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.

I suspect a lot of the "teachers" saying they wore masks in classrooms are not actually teachers....

How is it beneficial to have repeated periods of isolation? That's more disruptive than an entire term/few weeks online.

It may well be beneficial for children/teens to be at school most of the time, even if they might need a week off at home.
More importantly though, as the vulnerable sections of society are now vaccinated, the nhs will no longer be overwhelmed. So there will be less need to 'control' the virus.

Of course teachers want to go back.
Teaching live to timetable with 2 X KS1 and 1 X KS2 offspring to home educate at the same time is a complete headache.
But I want to go back with the same safety measures as every other workplace. I want to go back and not see cases rise again necessitating yet another lockdown - which will happen regardless of teacher vaccinations if we go back the same as in September miraculously expecting something different to happen - especially as we have the new variants. Also more infections means more mutations. Let's just not.

The masks not being used in classrooms comes directly from one of the DfE guidance documents.

You’re welcome to look for it - it’ll be in one of the eleventy hundred versions of the guidance that have been published since September.

@noblegiraffe Not a detailed plan but interesting to know if you are in favour of a phased return to school and if so what indicators would you be looking at ?

My personal view
is that school reopening should be done gradually and in tandem with vaccination roll out. I think a wholesale return to school on 8th March would be disastrous but a scaled return based on testing numbers and vaccination targets with the rough aim of getting most pupils back in some capacity after Easter holidays seems more achievable.
Happy for everyone to wear masks and as much ventilation to be provided as is possible within schools current set up and social distancing for now until all adults vaccinated.

@EnemyOfEducationNo1

I suspect a lot of the "teachers" saying they wore masks in classrooms are not actually teachers....

I mean it's as good as guessing whether anyone is really who they say they are on this site.. If anything, I'm quite baffled at how schools heads are enforcing not wearing a mask for either students or teachers. Fortunately this has not been the case for any schools in my area, everyone has been wearing their masks and visors without any backlash.

Shehz21

If you are not rewriting history then why are you saying that noble doesn't want schools to open?

As for "fangirling", its just a word that makes your points even less valid than before.

And what you have on here is people saying that they are teachers and allowed to wear masks.

@Rosesaresweet

How is it beneficial to have repeated periods of isolation? That's more disruptive than an entire term/few weeks online.

It may well be beneficial for children/teens to be at school most of the time, even if they might need a week off at home.
More importantly though, as the vulnerable sections of society are now vaccinated, the nhs will no longer be overwhelmed. So there will be less need to 'control' the virus.

Complete fallacy. Just because those at highest risk of death have been vaccinated it doesn't mean the NHS is now clear of overwhelm. The expanded ICUs are full of people who are not in a vaccination priority group. If you allow unmitigated spread the sheer numbers of "small proportion of non vulnerable who are hospitalised" will still overwhelm the NHS.

I am only just mentioning what Noble said upthread that even vaccinating teachers would not be enough as a measure to mitigate risks

I said that arguing for vaccinating teachers to allow a full return to the classroom was missing the point that a big issue in schools was kids bringing covid back home to their families.

Vaccinating teachers goes nothing to mitigate this.

You then made some incorrect assumptions and decided I want schools closed even with teachers vaccinated and then decided to state this as fact.

And now you’ve decided I’ve got ‘a cause’ that you can’t articulate but apparently it’s one you disagree with and anyone who agrees with it is merely I dunno, a nodding dog.

@FrippEnos

Shehz21

If you are not rewriting history then why are you saying that noble doesn't want schools to open?

As for "fangirling", its just a word that makes your points even less valid than before.

And what you have on here is people saying that they are teachers and allowed to wear masks.

Yes makes my point less valid because you decided so? Sure

@shez - how do you know? I would place good money to say that is not happening IN THE CLASSROOM.

More importantly though, as the vulnerable sections of society are now vaccinated, the nhs will no longer be overwhelmed. So there will be less need to 'control' the virus.

I think the scientists agree that by 8th March we won't have vaccinated enough people. The NHS is struggling with admissions 35-60 at the moment, that group won't all be vaccinated until summer.

A phased return would benefit EVERYONE.

She

Can you clarify - in your own words - what you think “noble’s cause” is?

Fortunately this has not been the case for any schools in my area, everyone has been wearing their masks and visors without any backlash.

Just in corridors, or in classrooms?

Am wondering, also, how you know this with such certainty. I am not au fait with what very school in my area does.

Shehz21

Do you really have so little to say that you feel the need to put forward lies, twisted statements and belittle other posters?

@noblegiraffe

I am only just mentioning what Noble said upthread that even vaccinating teachers would not be enough as a measure to mitigate risks

I said that arguing for vaccinating teachers to allow a full return to the classroom was missing the point that a big issue in schools was kids bringing covid back home to their families.

Vaccinating teachers goes nothing to mitigate this.

You then made some incorrect assumptions and decided I want schools closed even with teachers vaccinated and then decided to state this as fact.

And now you’ve decided I’ve got ‘a cause’ that you can’t articulate but apparently it’s one you disagree with and anyone who agrees with it is merely I dunno, a nodding dog.

Says the OP who could not articulate in her opening post what she is advocating for except putting DON'T GIVE A SHIT in capital letters. Okay.

It seems that you yourself are the one who can't swallow the fact that there are people standing up to you and disgreeing with you and your pals.
Then you throw a hissy fit backed by, what you call, nodding dogs.

@FrippEnos

Shehz21

Do you really have so little to say that you feel the need to put forward lies, twisted statements and belittle other posters?

Grab a mirror love.

@Piggywaspushed

Fortunately this has not been the case for any schools in my area, everyone has been wearing their masks and visors without any backlash.

Just in corridors, or in classrooms?

Am wondering, also, how you know this with such certainty. I am not au fait with what very school in my area does.

My job is one that consists of visiting various schools in the area.

In the classrooms as well without backlash.

But I understand that there are schools that are actually against mask wearing and again I mention that baffles me.

Visitors to schools have been strictly forbidden.

Schools have not been able to have therapists, counsellors, social workers, police liaison, peripatetic music or enrichment.... What is it you do that enables you to have seen all these classrooms with teachers and students wearing masks?

@EnemyOfEducationNo1

Visitors to schools have been strictly forbidden.

My job has been ongoing throughout the pandemic despite not being able to physically visit schools. And I have had to write reports regarding the safety measures being taken by the schools re covid. The heads have confirmed that there will be no backlash for those wanting to wear masks or visors.

I don't think ( hopefully ) that we are in the same situation as sept ad we know have vaccines rolled out , but think waiting until march when they have studied all figures etc is still the way to go and it is only a few weeks away.
Going back too soon could be worse in long run, if they go back march its a few weeks in , then easter so gives time to see the effect.
I think its hard to have too many measures on schools though , masks maybe and poss blended learning for secondary , but can't see how that can work in primary.
But any group has a right to shout out what they want and we have a right to agree or disagree.
Also in some areas like my local town we never had many school closures so its hard to see it as you judge what happened by you.
My ds school never had any year groups sent home , but We had low figures up until a couple weeks before xmas , then they shot up.

Not a detailed plan but interesting to know if you are in favour of a phased return to school and if so what indicators would you be looking at?

My instinct would be that we’re looking at a full return for primary and exam years back in secondary then all in after Easter. The infection rate data and vaccination data looks good. The appetite among government for changing anything in schools is nil, but I’ve been pretty clear in previous threads about what measures I would like to see introduced. Thankfully the bonkers testing instead of close contact isolation seems to be in the bin.

But there’s something odd going on in the government, which we’ve not seen before, which is caution. And hints that March 8th might slip. This is making me wonder about the new variant and whether my previous wishlist of mitigation measures would be enough to have any impact. It might be that rotas (which I’ve never wanted before) might be needed, perhaps on a local basis based on need.

I don’t want the situation we had last year where some year groups went back fully in June in primary and some were stuck at home for the duration. All kids in school some of the time would be preferable.

Even in the classrooms the teachers and students have been allowed to wear them if they wanted to.

Aha! So you haven't actually physically visited schools.....