Why on earth are so few parents signing the petition to reopen schools?

[canary1]

I am disgusted that children are shut of schools currently. The priority seems to be opening non essential shops and football. Our children are being failed. I am wondering why on earth are so few signatures on the petition to reopen schools? We should be matching on Westminster, not taking this! I can see less than 5000 signatures....

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/305525?fbclid=IwAR04Yrc7kx38uURQ5doNMonlw72-od2RoDXUClyrJdmcnpcVZSckqC2eaFs

@Isawthathaggis you can't be serious about the level playing field?
Some schools are (I am told by teachers on here) doing loads of teaching, some are doing essentially zero teaching.

Some have y1 (or whichever) back, others don't.

Some children have parents who are working full time and flat out at home or out of the home. Others have SAH or furloughed parents who can dedicate proper time to teaching them.

Some (like mine) have a house full of books and are getting tutors and/or workbooks etc . Others want to learn but are stuck with whatever the school dishes out.

Some live in homes where life is chaotic or stressful right now, and noone from school is checking in with them.

There's no level playing field here.

Just to correct a misapprehension on the thread. Scottish schools are NOT on summer holidays. It's only mid June for gods sake.
My child's school "break up" date is/was Friday 3 July. It's usually around that every year for most schools across the country, occasionally a week either way in some areas. We normally get 6 weeks off back mid August but this year they are going back on 11 Aug one week early in an attempt to catch up a tiny bit.

Thanks candyfloss.

@7ofNine most Scottish schools would finish last week of June. None would be finished by now normally.

Thanks star. I think I had it in my head that Scottish schools went back at the beginning of August (like English go back beginning of September) so was working back six weeks from that. I hadn't realised you only really go back one week before English schools (apart from this year, obviously).

As if rather have my children virus free.

@NeverTwerkNaked
Yes, perfectly serious.

Because society hasn’t changed in the last 12 weeks and those that come from chaotic lives still come from chaotic lives, and those whose parents are interested are going to be better off.
It was ever thus.
It seems no one was bothered about the grade attainment gap between the poor and middle class a few months ago, but now it’s important?

It would be brilliant if those from chaotic backgrounds had extra support wouldn’t it?

But they won’t, school will go back, and we’ll all go along as before.

I’d even! Sorry I can’t find my glasses this evening.

@Isawthathaggis following your argument to its logical conclusion then, you are saying teachers don't make a difference?

Because some schools are teaching and motivating children remotely and some aren't. Hence huge discrepancies layered on top of the already existing ones.

They'll be fine, it won't be forever! But let's get things safe first.

@Nevertwerknaked

I suppose what I am saying is those children lucky enough to go to good supportive schools last August are still going to those schools, and those that go to unsupportive schools are still going there. Nothing has changed.

It’s not like children from chaotic backgrounds are suddenly being let down. If Clovid hadn’t happened they would be A* looking at Oxbridge.

Teachers have a right to work in a safe environment and giving children a longer break changes nothing. Your children will do better than children who are unsupported but they always would have done.

Where I am from in Scotland they have been providing free school meals all year round for a while now because children from chaotic backgrounds need support all year round, not just in term time.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if this was the Catalyst to smaller class sizes? Or more support for pupils? But it won’t be. All this grinding of teeth will lead no where.

I'm not signing, loving home schooling so far.
Less stress.
I do worry about the social aspect though.

Because plenty of parents don’t agree with you OP?

Because they don’t want their children back yet. Watch the news, I expect there will be some clues as to why.

You can’t compare shops opening up & football being played to schools. You can socially distance in a shop & you’re not there from 9 till 3 in a classroom full of children and their teacher. With only 15 being allowed in one class at a time, there needs to be more space and more teachers.

An utterly pointless petition.

It's no secret that most would like schools to reopen but when that happens should be decided by the government, acting on appropriate advice.

Opening a shop is completely different to opening a school. How do you expect all the children in the school to social distance when adults can't do it in tesco.
I would love my kids to go back to school but I will accept them going back 2 days a week in August if that's what's safer. It's not being done like that for the sake of it

I don't see how our school can re-open, its a very small rural school and literally all of the staff barring a TA and admin staff are in the shielding group. Currently key workers children and some YR, Y1 and Y6 from our school are having to go to another very small school in a neighbouring village, under the current governement guidelines they can't take any more children. Signing a petition isn't going to change the situation.

I know of a school that has just had to close because a dinner lady has tested positive for COVID-19 so I'm not sure I actually want my children to go back to school yet.

Because most people aren't stupid.

I really want the schools to open, my DS is getting really low now.

But if the schools do reopen, then the teachers can't do the homeschooling lessons they are doing at the moment, making it harder for those who can't or won't send their children in to teach them.

We got a newsletter from the school last week, the amount of teachers who are leaving at the end of term is staggering and sadly not surprising

Because it's June and holidays are imminent anyway, because people don't trust the government to make decisions for the right reasons and think they'll put us all at risk without a second thought?

I haven't signed because I don't want to send my children back to school yet OP. The risk of death to children might be low but have you not seen the news reports of young adults with no preexisting health conditions who are now on the donor list or have other serious health issues as a result of this virus? There've been shouts to open up the country for months now but if the government, how many would not have benefitted from the new treatments coming to light?

We all know once schools open for all that social distancing and bubbles won't work because there's not enough staff or classrooms. Why would I send my child on multiple busses a day to get to school and be exposed to the risk of infection when I'd be lining up and staying out the way of other people to just buy groceries? And before anyone asks if my child crosses roads or travels in a car, yes of course they do. It's not comparable to a novel virus where the long term effects aren't known.

As for when I'm happy to send them to school, I'll happily send them when there's not thousands of new cases and the need for social distancing is gone. If it's not workable in a school setting then they will continue to be home schooled.

Boris tried to open the schools and everyone was up in arms so he didn’t open the schools and every one is up in arms. Lol I wouldn’t want his job! Rock and a hard place.

If you open schools too early, the virus will spread in significant amounts among children and their teachers, and then they will in turn spread it to their families. The massive sacrifices of the last three months will then have been for nothing.
Part time, with alternate days and strict social distancing might be a possibility.
If you want to get angry with someone, get angry with the government for their crapness in handling the pandemic.
Until its safe to reopen schools, make use of books, documentaries, and for young kids without siblings, try to find family members/neighbour's kid to play with in a small group.