January (schools)

[fizzypop100]

If we are faced with remote learning, will school be open for vulnerable children?

@Sockbogies

Maybe get Boris to perform childcare duties whilst he tries to work

As far as I can tell he doesn't bother doing his job (like, for example, making sure the infrastructure and staff were in place to boost everyone before the New Year before announcing it), so having to do childcare would be working for the first time for him.

I doubt the child would fare well - would you leave your child with Boris? I wouldn't.

@Sockbogies

Maybe get Boris to perform childcare duties whilst he tries to work

Perfect

It would be much easier if everyone just realised and accepted the following:

Schools were closed to stop the nhs being overwhelmed.

That means two things:

1. Schools will not shut if the nhs is not going to be overwhelmed.
2. Schools will shut if the nhs is going to be overwhelmed.

I am sorry for all of you in England who have bought Boris’s “irreversible blah blah” bullshit. It has nothing to do with what the government “want.” It is not about terrified teachers or disruptive unions. It is nothing to do with pressure from over cautious parents. The only reason the government shut schools was to protect the nhs. If the nhs does not need protecting, they will remain open.

I know that your child not receiving the education they are entitled to is awful. The only thing that could possible be worse than that is your child not receiving the healthcare they need.

Sage /whitty etc have said its almost certain nhs will be overwhelmed.

(Google sage/gov and look at the reports from 7th dec)

But the nhs will potentially be overwhelmed every time there is a new variant and there will be more variants, so should still close down all the time! Absolutely ridiculous.

Schools will shut if the nhs is going to be overwhelmed.

This is no kind of sustainable policy.

We have so many children already behind who are going to fall further and further behind every time this happens. Not to mention the immense economic, psychological and societal costs of lockdown.

A health service that requires locking down to the degree of schools shutting every few months/every winter simply isn't working for us. We need to face that fact and do something about it. Post covid healthcare will look very different to what we've been used to, but this was probably coming anyway, covid has just hugely sped up the process.

@Kjcf

But the nhs will potentially be overwhelmed every time there is a new variant and there will be more variants, so should still close down all the time! Absolutely ridiculous.

Yes. This is what we have to manage as part of learning to live with covid.

How to spot a worrying variant, how to monitor it, and what sorts of restrictions are the best ones to deploy. Because it's going to be about flattening and spreading peaks each time there is significant vaccine escape

No restrictions are the best ones to deploy.

Not if you want to avoid
A) health services being overwhelmed
B) disruption caused by high numbers on sick leave over a short period.

Covid isn't going away. We have to learn to live with it.

That doesn't mean ignore it and crack in with no restrictions. It means learning to cope effectively when a new variant appears.

It doesn't seem to move like flu - so we're unlikely to get the ability to predict which strains are going to be dominant on our flu season from what's on the rise in the Southern Hemisphere. Because we're just not getting that lead time.

We need better treatments - presumably the much vaunted monoclonal antibody treatments are now at least 25% less useful? - and more retrovirals if we are to stand a change of preserving safe capacity in NHS. I'm really not sure what can be done about B

A health service that requires locking down to the degree of schools shutting every few months/every winter simply isn't working for us.

Exactly. We can't close schools every few months in order to protect our underfunded NHS!

@Blubells

A health service that requires locking down to the degree of schools shutting every few months/every winter simply isn't working for us.

Exactly. We can't close schools every few months in order to protect our underfunded NHS!

Please remind me of the dates of any pre-covid school closures?

Whilst I accept the NHS is underfunded, you can't be trying to ignore the role this new variant is playing right now?

We need:

• funding in NHS
• funding in schools
• realism about Omicron

Often those who say 'virus gonna virus' on a personal level, somehow want the world to deny the impact of the virus at societal level.

Very simple really schools WILL close IF the NHS is likely to become overwhelmed. Until the NHS is funded properly, along with social care and education this will be the only option. If the government really valued education mitigation’s would have been in place a long time ago. This would potentially be lock down 3 for schools and still the same old same old would be rolled out:remote learning and vulnerable/key workers in school. How about funding proper interventions: smaller classes, better air quality in the classroom, return to bubbles, part time in person teaching-all are far from ideal however preferential over no school at all.

Schools will shut if the nhs is going to be overwhelmed.

That's ridiculous, the national health system needs and overhaul and partially privatised. People need to start accepting that they have to pay towards the upkeep of their health, just like in most other European countries. In the UK, people love to have their nails and hair done every few weeks, spend ££££ in fast fashion and £££ in eating out and ££££££ in gyms so there isn't a cash-flow problem for the majority. Every employee should pay into a healthcare insurance and the government needs to subsidise this as well as ensuring those out of work get supported.

We expect the world of the NHS, then bemoan that 'it' is overwhelmed and we need to save 'it' . It's pathetic. Overhaul the whole thing, make it decentralised so that there is an incentive for every insurer to offer a great service.

By shutting down education, and moving online is a very poor substitute, disrupting the children's social development and education we are causing untold damage to this country. I sincerely hope that school will not shut. I'm a key worker anyway and will send them in but the difference is that this time I will feel not the slights bit guilty to do so as I fundamentally disagree with putting down education.

Schools can't close every time the NHS get overwhelmed!

There would be uproar this time. I got it before but as everyone is vaccinated what's the point.

I got it before but as everyone is vaccinated what's the point

Hasn't this been answered and explained 5000 times already?

@Daisydoor12

Very simple really schools WILL close IF the NHS is likely to become overwhelmed. Until the NHS is funded properly, along with social care and education this will be the only option. If the government really valued education mitigation’s would have been in place a long time ago. This would potentially be lock down 3 for schools and still the same old same old would be rolled out:remote learning and vulnerable/key workers in school. How about funding proper interventions: smaller classes, better air quality in the classroom, return to bubbles, part time in person teaching-all are far from ideal however preferential over no school at all.

Why should they I would rather gamble ending up dead if we needed the NHS (unlikely) than risk my sons education.

@FunFour

Schools will shut if the nhs is going to be overwhelmed.

That's ridiculous, the national health system needs and overhaul and partially privatised. People need to start accepting that they have to pay towards the upkeep of their health, just like in most other European countries. In the UK, people love to have their nails and hair done every few weeks, spend ££££ in fast fashion and £££ in eating out and ££££££ in gyms so there isn't a cash-flow problem for the majority. Every employee should pay into a healthcare insurance and the government needs to subsidise this as well as ensuring those out of work get supported.

We expect the world of the NHS, then bemoan that 'it' is overwhelmed and we need to save 'it' . It's pathetic. Overhaul the whole thing, make it decentralised so that there is an incentive for every insurer to offer a great service.

By shutting down education, and moving online is a very poor substitute, disrupting the children's social development and education we are causing untold damage to this country. I sincerely hope that school will not shut. I'm a key worker anyway and will send them in but the difference is that this time I will feel not the slights bit guilty to do so as I fundamentally disagree with putting down education.

Some people live hand to mouth and most definitely don't have money for gym etc

[quote TankFlyBoss]@MrsArchchancellorRidcully
I'm an education welfare officer and saw your post. I know you said school refused to have your child in last time - would advise you to speak with your local safeguarding team in social care / local education welfare service or inclusion team at local authority. In the last school closure I worked with schools to identify children who needed to be given a place to come in. [/quote]
Many thanks for this info. I will certainly contact them if it happens again.

Staffing is the problem at our school - 7 classes, 4 teachers off. No supplies available at all.

I have a young relative doing some work experience in a school. Last week she finished her placement prematurely. She said there was no safety measures at all in the school. Children who were obviously ill Were coming to school every day, staff dropping like flies, and no supplies available. She said it wasn't worth the risk of catching covid and ruining her christmas!
I think it's put her off working in a school altogether, as she won't be returning in January.

@Deadcanary1

Imagine if all is school workers did the same

She said it wasn't worth the risk of catching covid and ruining her christmas!
I think it's put her off working in a school altogether

Really? That's a reason for not wanting to ever teach in a school?

She said it wasn't worth the risk of catching covid and ruining her christmas!
I think it's put her off working in a school altogether

Yes, imagine if all teachers thought like this

@Deadcanary1

I have a young relative doing some work experience in a school. Last week she finished her placement prematurely. She said there was no safety measures at all in the school. Children who were obviously ill Were coming to school every day, staff dropping like flies, and no supplies available. She said it wasn't worth the risk of catching covid and ruining her christmas! I think it's put her off working in a school altogether, as she won't be returning in January.

I don't blame her! And I'm a teacher!

@Blubells

*She said it wasn't worth the risk of catching covid and ruining her christmas! I think it's put her off working in a school altogether*

Yes, imagine if all teachers thought like this

Imagine indeed! The reason why they're working in such unsafe conditions is because they allow themselves to be treated like shit! More fool them.Well this particular school is one extra pair of hands down because of their lack of regard for health and safety.