Keir Starmer backs unions in wanting schools to return safely ⚡⚡⚡

[DumplingsAndStew]

"We'll have to see where the data is, where the science is, but that's what we should be working towards. If that means more testing, if that means Nightingale classrooms, if it means other measures, let's do that because I want to get our kids back into school."

Isn't it great that he agrees with what school staff and unions have been saying for months. That he wants schools to put in place cautious safety measures to enhance safety, so that everyone can return.

news.sky.com/story/amp/covid-19-labour-calls-for-all-schools-in-england-to-reopen-on-8-march-and-for-a-debt-charter-12224393

Who doesn't support the unions and wants nearly 1/5 of the population to return to mass mixing on 8th March if the evidence shows that it's not safe to do so?

Schools had safety measures last time and the unions still opposed return

What safety measures are those, then? Black and yellow tape on the floor that covid magically knows not to enter?

@ineedaholidaynow

What safety measures do unions want?

Do you mean teaching unions? They want the same safety measures as all other unions want for their members.

@Dumplingsandstew I think saying that Keir Starmer is in government is nothing like what you meant. He has no say. And he does not provide consistent or robust opposition.

Are you a teacher, OP?

Noblegiraffe Would this be the evidence that even one dose of vaccine works to reduce serious illness and transmission and that has been given to all the most vulnerable members of society?

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

Are you a teacher, OP?

No, are you?

No.

@Tryingtryingandtrying

Noblegiraffe Would this be the evidence that even one dose of vaccine works to reduce serious illness and transmission and that has been given to all the most vulnerable members of society?

Why do people keep repeating this lie? It's very bizarre.

Do you actually think it's true? Do you think other people don't know it's true?

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

No.

Okay. Nice to meet you.

I mean, do you think other people don't know it's not true.

The vaccine has not been given to all the most vulnerable members of society and won't have been either by March 8th.

@noblegiraffe This is not a lie. There is more and more evidence of this.

Would this be the evidence that even one dose of vaccine works to reduce serious illness and transmission and that has been given to all the most vulnerable members of society?

That’s just a blatant lie. We are not finished vaccinating the most vulnerable yet.

Schools had safety measures last time and the unions still opposed return

Really? In my school we ran out of money for soap, paper towels and hand sanitiser in October. PTA have been funding the former, individual teachers the latter. We had to let a cleaner go and do the best we can ourselves, at the expense of time spent on children’s’ learning.

No distancing, no masks allowed in classrooms (as per government guidance).

Windows only open a few inches. We managed to get a few handy parents to come in and release them in some rooms, but in others (like mine) we need a scaffold to access the single Velux opening.

Three classes out of seven had less than 50% of the last half term in school thanks to bubbles bursting.

I’m all for Starmer supporting safety measures in schools, and I’m keen to get back to the classroom as soon as possible, but it’s Bojo and his buddies who will have to cough up the cash that we’ve been asking for SINCE AUGUST, and that’s just not going to happen.

Running out of excuses thankfully as more teachers and parents get vaccinated.

The only teachers I know who have been vaccinated are those I've seen on Twitter. Considering most parents of primary school children are

All the 70 plus and CEV are vaccinated with at least one dose if they have accepted it. They are the most vulnerable.

@MoirasRoses

Just get the kids back for the love of god. Enough. They’ve missed enough!

Yes! Govt have had close to a year to make schools safe. Unless Boris has had a Road to Damascus moment over the last two months, they won't be implementing anything. So just get them back in school!

@Tryingtryingandtrying

All the 70 plus and CEV are vaccinated with at least one dose if they have accepted it. They are the most vulnerable.

And what percentage of school communities do they make up, do you suppose?

In my school we ran out of money for soap, paper towels and hand sanitiser in October

Then you have an incredibly incompetent SLT.

@chocolateisavegetable

Dumplings do you know what measures Scotland are planning to put in place to make schools safer? Hopefully not just the unreliable LFT tests!

There are no new mitigations for nursery and P1-3 going back in Scotland apart from optional twice weekly LFT for staff.

What about the clinically vulnerable @Tryingtryingandtrying, I think they make up quite a large percentage of people who are currently in hospital with COVID at the moment?

What about CEV children, most of them won’t have been vaccinated?

@Sofasouffle

So you acknowledge that the Government have not made schools safer over the past year? And that they are not going to implement anything?
But you maintain that schools should be open to all pupils and staff on 8th March regardless of no implementation of safety measures?

All the 70 plus and CEV are vaccinated with at least one dose if they have accepted it. They are the most vulnerable

If you were, say, a 50 year old Type 1 diabetic, asked to spend 6 hours a day in an unventilated room with 150 kids coming and going, no mask on you or the 150 kids, no sanitizer unless you provide it yourself, and the knowledge that children are being sent to school whilst parents await test results, would you be happy to be at work? Or would you think that some basic safety measures might help keep you safe? Would you want those measures put in place or would you shrug your shoulders?

And you do realise that even those of us who are vaccinated can still get it, still pass it on, will still need to isolate and could still be very unwell,forcing bubbles to close?

@noblegiraffe

Here's the joint union statement:

Nine education organisations, including the NASUWT, have joined together to issue a statement on the wider opening of schools and colleges in England, ahead of the Prime Minister’s expected announcement on Monday.

We are committed to bringing all children and young people back into the classroom as soon as possible. However, it is counterproductive if there is a danger of causing another surge in the virus, and the potential for a further period of lockdown. Wider opening must be safe and sustainable.

We therefore urge the Prime Minister to commit to 8 March only if the scientific evidence is absolutely clear that this is safe, and at that point go no further than a phased return of children and young people with sufficient time to assess the impact before moving to the next phase.

We are increasingly concerned that the government is minded to order a full return of all pupils on Monday 8 March in England.

This would seem a reckless course of action. It could trigger another spike in Covid infections, prolong the disruption of education, and risk throwing away the hard-won progress made in suppressing the virus over the course of the latest lockdown.

The science around the role that schools play in the overall rate of transmission is uncertain. Scientists have expressed different views on this point. What we do know is that the full reopening of schools will bring nearly 10 million pupils and staff into circulation in England – close to one fifth of the population. This is not a small easing of lockdown restrictions. It is a massive step.

These factors necessitate a cautious approach with wider school and college opening phased over a period of time. This is the approach being taken in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It allows public health experts to assess the impact of the first phase before moving to the next.

None of this is intended to stand in the way of the full reopening of schools and colleges. On the contrary. It is intended as a prudent way forward to ensure that once they are fully open, they stay open.

Well it’s seems Keir is in direct conflict to this statement as he said he wanted ALL kids back in the 8th

You should try and watch the whole interview OP you would have had a better grasp of it

@Tryingtryingandtrying

All the 70 plus and CEV are vaccinated with at least one dose if they have accepted it. They are the most vulnerable.

I see. So we are redesignating the 'most vulnerable' from those who have priority for vaccines (because they are the most vulnerable) to those who have already been vaccinated.

So what you're saying is that those who have already been vaccinated have been vaccinated.