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?

Serious question what makes you think it will be safe after Easter? It will NEVER be safe FFS ...... do we just never send our children back ever?

@ZoBo123 is right here. None of it works.

Why haven't they vaccinated teachers if they want this?

What is the point in these discussions when it’s not even been announced how the schools are going to reopen yet? For all we know it will be a phased return. Children desperately need to go back to school. All teachers I know are desperate for children to go back to school. The most vulnerable have now been vaccinated. So yes, cases will rise again. It’s inevitable. But it’s not going to end up with the high numbers of hospitalisations and deaths like it did.

@picknmix1984 the high risk teachers will have or will shortly be having their vaccinations. The rest of them are at no bigger risk than the rest of the population. The children are the ones spreading it and taking it home, but their vulnerable family members should have been vaccinated too.

As a PP has said, families and teachers in RL seem to want schools open fully. The voices of Mumsnet are (I hope) misrepresentative of the population.

Totally disagree, lovely for you lot that can keep your kids at home for as long as you like but many parents are at breaking point trying to juggle work and homeschooling etc.

I really disagree OP. My Y12 DD has had only 10 weeks face to face teaching in the last 12 months. GCSEs cancelled last March, no learning provision afterwards, the exams results fiasco, finally started college mid September and then had periods of home learning and isolations. DC2 in year 9 has not had a full year of education since Y7. How is this ok? Both are counting down to March the 8th as their return date and will be absolutely devastated if this changes.

I am fully supportive of lockdowns and restrictions up to now but enough is enough.

[quote supersonicginandtonic]@WhenSheWasBad it's the same with every profession though that's been working throughout.
My brother works in a food production factory, they've had significantly higher numbers of infections than schools.
I work in the NHS but as we are substance misuse we are the forgotten minions. I've been seeing my clients face to face with just a crappy mask, they always say they're exempt. They also show up with symptoms as they aren't bothered about my safety. Their priority is their script.
My partner is a probation officer. He has only just begun being tested. He's seeing prison releases and has been spat on and coughed on far too many times to count.
And what about the police and prison officers? They have been completely forgotten. They can't work from home when somebody they are working with tests positive for the virus.
The children are the future of this country and at the moment they are getting almost nothing and their mental health is falling apart. [/quote]
You are right. Loads of people have been treated appallingly by the government.

All of these people should have additional protections and it is appalling they don’t.

I’m not sure what you want me to say. Because probation officers are treated appallingly that means GPs should go back to seeing all patients face to face.

Surely it’s better to argue for improving probation officer conditions. Rather than argue conditions should be equally crap for GPs.

Schools cannot fully open on the 8th March. Most have still only had one dose of the vaccine. My 92yr old mother in law has caught Covid 4 weeks after her first vaccination. Most over 50’s have not had any vaccine yet and these are often the teachers and support staff people are happy to send back into schools so they can educate children. Controversial I know, but education is a partnership between parents/carers and educators and at this moment,it is our turn to do the educating and supporting of our children. In my opinion teaching staff should refuse to work until they have all been vaccinated with both doses. Many support staff have gone over and above their pay roles and responsibilities during this pandemic and have been shown very little recognition. These are often the people who are of an age that would be most poorly and hospitalised if they caught Covid. Please think on before rushing our children back to school.

@siestalady

Disagree so strongly. It took my breath away yesterday when I read on another thread that children have had ONE term of proper education in a whole year. I mean obviously I knew that, but it really shocked me to see it written down.

In what world are we happy to have education as an optional "nice to have" service? Imagine if we shut down police stations or GP surgeries like we have schools? "Oh another 6 weeks won't hurt"

Absolutely breathtaking the way kids in this country have been treated the last year.

I completely agree... the highest infection rates are still in hospitals and care homes. Shall we shut those too? Schools are an essential service.

I'm always fascinated by the 'keep schools and universities closed' argument. Where do these people think virologists, dr, nurses etc of the future will come from if we don't educate our children properly.

@WhenSheWasBad I haven't mentioned GPS?
Don't get me started on them. Over the last 12 months I've literally had to beg in tears (I'm not a crier) for them to see my daughter about her mental health, not speak to her over the phone.
I've got a 19 month old toddler who had a bad night cough, it took 6 months to be seen. constantly ringing to be told over the phone, oh it'll pass, call back in 3 weeks, get her a Covid test etc. She's now on 2 different inhalers.
I do think GPs should be seeing more people face to face or at least via video call to be honest.

@TimeForLunch

As a PP has said, families and teachers in RL seem to want schools open fully. The voices of Mumsnet are (I hope) misrepresentative of the population.

Yes same here

Both are counting down to March the 8th as their return date and will be absolutely devastated if this changes.

My teens are also desperate to go back and would be very disappointed if they can't go back on March 8th.

Return to school after Easter and start vaccinating school staff now so we have had at least one vaccine by then.

[quote supersonicginandtonic]@picknmix1984 the high risk teachers will have or will shortly be having their vaccinations. The rest of them are at no bigger risk than the rest of the population. The children are the ones spreading it and taking it home, but their vulnerable family members should have been vaccinated too. [/quote]
Yes, teachers are no more at risk than anyone else who works alongside hundreds of different people everyday, all day.

I completely agree... the highest infection rates are still in hospitals and care homes. Shall we shut those too? Schools are an essential service

Hospitals are care homes are open and the infection rate is dropping. Why would we shut them?
Infections rates were extremely low in summer. Schools opened in September with very few mitigation’s - we had peak number 2 (and a lovely more infectious variant).

I want schools open. But waiting till after Easter seems sensible. I wish it wasn’t true but Covid spreads in schools. Simply stating schools must open doesn’t change that.

[quote supersonicginandtonic]@WhenSheWasBad I haven't mentioned GPS?
Don't get me started on them. Over the last 12 months I've literally had to beg in tears (I'm not a crier) for them to see my daughter about her mental health, not speak to her over the phone.
I've got a 19 month old toddler who had a bad night cough, it took 6 months to be seen. constantly ringing to be told over the phone, oh it'll pass, call back in 3 weeks, get her a Covid test etc. She's now on 2 different inhalers.
I do think GPs should be seeing more people face to face or at least via video call to be honest. [/quote]
Just trying to point out that making working conditions worse for one lot of professionals doesn’t improve it for another group of professionals.

Believe me I wish Covid didn’t exist, but it does exist and whilst it is transmitting society has to function a little differently.

@BettysButtons I meant of dying from the virus, not catching it.
The vulnerable and the people most at risk of dying have been vaccinated or at least offered it

I’m sick of the prioritising of 4-7 year olds. My year 8 son is just as important and another 6 weeks of lessons on Teams and not seeing another kid his own age is going to inflict more damage than a reception age child who’d be playing on the carpet and learning a bit of phonics. His social skills are waning as is his ability to engage in lessons just at the time he should be immersed in these things.

I disagree. I remember in the summer lots of people saying 'just wait till September' as if it was some magical date when all would be well. It wasn't. We still got a second wave because it is foolish in the extreme to think we can control a virus. Lockdown is a blunt instrument for short term use only, even the WHO says so. It's notable that most countries have followed a very similar curve regardless of their restrictions.

Easter isn't a magical date any more than September was. It's highly likely cases will drop over the summer anyway as the virus appears to be seasonal. Open up cautiously by all means, prioritise teachers for vaccines, mandate masks, try rotas. But we need to start the process of ending lockdown because if we don't adjust our perception of risk, we will never get out.

Schools can be safe if Heads have the courage to implement their own measures as my girls' school did, with very few cases.

Of course all teachers want to go back. None of us signed up for online teaching and it’s more fun in schools BUT we don’t want to get long Covid or die The young teachers aren’t really fussed about Covid as they are unlikely to be affected. Those over 40 will often be spinning it to you - the ones I know are desperately worried and don’t want to go back unvaccinated. The stress levels were very high before Christmas. We won’t say that to you though. Honestly , it would be nice for older teachers to have support from parents.

I honestly don't care about bloody holidays and pubs opening and just despair that these things are being given more attention than education by the media and the government. Yes I also want everything else to return to normal and I do understand the economic impact of businesses being closed but the absolute priority is that kids need to be in school.

Schools can be safe if Heads have the courage to implement their own measures as my girls' school did, with very few cases

Sorry bath I’m curious. What extra measures did your head put in?

[quote supersonicginandtonic]@BettysButtons I meant of dying from the virus, not catching it.
The vulnerable and the people most at risk of dying have been vaccinated or at least offered it[/quote]
There are people living with undiagnosed conditions. Many don’t know that they are ‘vulnerable’.
Plenty of ‘healthy’ people have died.

Or become very seriously ill.