment in schools, so who knows.

I wasn't talking about teachers. In my kids school they've been wonderful. If everyone DofE, government, staff, worked together surely like all other job sectors then we could get our kids back. I just don't understand how this isn't in the news every day & isn't top priority. Everyone just seems to be fighting against each other in the education sector. What we are doing to our kids is criminal.

If everyone DofE, government, staff, worked together surely like all other job sectors then we could get our kids back.

If you weren’t talking about teachers why were you rambling on about supermarket workers taking covid risks before talking about people needing to step up?

I don’t think the DfE need to take covid exposure risks to work to open schools.

Schools need to open & everyone in education needs to work together to make it happen. All people like you do is ramble on about why they can't!!!! Imagine if the supermarket workers had your negative attitude noblegiraffe

It is a shame there isn't a coordinated effort by the government over education in the same way they have done it for the Nightingale hospitals and vaccination centers. It is solvable.

Teachers are just trying to do their best with poor resources, no planning, constant U turns, a shit load of criticism and terrible workplace protection.