Time to think about closing the schools

[DolphinFC]

ONS survey finds that education staff are 37% more likely to catch Covid than other workers.

Previous data showed they were no more likely to catch covid than other workers and many people (especially MNetters) felt that this was all the proof needed to keep schools open.

Well, new data shows the reverse is now the case.

What is notable on MN is the massive concern for schools and kids getting an education when the topic is schools closing.

When the topic is not about schools closing, but about the critical shortage of teachers, or about the dire lack of funding or resources, the same posters who appear on every fucking school closures thread are totally absent.

It's like they only give a shit about schools when it might actually directly affect them and they don't actually care what goes on inside them.

Otherwise, parents would be SO up in arms about how shittily underfunded and poorly-treated education is as a sector that the government would be forced to do something about it.

@KleineDracheKokosnuss

No.

Covid is here. Covid is endemic. Covid is something we will all now catch repeatedly.

Get on with life.

THIS

Kids need an education and covid is here to stay.

Because they wouldn't be working

Why not? I delivered my full timetable online from week 2 of the first lockdown. I have been teaching simultaneously online and in the classroom since September 2020 as kids are frequently isolating. My Head would not accept us not working - we have a responsibility to do so and to ensure all our children get the best of us all the time.

It would be easier to be furloughed, however so please do bring it on!

UNLESS we install CO2 monitors in every classroom as well as air filtration systems and make face masks mandatory in classrooms along with isolation of close contacts and proper ventilation you can expect online learning for much of the term time until spring.

That is what you should be hysterical about- the fact that the government are FAILING your DC and impeding teachers by refusing to acknowledge the huge implications schools bring to the pandemic.

Until this happens then we’ll be rinsing and repeating this situation annually.

More likely to catch covid SOONER.

That is all. Do you think people can evade it forever? They might evade it this winter but there’s no way in this plant people won’t catch this virus in the coming years….

TO be fair I think the cognitive dissonance goes beyond just schools Noblegiraffe. Most of the Government funded sectors have been rundown for years not just schools - we want them funded we just dont want to pay the taxes in order to do so.

on this planet

@Quartz2208

TO be fair I think the cognitive dissonance goes beyond just schools Noblegiraffe. Most of the Government funded sectors have been rundown for years not just schools - we want them funded we just dont want to pay the taxes in order to do so.

We already pay enough taxes to do so, we need the government to stop spaffing our money up the wall!

@Starcup

More likely to catch covid SOONER.

That is all. Do you think people can evade it forever? They might evade it this winter but there’s no way in this plant people won’t catch this virus in the coming years….

It’s going to hit all of us isn’t it - thinking of that German phrase

If we have huge numbers of omicron we may only have a small percentage be severely ill but a small percentage of a huge number could still overwhelm the NHS causing chaos and deaths outside of COVID too. Schools play a large part in the spread. It's not the kids fault or the teachers. It's just an epidemiological fact. We need to minimise the spread,

parents would be SO up in arms about how shittily underfunded and poorly-treated education is as a sector that the government would be forced to do something about it.

Class sizes go up.
Support goes down.
PPA is cut so less time to plan and mark.
Extra curricular is reduced.
Buildings are shit.
Resources are cut to the bone.
School nurse goes from full to part time.
Counseller goes.
No specialist supply - it's all unqualified staff babysitters.
Non specialists teaching across the board.

No.
More testing for all.
Vaccines to be made available to 5-12 year olds

@Monkeytennis97

If we have huge numbers of omicron we may only have a small percentage be severely ill but a small percentage of a huge number could still overwhelm the NHS causing chaos and deaths outside of COVID too. Schools play a large part in the spread. It's not the kids fault or the teachers. It's just an epidemiological fact. We need to minimise the spread,

That’s likely to be over the holidays when they are closed anyway

@Thewiseoneincognito

UNLESS we install CO2 monitors in every classroom as well as air filtration systems and make face masks mandatory in classrooms along with isolation of close contacts and proper ventilation you can expect online learning for much of the term time until spring.

That is what you should be hysterical about- the fact that the government are FAILING your DC and impeding teachers by refusing to acknowledge the huge implications schools bring to the pandemic.

Until this happens then we’ll be rinsing and repeating this situation annually.

Absolutely (sadly).

Exactly what @noblegiraffe said. As soon as covid is over, those arguing vociferously for schools to remain open at all costs will suddenly ignore much greater threats to education that have been getting even more critical for YEARS - underfunding, crowded and crumbling classrooms, lack of resources, depletion of specialist schools/provision for SEND children to name but a few.

IME, schools have done such a good job of holding things together in spite of the above that parents are only now getting an insight into a system close to collapse.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens when things return to ‘normal’.

Any Us4Them-types currently panicking about school closures after spending the entire pandemic calling people who wanted mitigation measures in schools child abusers can get in the bin.

The wave that's coming will make it very likely that only a few schools will get away without closing anything at all. Same with utilities and key services as well as schools. The increased risk to education staff without any social distancing or mitigations was plain as day to everyone with half a brain cell from the beginning.

apart from the snot scarf 🤮, all that behaviour is completely typical of teenagers.

Really? I'm genuinely shocked.

My schooling experience must have been very strict... and I also hope this doesn't happen at my own teens' classrooms!

@Blubells yup really is pretty typical.

@MarshaBradyo this wave is only going to last 2 weeks? I hope so.

The key question here is less how many have been infected, but how many are ending up hospitalised. I doubt many are, as many education workers are fairly young and regardless of the concentration of CEV/HCV in the education profession and on Mumsnet (along with all the Covid nurses, Covid doctors, virologists and other experts who pop up on here when convenient), I would like to see some data by sector AND hospitalisations during that fortnight.

After all, I work in education. I expect and accept that Sept-Dec I will get ill, usually several times, with colds, coughs, maybe even the flu. It is part of the job. Do I like it? No. Could more things be done to help education workers? Yes, But I think we also need to accept that diseases - and Covid is a disease, not the Apocalypse - are part and parcel of working with young people.

Sure yes there should be no schools anymore then to avoid covid 🙄🙄🙄
Seriously
What utter rubbish OO

@Blubells

apart from the snot scarf 🤮, all that behaviour is completely typical of teenagers.

Really? I'm genuinely shocked.

My schooling experience must have been very strict... and I also hope this doesn't happen at my own teens' classrooms!

Have you asked them??

No. Education should be the very last sector.

@GotToGoBye

I’m ok with educational workers catching covid. I think it’s good to avoid covid but we’re all going to get it.

I don't want schools to close. My job is so much harder when they are closed to some, and we are doing remote learning.

However, it should be pointed out that some teaching staff are vulnerable and despite being triple vax I could still be at risk, to some extend.

Last year covid - most likely caught from a child at school - put me in hospital. I will have a life long health condition as a result and an additional two medications I will be taking daily for life. I also had some long covid symptoms for several months, and I am not entirely 100% now, over a year later.

I don't advocate for school closures despite this.

But some acknowledgement of the risk would be good - a lot of MN posters will do and say anything to try to rubbish any suggestion that covid is high in many schools and that school staff could actually be at a higher risk than many other professions.

And some resemblance of understanding for teaching and school (inc nurseries) staff from our government would be nice too - not pretending covid doesn't go into schools or that teachers aren't falling ill with covid. They've done absolutely nothing to support schools in real terms throughout the pandemic.