Schools in England should go back at Easter

[GinAndTonicOnIt]

I'm terrified that full return will result in increased transmissions. This will increase the chance of more mutations. Which increases the chance of a mutant that is resistant to the current vaccines.

Or just back with full wards, and yet another lockdown.

I loathe lockdown. I would give anything to wake up tomorrow and life be back to normal. But it's for this reason I think we should wait that extra bit longer. Get those rates right down and vaccines out, then have a return to school that won't result in another lockdown.....!

AIBU for thinking this? Am I wrong?

I agree, full opening is totally unsafe right now. Though there are still very high numbers of pupils in school, anymore is only going to make it worse. They need to keep as many kids home as safely possible, ramp up the support for home learning and make this the last lockdown.

Whatever happens BoJo will probably mess up and kill off more people but we just have to hope him and his cronies are listening to us.

I am fed up with children getting the short straw in this pandemic. Schools don't affect me, but I do want sixth form colleges open - and they should have opened from this coming Monday - they could have done so on a rota basis (ds' college was actually fully open before Christmas with only three cases, but I think they would settle for a rota at this point).

The infection rate where I live is extremely low, although I know it's considerably higher in other areas.

Infection rate in my town is 186 and rising again. I'd rather not send my children to school until I've been vaccinated. Who will care for them if I'm ill?

It's a few more weeks.

@Totallyfedup1979 I want , I want , I want ! Have you heard yourself.

Your child’s mental health will suffer considerably more if they, god forbid, have a long term sick parent or bring home the virus and infect the rest of the family. Let’s just wait a while longer...infections are still high sadly.

As there is only 3 and a half weeks between 8 march and Easter I see it as buy 3 1/2 get 2 1/2 free. That said some vulnerable kids would then go newly 4 months without contact from schools. It’s a hard one, I think I’d send primaries back now and secondaries after Easter. All the talk of teacher vaccines I’d do 6th formers, prisoners, bus drivers and there are probably several more vulnerable categories before teachers, but would be good if they were done before those of us who can easily work at home.

@LongDistanceClaret

I disagree. Schools need to return on the 8th. We need to consider all of the damaging effects of lockdown and in my view the balance will have tipped by 8th March and it will be more detrimental to keep them off school any longer. How many will be vaccinated by 8th March? Well over half UK adults.

Agreed.

@WhenSheWasBad

Didn't rates also fall in the November lockdown when schools were open

raggiedolls they dropped a little. But do you remember what happened in December? The Kent variant is much more transmissible.

My borough in Kent didn’t drop at all. By the end of the 3rd week of that lockdown a lot of the secondary schools had shut due to staffing shortages. My borough came out of that lockdown with its numbers stabilising and then lockdown ended, the closed secondary schools started returning and the numbers went through the roof - by New Year we’d almost doubled.

If you want to see another lockdown, with more deaths, then by all means but it will sadly just mean more possibilities of new variants, some of these may not be so easy to find a vaccine for.

[quote MyDcAreMarvel]@Totallyfedup1979 I want , I want , I want ! Have you heard yourself.[/quote]
Yes. I am being utterly selfish. I know.

I just can’t help that I don’t care anymore.

So, are we saying that we should stay in lockdown so that we don’t risk another lockdown by coming out of lockdown?

Furlough scheme is meant to end on March 31. Businesses can’t open until the impact of schools returning is clear. How are people meant to survive if their businesses can’t reopen until May at the earliest?

@Poorlykitten

Your child’s mental health will suffer considerably more if they, god forbid, have a long term sick parent or bring home the virus and infect the rest of the family. Let’s just wait a while longer...infections are still high sadly.

I'm more likely to catch the virus at work to be honest.

teachermummy

Yeah... I think you're overanalyzing. I am happy to be in a classroom. My colleagues are happy to be in a classroom

Oh well, if teachers are happy that changes everything. We all know Covid doesn’t transmit in schools where teachers are happy

I’m a teacher and I want to be back. I hate teaching to the void. Me wanting to be back doesn’t make it sensible though.

[quote teachermummy1]@Newtonn

Yeah... I think you're overanalyzing. I am happy to be in a classroom. My colleagues are happy to be in a classroom.
My DD's teachers have all expressed to her their want to return to school.[/quote]
I'm sure your DD's teachers have said that. I've said it to my students. But I don't mean without strategies to prevent the terrible things which happened last term. I don't mean at all costs.

It would definitely be easier for me to teach a class who are all right there, but with the restrictions that don't go far enough in making it safe, but inconvenience the day to day running of school, it's not ideal as it was.

Perhaps you think I've overanalysed, but when a huge number of mistakes jump out of a professional's writing (and I mean the ones typically seen used by people who don't understand particular grammatical constructions, and think they are using a sophisticated alternative...), I wonder about the ability to pass a QTS skills test.

@Poorlykitten I'm prepared to take that risk thank you. I'd rather end up poorly long term than my children carry on suffering like they are. I can deal with myself. I can't see their mental health decline anymore. They need education and they need to see their friends.
If they bring it home. So he it.

@teachermummy1 with your ridiculous idea, what about years 7.8 and 9? Leave them to it shall we, AGAIN!!! The forgotten years. Not that long until they do GCSEs, not that long for them to catch up. But hey let's leave them at home. Who gives a damn about them.

I'd prefer this, and a slow ease into it rather than just everyone thrown back in.

A rota system, anything to get the poor kids back.

The have sacrificed enough.

Anyone who makes these suggestions are suiting their own needs. The OP does not have kids in key exam years and / or is not juggling kids that need support with homeschooling while she does a full time job with an employer who wants her to actually perform that job well.

This thread is the opposite of what everyone I know in RL is saying.

Soon there'll be people on MN saying they shouldn't go back until September...

So what do people want them all back at once at Easter because that's a worse idea if you ask me.

A full run of 6 weeks to the half term and all those kids wallop back at once - with a lot of other relaxations at the same time

This sounds more sensible to me? A shorter run up to a longer break, staggered in and assess the results.

I definitely want to see a rota system.

For the people saying wait..how about then a shorter summer/Easter or even no may half term?

The loss of school is getting ridiculous now. It's all well and good having opportunities for fun and socialising but for primary age school is the fun and sociable place they want to be. They also want to learn, not from worksheets but with their friends.

I think if schools are going to be off longer it's going to need a serious shake up and possibly extending Easter holiday by a week ahead and then having a week longer into July. With all the massive disruption to everyone's jobs I don't understand how the set calendar of the school year is still so unshakeable.

This is also not taking into account that it's adults spreading this disease right now, some unavoidable (hospitals) but some really avoidable, like workplaces not allowing home working, not following covid rules and adults taking the piss with the rules. Kids have been far more restricted than adults since they broke up for school in December, but it should be the other way around.

@HauntedPencil because it's closer to the end of the school year and some people think that the closer reopening can be edged towards that the more possible it will be not to bother?

Only it can't really happen again, it shouldn't have happened last year.

The PM wanted schools to let year groups back in May - our school didn't let those year groups back until September.

Some schools are far better that others but I guarantee you that if the pm announces on Monday they'll reopen in two weeks, we'll have an email from the head saying two weeks notice isn't nearly enough and they need 3. If the PM says reception to y2 back the head will say 'just y1 first to assess the impact'

There are some really dodgy goings on around and it's not all coming from the government. This is a school that has had no covid cases ever, but mostly by having as few children as possible attend even denying spaces to key workers and vulnerable families. Even worse, the head seems able to do what they want. Governors say up to them.

like workplaces not allowing home working, not following covid rules

Schools will fall into this category when open fully.

There’s nothing I want more than to be back as normal teaching in the classroom - for me, the students I teach and my own children. However I also know that isn’t the best idea to have everyone back in one Big Bang on the 8th March.

Personally I think staggered return/rotas something to ease back in and see how things are looking is much more sensible.

Most students are still receiving an education right now - what they are missing is the social aspects. I’d rather they allowed children to form small social bubbles or something tbh where they could play/see their friends in a safer and limited way than being thrown into crowded classrooms with hundreds of others throughout each day.