MNHQ here: Details on school closures from the Department of Education

[AnnaCMumsnet]

Hello

We have been contacted by the Department of Education about the school closures affecting Primary and Secondary. They say:

"The Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, has today announced plans to keep early years, schools, colleges and universities open from January.

"The government will now begin applying the contingency framework for education and childcare settings in areas of the country with very high rates of incidence or transmission of the virus, with the first areas to move into the framework listed below. The framework requires secondary schools and colleges to offer face-to-face education to exam years, vulnerable and critical worker children, and remote education to all other students.

"Please note that vocational exams scheduled for the first weeks of January will go ahead as planned."

Return dates for primary and secondary schools & colleges in England

4 Jan – majority of primary schools start returning
4 Jan – secondary schools and colleges to provide remote education for exam years and face to face for education for vulnerable and critical worker children
11 Jan – face to face education for exam years and vulnerable and critical worker children and remote learning for other secondary school and college years
18 Jan – secondary school and college students return for face-to-face education

"In the following local areas under contingency framework, all primary students will receive remote education. The areas will be reviewed on 18 January and any secondary schools in the areas will provide remote learning except for exam years and vulnerable and critical worker children:

London
Barking and Dagenham
Barnet
Bexley
Brent
Bromley
Croydon
Ealing
Enfield
Hammersmith and Fulham
Havering
Hillingdon
Hounslow
Kensington and Chelsea
Merton
Newham
Redbridge
Richmond-Upon-Thames
Southwark
Sutton
Tower Hamlets
Waltham Forest
Wandsworth
Westminster

Essex
Brentwood
Epping Forest
Castle Point
Basildon
Rochford
Harlow
Chelmsford
Braintree
Maldon
Southend on Sea
Thurrock

Kent
Dartford
Gravesham
Sevenoaks
Medway
Ashford
Maidstone
Tonbridge and Malling
Tunbridge Wells
Swale

East Sussex
Hastings
Rother

Buckinghamshire
Milton Keynes

Hertfordshire
Watford
Broxbourne
Hertsmere
Three Rivers

"For more information please go to www.gov.uk/government/news/school-contingency-plans-to-be-implemented-as-cases-rise."

Mumsnet just represents the SW now, Wow.

Week 52 is 21-27/12

Dear D of E,

If you are reading this thread, please could you make it clear and unambiguous that families with a shielding parent can choose to home school temporarily?

That is, until we are covered by a vaccine, which we understand is imminent for CEV adults.

Given

• the rocketing positivity rates amongst both primary and secondary pupils
• the escalating tiers
• the new variant, more effectively transmitting via children (who definitely can transmit)
• the crisis in hospitals
• the glitches with rolling out testing in schools and also with test and trace
• the government sent out another request to shield yesterday

Education is terribly important, but family illness and loss of a parent derail that education disastrously. I would not be so concerned about this if I thought my children could thrive without me.

Many of us would be able and happy to educate temporarily at home (just with the curriculum from school) but do not want permanent loss of school places for our children.

Thanks.

Well in the first week of the holidays up to Christmas Day we had a further 12 students test positive across years 9, 10 and 11 and a further 3 members of staff. That weeks data is important. It was clearly spreading like crazy in schools in the last week of term then positives coming in the next week.

The very week in which the dfe threatened to sue schools if they tried to close early to protect their communities.

@starrynight19

Really disappointed that you are being used as a marketing tool for the DFE. None of this is new information , surprisingly we are all fairly able to read / watch the news.

Paid I assume ?

I've actually been and rechecked messages and it was actually 15 students and 3 staff between 19/12 and 24/12. That's the ones we were informed of anyway.

For context we only had 3 staff test positive from September 1st to December 18th despite lots of student cases so as a staff we're clearly good at trying to protect ourselves despite crap mitigation allowed by dfe.

Yet 3 staff caught it in the last week of term when the government and dfe had the data to know it was spreading like crazy in secondary schools and knew it was likely because the new variant was more contagious. Yet they didn't tell us and wouldn't let schools who could see the damage being done to their community close.

@Iamsodonewith2020

Over 120 cases in our secondary school since the last day of term; that’s 10% of the children!

That is high

Do you mean 120 cases with symptoms and PCR test?

Are you in a mass testing area?

Who is going to be doing the testing in schools @DfE?

Is it going to be the teachers?

Haringey have defied the government and are advising all primary schools to close. Is it likely the other borough's will follow suit?

www.haringey.gov.uk/news/returning-primary-school-statement-leader-and-deputy-leader

Let’s see if Gav decides to threaten court action again.

I wonder if he will ...

I hope he does, I hope they say bring it on and I hope the toss bag has to admit in court that schools aren’t safe and his list was pulled out of his arse.

Yes - I heard old Gav on the radio this morning. The interviewer asked why he'd threatened to take Greenwich to court before Christmas when they could see (ahead of Gav) that there was exponential growth of the virus.

He spouted some crap about schools needing to be kept open blah blah blah

I really hope he does do the same again - why Greenwich caved in last time I don't know. Imagine the government taking a council and schools to court over this. Would they win? How could they? And what dicks they would look to everybody.

@noblegiraffe

I hope he does, I hope they say bring it on and I hope the toss bag has to admit in court that schools aren’t safe and his list was pulled out of his arse.

Pulled out his arse and past has balls of steel

They're really stuck in the mantra "schools must be kept open" aren't they?

As important as that is and I agree they do need to be where possible - but not with the current risks to staff, pupils and their families and communities.

Wow. Good on haringey. It all seems so crazy.

MarshaBradyo yes that’s community testing in a tier 4/ school closure area.

@MNHQ all London primaries now closing to all except KW and V

Does anyone know how London case numbers compare to other tier 4 areas?

You can look up different areas here, schools

coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/interactive-map

Oh dear. This hasn’t aged well.

@noblegiraffe you have done a sterling job speaking out for safety in schools over the pandemic (and faced a lot of flak for it) shame it fell on deaf ears at the DfE. What an absolute shambles they've made of the last few months weeks topped off with the one day super spreading school event today.

www.tes.com/news/exclusive-teacher-covid-rates-333-above-average

For those still in doubt. Dfe knew this while posting about how safe schools are.

Wow.