Don't 'save Christmas' instead save schools and keep them in person in January (Save Schools = YES)

[SoTiredNeedHoliday]

I feel that our kids have suffered enough and missed out on significant important social and academic periods of their lives. It feels like the PM is 'keeping Christmas' because of fears about his popularity and also because of the 'party' sandal. He should be thinking of the greater good and our lives longer term.
I feel restrictions now for 2/3 weeks and enabling kids to go to school in January is far more important than 'keeping Christmas' and having a lockdown or home schooling in January

What do you think?

Save Schools = YES

Honestly not sure anything they announce will make a massive difference at this stage. As we have very little control of things I'm going to hope it turns out the existing vaccines and infections from delta prove enough to prevent the high rates of infection translating to overwhelming numbers of hospital admissions. The current messaging is stupid though and so unfair to businesses that are struggling. There will undoubtedly be less people going out due to the warnings about mixing but there is no support available. I really feel for people including our facilities staff at work who I fear are likely to be made redundant for a second time if our offices stay shut any length of time.

@Willyoujustbequiet

Yanbu Their education should come first. Kids going through their GCSE years are really struggling and it may affect them for years to come. Vulnerable kids especially need to be prioritised.

Child protection should be at the forefront of everyone's minds atm.

What about those vulnerable children to young to go to school, such as those in recent news stories? If there’s a lockdown over Christmas they will be the ones without outside contact and put at even more risk, not all children are school age.

Schools should definitely come first.

In addition, although it is nice to celebrate Christmas, for some it is just a whole month of spending as much money as possible and going completely wild.

There has to be a happy medium somewhere.

10 parties in December followed by a 1-3 month lockdown and not doing anything seems like a crap trade off to me.

Not clear what you mean by 'keeping Christmas' - I live alone and far away from family. So for me, prioritising keeping the schools open means being alone on Christmas for the second year running.

On balance I'd accept it because when schools are shut, I have to work a lot of extra unpaid hours and it's a pain in the arse. But I can entirely see why people who don't have kids, and particularly people who live alone and who spent last Christmas alone, aren't willing to prioritise other people's children. Particularly when for parents, 'keeping' or 'not keeping' Christmas makes little difference - either way you still see your children/family on the day.

@Angelton

Nope. I don’t see why I should miss Xmas so someone else’s kids can go to school. The majority of people don’t have kids at school so quite reasonably don’t give a shit.

@Angelton what do you think will happen in the wider community if schools are shut? That means everything will be shut..... including all the things that you "care" about. Very short sighted

I'd much rather not have had Christmas (with people) and kept schools open in January.

We were tier 4 and so couldn't spend Christmas with family. I don't intend to be apart from them a second year.

@MabelsApron its possible that you could see people on Christmas but just limit mixing before and after to a family bubble or select group something like that. Not the free for all that's happening now.

The daily death rate was over 500 on this day last year. It is nowhere near that figure this time around. I'll be celebrating Christmas woth my family no matter what the government says.

@xxxGirlCrushxxx

No

Not everyone has kids you know. Most people I work with don't and would not be on board with this at all.

Agree with this

My DC, pupils, nieces and nephews would rather have a good Christmas and school closures than a rubbish Christmas and keep schools open.
They need the break.

10 parties in December followed by a 1-3 month lockdown and not doing anything seems like a crap trade off to me.

The problem is that that's what we were told last Christmas - so people didn't get their Christmas parties, and then it was May before you could next socialise indoors. I don't think many people feel like giving things up 'just for a couple of weeks' anymore - tbh, I think you'd have to be quite stupid to believe that there is any chance that it'd be just a couple of weeks after all this. The choice is 'have your fun now and there might be a lockdown in January, probably lasting months' or 'voluntarily give up your fun now and there might be a lockdown in January, probably lasting months' - you can see why people don't opt for option B!

In the ideal world, I'd want everything for everyone, but that can't happen right now. We're all going to have different views depending on our circumstances. Not too fussed about xmas, but I'd be selfish and say I want my 20 year old DD to make it home from abroad.

This sort of discussion coming again after last years' experiences is very depressing. I am no more worried about catching Covid than I am seasonal flu. How many people are now vulnerable to Covid? The vast majority of our population have antibodies through exposure and vaccination. Time to carry on as normal, scrapping the isolation rules would enable services (including schools and the health service) to run more smoothly.

Angelton what do you think will happen in the wider community if schools are shut? That means everything will be shut..... including all the things that you "care" about.
So schools close in January and everything else does too. Fair enough. I don’t want to go out and about in January anyway, I’m usually broke and on a diet. But I’m not going to restrict my Christmas mixing in order for schools and things to be open in January when I don’t want or need them.

Save the schools, of course.
Unimpressed at the selfish adults focused on enjoying their Christmas on this thread.

There has to be a happy medium somewhere.

I think instead of going back on the 4th as most schools are, they could extend the holiday to the 10th and encourage people to mix with fewer people indoors after New Year’s Day.

Nope. Why should everyone miss Christmas when not everyone has school aged children. We were in tier 4 last year and couldn’t see anyone. I will be spending Christmas with my parents and 80 year old nana this year whatever Boris says.

Can we have Christmas AND schools open please.

Hospital admissions are nowhere near what they were last January. Yes there are loads of cases and rising fast. But that doesn’t require any kind of lockdown if most people are getting it mildly and hospitals are not overwhelmed.

I really don't want another lockdown. But I'm not convinced 'cancelling Christmas' is the answer. I think the government need to think of a better way to protect the people who need protecting while keeping society ticking over.

@raysofhope

This sort of discussion coming again after last years' experiences is very depressing. I am no more worried about catching Covid than I am seasonal flu. How many people are now vulnerable to Covid? The vast majority of our population have antibodies through exposure and vaccination. Time to carry on as normal, scrapping the isolation rules would enable services (including schools and the health service) to run more smoothly.

Agree with this.

Some days I just think we need to stop this whole hysterical melodrama now. Increasingly.

We've done the lockdowns, DH works from home mostly, we are both now double jabbed and boostered, all three of our DDs are now double jabbed, soon to be beginning their boosters.

We need to beef up the NHS instead of cutting it back and we need to learn to live with this thing without the bollocks of more restrictions damaging the economy and people's livelihoods each time another variant appears. Covid won't be going anywhere.

Nope. I don’t see why I should miss Xmas so someone else’s kids can go to school. The majority of people don’t have kids at school so quite reasonably don’t give a shit.

I’m sorry I think this is a shitty attitude

It’s not “some people’s kids”, like they’re accessories to actual people or they’re pets. It’s “some people”. Some people are still kids and need the same chances that you had.

I agree with a pp that a shit load of money spent on the nhs would be far better than the same money spent on propping up businesses and furloughing people, so that we could get on with life and treat those who get sick

Yes

@TheReluctantPhoenix exactly - not a good trade off at all

@GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing

Nope. I don’t see why I should miss Xmas so someone else’s kids can go to school. The majority of people don’t have kids at school so quite reasonably don’t give a shit.

I’m sorry I think this is a shitty attitude

It’s not “some people’s kids”, like they’re accessories to actual people or they’re pets. It’s “some people”. Some people are still kids and need the same chances that you had.

I agree @GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing its hardly reasonable and not thought out at all. If schools end up shut then everything is pretty much shut... come on people!