Considering whether schools might close in Janl?

[PigeonLittle]

Trying to create a title so as not to panic anyone!

What are your guesses, will schools close again?

@Dghgcotcitc, Do fuck off, there's a dear.

Yes, sure, teachers want schools to close so we can have a nice, easy few weeks off . Despite the fact that most of us worked WAY harder duing the lockdown than we do at school. We planned, delivered and marked double the work (for those children in school and the rest who are out). I am paid for a 20 hour week. During lockdown I was working 35 hours minimum (the extra unpaid) and my colleagues were mostly the same.

Question to teachers here: When you say you want mitigations to keep schools open, are you calling for inputs or outputs here?

What I mean is, is your stance:

a: We want to feel that the state is doing all it can. We will feel that the state has done all it can, if it gets masks, testing, ventilation, air purifiers/monitors, more heating (to keep windows open) and more subs etc.. If these turn out to have limited impact and COVID spreads a lot anyway.... well, we'll have to keep teaching in-person regardless and we won't be thrilled about that, but we accept that in-person teaching does need to continue.

OR

b. We want low COVID cases. We want to try and get to this via masks, testing, ventilation, air purifiers/monitors, more heating (to keep windows open) and more subs... but if it turns out that these things are not enough and COVID spreads a lot anyway, then we will call for actual closures and will want in-person teaching to stop.

Because.... I am happy for all the above measures to be put in (some of Boris's multimillionaire friends can pay for it, frankly), but am skeptical that these are going to do any more than slow down Omicron... a bit. I think it may well spread a lot anyway. Then what?

Fed up with the venom towards teachers and school staff and/or the general apathy that it's OK to throw schools under buses - that reminds me of the Jenny whatsherltingass quote about kids, buses and Covid.

The anger should be directed at this Govt who don't give a toss about our children.

That should read 'whatsherlyingass'

If these turn out to have limited impact and COVID spreads a lot anyway.... well, we'll have to keep teaching in-person regardless

Did you see the infection rates in secondary kids before half term? The absence figures for staff and students this week? Covid has been spreading a lot already and teachers have kept teaching in person regardless.

Schools are sending year groups home or closing because they can’t actually staff schools as too many teachers are off with covid. That’s how lack of mitigation measures is closing schools.

So if implementing mitigation measures doesn’t work against omicron, schools will close as teachers fall ill. The idea that an army of volunteers will step in to keep them open (see my thread) is ludicrous.

Stop the bloody testing then there wouldn’t be half the cases!

I think it's too early to tell.

We'll get a sense of hospitalisations and deaths in the next 2 - 3 weeks. By the 1st of January there will be a picture of the ratios of infections : hospitalisation : deaths, and then decisions can go from there. If hospitalisations hold or only tip up slightly, then it's fine. If they go up in line with infection then everything has to close again, but for how many years can we realistically do this?

We'll end up with a variant that everyone gets or could get every year, but that we control like the flu. Hopefully that time comes sooner rather than later.

I’ve no idea if they’ll close. I hope not. I think wider things (theatres /cinemas etc) should be closed possibly if needed to keep hospital numbers down, or isolation of very vulnerable people, targeted boosters to make sure those most at risk have as much protection as possible…..before schools close.

@Whyisitsodifficult

Stop the bloody testing then there wouldn’t be half the cases!

@Bobholll
65 kids really isn’t very many kids and there is no suggestion at all these kids are gravely ill.

I think this is disgusting. Dark. Horrific. What a society.

@rrhuth
Stopping the testing and we won’t find cases… from @Whyisitsodifficult

Trump’s line…

There is also no suggestion that they aren’t gravely ill. SA data is beginning to show that omicron affects children more.

But I’m guessing you won’t worry because your child is not CEV.

Our shambles of a covid response, especially around schools, has spread so much misinformation and myths in parents.

Myth - Children will just get covid anyway. Give them natural immunity.
Truth - Children will not just get covid, many examples of places where they are far more protected. In England 1 in 10 children AT ONE POINT last month had covid. Disgraceful! And now all those children could well be reinfected with omicron, as natural immunity is pretty rubbish as the virus mutates.

Myth - All children will get it mildly.
Truth - 1 in 10 will get a form of long covid. 65 children in ONE DAY hospitalized. Over 100 have died. That was preventable. Read again, PREVENTABLE.

Myth - It’s useless to contact trace and they will miss loads of school.
Truth - Contact tracing is a really effective tool to prevent the chains of transmission, which, guess what? Means less children get ill, less children miss school than no contact tracing. Look at how many have missed school this term alone.

Myth - Bubbles and wearing masks in corridors, and an open window is good mitigations. Also hand sanitizing.
Truth - Bubbles are useless. Wear well fitted masks in classrooms, not corridors. Good ventilation. CO2 monitors under 800. HEPA filters. Drastically reduces transmission. Well worth doing. Not hard.

Myth - Masks are emotional harmful / hold back learning
Truth - zero evidence that masks are harmful for health, for emotional health or for learning. Babies and and very young children, they need to see faces, other than that, no evidence is affects speech or learning. Clear masks available for those that need to lip read.

Myth - Schools need to close
Truth - we’ve not done anything to protect schools and they won’t close, probably, but if they did, it’s a failure of choice from government to protect them. Not omicron.

Myth - Omicron is the main threat.
Truth - rubbish Public Health bad decision making is the real threat.

Unless we totally rethink how to educate children we are going to waste the next few years failing to learn from our mistakes and we will be letting down a whole generation of kids who have had a stunted education because of absolute inaction from government and apathy from parents.

apathy from parents.

This is the bit I really don’t get.

Where is the parental responsibility here?

Some children have never had a LFT, some kids are sent to school when ill, and haven’t heard of a PCR test.

I’m fed up of ‘it’s only a cold’ mentality.

AND the abuse children throw out when (gasp) asked to wash their hands is shameful.

I’ve had Covid, as have a lot of my colleagues, we’ve had classes full of children off sick, we still have whole school assemblies and have just completed school concerts for parents and relatives.

If schoola have to shut even partially, then parents need to look at their own actions first and not and the school.

Government have done nothing to protect staff or children and parents aren’t helping.

Push the wash hands message, explain why they should wear a mask and for gods sake get them tested .

Here we go again, spreading needless fear, doom and gloom.
Can we just agree if schools have to close for a few weeks, we will survive, end of.

In England 1 in 10 children AT ONE POINT last month had covid
How can this be true? 13 million children in the UK (couldn't find stats for England but gives you an idea)
So are you saying at one point last month, 1.3million children had Covid? Because I think someone would have noticed the massive spike in cases, given that only about 300,000 cases per week are found in average. Even if every single positive case in November was a child, it wouldn't be 1.3 million people.

I can believe that - if we assume that a considerable proportion might not have been tested. We have had two huge outbreaks in school, one at the junior site about a month ago and one at the infant site. My child is currently positive but I only found out because 1/3 of his class and 1/2 of his table group have tested positive. I screened him as a close contact and Lo and behold, he has covid. He is completely well, I would not have known there was anything wrong with him had I not tested.

@Thewiseoneincognito

Unless we totally rethink how to educate children we are going to waste the next few years failing to learn from our mistakes and we will be letting down a whole generation of kids who have had a stunted education because of absolute inaction from government and apathy from parents.

Agree.

The inaction from a Tory government I understand, the apathy from parents I do not.

@Dghgcotcitc

Teachers will call for it, whether they are successful is anyone’s guess

Rubbish. I am a parent and a teacher and hope with every fibre of my being schools stay open. No teacher I know wants to return to online learning, ever.

@Moonface123

Here we go again, spreading needless fear, doom and gloom. Can we just agree if schools have to close for a few weeks, we will survive, end of.

Some people might not though.

@Moonface123

Here we go again, spreading needless fear, doom and gloom. Can we just agree if schools have to close for a few weeks, we will survive, end of.

We’ve not had a ‘few weeks’ so far but maybe you’ll get it this time.

Plus survive - well some dc will have a tough time, or be impacted negatively

Although I do agree about the spreading meaningless fear part actually.

Needless… early