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!

[brusselsprout5]

First off I'm a teacher. I've had Covid.

I definitely caught it in school. A child in my class, his whole family had it first.

But the reason schools are online (not closed!!!) is because children have the virus and show NO symptoms, take it home, spread it to others. There's the odd few who do show symptoms but most don't seem to.

The government don't care about teachers, they don't even care about teachers & school staff dying. They KNOW that children are carrying this virus home and giving it to family/grandparents. I've only seen a few people admitting this, this week! But that's why schools are online! We still have almost half in too! So hardly closed!!

[borageforager]

2fallsagain really?! Where in the country are you? I’m in the SW, been a very low area, but even so there’s been a handful of cases in some of our schools in town (not all - not my primary school or the immediately neighbouring school, but several of them)

[Frodont]

Support primary opening as much as you like. But you admit that you don’t have a primary school and aren’t a primary teacher. So why so interested in stirring up this topic? Paid astroturfing?

Take a break.

It's reported IN THE TIMES today and will be of interest to many parents.

I know there's a group of mumsnetters that can only believe news when its written by posters from Mumsnet, but there is a huge array of sources out there.

[Waxonwaxoff0]

I hope so. DS is in school anyway on a KW place but it's unfair on the other children who can't attend. Online learning is no substitute for primaries.

[movingonup20]

They don't know yet. They have promised to give head teachers 2 weeks notice and that it won't be before half term, thus they have said from the beginning of January, nothing has actually changed. Every minister has clearly stated that the numbers of vaccinated people need to be achieved and rates of both new cases and those in hospital need to rapidly fall before schools can reopen but they will be prioritised. Everything is going to plan with the vaccine so you can hope but doesn't really help those of us who need face to face teaching and are older - my DD's are at university and have barely been in this year

[BelleSausage]

As I said on the other thread- DDs teacher and TA are in hospital with COVID they caught in school.

Just because YOU don’t know cases like this doesn’t mean they don’t exist. We live in an area of relatively low infection and this still happened.

[namechangefail2020]

My kids are not school age so I might be wrong but isn't that like 5 weeks away still? Things will be very different by then so if actually could happen 🤞🏾🤞🏾🤞🏾

[2fallsagain]

@brusselsprout5

First off I'm a teacher. I've had Covid.

I definitely caught it in school. A child in my class, his whole family had it first.

But the reason schools are online (not closed!!!) is because children have the virus and show NO symptoms, take it home, spread it to others. There's the odd few who do show symptoms but most don't seem to.

The government don't care about teachers, they don't even care about teachers & school staff dying. They KNOW that children are carrying this virus home and giving it to family/grandparents. I've only seen a few people admitting this, this week! But that's why schools are online! We still have almost half in too! So hardly closed!!

How many cases have you had since schools have been "online" (and actually no, not all schools are online, some schools have no online facility for kids at all).

[Frodont]

@BelleSausage

@ Frodont And I asked you how they are going to open in schools like the one DD goes to where half the teachers are very ill with COVID but you took offence to being asked to explain how they policy you support would actually work in reality.

Support primary opening as much as you like. But you admit that you don’t have a primary school and aren’t a primary teacher. So why so interested in stirring up this topic?

Paid astroturfing?

Not sure earlier message sent.

I am not a paid poster, I don't even know what AstroTurfing is. I hate this accusation, it's really bullying and upsetting.

It's a report in the TIMES fgs! Please delete this post.

[Delatron]

I hope so. The balance has tipped and what we are doing to our children is a travesty.

Lots and lots yesterday on the radio/news/tv about children’s mental health and the impact of schools closing. So I was hoping something would happen. Just a plan would be good.

They said two weeks notice though so would need to announce soon.

[Frodont]

Or ask for it to be deleted.

[ThePricklySheep]

Bear in mind that when they refer to outbreaks it’s not cases I don’t think?

“The research says it recorded outbreaks in 3% of primary schools and included last term.”

[2fallsagain]

@borageforager

2fallsagain really?! Where in the country are you? I’m in the SW, been a very low area, but even so there’s been a handful of cases in some of our schools in town (not all - not my primary school or the immediately neighbouring school, but several of them)

In oxfordshire. Don't get me wrong, done town have had primary bubbles closed and my daughters secondary school were constantly in and out all term (she had two periods of self isolation) but primaries were fine.

[Waxonwaxoff0]

@BelleSausage

As I said on the other thread- DDs teacher and TA are in hospital with COVID they caught in school.

Just because YOU don’t know cases like this doesn’t mean they don’t exist. We live in an area of relatively low infection and this still happened.

Catching Covid isn't unique to schools. 19 staff at my factory workplace have caught Covid. Much more than my DS's school.

No workplace where you are unable to WFH can guarantee that you are never going to catch Covid there.

[ThePricklySheep]

@namechangefail2020

My kids are not school age so I might be wrong but isn't that like 5 weeks away still? Things will be very different by then so if actually could happen 🤞🏾🤞🏾🤞🏾

Just less than four.

Things will be different by then, but because schools have been closed.

[LynetteScavo]

On Sunday it was school closed until after Easter and now it's open in a couple of weeks.

I don't mind either way, but I need to know. There needs to be a plan.

It seems to me if schools go back the death rate will remain as high as it is, but that's manageable. That's what Joe public seems to want, and if we're not going to really get Covid-19 under control in the near future anyway, now we have new strains, children can't stay at home forever until the summer.

[DeffoJeffo]

I hope so!
Of course there will still be schools where people catch covid, and where bubbles close etc etc, but it looks to be a very long time (if ever!) until we are a covid free nation and at some point you have to balance the risk between some spread and hundreds of thousands of young children being denied an education and hundreds of thousands of absolutely broken parents...

[BelleSausage]

@Frodont

No. Get it deleted if you don’t like it.

[ineedaholidaynow]

The 4 closest Primaries to me have all had classes sent home and I am in an area of low rates. One school had to close this term, even with reduced pupil numbers, due to the number of staff ill.

Doesn’t bode well.

Not sure how only 3% of Primaries have been affected

[BelleSausage]

@Waxonwaxoff0

Right, so how does the school open without half the teachers? These are not minor details.

[Monkeytennis97]

@BelleSausage

I hope they don’t. We’ll just be back in this same mess again in a couple of months. It’s stupid.

Agree.

[Abraxan]

Public Health England (PHE) said that there was now a “strong case” for the return to class, adding more pressure on Boris Johnson to set out a timetable for primary schools to reopen.

And yet 3/4 of the staff at our INFANT school caught covid last term, as did several parents and some of the children also tested positive, though few were tested. Those that were did not have the 3 main symptoms. This is why many weren't tested.

I'm CV, worked in close contact with over 200 children weekly and caught covid. I most likely caught it there. Ended up in hospital and 7 weeks off, still not full better yet after 3+ months. Consultant can't say that I won't catch it again, but now I have two medical conditions that make mw CV, not just one, since covid.


I'm assuming there will be nothing out in place to help keep,these schools safer??

Several of our female staff particularly are still experience covid related symptoms 2-3 months on.

[ThePricklySheep]

@ineedaholidaynow

The 4 closest Primaries to me have all had classes sent home and I am in an area of low rates. One school had to close this term, even with reduced pupil numbers, due to the number of staff ill.

Doesn’t bode well.

Not sure how only 3% of Primaries have been affected

Because they’re only including an ‘outbreak’ in that, not all schools with cases.
An outbreak is over a certain number of cases, or clearly caught in school, I’m not sure which.

[Thatwentbadly]

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

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

Nope. The idea of classrooms opening again soon to everyone is based on political pressure. There is nothing which makes it less risky to the general population through community transmission than two weeks ago. Many hospitals are at breaking points and operating on exhausted medical staff good will to work increasingly long hours.

[Delatron]

Another program on BBC 5Live this morning about children’s mental health. Great that there’s so much noise about this at the moment. It puts pressure on for a plan if nothing else.