So it looks like we're being prepared for children not to go back until after Easter

[choosingcrumble]

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/children-face-months-at-home-as-schools-stay-shut-until-easter-wp5ltpm82?fbclid=IwAR1l0gRSzuJLIv508reRmBEojbYfoGOsWwe3_pBFmKpA4EbI1IgC5dKC2uE

I suspected it wouldn't be until then, let's just hope that it doesn't stretch into the summer.

[ineedaholidaynow]

@MyOwnPrivatePaddlingPool that was my comment. It followed a survey from DS’s school on remote provision where parents had said they were concerned about the amount of screen time their children were having due to remote provision. So the school built in some breaks between lessons so children could have breaks from screens. And some pupils have used those breaks to go another screen! It was not a criticism

[Xenia]

My son ( university stage) must have a screen break every 40 minutes due to an eye condition and in fact in normal times uses books not screens. It is very hard for him. He has to set an alarm to make sure he remembers the break. Learning remotely is not the answer.

We need to reopen schools ideally before half term.

[Staffdontblowitnow]

@CallmeAngelina

I'm wondering how many of the posters on this thread who are now advocating vaccinating teachers, blended learning, masks, ventilation, rotas and lower numbers in schools are the same posters who have sneered at and ridiculed all the teachers who have been suggesting most of these things for months, as they were warning of this current shit-show.

yep - lots of name changes I guess. I did say back in the summer that many would re-write history and say it wasn't them demanding we were sacked/furloughed or had contracts changed because we were all sitting on our arses doing f'all drinking wine in the garden. Some posters were actively encouraging teachers to leave the profession with their never-ending bile.

Plus there are plenty of posters now who are just fed up with the teacher bashing and some actually realise that there are teachers with children (hence why we use mumsnet)

[TheReluctantPhoenix]

@xenia,

How can schools be safely reopened before half term.

There are no good options and so we must pick the least bad.

Suppression of the virus will slow mutation and allow the vaccines to work, giving us a way out.

[HettieMills]

How can schools be safely reopened before half term.

They can't be. People will just have to suck it up and deal with the fall out later.

[Monkeytennis97]

@Xenia open schools before half term?

Madness. This way please.

[TheSunIsStillShining]

How can schools be safely reopened at any time...

Just a few ideas from around the world.....

• proper masks everyone, all the time
• half the kids (rota for example, or other buildings)
• really space the kids out and don't make then huddle up in small groups
• don't create occasions where they are crowded - eg lunch, hallways,..
• sanitize
• ventilate/open the windows (with heat blasting of course - yes, it's a waste)
• start vaccinating from 16 (if all goes well in Israel)
• if there are groups that can stay online then let them. Not just one or 2 kids, but whole groups who have proven themselves in asynchronous learning. There kids like that.
• vacc all teachers
• really have a think about starting/ending time. Maybe start at 10 to avoid the morning rush
• make test result mandatory after isolation period

2nd most important: give financial help to parents so that they can keep home their kids even with the sniffles. And parents shouldn't be sending in sick kids.

[Kitkat151]

@Xenia

My son ( university stage) must have a screen break every 40 minutes due to an eye condition and in fact in normal times uses books not screens. It is very hard for him. He has to set an alarm to make sure he remembers the break. Learning remotely is not the answer.

We need to reopen schools ideally before half term.

I don’t this so 🙄

[PrincessNutNuts]

@AriataBrown

Well she’s considering joining Us4Them

Oh god..... they really are tedious. I have no idea why they think their constant squawking is going to make any difference. Even the name and their avator just smacks of middle class muesli crunching and baby wearing.

They are primarily a fake astroturfing group funded by right wing libertarians. They don't give two hoots about our children.

[Londonmummy66]

Tears here tonight as my DC had their hopes of a return dashed. It is awful the way they have their hopes up and it is all dragged out again just as it was last summer.

[AlexaShutUp]

Tears here tonight as my DC had their hopes of a return dashed. It is awful the way they have their hopes up and it is all dragged out again just as it was last summer.

I'm really sorry to hear that your dc were upset. Not saying this to be snarky, but maybe you need to try to manage their expectations a bit more so that they don't get their hopes up unrealistically?

[littlemisslozza]

@ineedaholidaynow I'd have expressed a similar response a year ago but having teen and pre-teen DS's they are simply socialising via the Xbox/PC because that's what works and it feels like break time even though a different screen is involved. No, it's not a screen break but I do make sure they go outside for a walk every day and it is good for them to be chatting to their friends. Not ideal but they are mentally well partly because of it and that is important.

[littlemisslozza]

@Londonmummy66

Tears here tonight as my DC had their hopes of a return dashed. It is awful the way they have their hopes up and it is all dragged out again just as it was last summer.

I'm not discussing it in front of them and, whilst aware of the news, we don't sit and watch or listen with them. I feel sad about it and would drag them down emotionally if we got into it. Perhaps they won't be as upset if it's not a topic of conversation and not dwelled up? There's nothing we can do so we're talking about other stuff. I know it's rubbish, I guess it depends how old your children are as to how much you can shield the news from them.

[ineedaholidaynow]

@littlemisslozza DS is socialising using his console too, which we aren't limiting. Although he does tend to use his breaks between lessons to raid the fridge or biscuit barrel and make copious mugs of tea!

[Justthebeerlighttoguide]

My dc are fully aware of the situation but don't get down about it at all.

There is much parents can do to support mental health and put things into perspective.


Re screen time it's not something on sweating over, I'm extremely grateful for the games and tech and opportunities to link up and keep occupied, its all about balance and come warmer weather we will spend most of the day outside....

[Xenia]

It is a reasonable expectation that children can go to school. It was not reasonable in the 1870s when my great granny I think missed out on the first free universal English education but since then most children have been able to go come what may even in war time. However in 2020 and 2021 we decided children did not matter and we should ensure hospitals were not over full with the old and vulnerable. We put those above children and our general rights and freedoms It was the wrong decision as I have said since March 2020.

We are also undoing the gains women have had since my great aunt was able to train as a nurse in the 1890s because in family after family in 2020 and 2021 it is the women not the men doing most of the childcare for primary school children whilst their work is pushed into the night hours or they give up work entirely. It has become a Handmaid's Tale life for many and people have been sleep walking into what is in effect a police state.

[echt]

people have been sleep walking into what is in effect a police state

How do you work that one out? In what way is the English government operating via the police?

[takingthebiscuits]

@echt

people have been sleep walking into what is in effect a police state

How do you work that one out? In what way is the English government operating via the police?

When the Police are out “enforcing” the guidelines?

As documented on many threads and news articles recently!

[CKBJ]

A large proportion of children (of all ages) are suffering the consequences of schools being closed but as another poster said as parents there is a lot we can do to support their mental health. Look on the plus side good job this is happening now and not back in 80s 90s before tech took off. Children would have suffered more.

Another positive for my children is they don’t have a long and early commute to school. I think the extra sleep has brought on a growth spurt 🤣 Also several families I know have seen the positive benefits of their children not at breakfast and after school club. They are keyworker children but school only open 830 to 3pm rather than 7-6pm. Covid needs to reset society. Children obviously need their friends and play like children do but this needs to be well-balanced with quality daily, family time. If the cost of living wasn’t so high children would benefit from one parent who only works part time.

[TableFlowerss]

@Indecisive12

I wasn’t fearful either. Now I’m practically bed bound at 35 with lung problems, cardiac problems, neurological problems, arthritis and a load of other stuff. I’ve no vulnerabilities and a BMI if 22!

Well you (unfortunately) must be the 1/1000 that is badly affected, at your age, weight, general health etc...

It must be horrific for you, but thankfully that’s the rare exception and not at all the norm.

[CallmeAngelina]

What led them to believe that there was going to be any return soon?
Sorry, but that's your job as a parent to manage their expectations.

[DenisetheMenace]

“Tell people honestly when kids are going back”

To be fair, no Govt. could do this yet. They’d be plucking a date from the air.

[Notcontent]

I do think Xenia makes a good point about the health impact of so much screen time. I really worry about the impact on my teen dd’s eyes and general health. I know there is no solution but the impact is there.

[sirfredfredgeorge]

I really worry about the impact on my teen dd’s eyes and general health

There has never been any causation found to screen time and these harms.

There is a correlation between outdoor daylight time and myopia (which obviously kids who are always on screens would not be getting, but a kid who spends 10 hours on screens and 2 hours a day outdoors is more protected than a kid who spends 2 hours on screens and 10 hours playing with dolls and no time outdoors)

And there is a correlation with sedentarism, both more time seated, and not getting the required exercise. Remember that's a minimum of 1 hour a day exercise, and long periods of sitting should always be broken up.

If you can do those things, any amount of screen time has not been shown to be harmful in any study yet.

[CallmeAngelina]

Can't remember which secondary school teacher on one of these threads somewhere pointed out that when they schedule in regular breaks to their online live lessons, the kids use it to go straight onto Fortnite or similar.