Email from DfE to Headteachers. Schools prepped to shut again?

[AntiMaskersAreTwats]

Do you think this means it likely schools will shut again?

Dangling, I know, and I feel your pain! I really do mean a MAXIMUM of 16 degrees - we hit that one morning, just after the heating had gone off for the day and after the children had been in for wet play. The CO2 meter was lurking just below the red zone.

The rest of the time, I agree 12 would be quite normal. I'd say that we do average about 14, though, possibly because we have so many children packed in so tightly.

@Piggyinblankets

Harms are done outside of school closures too.

Focus on the funding, lack of interventions, consequences of austerity. The Tories are conveniently making you look the other way.

Having schools open 24/7 all year round or whatever Halfon and co want will not stop people harming their children, and will not enable targeted help to get to them quicker.

.

Harms are exacerbated by school closures

Hugely.

I think the issue is not closed schools specifically, so much as intelligent planning and organisation to minimise the various harms.

I’m not quite sure where the idea has come from, that this bill will prevent school closures full stop. Actually, what the bill is for is that any potential future closures are discussed and voted on.

This bill isn’t going to save the day in the event of a UK in a health crisis. Spending more time arguing for mitigation and actually doing something about it, may.

I am very aware of the 'harms from closed schools' - I have flagged safeguarding issues, S&L issues, mental health issues, self harm and undiagnosed SEN since the start of term, in addition to learning gaps.

Everybody within school who can support these children is totally overwhelmed, and virtually no external support is available . SaLT and Ed Psychs are not coming into schools, CAMHS has a 2.5 year waiting list, local special schools have 18 months + between agreeing admission and having a vacancy. Social services are simply unavailable - they have too few staff. Medical waiting times are months to years. A few children who already have extensive e.g. physio support ARE being seen, but no new children can get access to that help.

If the reason for schools being open is to identify and flag all these harms and vulnerabilities, then there MUST also be full accessibility and provision of the onward services that we refer to.

We can't be expected to teach, to fill every learning gap for every child, to identify all issues from all possible societal ills AND to provide absolutely every therapy and every level of support, from food to medical to mental health.... Oh, yes, that IS what is being asked of us.... Why?

If double jabbing doesn’t prevent omicron and everyone has to isolate if a contact then likely that teachers will be off especially in primary as the chn aren’t vaccinated.

@Benjispruce5

If double jabbing doesn’t prevent omicron and everyone has to isolate if a contact then likely that teachers will be off especially in primary as the chn aren’t vaccinated.

Do you mean isolating of a close contact of omicron?

I think that’s changing to daily testing

Teachers are already off in significant numbers kids from catching Covid, not just from being close contacts.

Rough estimate: between my school and the three nearest other secondaries, 1200 children were home learning again for the last fortnight. No live lessons because there's no one to deliver them. Staff are redeployed to teaching the year groups in school.

@MarshaBradyo is it? Phew!

Announced bit with no start date yet. Currently still isolation for Omicron contacts

@DanglingMod

Teachers are already off in significant numbers kids from catching Covid, not just from being close contacts.

Rough estimate: between my school and the three nearest other secondaries, 1200 children were home learning again for the last fortnight. No live lessons because there's no one to deliver them. Staff are redeployed to teaching the year groups in school.

This is what’s happening where we are too, children are getting whoever they can in front of them; at primary age. Many teachers on long term sick, my guess is the viral load they are exposed to.

These things end up becoming a self fulfilling prophecy; a lack of any form of mitigation in schools is pretty catastrophic for the quality of education children now have. Oh and schools won’t necessarily tell you either, COVID is hush, hush.

But @MarshaBradyo why have many posters only been worried about harm during lockdown and school closures? Many children are harmed when schools are open, where is the outrage then, unless it is a case that hits the headlines, where are the posters demanding more money is spent on schools.

If people are so concerned about vulnerable children, why were so many parents on here complaining, during the lockdowns, that teachers were phoning them, asking to do doorstep visits. These were safeguarding measures. If everyone was so concerned about vulnerable children, no-one should have complained about these phone calls etc, because one phone call/doorstep visit could have identified a newly vulnerable child.

Our setting had many vulnerable children and we went on line to days after the first local down. Prior to that slt had scouted out who had lap tops, sourced from everywhere

We did normal registers, pupils who didn't get on line where chased just as much as if they had not turned up in real life.
Students who didn't answer phones went to next level like welfare

By being on line we could closely monitor students, seeing them and how they looked.

@changingstages

how about instead of joining pointless 'freedom marches', you invest that energy in protesting to the government about the contempt shown to schools and demand action on air filters etc so that schools can stay open?

So much this.

Yep, let's cut mental health funding, let's have woefully inadequate CAMHS funding, let's run down social services, but we have to keep schools running all the way through a pandemic, with teachers and pupils falling ill...because we care about the vulnerable children.

TooMuch because it’s hugely exacerbated in lockdown. And as a society I, and many others, think that is too much for children to be de-prioritised as they have been.

Any shift that re prioritises them as a group is good imo - and schools as essential infrastructure- like hospitals - will help with the shift.

Schools have always been essential infrastructure. If they haven’t then what the fuck has been going on?

It’s just a buzz phrase, if people actually take the time to read bill. It doesn’t mean they can never close. It means that if they do close, they have to justify it, and extensions etc need to be voted on.

Wiping out teaching staff with Covid is a good way of doing that. What needs to happen is actual change/funding. Not posting on mumsnet portraying a bill is going to keep schools open no matter what - it won’t.

TooMuch because it’s hugely exacerbated in lockdown. And as a society I, and many others, think that is too much for children to be de-prioritised as they have been.

I, too, think children have been de-prioritised - I want more money for CAMHS, more people in social services, all those involved supporting children (art therapy, Ed Psych, SaLT) etc to be hugely beefed up and in school. I want the NHS to be well enough funded that children's referrals are timely. I want schools to be well-enough funded that SEN support, pastoral suupport and family support are all provided in large enough numbers and never plundered to cover for absent teachers due to Covid.

I do NOT think that simply keeping schools physically open is anywhere NEAR enough. I want schools physically open, well-ventilated, well-heated, well-funded and with every single backup service (including a large army of well-qualified permanently employed supply staff, ready to move in as soon as a member of staff falls in, with no support staff having to cover) standing ready to help all children.

If they have then this wouldn’t be needed

The Bill, brought before the House of Commons with the support of the Children’s Commissioner for England, the former Children’s Commissioner and two former Children’s Ministers, aims to redefine schools and education settings as “essential infrastructure”, alongside power stations, hospitals and food retailers.

@cantkeepawayforever

TooMuch because it’s hugely exacerbated in lockdown. And as a society I, and many others, think that is too much for children to be de-prioritised as they have been.

I, too, think children have been de-prioritised - I want more money for CAMHS, more people in social services, all those involved supporting children (art therapy, Ed Psych, SaLT) etc to be hugely beefed up and in school. I want the NHS to be well enough funded that children's referrals are timely. I want schools to be well-enough funded that SEN support, pastoral suupport and family support are all provided in large enough numbers and never plundered to cover for absent teachers due to Covid.

I do NOT think that simply keeping schools physically open is anywhere NEAR enough. I want schools physically open, well-ventilated, well-heated, well-funded and with every single backup service (including a large army of well-qualified permanently employed supply staff, ready to move in as soon as a member of staff falls in, with no support staff having to cover) standing ready to help all children.

Yes!

I don’t get why anyone would fight it tbh.

It has growing support from children commissioners etc which is good to hear.

@MarshaBradyo

I don’t get why anyone would fight it tbh.

It has growing support from children commissioners etc which is good to hear.

No one is fighting it, it’s a good thing.

If you care to read it, it isn’t what you think though. It won’t prevent school closures. In fact it actually details how further/potential closures will be implemented it.

The only way to keep schools open with a quality education delivery is mitigations/funding/back up services.

It’s not quite what some posters are suggesting it is, where schools will never close again. Quite the opposite, it details the process of closing schools and how it should be done.

@MarshaBradyo so if schools never close will you stop worrying about vulnerable children, will you think that we will then have an acceptable level of vulnerable children. Because, let's face it that is what most people must have thought because they weren't up in arms, worrying about them before, questioning the level of funding in schools etc which impacted the lives of many children before COVID. Yes it has got worse during lockdown, but it wasn't starting from a level of zero, it was still starting from an unacceptable high level, but where were the posters on MN then? The only posters commenting were probably people in education and parents directly impacted, no-one else.

People start frothing at the mouth again, whenever there seems to be a threat about school closures, but they only talk about school closing, not the every day awfulness for children when schools are open

@herecomesthsun

I think the issue is not closed schools specifically, so much as intelligent planning and organisation to minimise the various harms.

It's both.

I haven't read on here that anyone is fighting it. The way you're bragging about it you seem to think this will solve the issue of schools having to close should cases get out of control. It won't!