Do you think schools will return as normal in January?

[LucozadeGirl]

Just that really.

@blameitonthecaffeine

Really not setting us up for a successful start, are they worky?!

Nope. We're going to be so short staffed to start with too - put of the 12 or so people I'm in a group chat 2 have covid (both 2nd timers) and 4 live with family members who are currently positive

@stayathomer

No. Schools were never closed to keep children safe. Nothing was. All restrictions have been solely to keep the NHS from being overwhelmed I know that, but surely with it in so many families now the schools would be closed to keep children safe (and obviously also keep hospitals etc being overwhelmed)

It's widely accepted that the vast majority of children do not suffer badly with Covid, and with Omicron seemingly milder than previous variants there is no need for them to close to keep children safe.

Of course it will. There’s unlikely to be any big restrictions put in place and there’s no reason for schools to close.

@stayathomer

Absolutely- nightclubs etc would close before schools. They'd be closing schools to keep the kids safe not to stop the spread surely?

They have everywhere else apart from England!!!

Please don’t use that line of schools closing to ‘keep kids safe’. Until when, 2050?!
Have you somehow missed knowing all the harm caused by blanket school closures? How could anyone be so unaware at this stage?
Of course I know the issues but I also know that numbers are spiralling crazily out of control.

Definitely! It's not like there aren't other, safer options that don't involve cancelling either. All 3 schools use Teams and we registered for the seminars last term using email so it could easily be set up virtually. Or we could do the keynote sessions where everyone is together virtually and the smaller seminar sessions in person. And that's just me as a very low key, non senior, part time teacher musing on mumsnet late at night. Don't know why senior leaders can't work these things out!

Around 300 staff from 3 schools in one theatre the day before term starts ... really?! That may still change but, if that goes ahead, I really don't see how we can justify any restrictions on the children!

300 vaccinated adults V’s 300 unvaccinated children …. Not sure where the priority is here.

@Explosivefarts

Yes Nicola Sturgeon has already confirmed schools will go back as normal in Scotland .

Is she going to step in herself if too many teachers are off sick? She has indeed said she'd do everything she can to keep schools open. But I've never heard it be a guarantee, as that isn't possible.

Yes.

Not sure how it’ll work for secondary schools/ colleges and unis considering you can’t get hold of LFTs and people are struggling to book PCRs.

Dangerous game.

@blameitonthecaffeine that's a union matter surely, I would get in touch with them. The regional office if rep isn't reading emails just now.

I work in a school and we have all our LFTs ready for testing on first day back. We sent tests home with pupils and staff and we were sent our tests ready for January, so we can at least get the first day tests done. I imagine we will pick up quite a few cases. I'll be wearing my mask full time.

@twwindow

Yes.

Me neither and I listened to her. She said mitigations were put in place with Co2 monitors. She certainly did not declare schools would definitely be back.

I would guess that the official line will be that schools will be open as usual, but there will be disruption in many schools as some parents will want to keep their children off until they can get hold of tests and lots of staff will be isolating.

blameitonthecaffeine As a teacher, why do you think online learning is satisfactory?

Appreciate school staff concerns for your own and your families’ health, but strongly disagree with the suggestion that online learning works for DC.

She is talking about staff training, Dozer?

Dozer I dont ...? What makes you think I do? I couldn't deal with another period of online learning.

@Explosivefarts

Yes Nicola Sturgeon has already confirmed schools will go back as normal in Scotland .

Source?

@Dozer

blameitonthecaffeine As a teacher, why do you think online learning is satisfactory?

Appreciate school staff concerns for your own and your families’ health, but strongly disagree with the suggestion that online learning works for DC.

I don't think she's talking about online for students, she's talking about staff meetings.

Sorry, hadn’t appreciated you were talking about online meetings/staff sessions rather than DCs’ education.

Mistressgigi I guess it could be, yes. But don't think anyone could or would act until it was too late. 4th is first working day back for everyone, isn't it? I'm not actually in a teaching union (I know, stupid). I'm in Equity because I went into teaching from a performance career and never changed. I still do a bit of both.

Last year I predicted they would be cancelled two days into term and I was correct.

I wrote to the head saying we would wait the week but expected school to be cancelled. At this point we was allowed to bubble with others, and had formed a bubble with 70 year plus relatives so wasn’t worth the risk as I was looking at all the stats and just could see it coming.

I am totally unsure this time. There was 5 people left in DS class before we pulled him out to isolate before Christmas.

Like hospitality, I think parents will be sending their kids in depending on the risk profile of their family. Everyone I know would rather isolate to protect older relatives who they still want to have contact with

@xmasprrssiehelp very few I know want to isolate

I was genuine surprised at how many of my students (mainly adults in FE) came in in the last week. Many are re-training after losing jobs to Covid and need this quality to get to uni.

Or they struggled with online learning and TAG grades last year and desperately don't want to go back to that.

Open as normal. Lots of disruption with staff illness and I would imagine plenty of cases in class. By about the 2nd/3rd week back you may have some moved online due to staff issues or high levels of cases would be my best guess.

yes i do
dont need any more child protection issues