Chances of a March return for primaries?

[NoGoodOptions]

What do we think the chances are for a March return for primaries? The case numbers and R-rate as well as vaccination figures all look hopeful. It's such a hard slog wfh ft with two young children (5 and 7), and I think as a result I'm susceptible to any shred of optimism. On the one hand many on these fora seem to think after Easter, on the other hand I know a few local families that are planning to go on like this until September 😱! Government say it's their top priority to get the schools back, but equally they've led us on so many times before. What do we think is the likelihood??? Thanks!

DS is Yr 7. I'm getting him trying on his uniform at half term lest we discover he's grown out of his shoes / trousers since Christmas, but I'm otherwise not expecting him to be wearing them until after Easter as higher years will be prioritised in secondary.

I would hope there is consideration for which year groups couldn't go back last time to enable the children who didn't get to go to school until September last year to be among the first this year, I'd hope this years ks2 get priority as last year they all missed out for the longest. The current reception, year 1 and year 2 children only missed one term last year.

Did they say in the briefing that there are still more people in hospital now than there was at the peak in the spring?

I think we need to be looking carefully at the numbers before making any decisions about school returns.

Case numbers are at a similar level to what they were in the middle of December - if schools open again to all (when case numbers are still high) surely we are likely to see numbers climbing quickly again.

Scottish schools are due back at the end of February.
I will be at the gates with dd bright and early😉

@SapphosRock can I ask where you heard this, as I live in Brighton too!

@50FootWave Just hearsay, I heard it from a friend who said they'd head it from someone official (I forgot who) but knowing B&H council it sounds plausible.
I guess we will find out on the 22nd when Boris lays our his roadmap. I'm hoping he will instruct primaries to open on 8th March.

@anotheruser02 I agree. KS2 desperately need some time in school. At my school Upper KS2 bubbles are so big they might as well all be in now. Only about 8 children from each year at home. Seems very unfair.

I think primary will be back in full on 8th March. There are so many key worker / vulnerable children in this time we just wouldn’t be able to do a phased return like in June last year with smaller classes etc. It will have to be all or nothing.

@Anotheruser02

I would hope there is consideration for which year groups couldn't go back last time to enable the children who didn't get to go to school until September last year to be among the first this year, I'd hope this years ks2 get priority as last year they all missed out for the longest. The current reception, year 1 and year 2 children only missed one term last year.

You say that but my child was in reception last year and it was more a babysitting service when he did go back in June. It's also impossible for any parent to leave a reception and year 1 child alone to work, they need CONSTANT supervision and help. It's why nurseries have been allowed to open this time around, and probably because it's quite dangerous to leave babies and toddlers unattended. All of primary need to go back.

It had better fucking be the 8th March.

I've got two DC at home and it's a nightmare. But I still don't want schools to open before Easter I think. I couldn't bear yet another lockdown because we reopened too early.

It's not the teachers and it's not the kids... it's the bloody parents. Email
after email from the head reminding them
re social distancing etc etc

They take no fucking notice whatsoever.

My D.C. are in school. The amount of parents STILL congregating, huddled up and not wearing masks or social distancing is astonishing.
Beggars belief really.

But yeah, back to the school return ... I'm feeling it to be March 8th for primary schools and after Easter for others.

Thanks, @SapphosRock, that certainly sounds about right for B&H.

And I'm keeping everything crossed for a return on 8 March, too...

I think it will be March 8th. I'm incredibly worried though. I have an unpredictable, rare disability which I was informed today doesn't put me in group six. I've been so careful and we have been lucky so far, but their primary has had almost seven cases in the last couple of weeks with numerous burst bubbles despite having next to none last term since September. God knows what it will be like when they all go back.
I feel like my luck will run out this term and I don't see cases staying low if they open up the schools as they were last year.
The DC's do need to go back though, they're getting so fed up and unmotivated and my depression has never been worse.

I genuinely don't understand why some people think this will go on until September.

Not being funny but multiple posters said the exact same thing in April last year and I was called a doom monger for saying we'd be back in lockdown by January.

Nothing would surprise me anymore.

It's also impossible for any parent to leave a reception and year 1 child alone to work

My nearly 5 year old wouldn't sit and learn on his own, no, but he will actually sit quietly for small amounts of time while I work. He doesn't need completely constant supervision.

If schools open on 8 March and case rates per day are still 1000+, I will probably not send him back.

The problem is no safety measures have been put in place again!! The weather is still cold in March. I really worry that it will be the same as before Christmas with non stop isolating and bubbles bursting.

I wonder how many children are immune already from all the mixing last term. The majority of cases are asymptomatic in children.

With local elections in May, and Scotland and Wales reopening after half term, it would be risky politically to push back the date for English schools to reopen any later than March 8.

The most vulnerable will have had their first vaccine and there needs to be a balance struck between immediate risk from the virus versus long term risk to children/parents/society from locking down so long it impacts learning and parents ability to hold down a job irreversibly.

Is that why you think schools closed? Because teachers are scared? Clue: it's not why they closed. It's not why they have closed throughout the pandemic in most countries across the world either

Schools are not, and never have been closed.

Schools are not, and never have been closed.

My DC are not allowed to go to school. They definitely feel closed to me.

Of course they are closed watchingbehindmyhamds. Half the kids can’t go in at all. The rest mostly go in part time and are baby sat by the tas mostly rather than taught anything.
The teaching at home it just a bunch of work sheets that they may or not be forced to do by harassed parents. Hardly an education.
Oh but we get story time for 15 min with the teachers. That my children largely hide from.

@Watchingbehindmyhands

Is that why you think schools closed? Because teachers are scared? Clue: it's not why they closed. It's not why they have closed throughout the pandemic in most countries across the world either

Schools are not, and never have been closed.

Not this afuckinggain! Of course schools are closed to the majority of children. I couldn’t rock up to the school gate tomorrow morning and demand they take my children. I couldn’t even do that if I was a key worker, as they not taking any more children. To that end, the physical school building is CLOSED to me (and most others) Stop being so pedantic.

@notevenat20

Schools are not, and never have been closed.

My DC are not allowed to go to school. They definitely feel closed to me.

Yep. If you can’t get a place each time schools do this it doesn’t make a blind bit of difference to those dc out, that some are in.

It’s not pedantic when there are still people claiming that teachers aren’t working or that it’s TAs taking classes.

Every teacher is in full time in my school teaching normal lessons. We are also doing all the home learning on top of this.

We are not closed. We are not on holiday. We do not want constant abuse for “having loads of time off”.