Boris to make imminent announcement on schools, any guesses?!

[Adviceneededalways]

Do we think an extension delaying opening or is he going to try and get children back in sooner...

I have to say I think the latter would be a fucking disaster but I wouldn’t be at all surprised...

Anything that separates the capable from the incapable in a world where qualifications aren't worth the paper they are printed on is a good thing

The most disgusting comment I’ve ever read on here.

@ChimaeraEgg

rules/want kids back at school etc etc for selfish reasons or because you really are at the end of your rope.

Selfish reasons such as...?

Why are you pushing this? Just being goady and 'NoTEveRyONeIsLiKeThAt'

Yeah I get it. I think most people know that when they break the rules for selfish reasons, any excuses they come up with are simply that, excuses. It's not up to me to decide. Possibly if everyone were conscientious and thought of the impact of the community as a whole, combined with the fact that we have 1 in 10 of the population that have had a vaccination now, maybe some could hold on a little longer. Clearly I'm a dreadful person for suggesting people should self respect and be honest with themselves.

Just to say - in my post about Kier Starmer - I was quoting what someone else said (in the old fashioned way by bolding it!) - I was quoting it to say I don't agree with teachers being pushed up the vaccination priority list....as it wouldn't stop community spread.

If anyone gets pushed up the priority list it should be people with Learning Disabilities, who are at much higher risk of dying.

I truly do not believe there should be a rush to open schools to any more childten than are already there. My medically vulnerable child has been at home for most of the year...I just want the safest possible way out of this.

[quote Ginfizplease]@Doris86 is that the ONS data that was based upon 9 months (Mar-Dec) where schools were 'closed' to the majority of people for the first 6 months? Of course the data won't be too bad in that case I wonder what the figures would compare if it was based solely on Sept-Dec? I bet it paints a different picture of the risks to school staff then.[/quote]
It should also include January. Most infection in schools was last 2 weeks of term.

[quote Ginfizplease]@vintagevixen - who or what are they "catching up" with exactly? An arbitrary measure? A non-pandemic version of themselves that exists in a parallel universe somewhere?[/quote]
I meant school children to catch up with the work they have missed. My DD has had patchy online learning at best and I would be delighted with summer schooling. I am seriously concerned with her education and it would be a start.

People in schools could do with being prioritized for vaccines but what about nursery workers who are working as usual? Some
Of their time is spent outside but they have to take care of the kids at close quarters.

I have a 5 year old. Now I know at his age most learning comes from play and so on but he does enjoy some structured learning so we do a mix of things, and I do plan activities for him because if I don't he gets bored and destructive. DH and I are both University educated and have enough money to basically be able to spend unlimited amounts on learning resources, an extra tablet, craft supplies etc. One of my friends is in a similar set up housing wise (flat, no garden) but she left school age 16 and has no confidence home schooling and no extra money to spend on things to make her life easier. She spends half her time feeling she is failing her child who is the same age as mine. Her mental health is suffering dreadfully. I don't believe for a moment that, age 4.5, her child will "fall behind" but she keeps being fed this narrative that with schools closed her little one's entire academic life has been ruined unless she can successfully manage to teach her at home.

@NaughtipussMaximus the idea of a longer holiday next Christmas to enable summer schooling is an interesting idea IMO.

I don’t bloody want a 6 week holiday over winter thank you very much.

@fromdownwest

'I don't think a few years out of school is going to compromise our children's education. I do think it may create a bigger spread between the capable and the incompetent and bone idle. But that can only be a good thing for an economy that is trying to recover and compete on the world stage. Anything that separates the capable from the incapable in a world where qualifications aren't worth the paper they are printed on is a good thing.'

@ElliFAntspoo - I am not sure if this is tongue in cheek or serious?!

A few years out of school will not impact a childs education, in the same way 2 years on fags and burgers wont't impact my health.

It is not a case of the ' capable and the incompetent' it is also a huge case of the have's and have nots.

People seem to ignore the fact that not all children have a laptop, wifi and a dilligent parent who is willing / able to assist with theri schooling.

It is ok though, in the future the affluent will have the jobs and the feckless work shy plebs will have nowt.

In a world where 9 out of every 10 millionaires come from zero, had nothing and no advantage at the outset, and in an environment where the tools to success and wealth are overwhelmingly biased towards the those among us who understand social dynamics over traditional academia, I'd reckon your argument is hollow.

People succeed these days because of who they are and what they can do for other people. Not because they have a degree of got 4 A-levels.

Clearly I'm a dreadful person for suggesting people should self respect and be honest with themselves.

I legitimately have no idea what you're talking about here.

I asked if you could differentiate between a selfish reason and a "genuinely struggling" reason.

I suppose if I were a SAHM with an income of 250k per year in a 7 bedroom mansion with access to 10 acres of privately owned parkland and a live in nanny, who wanted my DC back at school so I could shag the gardener openly on the kitchen table then yes, you could say that was selfish.

Can't imagine there are many of them about though. I imagine most people who want their kids back at school want them back there because it is incredibly hard, for whatever reason, to have them at home.

Changing the summer holiday would mean rewriting the entire curriculum.

It would also mean changing the pay and contract of every single school worker and everyone involved in keeping schools running. That means admin, business managers, cleaners, kitchen staff, food supply, stationery deliveries, lorry drivers, local council, Ofsted... the list goes on and on.

It's just not possible. It's a ridiculous suggestion.

@AgnesNaismith

Anything that separates the capable from the incapable in a world where qualifications aren't worth the paper they are printed on is a good thing

The most disgusting comment I’ve ever read on here.

Yes I agree disgusting. It’s ok if you go to a top private school and you can network via school and your parents to get those top banking/investment type jobs without the paper qualifications but the rest of us need our Gcses to be a street cleaner.

[quote Vintagevixen]@NaughtipussMaximus the idea of a longer holiday next Christmas to enable summer schooling is an interesting idea IMO.[/quote]
What on earth would be the point of that? Give them 6 weeks of school in the summer to catch up, then put them 6 weeks behind again in December.

@ElliFAntspoo - Basing the success of an individual purely on their renumeration output is quite a simplistic view.

I am sure the heart surgeons, pilots, bio mechanics and engineers that have not made a million pounds, but have created benefits for society would argue that their solid and robust education assisted in their success.

Also, picking arbitrary numbers out of the air without citation doesn't really expose my argument as hollow.

90% of people who succeed in life have 4 or more A Levels. See how easy that was to do!

@marshmallowfluffy

People in schools could do with being prioritized for vaccines but what about nursery workers who are working as usual? Some Of their time is spent outside but they have to take care of the kids at close quarters.

Why? At the very least, if you do not vaccinate teachers and nursery workers, you know when you have a Covid cluster and you can lock down before vulnerable people die. If you vaccinate them, they just spread the virus and you don't know there is a Covid cluster and the vulnerable people they come into contact with get very ill and may die.

Instead of encouraging the spread of the virus, and the infection of people, why not stop the spread of the virus completely. All you need is for people to stop giving it to eachother.

Arseinthecoopwindow. I was just about to post the same! Already gave up Easter, and may half term break to look after keyworker children, then the first 2 weeks of July and October half term isolating then finally the whole of my Christmas holiday with covid caught from a child. I don’t want 6 weeks off in the winter thanks and most importantly children don’t. We have robbed them of enough joy in their lives, without depriving them of a break during the summer.

Millionaires may not need paper qualifications but the rest of us plebs in the working population do just to get an interview. I think it’s very pretentious when people say you don’t need qualifications. Tell that to a hospital consultant who has studied for 7 years, a lawyer or an accountant. Of course we need qualifications otherwise why don’t we let the GP receptionist see the patients.

@AgnesNaismith wow. Just wow. What a pleasant human being you must be

What a nasty nasty thing to say.

Most people who leave school with no qualifications and without the right social connections do not become Richard Branson.

The myth that you can accomplish anything as long as you work hard enough is just that - a myth. It's usually a combination of luck and privilege.

FFS - it feels like my Year 11 DS is never going back to school.

I'm not saying it's wrong just totally depressing.

@slothpaw

Changing the summer holiday would mean rewriting the entire curriculum.

It would also mean changing the pay and contract of every single school worker and everyone involved in keeping schools running. That means admin, business managers, cleaners, kitchen staff, food supply, stationery deliveries, lorry drivers, local council, Ofsted... the list goes on and on.

It's just not possible. It's a ridiculous suggestion.

This.

So, did 6th form colleges get a mention?

I don’t want the summer holiday changed, I want mine to enjoy the nice weather and time off as they have worked hard.

If others are behind parents are free to home educate more over summer if they wish but many have kept on top of home learning so shouldn’t miss out.

We wouldn’t really need to use the summer holiday. It’s more not being with friends that’s missed here than learning