When will schools reopen?

[SeldomFollowedIt]

Purely speculative thread.

Yes I know they’re “open”, I work in one. When do we think they will all return? I’m hoping after Easter. I’m also hoping school staff get to have the vaccine before then.

What do you think?

Beginning of March for primary

I don't think there were any sec 44 letters in my dc school. There were no bubbles sent home at any point during covid. Cases were v low here then.

I've stopped trying to predict when school opens. My dds are 8 and 11.

Interesting German study out this week about low transmission with little children.

No case hike in my area until after the nov lockdown ended.

@SeldomFollowedIt tier 4 area contingency framework- lots of us did.

@Lemons1571

I think teachers stand a chance of being vaccinated before schools return fully. Particularly secondary. Remember all the chaos in the week before Christmas, with many teachers issuing section 44 notices stating they have a right to a safe working environment? I really don’t know the government will want all that hassle tbh.

Arguing First vaccine ? Not second which is 12 weeks later even for frontline health and social care workers let alone when cev will be done. It's bay at earliest for second doses

I don't think people realise that first dose isn't a fix all

May 2021 at earliest
Sorry phone wrote 'bay!'

If we rely on vaccine cover then it's May to august 2021 for proper immunity from Covid vaccines after second dose for the most Prioroty vulnerable groups. Teachers aren't in those groups.no children will be vaccinated
Let's be clear that first vaccine shot won't stop transmission

@Monkeytennis97
Yes my school was tier 4 too, with a densely populated, urban community. I was surprised not one staff member handed a section 44 in. Good for you though

I don't want to send my back with high rates just because teachers are vaccinated - the issue is spreading through schools to parents and community.

I don't really want covid.

But given the government don't give a shit about any of us, I'd assume reopen after Easter. Then lots more parents will be ill starting a fortnight later

Aren't the NAHT and ASCL still waiting for evidence that schools are safe? Are the govt of kring that now?
Surely case numbers need to be below 10 000 a day and the NHS to have capacity again?

[quote SeldomFollowedIt]@Monkeytennis97

Not one member of staff in my primary did a section 44. As a brand new TA at the school I didn’t, but I was expecting a few teachers to raise one.[/quote]
Mine neither. Teachers said on balance they felt the risk of serious illness was low. Our school would have opened.

After February half term is what I would like but I think i September is more realistic

I think Teachers and staff will have to be vaccinated before we see anything near full attendance.
I heard the idea of each LEA sending vaccination teams into schools to do everyone at once, then returning for the booster in the same way.
This would be the thorough way to do it and a team could do 4/5 school’s staff a day.

[quote SeldomFollowedIt]@Monkeytennis97
Yes my school was tier 4 too, with a densely populated, urban community. I was surprised not one staff member handed a section 44 in. Good for you though[/quote]
I wanted to hand one in but was afraid of letting the team down as repercussions. I suspect many others were the same.

@bluebellscorner

After February half term is what I would like but I think i September is more realistic

September? Are you kidding? How do you figure that reasoning. If schools aren't back until September then the rest of society will not be open either. At which point we have no economy and no money to support the NHS so COVID becomes a secondary problem.

Cases are falling dramatically. The R number us below 1. Lockdown is about protecting the NHS and once the vulnerable groups are vaccinated so the pressure is off there is no reason to keep us locked up for a moment longer.

@OwlWearingGlasses my team is my family. It's just a job at the end of the day. I don't understand being part of a union and then not following its guidance. It's scary to do of course, I get that.

I’m the EYFS lead in my school. All EY staff are currently school based full time and providing home learning in my school. I think Early Years children will be back first, as we were in June. Possibly, the beginning of March?!?!

Why can't they vaccinate all teachers and school staff by Easter?

They must be a very small percentage of our population, surely?

@Dustyboots

Why can't they vaccinate all teachers and school staff by Easter?

They must be a very small percentage of our population, surely?

Vaccinating teachers won't stop community transmission though so there will still be the disruptions (isolations) as there was before. FWIW im not saying don't vaccinate teachers, they definitely should be vaccinated ASAP, but its not as simple as vaccinate teachers and all resume schooling as normal

There’s a leak of an article in tomorrow’s Times on Twitter- after Easter at least for English schools

I'm optimistic that they'll open after Easter. I've certainly written off next half term.

I'd like Y11 and 13 back in for mocks before Easter because of these bloody CAGs.

I really dont think primary will be as late as easter. Mainly because april is the staet of better weather in fact march sometimes. And because theyve committed to everything else being after schools. However the r in our la is at least 0.9 which means add in another 0.3 for schools or more and anything else and iwilill be rising again.

The aim to protect the NHS not stop everyone ever born getting the virus

As soon as hospital figures are down there will be huge pressure to the govt from business owners and the general public to open up and schools have to be first as promised by gav and bojo so it will be sooner than we think. And I bloody hope so too.

There are kids really suffering in the lockdown and the attainment gap widens by the day.

I think some primary school kids might go back in low transmission areas before Easter. But after Easter for the rest. They won’t wait till September as they have committed to getting schools back before anything else.