Do you think schools will return as normal in January?

[LucozadeGirl]

Just that really.

@GoldenOmber

MPs got £100000 to work from home as Well. Imagine where that could of gone!

A lot of it went towards home working equipment for their staff, who often don't get paid lots and do most of the day to day work of e.g. helping someone who's been turned down for the benefits they're entitled to.

Fine, but no-one else got this. As previously mentioned teachers, and I know uni lecturers too paid out of their own pockets.

Money is found for MPs and their staff, their driveways, and for mates / relatives dodgy PPE deals but none found for schools or even for ffp2 masks for healthcare workers.

It's so unbelievably corrupt, and so many turning a blind eye and minimising and denying. But it's this corruption that directly causes the petrol and food shortages, the inflation, the breakdown of a functioning health system and society. It's getting worse, not better. We're two years into this pandemic, vulnerable teachers should not be having to buy their own air filters for fucking fucks sake.

I don't really believe my taxes go to the public good any more - certainly not all of them. I wonder how many millionaires have been made billionaires through dodgy covid deals?

It is estimated that fitting all classrooms with air filters would be half the price of the new royal yacht.

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/dec/27/covid-air-filters-for-all-classrooms-in-england-would-cost-half-of-royal-yacht

Seems like a no brainer to me but of course government is doing nothing - yet again.

Please do sign the petition I posted earlier.

You know about the DfE Dyson air filter thing, emperor?

Schools, if they want air filters, are supposed to buy from a list of approved suppliers, which is basically Dyson, with Jo Johnson on the board.

@noblegiraffe

You know about the DfE Dyson air filter thing, emperor?

Schools, if they want air filters, are supposed to buy from a list of approved suppliers, which is basically Dyson, with Jo Johnson on the board.

Fucks sake - the corruption is so in your face now too.

They're trolling us.

Bastards.

I'm buying an air filter and leaving it at school reception and it won't be fucking Dyson.

I don’t think some MP assistant on £18k a year getting a laptop stand is causing the breakdown of a functioning health system and society, really.

It would be good if more of us in the public sector had got more support for working from home, when we didn’t choose it. But that doesn’t mean that anyone who did get better support is some kind of example of corruption.

Marsha it’s not, to be honest. He’s still in pain, still having blood tests, scans, ecgs to work out why some things are getting worse.

So, time scales. We have vaccination for 12+, but not for under 12s, despite it being approved by the MHRA. So that’s not going to be a quick fix.

How long would we keep masks for? Until ventilation exists, until vaccination is offered to younger year groups. Neither of those need to be years or even months, and leaving children with no protection in the meantime is not acceptable.

I’ll use Japan as an example, as my second home country. Mask wearing (in school and out) has been commonplace for at least a couple of generations. Since covid, it’s pretty much a blanket policy to wear masks in the classroom. No problems with educational attainment there, before or now. Masks do not disrupt education. Children cope. Children adapt. Japan manages. English children are not inherently weaker or less capable.

They take ventilation seriously, (some cinemas for eg have a display showing how clean the air is in each theatre/screen.)

They currently have very low deaths and low infection rates. People are over there having fun! Children are in school with no threat of closures.

Is an NT child having to wear a mask more important for some than protecting that child/another child from long term illness? It blows my mind that’s even a question, to be honest

Yes. DH has spent today planning how he can be at work (Head) full-time from Tuesday with his foot in a pot for a month and not be a fire-risk in an emergency. He is expecting to have an open school.

Everyone will go back as normal. I doubt all schools will stay open due to staff sickness / self isolation.

Not enough mitigation measures have been put in place.

What happened to the RCT on in-school ventilation systems that was in the news last autumn, back when people were losing their shit over the one about daily LFTs rather than isolation? Seems like it would be a good idea to have some decent evidence about what definitely works or not when it comes to expensive ventilation systems, otherwise a lot of people are going to make a ton of money for not much difference.

Zero ventilation systems in my daughter's school. Just open windows and freezing staff / children.

@BewareTheLibrarians

Marsha it’s not, to be honest. He’s still in pain, still having blood tests, scans, ecgs to work out why some things are getting worse.

So, time scales. We have vaccination for 12+, but not for under 12s, despite it being approved by the MHRA. So that’s not going to be a quick fix.

How long would we keep masks for? Until ventilation exists, until vaccination is offered to younger year groups. Neither of those need to be years or even months, and leaving children with no protection in the meantime is not acceptable.

I’ll use Japan as an example, as my second home country. Mask wearing (in school and out) has been commonplace for at least a couple of generations. Since covid, it’s pretty much a blanket policy to wear masks in the classroom. No problems with educational attainment there, before or now. Masks do not disrupt education. Children cope. Children adapt. Japan manages. English children are not inherently weaker or less capable.

They take ventilation seriously, (some cinemas for eg have a display showing how clean the air is in each theatre/screen.)

They currently have very low deaths and low infection rates. People are over there having fun! Children are in school with no threat of closures.

Is an NT child having to wear a mask more important for some than protecting that child/another child from long term illness? It blows my mind that’s even a question, to be honest

Do you think another child wearing a mask will stop omicron?

Lockdown and closed borders in NZ didn’t stop delta, all the border control has not stopped omicron. I’m not convinced you’ll get more than a slight delay.

Why haven’t the rates in Scotland been better, have dc avoided Covid where masks were in class?

Japan has a different culture, I know some prefer it and that’s fine but we don’t have same long term mask wearing for young dc.

I hope that vaccination improves outcomes though.

And covid was rife in school at the end of term. They were clinging on and trying to keep school open.

I'm buying an air filter and leaving it at school reception and it won't be fucking Dyson.
I like your style, Emperor
If your dc is primary I would hand it to the class teacher instead, more chance she'd use it if it hasn't had to go through the head.
My understanding is the ones big enough to clear a school room would be prohibitively expensive. Not sure if smaller ones would still help, just a bit less.

Marsha It will reduce the viral dose for who ever is wearing a mask, and lower viral dose is shown to lead to fewer symptoms and lower rates of hospitalisation. Cases might still spread but who would choose a higher viral dose by not wearing a mask? I’m not accepting herd immunity because “oh well, nothing can be done” because our children deserve better than that.

Re Scotland - would be interesting to compare the rates of long covid/complications post covid like pims/organ damage to see if they have had better outcomes due to what they’ve done. If they have, what will we tell our children?

Japan being a different culture isn’t really an excuse. They have an approach that appears to be working well, and there’s no reason why some of those ideas couldn’t be implemented here.

(Except for British exceptionalism, the infantilisation of our children by not letting them adapt, a ridiculously corrupt and idiotic government…)

@GoldenOmber the preliminary data is due v soon iirc, the final results not til the autumn.

But meanwhile the govt has created a portal so that cash strapped schools can buy v expensive Dyson air filters if they choose to....

thanks JanglyBeads, that's good to hear. (The data, not the Dyson...)

@BewareTheLibrarians exactly! I don’t get why people are against masks because they are not 100% effective. Either is the vaccine. 🤦🏼‍♀️.

@BewareTheLibrarians

Marsha It will reduce the viral dose for who ever is wearing a mask, and lower viral dose is shown to lead to fewer symptoms and lower rates of hospitalisation. Cases might still spread but who would choose a higher viral dose by not wearing a mask? I’m not accepting herd immunity because “oh well, nothing can be done” because our children deserve better than that.

Re Scotland - would be interesting to compare the rates of long covid/complications post covid like pims/organ damage to see if they have had better outcomes due to what they’ve done. If they have, what will we tell our children?

Japan being a different culture isn’t really an excuse. They have an approach that appears to be working well, and there’s no reason why some of those ideas couldn’t be implemented here.

(Except for British exceptionalism, the infantilisation of our children by not letting them adapt, a ridiculously corrupt and idiotic government…)

That phrase ‘exceptionalism’.. thought it had disappeared.

Anyway I think convincing people to adopt Japan’s use of masks for young dc long term would be an up hill battle. I wouldn’t want it and don’t accept children are infantilised, but maybe others would - you could ask on a thread maybe

Well, there we go. There’s a measure that would reduce infections and illness in children and some “don’t want it”.

We know masks don’t disrupt education, unlike rampant covid. I’ve taught classes of children in masks (in both countries) and they cope so well. Even in classes with a lot of EAL students we figured out a good solution so their language acquisition wasn’t impaired. We know our students enough to know who needs to be exempt, who needs extra support with it, who’s chewing gum behind their masks (the ears move, dead giveaway!).

So if it doesn’t disrupt education, what on earth could the reason be? It just feels icky, and that’s enough not bother trying to protect children?

Also important js that we have plenty of evidence from East Asian countries that long term mask use doesn’t cause fungal lung infections, doesn’t impair speech development, or any other bull that U4T like to make up.

(And it is infantilising for certain parents to say “my little Johnny wouldn’t cope in a mask”, when we know that not only is Johnny wearing a mask without complaint at school, he’s also pretending to lose his and collecting more from the house office, then selling these surplus masks for £1 each to kids who’ve lost/forgotten theirs but don’t want to tell a teacher. He’s not traumatised by masks, he’s built a profitable business out of their existence.)

Thinking on this I’m not particularly ‘anti-mask’

I have worn one when mandated and my dc have too, if requested by school, sometimes when not mandated I can’t recall over last two years - but I don’t feel as strongly as others.

Going by posts that makes me fairly moderate. I imagine there would be resistance to long term use though.

I don’t think I’m at an extreme position wrt children - like I say feel free to get more info from others if you think I am.

Just returning to OP, looking at local rates (double the highest they've ever been) and emails from my school, classes and even schools will temporarily close due to not enough staff. We are a relatively 'late to the omnicron party' area but 20% have no jabs and only 45% the boosters so far.

We are a number of staff down already for next week (primary ); as long as it's mild obviously they'll be back in the week after. But thereafter it's a free for all.

We already have staff from last term with long Covid still off. Supply was extremely thin on the ground.

Emails are hinting that if too many are off some classes may have to close next week but we need to know from lft data on tues morning (training day).

This will obviously also have an impact on any parents who work.

We can't use masks in my own setting due to sp and Lang.

We have all of those in Scotland and yet similar Covid rates in schools, so… maybe not.

@GoldenOmber

Proper ventilation in Scottish schools? How many of them? 3? 🤣

Inspired by emperor I went to check out the air purifiers on Amazon. I believe the Phillips technology is part of the University of Leeds trial. I very nearly bought it to get it delivered to my Dd's class teacher at school on Tuesday.

Problem is that as there are no bubbles anymore. Omicron will be everywhere in the school (sports hall, dining hall, corridors) not just DD's classroom. So frustrating that even if I am prepared to shell out £250 for DDs class it won't make a difference.

The government needs to fund this properly for schools - there's just no way round it. What is Nadhim Zahawi doing? He needs to stop snoozing on the job. If he can get the vaccine rolled out surely he can get air filters into schools. Please sign the petition and email your MP.

So frustrating that even if I am prepared to shell out £250 for DDs class it won't make a difference.
The government needs to fund this properly for schools

Wow £250 per classroom?

And do we really think that they will prevent Omicron from spreading? I find that hard to believe