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.

I suspect other public services- police, prison etc will have had all leave cancelled too

‘Not even a bare minimum of masks in class?’

And again. Show me the evidence that teachers have been disciplined for wearing masks in class?

“ Even waiting till all the nine vulnerable groups are vaccinated will still take months . Then you need to give it a few weeks to work. So still would be talking May.”

Vaccinating the top 4 priority groups is supposed to reduce fatalities by over 90%. That was supposed to be completed by mid February. The aim is not supposed to be - vaccinate everyone so no one ever gets sick. It’s supposed to just be about taking pressure off the NHS. I think some people are losing sight of that and that’s why they think lockdown needs to be longer.

The reason this is coming out now is because....there has been a stealth cut to PP. The money that supports all the vulnerable children that people declare to care about so much.

They haven’t just suddenly got a clue and decided to help parents by giving them notice. It’s to hide shittier news. About actually vulnerable children.

@CrackOpenTheGin

There’s loads of possible solutions... they aren’t being executed though by the Government.

Teachers need the summer holiday to look forward to, and to get us through this.

Yes I want kids in full time but we’re in a pandemic so it’s unlikely that will happen

But lots can be done to make schools safer.

@CrackOpenTheGin

As a former teacher we need to move the 6 week holiday and have it sometime from Feb half term to May half term. This will take the pressure off working parents trying to homeschool. But maybe encourage parents to keep learning ticking over in English and maths with an hour a day. All summer holidays abroad this year should not be allowed anyway and learning is more important. Children can work over the summer for maybe 4 weeks in school and have 2 weeks holiday. That’s plenty of time for a break away in the uk although that should be discouraged this year. Teachers should get time and a half for those 4 weeks.

Won’t work. I’m off on holiday (if it isn’t cancelled) on the 24th July. This was the holiday I was due to go on last July. I won’t be the only teacher with summer plans and I can’t see the government reimbursing holiday fees, insurance costs etc.

They weren’t walking out they were asking for safe working conditions and were going to work either in school with reduced numbers or from home and provide remote provision.

Unions don’t have the power they used to.

catatecheese You've said exactly what I was thinking. Nailed it.

Re return to school, I do feel really sorry for the 'exam' years, years 11 and 13, and obviously they will be prioritised in any staggered starts but, as a mum to a year 10, I feel sad that that this year group (and also year 12s) are largely forgotten. Their exams are a year away and they have missed so much of their GCSE courses already, including the summer term of year 9 in DD's case when GCSE content starts being taught.

@Doublefaced

‘Absolute rubbish. This closure is nothing to do with teaching unions and they reopened last time with no discussion with teaching unions.’

Remind me what teachers were threatening to do just before schools were closed this time in terms of walk outs?

If you are refering to NEU's plan for school staff to use S44 legislation to justify not going in to work I think you'll find that a) it was pretty much completely ignored by teachers and b) it was quickly found to be flawed legally and withdrawn. Very, very few teachers sent in S44 letters.

The unions have very little power.

A bare minimum requirement of students wearing masks in class, one teacher trying to teach and wear a mask faced with 30 mouths breathing at them won't do much.

I’m not willing to accept this. I will be declaring a mental health emergency and sending mine in March 1st. It is absolutely not acceptable. Add teachers over 50 to the vaccine schedule and get on with it. Gah.

@CarolEffingBaskin and @RosieLemonade

It is shocking that your comments have gone unnoticed. One of the saddest and most depressing things about this whole situation is that so many people are struggling so much, and nobody is listening to them.

It is unspeakably shit for huge swathes of the population, whatever you might read on here.

@bumbleymummy

“ Even waiting till all the nine vulnerable groups are vaccinated will still take months . Then you need to give it a few weeks to work. So still would be talking May.”

Vaccinating the top 4 priority groups is supposed to reduce fatalities by over 90%. That was supposed to be completed by mid February. The aim is not supposed to be - vaccinate everyone so no one ever gets sick. It’s supposed to just be about taking pressure off the NHS. I think some people are losing sight of that and that’s why they think lockdown needs to be longer.

Totally agree - when I said that the vulnerable groups need to be vaccinated I was referring to the top 4. Or at the most, the top 6.

We cannot keep schools closed for a

@redsquirrelfan

The whole thing makes me so cross. My DS isn’t even being given a decent lockdown provision in Y11. They are supposed to have 1 live lesson a day but it doesn’t always happen. There is absolutely no reason why they can’t go into school like the KW children are in our school. His school had no cases at all from September to Christmas (they had to wear masks full time from September). And yes I know it could happen now. But it’s apparently ok for me to work with 50% of my class but the Government can’t do the same for Secondary?

Agree with everything you say catatecheese .

I’ll repeat
“This is actually destroying lives.
Why are teachers not being vaccinated as a top priority?
Use the lateral flow tests on children.
And get them all in.
We can continue with every other aspect of lockdown but we should not be sacrificing children in this way.”

I’ve said all along:

1. vaccinate teachers as a priority
2. post half term get kids in small bubbles back 1 day for 2 weeks
3. widen bubbles then 2 days a week until Easter
4. after Easter full time.

1 day a week of normality: kids to get structured learning in an actual focused, learning environment they know. Seeing their friends. Getting some freedom away from home. Even 1 day of respite for parents. Would be a game changer right now.

Cat girl, that's interesting why was it deemed illegal for teachers to ask for a safe working environment under health and safety legislation?

As a former teacher we need to move the 6 week holiday and have it sometime from Feb half term to May half term.
I think that is a brilliant idea. Long holiday say March 1 to April 15, then back to school in the warmer weather. It would take a lot of pressure off secondary school children and their working parents (some of whom are about 4 weeks from cracking up,) It won't happen though because teachers won't want to move their summer holiday to spring.
The whole business is a total farce. For years the Tories have starved schools and hospitals of finding, and now they are bankrupting the country and destroying the education of a whole generation because it was all hanging by s shoestring. It's appalling, really just shocking.
I don't think this lockdown and school closure is really going to have an effect anyway. The supermarkets are packed all the time and they are not asking people to queue anymore because of the magic masks. People are seeing each other again ( not on MN but definitely in real life) because it's been nearly a year. There's a ton of traffic on the roads, so people are going somewhere. There has to be a better solution than just keep children at home for years.

@Doublefaced

‘Absolute rubbish. This closure is nothing to do with teaching unions and they reopened last time with no discussion with teaching unions.’

Remind me what teachers were threatening to do just before schools were closed this time in terms of walk outs?

No teachers were walking out. They were asking for safer measures to be put in place. Funny how the government paid no attention to the unions at any time in this whole pandemic. But if you want to believe this closure is down to the unions then crack on.

[quote TiersBeforeBedtime]**@CarolEffingBaskin* and @RosieLemonade*

It is shocking that your comments have gone unnoticed. One of the saddest and most depressing things about this whole situation is that so many people are struggling so much, and nobody is listening to them.

It is unspeakably shit for huge swathes of the population, whatever you might read on here.[/quote]
Not by me, I’ve asked @MNHQ to reach out and I’m sure many others have.

@Doublefaced

I don’t know why this is a surprise. Teaching unions have no intentions of letting schools reopen until every last demand they have is met. And when a demand is met, they’ll come up with another one.

You have no idea what you are talking about.

Sundowner, I guess because we have a new even more infectious strain that is decimating communities?

Everyone is just guessing until numbers go down , they won't go back until that happens.
Vaccinating teachers won't make them go back quicker as kids can still spread to parents, grandparents etc , who are often working. No guarantee vaccinations stop transmission.
Best we can do is stick to rules so the numbers come down.

@marmitecake you are now in the position current Y11 parents were last year. They need to sort out this year’s exam groups first (like they did last year) and then look at Y10 and Y12, but not leave it until the last minute. They need plan Bs to be ready

@whattodo2019 the more live lessons that are provided though, the more kids are stuck in front of the screen. Our secondary is actually looking at reducing live lessons, following concerns from parents about the impact of so many screen hours on kids' health.

LickEmbysmiling a supposedly “more infectious strain” that not even the experts can agree on.