Should schools close again?

[FuckinGoddess]

I’m at the end of my tether.

Worried about Omicron, of course, and the devastating effects it could have on lives.

Worried about children missing out on even more education. Worried about being forced to stay at home again. And worried about people dying.

What do you think will happen? What should happen ?

I wish my childs school would close early (I think they did last year) as they're not scheduled to break up until Christmas week. Lots of potential for spread/isolation over Xmas.

Thinks would have to take a massive turn for the worse, with children being massively at risk health wise, and the situation in the country become untenable before schools will lose as a whole again, I believe.

Some schools may need to temporarily close classes or year groups if they have too many staff and pupil absences. This is already happening. There are some cases where there just aren't enough staff in school and there is very little supply teachers available so schools have no choice,

But whole scale school closures like we had previously are incredibly unlikely now.

Thats amazing @Madmog
Is it a private school?

@DoubleShotEspresso

I don't think in an ideal world anybody wants to see schools close ever again.

However, it's clear vaccination rollout is going to take beyond January to cover a sufficient volume even if (& that appears to be a big if) take up rises. There's also the issue of transmission still possible and rising with new variant, so I'd support at this stage an early extended Christmas break on the basis that people are sensible and avoid mixing / unnecessary trips etc. If it means we can have some sort of containment whilst we get a better handle on this new variant I feel it might benefit us all.
But longterm closures no, I think other areas such as retail and pubs should close before schools do , they should always be priority.

The difficulty with an extended holiday at such short notice is that parents who need their children in school so they can work then end up having to cobble together ad hoc solutions. Family, friends, neighbours, informal swaps. Inevitably it's going to involve mixing.

@Madmog

Our school has just extended it's xmas holiday, so we're off for over three weeks. They're acknowledging staff have gone over and above what's required, but also thinking about the health of their staff and children over xmas, extending into the wider community!

One of the local schools had three weeks for half term and is now discussing with PHE about closing early for Christmas as they don’t have enough teachers in work to open safely.

@DoubleShotEspresso

I don't think in an ideal world anybody wants to see schools close ever again.

However, it's clear vaccination rollout is going to take beyond January to cover a sufficient volume even if (& that appears to be a big if) take up rises. There's also the issue of transmission still possible and rising with new variant, so I'd support at this stage an early extended Christmas break on the basis that people are sensible and avoid mixing / unnecessary trips etc. If it means we can have some sort of containment whilst we get a better handle on this new variant I feel it might benefit us all.
But longterm closures no, I think other areas such as retail and pubs should close before schools do , they should always be priority.

The thing is, parents still have to work, so would be sending their kids to various friends/relatives for childcare. So mixing would continue, people can't just stay at home.

I work in a secondary school and there is no way I think we should close. Teenagers mental health is at an all time low and another lockdown will make this worse.

I do think that they should bring in whole house isolations if someone tests positive though.

@PurpleDaisies

However, there seems to be a belief from some posters that teachers are the only people who have worked during the pandemic. Where have you read this?

I’ve only heard this as an unfounded accusation against teachers. And when at home, all the teachers of my acquaintance were teaching online. Except supply teachers like me. We were neither furloughed or eligible for any government support, so a lot had to quit supply and do something else. Which might be one of the reasons why there’s a shortage now.

@GreenLakes

I can't say that I am surprised that it is you that is posting the misinformation against teachers.

However, there seems to be a belief from some posters that teachers are the only people who have worked during the pandemic

No-one has said this. Ever.

Do stop making things up.

NO NO NO

Schools should never close again.

It results in shocking cruelty and abuse being hidden and children suffering

@HesterShaw1

Schools should never close again.

It results in shocking cruelty and abuse being hidden and children suffering

Yes, like that poor little boy Arthur. So tragic 😥

unlike teachers who were at home on full pay for many months (and may well still be if the teaching unions had their way)

You should try your hand at writing full length fiction. You have talent but it needs developing.

unlike teachers who were at home on full pay for many months (and may well still be if the teaching unions had their way)

I taught face to face in school every day for the last 2 years thank you

@Waxonwaxoff0 agreed if this was needed though I think a wfh order would be should be in place anyway it seems helpful to at least reduce mixing as far as possible. It's still preferable to entire year groups being bundled together and the drop off/pick up transmissions that are inevitable otherwise I'd have thought.

[quote DoubleShotEspresso]@Waxonwaxoff0 agreed if this was needed though I think a wfh order would be should be in place anyway it seems helpful to at least reduce mixing as far as possible. It's still preferable to entire year groups being bundled together and the drop off/pick up transmissions that are inevitable otherwise I'd have thought. [/quote]
It would for the people who can work from home, most essential workers can't though and we're buggered if they can't go to work because they can't get last minute childcare. Not that school is childcare obviously, but people do work while their children are at school.

Eh, we have a system where school does function as childcare, for good or for ill. More so than ever given the impact of the pandemic on the childcare sector. May as well acknowledge that, it isn't going away.

It depends, my dd school has said a rota will come out, on site and wfh, protity to exam years.

I'd much rather a smooth move over to on line learning to keep them actually learning!!
Many schools are in crisis, with only supply teachers and no proper learning going on.
Dd said in her school no one wears a mask, children are coughing all around, no one does lat flows and no pcr and no one tells them to go home so I'm not sure where we go from here.

A lot of schools are in a mess at the moment.

I'm a primary supply teacher, so see a lot of different schools over the weeks. At the moment, staff absence is high in all schools. I'm generally covering people with covid or people off awaiting PCR results.

I was recently at a school that had half the class and teacher absent with covid.
In another school, they had to close the year group for a week due to rising cases and staff all with covid.
Masks are required in all corridors and communal areas. Windows need to be kept open and this is obviously very cold at the moment, so many children are choosing to wear their coats in the classroom.
In one school recently, there were supply teachers in each year group and in some year groups 2/3 of the teachers were supply.

Hand washing and cleaning seems to have been forgotten. Children are sometimes eating their packed lunches in the classroom, but there's no emphasis on table or hand washing and hygiene like there was before.
Children are ill with other viruses too and many of them are sniffly and coughing and there's nothing being done about it. We just have to risk being exposed daily.

My own children love school and I would be devastated if they couldn't attend again. However, we don't know how severe this omicron wave is going to be or who it is going to affect, so it is impossible to say whether schools will need to close again at this stage.