Primary schools back sooner than expected?

[deeplybaffled]

It’s hard to know what to believe, but PHE now seem to be suggesting that primary schools can safely return after half term - which seems to contradict all other recent reports and government comments
focussing around Easter!

@BubblyBarbara

But I dont think anything has been done to make classrooms safer has it?

There is no doubt in my mind that schools are safe, it’s just the mixing that happens there

Yep, the buildings are as safe as any other building.

The problem occurs when you have around 30 children along with 2/3 adults in each classroom, without any mitigation. 🤔

Hence why schools are ONLINE to most children and NOT closed! 🙄

@ChimaeraEgg yep I agree and that number will be hit just after half term based on current trajectory. It's still too early for anyone to rule out returning after half term, or maybe a week after half term. My prediction all the way through has been either March 1st or March 8th for PRIMARY schools in areas with low rates.

To be fair her colleagues may not have been teachers. Could have been one of the caterers (chefs are high up the list), a caretaker (often male and older), an administrator, one of the cleaners or it a special school some have an onsite nurse and therapists that provide care.

Well teachers can subject themselves to invasive biweekly lateral flow testing now so why not get the kids all back to school? Why the need to now vaccinate non-masked school staff coming into contact with potentially hundreds of children a day?

@LucyLockdown

All this ‘our kids have suffered enough’ and ‘our kids have been sacrificed’ just makes me laugh. Get a grip. The overwhelming majority of kids are fine. They’re learning from home not being sent down the mines ffs.

THIS!

This is secondary, not primary, but this week I offered three students in my tutor group spaces in school.

They all refused for various (valid, IMO) reasons relating to the people in the household where the children live.

If schools do reopen, will parents be fined if they refuse to send in their children? That puts clinically vulnerable parents in a very difficult position.

All this ‘our kids have suffered enough’ and ‘our kids have been sacrificed’ just makes me laugh. Get a grip. The overwhelming majority of kids are fine. They’re learning from home not being sent down the mines ffs.

These views are so shit. Really no excuse.

The person who claimed to know 3 colleagues ( personally) disappeared from the thread fairly sharply when the ONS figures were referenced

I'm aware of 3 deaths amongst school staff, all within about 15 miles of me. One teacher, one TA, and one member of office staff. Teacher deaths are just part of the story and to report on those only is quite deliberately covering up the bigger picture.

@MillieEpple

To be fair her colleagues may not have been teachers. Could have been one of the caterers (chefs are high up the list), a caretaker (often male and older), an administrator, one of the cleaners or it a special school some have an onsite nurse and therapists that provide care.

To be fair it was her TEACHING colleagues that she was referring to!

@borntobequiet

There is no doubt in my mind that schools are safe, it’s just the mixing that happens there

That is a peculiarly meaningless statement.

It doesn't even make sense. So school buildings are safe. The problem arises when you allow people into the buildings? 🤔. What does that tell us then?

The the posters on here that like a good laugh at dc decline in mh

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-depression-among-children-is-at-frightening-levels-doctors-warn-lz7cg7xf8

What else do you laugh at? Disability

DD's school has lost a bubble this week. With the reduced numbers.

They had every year group out at least once last term. DD's twice.

Several staff have caught it. Two, I know of, are in the shielding group, and so didn't return after Christmas. One of them is a teacher, one is support staff.

I fall on the side of expecting teachers to get on with it - to a point. But there has to be a point, and we're well past it.

There's a factor in all this I haven't seen talked about - the impact on children when their teacher is the one that gets seriously ill, or dies. Worse, the impact on them when they bring it home from school.

DD is fine homeschooling - she's doing better than she does in school - but she was so scared both times she had to isolate. She was frightened for her teacher, frightened for her friends, and worse, she was deeply worried that she might be ill herself and then have brought it 'home' to us, and to her dance class.

She's not a stressy kid. Lockdown isn't really getting to her, being out of school is fine, but those two blocks of two weeks really dinged her.

If schools do reopen, will parents be fined if they refuse to send in their children? That puts clinically vulnerable parents in a very difficult position

It also ignores the needs of clinically vulnerable children. They don't seem to matter, however. Whenever I mention it on these kind of threads, I get told my child can stay at home. Apparently the mental health of only 'healthy in terms of covid' children matters. Never mind my child's right to mix with his peers, receive his education and maintain his mental health, eh?

They would say that they might go back as there is always a possibility that cases will be quite low by then. They were 22,000 yesterday and so it's not impossible that they would be about 5000 in four weeks and if all the very vulnerable have been vaccinated hospital cases and deaths will be low too. Even if they don't go back straight after half term I would have thought that they could in the middle of the half term. I hope that they force masks during lessons for the rest of this term as it was rather inconsistent at DD school (it depended on the teacher- some were quite strict about it whereas others couldn't care less and walked around the classroom without a mask).

What else do you laugh at? Disability

Tell you what, why don't you come up with a way that ensures schools are safer so we can improve the mental health of all children and ensure that the children with vulnerabilities to covid can also be in school? You want people who struggle to understand the difficulties some children are facing at the moment, don't use disability as a means to combat that. My disabled child is at risk if he returns to school. What rights do you have to laugh at him (which you are doing if you send him back and/or you tell me to keep him at home)

No he mispoke as they are not reviewing it til mid Feb and they said they would give two weeks notice. Before Easter maybe, but not after this half term.

@ginnybag my DS is fine with homeschooling. He was quite nervous last term in school. His bubble didn't burst but they did have a few positive cases in school. He was really nervous about going back this term, Y11 so were the first year group due back. There was total relief when schools were 'closed'. Totally happy to continue with remote provision, even though he is an exam year.

He is worried about bringing it into the home, and that is not down to us saying anything to him.

Some children are happier at home at the moment, for a variety of reasons. That is not to diminish the problems other children are having, but not all children are suffering being at home.

@Watchingbehindmyhands

What else do you laugh at? Disability

Tell you what, why don't you come up with a way that ensures schools are safer so we can improve the mental health of all children and ensure that the children with vulnerabilities to covid can also be in school? You want people who struggle to understand the difficulties some children are facing at the moment, don't use disability as a means to combat that. My disabled child is at risk if he returns to school. What rights do you have to laugh at him (which you are doing if you send him back and/or you tell me to keep him at home)

LucyLockdown and Carpe find it laughable that dc mh is declining.

Take it up with them.

I’m sure they’ll find mirth in a whole array of child issues.

The risk in any workplace cannot be completely eliminated. Teachers are at minimal risk. In my mind people are completely blind sighted if they argue that schools aren't safe because one teacher/child somewhere has had COVID. For me they should open schools ASAP and give teachers PPE, testing and quite frankly anything else they want. This would be more than your average bus driver, factory worker etc gets but never mind lets not worry about those are really are a greater risk.

@borntobequiet

Why do teachers persist with the assertion that they have been banned from or penalised/disciplined/suspended for wearing masks?

Because the DfE guidance stipulates masks should be avoided. Some teachers have been threatened with disciplinary measures if they wear them. I’m not primary - FE- and I was told explicitly that I cannot require adult (non-exempt) learners to wear face coverings despite being non -socially distanced in the same poorly ventilated room for 6 hours a day for four days. I’m in my late 60s and clinically vulnerable. This is an example of the callous disregard for teaching staff from some management, and the unrealistic and dangerous approach from Government.

I think a lot may be depend on the head teacher. At DD's secondary school they were "strongly encouraged" to wear masks in lessons. If they were exempt they were asked to send an email detailing the reason to the head teacher. Whether or not the DC wore the mask depended on the teacher. Some opened all the windows and told the students to put their masks on but others didn't bother.

@Belladonna12

They would say that they might go back as there is always a possibility that cases will be quite low by then. They were 22,000 yesterday and so it's not impossible that they would be about 5000 in four weeks and if all the very vulnerable have been vaccinated hospital cases and deaths will be low too. Even if they don't go back straight after half term I would have thought that they could in the middle of the half term. I hope that they force masks during lessons for the rest of this term as it was rather inconsistent at DD school (it depended on the teacher- some were quite strict about it whereas others couldn't care less and walked around the classroom without a mask).

Has there ever been a time in this that nationally cases have been as low as 5000?

Sansa it's just clinical vulnerable children, any dc with asthma or breathing issues.
Every year I have always got dc flu spray /jab, not paying for it doesn't bother me, I do what it takes to get is all done ASAP every year.

I can't do that with cornora.

The number of infections is so incredibly high that even a few thousand doesn't seem like much now.
Remember how we all watched in horror when people went into a doctors surgery in Brighton wearing a hazmet suit!

The research shows teachers and school staff have a lower incidence of Covid than the general population so no need for the personal attacks on this thread. I would like primary schools to go back ASAP.