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

Because my Ds is Ks3 I am Not sure the government are aware they exist . They never get a mention so no point

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.

If only what happens were decided by a COMPETENT government acting on advice. Alas.

I've just signed. I'll do whatever it takes. I can't believe this is happening.

Why do you think? Is it because cases are spiking around schools as shown by the links to stats on other threads? Is it because families are concerned about their vulnerable ones? Is it because of parents like the ones who sent their kid in with Corona to school and 5 days later it had to shut because —spoiler alert— several other children and adults got it. So no, mine will go back when the private schools think it’s safe to, not now in the still early stages.

It's not a tiny tiny chunk of their lives. If they have no school March - September that's 6 months. A big part of a 7 year old's life. Huge.

Signed

It's not that long ago that the majority view on Mumsnet was along the lines of "I'll only send my children in when Boris can guarantee their immortality", although the tide is very much turning. I'll echo @AnimalCrossing in that Boris did indeed try to open the schools (albeit half-heartedly), and there's no doubt he and others will be quoting this. "We tried to open the schools, but the unions/parents/teachers would not co-operate."

I do feel strongly that children should go back in September, and I intend to go on a march if there is one.

Signed

Ita safe for the kids in the main but not for the general population to send them back. I'm lucky that mine are old enough to wirk independently (14,13 and 10). I have lost half my income but can do the other half at home. DH is NHS so out a lot. They also have friends locally so go to the park most days to hang out.

Yes for some kids its shit (poor family life, abuse, no friends) but for the kids I know (about 25 through family and close friends) they in the main are loving no school.

Signed

I am a teacher. I want schools to reopen and didn't want them to close in the first place. My daughter is in Year 10 and she is really struggling. However I can't see the point signing a petition as schools can't reopen until social distancing measures are removed - it is just not practically possible. The government has to accept that either we're all in danger and therefore social distancing measures need to be followed - in which case schools will have to remain only partially open. Or - it's now safe and everything can go back to normal - in which case schools will open.

I think that children should be properly educated remotely. My middle DS's school is absolutely rubbish. They set no work, they've called me once in three months to check my Ds is ok, and when told he's not, said "chin up".

When I say they set no work, I mean nothing. Ds is y6 and he's had no school work to do and no teacher feedback for 3 months. They've effectively been abandoned and the school opened for 10 y6 kids only so they could keep them 2m apart at all times

I'd rather the government put all their efforts into getting as many children as possible back for as long as possible in September. It's a huge challenge.

It's only 4 weeks until the end of this term so I don't see the point in wasting energy on now. I want a credible, comprehensive plan for September which is robust enough to accommodate the reality of covid and doesn't shut them all down in hysteria as soon as there are localised outbreaks in schools (which until there's a vaccine, there inevitably will be).

@howyahun


'mine will go back when the private schools think it’s safe to'

Private schools can't go back until the govt says so - they have to follow the same DfE guidance as state schools so they don't go back earlier. So preps and the permitted secondary years are now back but no one else.

I'm in a country where schools have opened and it's not all positive. Because the rules are now different my niece and nephews now absolutely hate school and dread going. They used to love it before and were sad when it closed. I don't think that it's a good thing when children start to hate school, even if lots of parents want them out of the door so they can work.

@canary1Perhaps because most parents put their safety above everything else and rather than he who shouts loudest, common sense is shining through!

I agree op.

This thread may interest you

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/3942201-1600-paediatricians-have-written-to-the-prime-minister

I don't want to, thanks.
We won't appreciate the long term health implications of Covid for years. I find the "children aren't high risk" argument bizarre. Children live with adults and are taught by adults. Many children are now seeing their grandparents.

We didn't lock down soon enough, we have relaxed too early and as a result it will take us much longer to get back to normal than many other parts of the world.

The irony is that our government's desperate focus on the economy, above everything else, has ensured that our economy is fucked for the foreseeable.

I can't even think about adding Brexit to that.

@bigvig


I am a teacher. I want schools to reopen and didn't want them to close in the first place. My daughter is in Year 10 and she is really struggling. However I can't see the point signing a petition as schools can't reopen until social distancing measures are removed - it is just not practically possible. The government has to accept that either we're all in danger and therefore social distancing measures need to be followed - in which case schools will have to remain only partially open. Or - it's now safe and everything can go back to normal - in which case schools will open.

Why can't they keep the social distancing rules outside of school? The majority of the population does not have school age children. That would give a considerable amount of the vulnerable people a better chance of survival.

Because parents wouldn’t have an excuse for not working.

Signed

The school I work at has been fully open throughout, we don’t social distance because we can’t. We haven’t had one single confirmed case since this started. Why can’t other schools be exempt from social distancing? We already know kids are very low risk and parents will be in lower risk category I.e not 80 and those who are high risk kids can use the spaces that are then available.

Most schools have less than a month of learning, and re opening schools in September seems like a more reasonable option.

Many schools are 'open but out of space. We are both working in jobs on the key worker list but the school(s) can't take any of them. UK school buildings are so small in size, poor in building quality. But as the teachers on here are constantly making their stance (all parents are lazy and children are brats) clear we are also seriously looking at our children staying away from the toxic environment where bullying happens every day and gets ignored as we now realise the teachers are not in it for the love of the job, which I used to believe. Where children who do work sit there bored whilst teachers try to get too big a class just looking and listening for 10 mins of every lesson. A lot is being made of how little time children are studying at home but if it only takes 1 hour to get through what would be 4 English lessons in school then the problem is not what happens at home.
The school system doesn't work for parents children or teachers.