Why can't schools all go back at once?

[Trumplosttheelection]

I have seen suggestions that secondary pupils will have to wait a week longer? Why?
Secondary schools have actually managed social distancing quite well and adolescent mental health is in crisis. Not to mention their academic future being in the toilet.
I can't see why they have to wait another week?

everything ive seen this morning suggests all are going back en masse?

Teenagers dont vote Tory. That's why they are getting screwed over.

Schools can’t manage social distancing there is no room in classrooms to do that, unless your local school building is massive and under subscribed

I agree. I’ve worked in both primary and secondary and none of them SD. None.

I guess it’s in stages and primary kids going back will be better for working parents.

Dd3's secondary did very well with social distancing last term. They didn't need to send a whole class home at any point. Mind you the kids were freezing with windows etc open. Possible not the worst thing to have been out if school in recent sub zero temps......
I've seen it reported that ministers are considering this as an approach.

How did they social distance them @Trumplosttheelection? Genuinely interested

There's no social distancing in schools. If there was no kids sent home it was just luck. Unless the school has tiny class sizes, enormous rooms and magic corridors

Sounds like they are.

How did they manage social distancing quite well when before lockdown they were the highest infected age group of the whole population ?

Dd3's secondary did very well with social distancing last term.
My dc's school did as much as they could in terms of social distancing and keeping windows open. That didn't stop year 9 ds having 4 periods of isolation and the whole school closing for 2 weeks because infections were out of control. I am absolutely gutted about the reports this morning suggesting they will send all children back to school full time on 8th March, with no additional measures in place. I can't see how it will be any different to last term.

@ineedaholidaynow

How did they social distance them *@Trumplosttheelection*? Genuinely interested

Me too!

@pinkpip100

Dd3's secondary did very well with social distancing last term. My dc's school did as much as they could in terms of social distancing and keeping windows open. That didn't stop year 9 ds having 4 periods of isolation and the whole school closing for 2 weeks because infections were out of control. I am absolutely gutted about the reports this morning suggesting they will send all children back to school full time on 8th March, with no additional measures in place. I can't see how it will be any different to last term.

Yes me too. I honestly don’t know why they can’t have rota’s or certain subjects in school etc to keep classes small.

Oh for goodness sake “doing well”
Means you either got lucky, rates were low, or asymptomatic cases went under the radar.

There isn’t social distancing in schools.

No social distancing at the secondary school where I teach @Trumplosttheelection would love to know how they’ve done it?

My kids schools followed all the guidelines but were both only in school between 2-4 weeks in total between Sept - Dec due to burst bubbles and periods of isolation themselves.

I thought they were according to many reports this morning?!

The problem is largely messaging. Cases are going down about 25% a week currently only because of lockdown. If the govt announces that all schools are open there is a danger that a lot of people will take that as a message that they don't need to be as careful and don't really need to follow the rules any more. Even in an optimistic prediction we will still have about 4000 cases a day on March 8 which is more than enough to restart yet another wave of the epidemic. We really need numbers to go below at least 1000 a day. If we are lucky that will happen in early April.

I can't see how it will be any different to last term.

Me neither. Schools have been closing bubbles during lockdown, some with only 8 kids in the bubble. It'll be November and December all over again. No-notice closures for isolation and no KW care, schools with not enough staff. Community levels need to be very, very low.

Or, to answer your question OP - why can't pubs, shops and workplaces just open up? Oh yeah, pandemic respiratory virus.

Social distancing at secondary school would require 10 kids or fewer per average-sized classroom, wouldn’t it? And that group staying in the same room all day cos the corridors are too small? With the door and windows wide open because 11 people in one room all day would spread the virus nicely as there’s nothing magic about 2m. And then all the kids would need collecting by their own parents so they don’t mix on buses. Doubt that’s happened anywhere.

I guess rotas would halve the number of kids mixing and give them a scheduled week at home every other week instead of unplanned weeks at random, is that the idea?

social distancing wont be needed once the priority groups are done. I think the 2m rule will be gone by early summer.

Pinkhappy

It wont matter if people get it, if they dont go to hospital

With priority groups vaccinated - over 90% admissions dropped. We wont be having all these rules for a virus which gives flu like symptoms which is what those who don't go to hospital normally suffer with

Dd3's secondary did very well with social distancing last term

How did they manage to social distance? How many people are in each class?

@Trumplosttheelection

Dd3's secondary did very well with social distancing last term. They didn't need to send a whole class home at any point. Mind you the kids were freezing with windows etc open. Possible not the worst thing to have been out if school in recent sub zero temps...... I've seen it reported that ministers are considering this as an approach.

They were probably just lucky not to need to close a bubble. Social distancing in schools is a myth.