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?

@Blubells

No, I don't think they will whilst shops, pubs, clubs etc....are open.

I thought the Government specifically said any school closures would be a last resort after closing non essential shops, gyms, cinemas, hairdressers etc.

And of course they'd have to offer a furlough scheme.

It's not going to happen imo

Exactly.

So the Government will say schools are open (like they said schools were safe) to avoid having to close anything else or pay furlough.

Then schools will close anyway due to lack of staff or on public health advice. The government will blame schools and unions. The public will believe them.

Oh lord I can’t stand any more bubbles or home-learning. Never understood how bubbles worked when they all have siblings in other classes. Can not stand the thought of bracing myself every time there’s a text from the school wondering if my children’s bubbles have been closed again.

Oh lord I can’t stand any more bubbles or home-learning.

I can't stand the government's failure to do ANYTHING about Covid mitigations in schools.

Not being able to stand something doesn't help at this point, does it?

@rrhuth

I really really really want them to stay open... but I don't see how they can whilst the worst of the Omicron wave happens?

I just keep looking at the predicted case numbers - and I don't see how they can stay open.

I am so cross the government has done nothing to keep schools open - we should have masks, air filters/ventilation, extra space and vaccines for secondary age at least. The government has done FUCK ALL for kids.

Case numbers are largely irrelevant. It’s the number of hospitalisations and deaths we need to worry about.

@Deepfriedbrie

Oh lord I can’t stand any more bubbles or home-learning. Never understood how bubbles worked when they all have siblings in other classes. Can not stand the thought of bracing myself every time there’s a text from the school wondering if my children’s bubbles have been closed again.

I thought they closed due to close contact isolation

It won’t be the case with LFTs instead

I sincerely hope not. With 5 children in the house (all of whom have mild to moderate autism) it isn't easy to do remote learning. Children have already had to sacrifice a lot over the last almost 2 years.

Doris86
Case numbers are largely irrelevant. It’s the number of hospitalisations and deaths we need to worry about.

Absolutely this.

As LFTs have such a high false positive rate, they will not keep infection down much - close contact isolation, despite all its huge issues, did do that - and so classes will effectively close due to too many cases, or due to their teachers being absent.

Think you mean false negative rate, cant

Yes obviously we all know that @Doris86, and hospitalisations are expected to rise. They are up 30% this week in London (where Omicron is most prevalent currently).

All this 'it's milder, I read it on FB' isn't going to stop the number of cases overwhelming the NHS.

My child's school has already brought bubbles back.

I'm not against schools closing if the situations warrants it/hospital admissions are rising/ its clear its going to be a shit storm

However this is with caveats

1. They are the last thing to close so pubs/night clubs close first and an end to this "work from home if you can" wishy washyness where managers can make their staff attend the office because they prefer it. If a job CAN physically be done from home it SHOULD be done from home

1. My child's school provides actual online teaching (zoom/teams whatever) not worksheets which they never request back/don't get marked. Totally useless.

1. It's short term

I think it’s terrible how schools have been treated as magic places where covid doesn’t spread. Children and teachers have a basic human right to a safe school, that won’t affect their long term health. Children have no choice or agency in this.

I think some children with long term problems will look back and be horrified that they were sent to school with no mitigations in the middle of a pandemic.

65 children were hospitalised with Covid today in England. In one day.

Whilst in the rest of Europe almost all schools, including primary, wear masks. In New Zealand, there are CO2 monitors and HEPA filters in every classroom. Kids are contact traced if there is a positive case.

For me, along with the treatment of nursing homes, healthcare workers, frontline workers, it is absolutely shameful to neglect and ignore our children and our schools in this way. Put in proper mitigations, offer timely vaccinations, contact trace.

@MrsSkylerWhite

Doris86 Case numbers are largely irrelevant. It’s the number of hospitalisations and deaths we need to worry about.

Absolutely this.

The issue with this is that once we realise what the death rate is likely to be, then the next 3-4 weeks' worth of cases-to-deaths conversions are already inevitable.

Which can be a LOT of deaths if we bank on a low number of deaths and get it wrong.... especially because with the huge numbers being talked about for Omicron, even a tiny percentage of deaths will be a large absolute number.

However I'm in a privileged position where I work from home in a fairly easy job and I can play around with my hours so I have time to help with home learning.

I appreciate many others are not in that position.

@noblegiraffe

Think you mean false negative rate, cant

Sorry! I do, of course.

@cantkeepawayforever

As LFTs have such a high false positive rate, they will not keep infection down much - close contact isolation, despite all its huge issues, did do that - and so classes will effectively close due to too many cases, or due to their teachers being absent.

It might be fast it’s true

But should be lower frequency as you don’t do ten days for someone else’s positive

@MrsSkylerWhite

Doris86 Case numbers are largely irrelevant. It’s the number of hospitalisations and deaths we need to worry about.

Absolutely this.

I repeat what I said to Doris86 - it is being explained - over and fucking over - that hospitalisations are going to rise.

Surely it's pointless to close schools though? Everyone will claim key worker needs and all the kids will be in anyway.

They need mitigations to help them stay open in a safer way

I don't think so. I think there will be bubbles etc back again, and I think there will be individual classes or year groups who have to go online for a week or so here and there because of staff absence.
But whole country learning from home - no.

@MrsSkylerWhite

Doris86 Case numbers are largely irrelevant. It’s the number of hospitalisations and deaths we need to worry about.

Absolutely this.

Not with schools it isn’t. As it is already happening, schools are closing because they can’t be staffed. Teachers off on long term sick and no supply available.

People exposed day in and day out with no protection. It’s not rocket science. I wish people outside of education would stop saying this, when they don’t have clue.

No one wants schools to close but they are.

And don’t get me started on bubbles and wearing masks in the corridors…

This is a seriously WTF? It’s not science. It’s not effective. Covid is AIRBORNE which means it is classrooms, not corridors, it is whole classrooms with bad ventilation, not bloody ‘bubbles’ which are just ‘theatre’.

how would people go to work and theeres no furlough anymore

Seriously doubt it.

I would resign. I can't do online teaching again. It destroyed me. I cried every evening at the thought of the next day and I have always loved teaching.

This term without restrictions has been like coming alive again. I don't see the need to go backwards. I know some schools have put restrictions back in but we didn't. We had loads of cases but no more than other schools who were dealing with things much more cautiously. So I don't think the bubbles, freezing classrooms, one way systems etc actually make a difference. If it gets in, it spreads. Restrictions or not.

Just expressing my horror at the thought of it all happening again. Certainly not expressing support for this government’s handling of the situation and wasn’t aware we were supposed to be coming up with solutions- not sure anything I could do would be of help at this point other than get a booster, wear a mask and not mingle, which I’m already doing. Not too sure how a comment about it being shit and pretty unbearable has led to a snarky comment but that’s the joys of Mumsnet I guess. 🤷‍♀️

@CherryBlossomAutumn

I think it’s terrible how schools have been treated as magic places where covid doesn’t spread. Children and teachers have a basic human right to a safe school, that won’t affect their long term health. Children have no choice or agency in this.

I think some children with long term problems will look back and be horrified that they were sent to school with no mitigations in the middle of a pandemic.

65 children were hospitalised with Covid today in England. In one day.

Whilst in the rest of Europe almost all schools, including primary, wear masks. In New Zealand, there are CO2 monitors and HEPA filters in every classroom. Kids are contact traced if there is a positive case.

For me, along with the treatment of nursing homes, healthcare workers, frontline workers, it is absolutely shameful to neglect and ignore our children and our schools in this way. Put in proper mitigations, offer timely vaccinations, contact trace.

Yes quite - I am so angry with the government and I feel frustrated that parents are fine with this shit.

I haven't posted about the 65 children admitted because I haven't wanted to get all the 'scaremongering' attacks but I was concerned about that because it is the highest ever.