What are your predictions for this school year?

[Sheepsheepmoresheep]

Be interesting to look back. I didn’t think they’d close the schools again this time last year, but I was wrong!

I don’t think they’ll close the schools again … but we’ll see!

Mid-holiday festivals where 10 day isolation for infection can be completed within the school holidays are one thing. Late August festivals where 10 days for infection cover the first week of term have a very obviously foreseeable effect on schools, colleges and the ducation of those young people - so what is the Government's plan?

At least if the 2 x lfts in school are done carefully and genuinely before students come into schools for anything else will catch some of the cases. Maybe less so in the schools planning to have everyone coming in as normal then filing through the testing centres in class time to take their tests, having already had a chance to infect others who will miss a couple of weeks in school if they are infected.

Mums

Are you not double vaccinated? Why on earth do kids need masks if you are double vaccinated

You’ll have a cold at most

It’s interesting because either the vaccination does work, in which case most adults will be fine, or it doesn’t, in which case it’s stupid wanting kids to get it.

It does work

Most adults are fine

Cases have massively reduced moderate and severe illness

Anyone at risk now will always be at risk

We don’t need any kind of restrictions now or we would have them forever

@Watapalava I'm vaccinated and have Covid antibodies. But others haven't. And contrary to what you may believe catching COVID after 2 vaccines is not always just a cold. It can still lead to hospital for the unlucky ones.
And the students who are positive will pass it on to others, causing even more disruption to their education. Surely that's obvious

I think the vaccination does work, but the problem is the protection wanes after a while. I had my second AZ in May. That protection may only last for 5 months. I work in childcare, in a nursery. So by October I could be at risk.

Masks work. Why they wear them in surgery.

It's more subtle than that, though, isn't it?

The fact that most adults in school will have had 2 vaccinations will mean that fewer will catch Covid, and though all those who do catch Covid will have to be off for 10 days, reduction in severity should mean that only a small percentage will be absent for much longer.

However, those 10 days - occasionally longer - will still add up in terms of a child's education over the coming weeks.

If children also have vaccinations, then there will be a reduction in the number who atchCovid, a further reduction on the already smallish number who will have it severly, and a further reduction in the number of aduults who catch it from them.

It's not a 'We ONLY need to do this' situation - nor a 'We shouldn't do this because it's not the whole answer' situation. It's 'Why don't we do both, because both will contribute?' situation.

So do you want masks forever? Covid will always be around

1000 people being admitted daily out of 67 million (and only in day or two given numbers in hospital are stable at 6000)

Surely you see worrying about covid now is slightly irrational if vaccinated?

Wear a mask then

@Watapalava

Mums

Are you not double vaccinated? Why on earth do kids need masks if you are double vaccinated

You’ll have a cold at most

There is a well-known MN teacher poster who has been into hospital twice since she caught Covid from her children. She is double vaccinated, and is still really poorly.

You are stating the best case scenario as if it is the only scenario - which is simple misrepresentation.

@Sheepsheepmoresheep

Wear a mask then

I would love to.

Unfortunately, I am forbidden from doing so by a head intimidated by the vocal anti-maskers who have targeted schools.

Here we go again then. If you want your kids in school this year then you need to support mitigation of some form. Otherwise kids and staff will get sick, education will be disrupted and we are back to the same rubbish as last December.
Nothing teachers can do if not enough of us healthy. And if kids are positive they are back on line again. Why not try and keep everyone well so we can keep normal 🤷‍♀️
Read the double vacced and positive thread and tell them 'it's just a cold'.

@cantkeepawayforever I've told mine I'm wearing a mask and if he doesn't like it he can fire me. As we are already under staffed due to the resignations last year I doubt this will happen.

Being hospitalised twice if you’re of working age is really unlikely and not really representative of most of the population tbf.

@mumsneedwine if vaccinations aren’t working a bit of fabric won’t, will it. Be realistic.

@Watapalava

So do you want masks forever? Covid will always be around

1000 people being admitted daily out of 67 million (and only in day or two given numbers in hospital are stable at 6000)

Surely you see worrying about covid now is slightly irrational if vaccinated?

I do not want masks forever - but while 1 in 80 people in the UK are currently infected with Covid (ONS) it seems like a good time to wear them in crowded indoor settings. In fact it is what the government recommends in crowded indoor settings - except, for some reason, in schools, despite them being both crowded and inside.

Preventing staff from getting Covid is about being able to keep schools running and open. There’s only so many staff that can be off at once before you have to start closing year groups in order to be able to staff the school.

We’re also concerned about outbreaks of other illnesses. We only narrowly avoided being shut down for a norovirus outbreak this year. Luckily, it was just before a school holiday and so we were “saved by the bell” as it were. A bad flu season, norovirus, plus Covid could easily force lots of schools into temporary closures. I’m really hoping that there won’t be another extended closure but I’d be really surprised if there aren’t significant numbers of schools forced into short temporary closures or partial closures by staffing shortages and outbreaks of other illnesses. When we had our norovirus outbreak, the person from PHE said it was pretty much to be expected that there will be a surge in flu and norovirus as social distancing measures reduce/end. I’ll be happy if we can get through the year with less disruption than the last one and public exams go ahead.

@Sheepsheepmoresheep

Being hospitalised twice if you’re of working age is really unlikely and not really representative of most of the population tbf.

@mumsneedwine if vaccinations aren’t working a bit of fabric won’t, will it. Be realistic.

I am not sure why you are insisting that one, and only one, mitigation at a time can be used.

Vaccinations + ventilation + decent mask wearing + testing + isolation of the infected.

Not 'Oh, vaccinations aren't 100% perfect so we won't bother, and nor are masks so we won't bother with those either'.

How do you know that my mask is 'a bit of fabric', not a non-vented FFP3 type?

I give up. Teachers tried to tell everyone last year what was going to happen if no mitigation was made. And it happened as we predicted. Don't listen to us, my kids not at school anymore so not their education that will suffer. Sad though that we are walking into the same situation again.

@mumsneedwine

You should change your user name to teachersneedwine!

@User5827372728 😂😂 they certainly do. Personally I'm fatalistic now, having spent last year in classrooms. But I worry for the disruption this year and it's annoying as it is avoidable this time. We know masks, ventilation and not shoving 300 people into a hall at once works quite well as prevention. But nope, here we go again.

@Watapalava

Mums

Are you not double vaccinated? Why on earth do kids need masks if you are double vaccinated

You’ll have a cold at most

This isn't entirely true. There are people still becoming quite ill with Covid, despite vaccinations.

Wearing masks isn't necessarily a good thing for a lot of people - some really struggle to hear, some find it distracting. It's not like such a tiny little thing.

And the way a lot of kids (and adults) wear masks... I'm sorry, but it really is just hygiene theatre.

Ventilation, if it can be achieved, is worthwhile.

Constant squirting of watered-down hand-sanitiser, probably less so.

Isolation of children...for 10 days, over and over again, is in my opinion unethical.

@mumsneedwine

About 1/3 our year 10-13 are at Reading festival this weekend. 4 days after they leave the festival they will be back in the classroom. With no mitigation and whole year assemblies in the enclosed hall. Bonkers.

😮 this is absolute madness!
Ds has already had Covid and is attending Reading. I fully expect many of his friends to catch it at the weekend, considering what happened at the end of term in schools and also at Boardmasters 🙈