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!

@dorey69

My granddaughter won’t be going back till it’s 100% safe. Our family was healthy all last year when the pandemic hit and stayed safe etc, then soon as my granddaughter returned to school, all of us caught Covid. She really didn’t have any symptoms, but my daughter and I have been very poorly and still suffering long term effects now. It’s effected our hearts and nervous system.

100% safe . How does she get to school? Unless she magically appears there . Risks are everywhere . Walking to school or taking the car both of these aren’t 100% safe. She could slip on ice anything in the playground . No where is 100% safe even the house she is in now.

MrsMariaReynolds

The sooner, the better for the children, and I say that as a member of school staff. BUT they should leave that decision-making up to individual schools themselves, instead.

I know cases have fallen in general (but that is because of lockdown), and there has been very little impact of the virus on certain areas, but I know from my own school"s experience, we have 5 bubbles out at the moment. We have lateral flow testing measures in place now (ha! 🙄) so unless every single bubble is impacted, we'll keep

I also work at a school and I totally agree . I think the damage from being out of education is becoming irreparable .

@angrysquirrel73

If they're now saying 8th March, there's bound to be some kerfuffle from the unions etc saying its not 'safe'. Limited number of children will get to school before Easter and we'll be lucky to be at school after Easter

The DfE are not saying 8th March for all, they are saying 8th March schools may open to more pupils as they did in June last year (suggest you take that up with the Government not the teachers)

dfemedia.blog.gov.uk/2021/01/26/when-will-schools-reopen-to-more-pupils-and-more-of-your-questions-answered/?fbclid=IwAR3FbYcUkuK3sH5fOBhbGiK58JPVpBkffZetDkCIdOZHskJxshQKhUW_2q4

@formerbabe

What is 100% safe?

Well exactly...No one knows but this line is trotted out constantly

Never will be 100% safe never was beforehand

I’ve just seen a BBC report about long Covid in children. 15% of children have symptoms after 5 weeks. Some have breathing difficulties, rashes, fatigue and pain even though they had mild initial symptoms.

@Benjispruce2

I’ve just seen a BBC report about long Covid in children. 15% of children have symptoms after 5 weeks. Some have breathing difficulties, rashes, fatigue and pain even though they had mild initial symptoms.

A timely release

Not sure the parents featured in the report are bothered about timing.

@Benjispruce2

Not sure the parents featured in the report are bothered about timing.

It’s sad but I can’t do news manipulation anymore.

As I said, don’t think the parents are manipulating anyone. It’s happening to their children.

@Benjispruce2

As I said, don’t think the parents are manipulating anyone. It’s happening to their children.

That’s why I said news manipulation not parents.

So it’s real.

What is?

I don’t understand your point. Those children have long Covid whether it’s just been reported or not.

My point was a short one re timing. Not sure it needs a long post

All these messages are to get us to emotionally react the right way at right time

I don’t engage with it anymore as it’s enough of a rollercoaster without the BBC ramping it up. But everyone is free to watch news whatever of course

Also we don’t have a vaccine for children and won’t eradicate Covid so it’s very worrying but what can I do, I can’t keep dc off school and inside forever

@redsquirrelfan

I've just seen that in the Times, too. Good news if so. Not so great for those of us with secondary school/sixth form college age kids, but still a massive step forward.

How can this be good news? Awful news. It's super dangerous.

They stopped reopening schools in some part of Germany today (with a much lower incidence than here, about 50/100k) because the UK variant was traced in a kindergarden. Now they say much harder lockdown due to the high risks of B117.

@Benjispruce2

I’ve just seen a BBC report about long Covid in children. 15% of children have symptoms after 5 weeks. Some have breathing difficulties, rashes, fatigue and pain even though they had mild initial symptoms.

My dd had post viral pain, tiredness and weakness for about 8 weeks following flu 2 years ago. Post viral illnesses have always been with us.

Peppra,

All those risks, we can do our best to avoid.... Slipping on ice, car accident..

But we can't protected ourselves agaisnt an airborne virus, cheek by jowl in a crowd..

@Justthebeerlighttoguide

Peppra,

All those risks, we can do our best to avoid.... Slipping on ice, car accident..

But we can't protected ourselves agaisnt an airborne virus, cheek by jowl in a crowd..

But the poster said her grandchild wouldn’t be back till school was 100% safe i was pointing out it will never be 100% safe ever .So she will never be back at school or leave the house.

I have been hoping for blended learning after Easter, I think 8th March might be a bit soon. I think 8th March is the earliest they would plan to have them back though and isn't yet set in stone. I guess they will see what the case levels/hospitalisations etc are looking like nearer the time.

Either way, I really hope that they address safety issues in schools when they go back. If they go back on the same basis that they were in before christmas, we can expect the same (or worse) disruptions with cases in bubbles etc (given that the new variant is more infectious). There will be bubbles popping and isolations all over the place. In Merseyside a school has had to close this week because 10% of the staff tested positive - that's with reduced attendance of only keyworker/vulnerable kids of course.

Keir Starmer was pushing today for vaccination of school staff in half term - whilst I 100% support this, I don't think as a safety measure that's enough on it's own, of course none of the kids will be vaccinated so they will still be catching it and passing it onto their families too. Getting school staff, all clinically vulnerable and all over 50s vaccinated (timetable expected by Easter I think for the clinically vulnerable at least) would make sense as a minimum before schools go back.

I think blended for a gradual return would meet the socialisation/mental health/educational needs of lots of kids but would give the balance with improved safety. I would also like to see masks encouraged in secondary schools and regular testing offered to all pupils ( as well as staff) in secondary schools. Over time, as more people are vaccinated and levels drop as the weather gets warmer perhaps that could be relaxed but we shouldn't jump in feet first to how it was last term, because we will just get the same outcome :-(

If kids go back now, there will be disruption because case numbers aren't going to be close to zero for ages — perhaps not ever.

All the disruption to classes and bubbles from Covid is not really a safety thing —at least it's not something done for the safety of the kids and staff themselves. It's for the safety of the general population, because Covid is seen as something dangerous to spread.

The solution to the disruption isn't making schools safe as such, but rather stopping bubbles having to isolate.

That can happen once a decent fraction of the vulnerable are vaccinated. It is just a rules change. The schools themselves won't have to do anything.

Nearly all primaries around my area have had cases, my sons school have had quite a few outbreaks.... I guess it’s pot luck v dependent on where you live and the community make up

How big a fraction Puppeteer? Plenty of parents over 50 in secondary school.

A question. If schools are a priority, and they are also a vector, wouldn’t it be sensible to vaccinate parents after the priority groups are done?

Just to be clear there is massive manipulation of data around so-called outbreaks. My school had 4 bubbles closed and 7 cases. My children's school had 6 cases. Neither of these were classed as outbreaks. Schools are reporting to the DFE not PHE so the true picture of what has happened. There is massive manipulation of the data around schools.
With regards to the latest figures from the ONS, schools were closed or partially open for the majority of that time. It would have been more helpful to do a comparison in the last few months of the year when schools were actually open to all children. DFE's own data which is not being widely reported shows risk of catching covid is higher for teachers. I'm fed up of the gas-lighting and lies.

Just to be clear- those were not separate incidents- these bubble closures happened at the same time as did those cases.