Opening schools

Yes, that 0% of kids dying from Covid-19 is seriously gonna mess those figures up!
None of us can go to work risk free at the moment until a vaccine is rolled out, and teachers are included in that. They just need to find a way to minimise the risk, like the rest of us. It won’t be easy but I’m sure it’s do-able.
 
MrIsaac said:
Yes, that 0% of kids dying from Covid-19 is seriously gonna mess those figures up!
None of us can go to work risk free at the moment until a vaccine is rolled out, and teachers are included in that. They just need to find a way to minimise the risk, like the rest of us. It won’t be easy but I’m sure it’s do-able.
Click to expand...

Children have died from coronavirus and can pass it onto others in school and teaching staff and bring it home. Can probably operate social distancing with 11+yo but not with the youngest children, those with learning difficulties, disabilities, underlying health problems etc who "the rest of us" don't generally have to work with. Each school is different and you really need parents, staff and governors to work this out how going back can be achieved safely in each case not be bulldozed into a one size fits all solution in 2 weeks time by people whose advice and performance in this pandemic has been erratic and woeful in so many ways and caused 000s of unnecessary deaths
 
kuepper said:
Children have died from coronavirus
Click to expand...
Well you're not wrong. Last numbers I read, 12 people under 19 had died. 9 of whom had conditions that made them vulnerable.

So the question is, will you keep schools closed until no children die of infectious diseases? If so, they will never ever open again, because children can even die of flu. In 2009, around 30 people under 20 died during the H1N1 outbreak. So we'd best not take the risk. It was actually a pretty bad flu season this year anyway.
 
The issue of maintaining a safe working environment under current government guidelines given the physical building sizes and the number of year groups that are returning means it’s not actually doable in the majority of schools in England, that’s the simple reality of the situation.

Sensible mitigations, like social distancing, cannot be implemented and with the use of PPE outlawed in the classroom there’s a an increase in the potential for widespread infection, not just to children but to staff and parents as well.

The policy needs a rethink, it’s not compulsory to return children either so teachers will be needed to support homeschooling as well as teach classes in these year groups which is something many people have overlooked and will create staffing issues.

A slower more gradual phased return was the proposal schools were in favour of and an extension of ‘key workers’ status to allow parents that needed children to return to school to go back to work to be prioritised but these suggestions have been ignored by the Government, and from what I can gather, a further year group added to what were already optimistic Government proposals.

Obviously more kids need to return to school but in a safe and sensible way, there is seemingly no strategy to do that under the current proposals and the focus should be on how schools can best support returning workers over the simple one size fits all year group policy of around 50% of children returning at once.
 
Last edited:
MrIsaac said:
Yes, that 0% of kids dying from Covid-19 is seriously gonna mess those figures up!
None of us can go to work risk free at the moment until a vaccine is rolled out, and teachers are included in that. They just need to find a way to minimise the risk, like the rest of us. It won’t be easy but I’m sure it’s do-able.
Click to expand...

We have been putting ourselves at risk since lockdown started as schools have not been closed
 
kuepper said:
Children have died from coronavirus and can pass it onto others in school and teaching staff and bring it home. Can probably operate social distancing with 11+yo but not with the youngest children, those with learning difficulties, disabilities, underlying health problems etc who "the rest of us" don't generally have to work with. Each school is different and you really need parents, staff and governors to work this out how going back can be achieved safely in each case not be bulldozed into a one size fits all solution in 2 weeks time by people whose advice and performance in this pandemic has been erratic and woeful in so many ways and caused 000s of unnecessary deaths
Click to expand...

Look for solutions, not problems and a way will be found. I do agree that it seems more sensible to start with the older kids.
 
The idea that this virus has little to no effect on the young is also flawed as There is a growing concern across the globe of a new evolving condition that isn’t yet fully understood - that seems to based around a rash.

Scores of UK and US children have been affected by a rare inflammatory disease linked to coronavirus.
In a tiny number of children it can cause serious complications, with some needing intensive care.
Up to 100 children in the UK have been affected and studies suggest the same reaction is being seen in children elsewhere in Europe.
It is likely to be caused by a delayed immune response to the virus which looks like Kawasaki disease.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-52648557
 
zorro_mfc said:
The idea that this virus has little to no effect on the young is also flawed as There is a growing concern across the globe of a new evolving condition that isn’t yet fully understood - that seems to based around a rash.

Scores of UK and US children have been affected by a rare inflammatory disease linked to coronavirus.
In a tiny number of children it can cause serious complications, with some needing intensive care.
Up to 100 children in the UK have been affected and studies suggest the same reaction is being seen in children elsewhere in Europe.
It is likely to be caused by a delayed immune response to the virus which looks like Kawasaki disease.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-52648557
Click to expand...
First it says scores of children and then it says a tiny amount up to 100. That is typical of our media at the moment
 
MrIsaac said:
Look for solutions, not problems and a way will be found. I do agree that it seems more sensible to start with the older kids.
Click to expand...

That’s what Headteachers etc are trying to do and the Government have basically gone against the advice they have been given as the best way to proceed and that is where the problem lies, they’ve been told about sibling groups, access and egress issues, maintaining site security and priority of children in vulnerable situations and with parents wanting to return to work but unable to as their children aren’t in the age group brackets. Believe me no one is working harder than those in education to safely return to school but unfortunately it’s Government inflexibility in policy which is the return of the 3 youngest age groups alongside the eldest to prepare for secondary school without other factors that is by far the biggest issue.
 
br14 said:
Well you're not wrong. Last numbers I read, 12 people under 19 had died. 9 of whom had conditions that made them vulnerable.

So the question is, will you keep schools closed until no children die of infectious diseases? If so, they will never ever open again, because children can even die of flu. In 2009, around 30 people under 20 died during the H1N1 outbreak. So we'd best not take the risk. It was actually a pretty bad flu season this year anyway.
Click to expand...

They can die crossing the road too but it's not just about children themselves it's about them passing the virus on to staff and other children and them taking it home.
 
Stay Alert means sending 5 and 6 year olds to school who dont understand social distancing or the need to wash their hands after well, pretty much everything a 5/6 year old does 🙄
 
Interesting that Dr Fauci the US expert throughout this whole pandemic (for now) and widely regarded as one of the s leading expert virologist has stated publicly-

Earlier this week Dr Anthony Fauci, who serves on the coronavirus taskforce and appeared wearing a mask at the Rose Garden conference, testified to the Senate that it would be a "bridge too far" for schools to reopen in the autumn.

( this is in the US but it could as easily be applied here)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top