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!

Well compared to this time last year when my kids were in and out like yo-yos it’s still an improvement for many, many families, even if we are just half a term in.

So far worse than last year. Absolutely no COVID in school this time last year. This year lots of COVID and year 13 teachers have been ill. One had been off for 3 weeks. No cover.

No cover? How are the kids being taught?! My DD’s teachers been off for 3 weeks with covid & we’ve had a lovely cover in ever since..

So far better here. Last year was SHIT with both the restrictions in school & the fact we had to do 7 effing lots of isolation on close contact & NEVER got covid 🤦🏼‍♀️

This year so far, my DD has missed one day due to needing a PCR test when I got covid.

Our school had a huge outbreak a couple weeks before half term. I think it’s been a bit of a juggle & we went back into bubbles & no visitors but back to normal tomorrow. A couple weeks of restrictions for it to blow over is so so so much better than it being all year!

Fck off @PrincessNutNuts* with your scaremongering.

Literally next to no kids have died on covid. It’s absolute bullshit to say they have. Here is the ONS data:

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronaviruscovid19latestinsights/deaths#deaths-by-age

@PrincessNutNuts is really living up to her name.

Stop scaremongering and go and find a hobby or something.

@Bobholll year 12 and year 13 do not get cover. They are given work to do on Google classroom set by said sick teacher. They had better education whilst isolating teacher taught live lessons on zoom.
Everyone being desperate for their child to be in school forgets that they will only be educated if their teacher is well or the school can and does pay for cover.
Sadly I think my dds year has been screwed the most. Completely abandoned at the start of the pandemic. No public exams before A Levels and having to sit them with tougher grade boundaries and no real reduced content or mitigation as I can see after two years of disruption. Will be competing for University places with deferrals no doubt.
At least school said they will do something is sick note is extended for week 4.
So by October Half term she has lost 3 weeks in one subject and one week in another out of 3 subjects.

My kids (7 & 12) had an uninterrupted first term and have been back a week already. I'm sure there will be some disruption but otherwise all good.

We had the situation in our local school that no supply teachers were available the week before half term, ie all working! One class had a lot of covid cases, so only 12 pupils in. Two TAs looked after that class and teacher moved over to teach a fairly full class without a teacher. There were a couple of times when one teacher (and whatever other members of staff was available) had the whole of the year sat on floor in school hall (classes as apart as possible) doing themed art work, listening/identifying and writing about music, then a film.

My DC 9 and 6 missed three days each last term due to having to isolate with symptoms until PCR results were back negative- one of them was unwell enough with the cold to be kept off anyway.

So I'm pretty pleased with that and they are happy and doing well in school.

@TheKeatingFive

What do you think schools will be like this year? Smooth, full attendance? Uninterrupted teaching, learning and exams? Or high absence, some bumpy moments? Or significant changes forced through high cases? What are your thoughts?

I couldn’t possibly say cant, we will find out.

Feel free to resurrect this thread this time next year for group reflection

It's end of term.

How did we do with our predictions?

@IWannaWishYouANutNutsChristmas

Fab. My three kids had a full term in school.

It’s looking likely they will return in Jan with no blanket closures.

[quote HariboMaroon]@IWannaWishYouANutNutsChristmas

Fab. My three kids had a full term in school.

It’s looking likely they will return in Jan with no blanket closures.[/quote]
So have mine, almost.

They've also had terrible substitute teachers loads of repetition because a third of the class was absent when they did that bit, and half days of silence in the sports hall with other classes supervised by random adults.

My 2 boys - 6 and 7 and currently in 2 different schools didn't miss one single solitary day. One child in DS2's class had to isolate as tested positive. None of his family did. None of the class did. He was asymptomatic. A few cases higher up the school in Yrs 5/6 but really very low level. No disruption. Minimal measures. Felt totally normal. Praying this continues.

My kids also had a great term with no absences. Looks like next term will continue like this - fingers crossed 🤞

I'm kind of expecting it to be worse disruption -wise next term.

I assume the government was asking retired teachers to come back for a reason.

But I've no idea whether omicron will cause more or less child deaths than the 18 Delta ones this term, or the 121 in total.

@IWannaWishYouANutNutsChristmas

Maybe the government should stop the ridiculous 10 day isolation rules then. I mean did teachers isolate for colds pre covid? No they didn’t.

If you’re ill then fair enough, but let’s be honest most teachers aren’t on deaths door.

They need to stop the excessively long isolation periods for all professions.