Anti-lockdown campaigners using children to push their agenda

[noblegiraffe]

I can't be the only one disgusted with how certain groups are using faux concern about children to push the earliest dismantling of lockdown restrictions.

They are loudly catastrophising on the front pages of the press about our kids. The lost generation. £40,000 in lost earnings. Articles about schools full of traumatised kids suffering PTSD caused by lockdown.

And the solution they propose is always to re-open schools as early as possible. Even before March 8th. Regardless of covid.

Now, the situation in schools before Christmas was awful. Some areas of the country had less than 50% attendance due to the new variant ripping through secondary schools. Secondary school kids were the most infected subset of the population by far, and are now the second least infected subset of the population behind the 70+ age group after schools were closed, demonstrating that there was a massive problem with transmission in secondary schools. It wasn't good for pupils' mental health or education to be in a situation when they didn't know if they'd be in school or out at the drop of a hat. But before Christmas, there was complete media silence on the impact that this was having on children.

CAMHS has been devastated by cuts. Waiting lists are intolerable and children in dire need of support don't even qualify. Same for social care around vulnerable children.

Yet you won't hear these people clamouring for schools re-opening as soon as possible talking at all about how to improve safety measures in schools to prevent the scenario we had before Christmas happening again. You won't hear them demanding more funding for children's mental health services and for more support for social care services.

And the reason you won't hear that is that THEY DON'T GIVE A SHIT.

The reason that they want schools re-opened as quickly as possible is because the message was that schools had to open first.

They can't get what they really want open (everything else) until schools are open, hence the massive focus on schools and how terrible things are for children.

This catastrophising isn't good for parents or kids. It's scaremongering and unhelpful.

I know that there are kids (and parents) really struggling with their mental health and worried about their education. Blaring out messages about how terrible things are and how they will never recover because you want to hype up the message about schools going back is irresponsible and sickening.

We need sensible and calm conversations about how to support children and parents. We need funding for schools and massive investment in support services. We need a long-term program of recovery, not 9 months of a Catch-Up Tsar and quick fixes. We need a measured and sensible approach to schools re-opening that won't see kids in and out and in and out due to lack of mitigation measures causing rampant covid spread (particularly with the new variant).

We need these anti-lockdown campaigners to shut up and stop dominating the narrative.

@TooManyPlatesInMotion

I had a looonnng discussion with my DH about this last night. He's a deputy head in a big secondary in London. His personal view is that he can't wait to go back. The more interesting point he made is that "safe" is a pretty pointless term - no environment is "safe". Staying in bed all day is not "safe", neither is, walking to a corner shop. Schools are, by their nature, busy and full places. If there was an attempt to make them "safe" then, aside from the fact that it would be impossible as there are no absolutes, it would also make them miserable, sterile and hostile places for students and staff. You accept that being a teacher comes with loads of interactions and do there are increased risks of germs etc. Covid is not the only risk.

Your DH is wrong. There are risk assessments for a reason. You can’t just say ‘teachers should expect to come across germs’ or ‘nowhere is 100% safe’.

He best hope that this reopening doesn’t lead to any deaths of staff, pupils or parents at his school, because ultimately the health and safety of all those people lies squarely at the head teachers and senior management team’s feet. He could find himself partially responsible depending on his position.

Speaking as a mother whose 15 year old took an overdose Thursday night because she has developed agoraphobic through lockdown I think YABU and you need to think before you post making sweeping statements. If you are unaffected by lockdown lucky old you!

@monkeytennis97 he does have quite a bit of contact and teaching, not least because he has been covering a form.

[quote Monkeytennis97]@bumbleymummy but the vaccinated rates shouldn't make any difference to the unvaccinated rates, they don't just suddenly take their places when the vaccinated are no longer in hospital. Surely the numbers of unvaccinated needing hospital increasing is concerning?[/quote]
I don't think you understand.

Data has shown again and again antibodies in the general population at around 10%

How odd. There was a health survey in Mexico in September where they took bloody from 20,000 representative people and found that in September 25% of Mexicans had had covid. With the second wave, I would say that number is maybe 50% and the UK has been worse affected by covid than Mexico.

[quote Monkeytennis97]@bumbleymummy but the vaccinated rates shouldn't make any difference to the unvaccinated rates, they don't just suddenly take their places when the vaccinated are no longer in hospital. Surely the numbers of unvaccinated needing hospital increasing is concerning?[/quote]
It depends on how it’s being reported. If they have an increased number of cases then it’s not surprising that the number of hospitalisations will increase too - and it’s more likely that those being hospitalised will not have had the vaccine.

@TrustTheGeneGenie you see I think the opposite.

What a nasty response @DBML. As a fellow teacher, he is entitled to a view without you shrieking that he might be responsible for people's, deaths in his school. Of course he and the rest of the team have and will continue to perform risk assessments for staff and pupils. Read your post back - it is deeply unpleasant. Maybe reflect on why you feel so hostile to a teacher in a manage position that you have never met.

@bumbleymummy yes, is this what we want to happen with a full return as September in a couple of weeks because this is what will happen. Hospitals and ICUs are still pretty full with Covid patients. Are we even going to have less in hospital with Covid than we did at the first peak in a couple of weeks?

[quote TooManyPlatesInMotion]@monkeytennis97 he does have quite a bit of contact and teaching, not least because he has been covering a form. [/quote]
😂

@TooManyPlatesInMotion

What a nasty response *@DBML*. As a fellow teacher, he is entitled to a view without you shrieking that he might be responsible for people's, deaths in his school. Of course he and the rest of the team have and will continue to perform risk assessments for staff and pupils. Read your post back - it is deeply unpleasant. Maybe reflect on why you feel so hostile to a teacher in a manage position that you have never met.

That’s a cop-out response if ever I’ve heard one...

Don’t know how to respond? Call them nasty.

Look, you described your husband, a deputy as being rather nonchalant about Covid H&S at his school.

I simply warned that he is as part of SMT, legally responsible for H&S, so his nonchalance is unwise. He could be held responsible.

Not nasty. Truthful.

I agree with DBML. I'd be gutted if any SLT I knew had that attitude towards safety tbh.

@DBML Excellent post.

Risk assessments are there for a reason. I hope to God the DH isn't on SLT where I work!

Agree 100% noblegiraffe

In countries where children have gone back part time, with rotas, socially distanced, masked and then done half time (good quality) home learning, overall they've had more time IN school than UK kids. We are lurching from in school as normal to home learning and that's the worst of all worlds for kids educationally and in terms of mental health.

If we open up soon, the same thing will happen as happened in December - the new variant grows faster. You could have schools back part time for all but frontline workers - every child has some time in school - and you'd solve most mental health problems, and a lot of the educational ones too.

Even now, for those kids 100% at home they could have socially distanced PE outside. The risk would be minimal but it would go a long way to reduce isolation, improve mental and physical health and give a brief window of respite to parents. But the Tories don't fund this because they're not interested in doing anything which actually benefits kids mental health.

They only talk about it for political point scoring. If they cared about kids mental health the wait for CAMHs wouldn't be so long and our class sizes wouldn't be the largest in Europe.

Educationally, the home learning we're getting now is good quality. What's missing is a bit of time with the teacher - to raise things the child doesn't understand (sorry Teams chat is not the same) and time spent with other children. This could be solved by SOME time in school.

I'd rather my kids went back in rotas and kept risk lower and NOT have another lockdown.

Anyone who thinks if they open as they did in September we won't be right back here in a few months is delusional. Hardly anyone associated with a school will have been vaccinated, and certainly not the main points of transmission - the kids.

@DBML no, you are being deeply unpleasant. I expressed what his personal view is. He is fully aware of what his obligations are in relation to risk assessments and the fact that other members of staff have different concerns. Perhaps you assume that all members of slt are out to trample of teachers' concerns. They are not.

One of the most vitriolic threads o have had the pleasure to be on.

picknmix1984, that is genuinely awful.

To be clear, I read the OP as stating very clearly that what is awful is the falsity of the concern. In that they aren't pushing for more funding for MH services.

I, personally, think we need an emergency intervention with MH services. My family have been touched by this, too.

I really can't tell you how much your post has affected me. We've been struggling and have been in a truly terrible place.

I hope you are - all of you - getting support.

💐

There are many teenagers suffering we don’t know the full extent of the damage that will have life long impacts - the sooner children are back to school the better. There are risks with everything but the cure shouldn’t be worse than the illness, sadly for this age group I think it is.

@MercyBooth

Faux concern about children? On a parenting site? A great look Children are being badly affected by all this. They need proper access to education. And social interaction. And im child free by choice

@MercyBooth did you read the OP's post? She never claims children haven't struggled. Her point is entirely different

One of the most vitriolic threads o have had the pleasure to be on.

Agree, but...

The posters agreeing with noble aren't the vitriolic ones.

@TooManyPlatesInMotion

I had a looonnng discussion with my DH about this last night. He's a deputy head in a big secondary in London. His personal view is that he can't wait to go back. The more interesting point he made is that "safe" is a pretty pointless term - no environment is "safe". Staying in bed all day is not "safe", neither is, walking to a corner shop. Schools are, by their nature, busy and full places. If there was an attempt to make them "safe" then, aside from the fact that it would be impossible as there are no absolutes, it would also make them miserable, sterile and hostile places for students and staff. You accept that being a teacher comes with loads of interactions and do there are increased risks of germs etc. Covid is not the only risk.

It’s nice to know that Deputy Heads are capable of such incisive, original and devastating arguments.

[quote TooManyPlatesInMotion]@DBML no, you are being deeply unpleasant. I expressed what his personal view is. He is fully aware of what his obligations are in relation to risk assessments and the fact that other members of staff have different concerns. Perhaps you assume that all members of slt are out to trample of teachers' concerns. They are not.

One of the most vitriolic threads o have had the pleasure to be on.[/quote]
I believe you are over reacting to my posts, because the weight of your husbands responsibilities have just hit you.

I haven’t called you or your husband names.

I haven’t said ‘I hope he’s made responsible’.

I’ve simply stated the facts. I wasn’t the one who described a deputy head as being so nonchalant about H&S.

I’m glad that his personal feelings don’t inform how he manages his school. That’s appropriate. And if he school has to be somewhat spoiled and sterile for a while, he clearly understands that sacrifice in order to keep his staff and pupils safe.

Get used to it. If you don’t want to teach any more then resign. It’s not that hard.

Good luck replacing an experienced maths teacher. There's a reason those bursaries exist....

The posters agreeing with noble aren't the vitriolic ones.

Well most people are sick of all of them. Most of us don’t bother to read the ridiculous echo chambers anymore because it’s pointless engaging.

Good luck replacing an experienced maths teacher. There's a reason those bursaries exist....

One that doesn’t want to actually teach and hates kids would rather not.

The amount of unemployment coming up there will be people desperate to get into teaching.

If you can earn a living outside then do it.