Re-opening Schools?

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

My daughter appears to be going in for a test next Tuesday, (and then again for the others at some later date) but will still be remote learning for a few weeks I think. The school seems to be dealing with it as best they can, but so much seems up in the air, and they seems quite aware that the government might change their minds at any point.

I still find this initial explaination of the march 8th date quite worrying.

"Why 8 March?
If we achieve our target of vaccinating everyone in the top 4 priority groups, including the most vulnerable, by 15 February, then those groups will have developed immunity from the virus by about three weeks later – that is 8 March."

First of all hooping the top 4 are all done by the 15 is not enough.
Secondly, the top four is not enough, I would have thought all 9 or at the very least 6.
Thirdly, it's only the first shot, it's not going to be a magical cure.
Fourthly, a vaccinated person can still pass on covid.
The tests are not 100% proof
Teachers are not being prioritised for a shot.

It's all so premature on too many levels.

 

[zahir]

Thread on misleading reporting from the BBC

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Just went for a brief walk about the parks. They are full off kids of all ages and parents all flipping mixing and playing together. Soon they will all be back at school with all the kids who have been observing the restrictions.

What a shit show.

 

[William of Walworth]

My daughter appears to be going in for a test next Tuesday, (and then again for the others at some later date) but will still be remote learning for a few weeks I think. The school seems to be dealing with it as best they can, but so much seems up in the air, and they seems quite aware that the government might change their minds at any point.

I still find this initial explaination of the march 8th date quite worrying.

"Why 8 March?
If we achieve our target of vaccinating everyone in the top 4 priority groups, including the most vulnerable, by 15 February, then those groups will have developed immunity from the virus by about three weeks later – that is 8 March."

First of all hooping the top 4 are all done by the 15 is not enough.
Secondly, the top four is not enough, I would have thought all 9 or at the very least 6.
Thirdly, it's only the first shot, it's not going to be a magical cure.
Fourthly, a vaccinated person can still pass on covid.
The tests are not 100% proof
Teachers are not being prioritised for a shot.

It's all so premature on too many levels.

I agree with your post very much generally , but see the bit of it that I've bolded.
(This is more a of a vaccination threads question really, apologies, but still relevant.)

I'd agree that everyone, the vaccinated very much included, should remain very careful about the risks of passing on the virus.

But I'd also ask : How sure are we yet that vaccination does not serve to reduce transmissabilty?

Is it an established fact that vaccinated people remain just as transmitting as before?

Let's all agree that everyone should err on the side of caution on all this.

But I'd also venture that a lot more data and facts/figures are still needed on that particular 'vaccinated people's transmitting the virus' question? Especially after a second dose?

From what I've read so far (links on here and elsewhere), the issue remains in need of (a lot?) more research before we're definite.

As you said though, the school opening date still seems very premature -- I'm very much with you on that.

 

[nyxx]

I’m not sure that point really matters in this context. The research isn’t ready on it yet so basing any plans for reopening schools on it turning out to be good news is just more gambling.

 

[William of Walworth]

I’m not sure that point really matters in this context. The research isn’t ready on it yet so basing any plans for reopening schools on it turning out to be good news is just more gambling.

I do agree, and I said so above really -- I did say that everyone needs to be cautious whatever, before all the research is in.

Apologies for the derail element of my post though -- just thought the question had some relevance.

 

[Johnny Doe]

Lol, I read this and immediately thought "Temporary Learning Arrangement?" Word salad indeed.

Sometimes I like to entertain myself by writing internal emails with as many acronyms as possible

Indeed. I was excited, I have to admit, to be invited to a meeting with the T & A department, at a new client. Tunnels and Aqueducts, it turned out

 

[William of Walworth]

Indeed. I was excited, I have to admit, to be invited to a meeting with the T & A department, at a new client. Tunnels and Aqueducts, it turned out

"Are Aqueducts a greater feat of construction than tunnels? Discuss with evidence and examples"

Great school assignment question .....

Possibly

 

[rubbershoes]

It's probably already been mentioned, but their school shoes and uniforms don't fit any more and the shops are closed. How are we going to get more?

 

[existentialist]

It's probably already been mentioned, but their school shoes and uniforms don't fit any more and the shops are closed. How are we going to get more?

Well, the uniforms'n'haircuts thread should see some interesting action...

 

[Thora]

It's probably already been mentioned, but their school shoes and uniforms don't fit any more and the shops are closed. How are we going to get more?

I haven't checked yet, but mine will be wearing whatever clothes they have that fit until the end of this term.

 

[rubbershoes]

Well, the uniforms'n'haircuts thread should see some interesting action...

It always takes time to persuade my son to have a haircut. I'd finally got him to agree to have one last March, but then lockdown.

I'm hoping the school will be putting on a performance of Grizzly Adams, as his hair is perfect for it

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I’m not sure that point really matters in this context. The research isn’t ready on it yet so basing any plans for reopening schools on it turning out to be good news is just more gambling.

This .
This is the reason I included it. Research shows that they currently don't know in the context of this vaccine, but it is possible to be vaccinated and still carry. Also, this is only shot one, and most people sending their kids to school (with kids of school age) won't have even had that first shot.

 

[zahir]

No masks in primary schools.

 

[zahir]

Data from the US

 

[20Bees]

Bigger supermarkets have a range of school clothes and they won’t stop you taking children in, though fitting rooms are probably closed. Schools that usually require uniform from their named supplier may be more flexible for the few weeks left of this school year? Online, or click and collect could be an option?

 

[existentialist]

Bigger supermarkets have a range of school clothes and they won’t stop you taking children in, though fitting rooms are probably closed. Schools that usually require uniform from their named supplier may be more flexible for the few weeks left of this school year? Online, or click and collect could be an option?

This shouldn't even be an issue. If it is so important to get children back into school for good reasons (emotional wellbeing, relieving parents of the task of educating/supervising kids, etc), then uniforms are an irrelevance. If we have to hustle kids back into school, just concentrate on that bit, and give them a pass on uniforms and haircuts, etc.

But I just know we're going to see news stories about kids being singled out in schools for not having proper uniform, or a haircut that breaks their arbitrary rules. And someone will bang on about how it is these things that make all the difference, and that if parents really cared about their kids, they'd find it in themselves to sort it out. Despite whatever else might be going on.

I've seen exactly this kind of thing going on (in a very different context) in schools - they just love to cling onto their pettifogging rules, as if those are the only things that stand between us and the End of Civilisation As We Know It, and perish the thought that they might be relaxed, dropped, or just interpreted pragmatically.

 

[zahir]

Thread on desk barriers. Presumably the same arguments will apply in offices, call centres etc.

 

[planetgeli]

We've moved on to lateral flow tests at school. As well as them being unreliable (false results, need for PCR confirmation) they aren't being made compulsory for staff and, more understandably, we aren't going to be testing the kids.

Smacks of 'looking like we're doing something'. Tbf to the school, it's not down to them. I suspect it's County. But it's a waste of money and does nothing whatsoever to make me feel safe.

 

[existentialist]

We've moved on to lateral flow tests at school. As well as them being unreliable (false results, need for PCR confirmation) they aren't being made compulsory for staff and, more understandably, we aren't going to be testing the kids.

Smacks of 'looking like we're doing something'. Tbf to the school, it's not down to them. I suspect it's County. But it's a waste of money and does nothing whatsoever to make me feel safe.

And the trouble is that, by the time reality has filtered upwards through a couple of layers of management, it's not going to be "looking like we're doing something", but "We're DOING SOMETHING!" and we're back into "kids can't transmit Covid" territory again. Until they do.

 

[Cloo]

Listening into daughter's school's presentation about returning to school - God, it's asking a lot of schools, and they're a fairly small school which is better able to cope than most, but oy!

 

[May Kasahara]

This shouldn't even be an issue. If it is so important to get children back into school for good reasons (emotional wellbeing, relieving parents of the task of educating/supervising kids, etc), then uniforms are an irrelevance. If we have to hustle kids back into school, just concentrate on that bit, and give them a pass on uniforms and haircuts, etc.

Sadly, Gavin Williamson's speech to the FED conference on Monday has made it very clear that nurture, wellbeing and support are not relevant considerations as kids come back to schools. Make them behave! Enforce discipline! He really is scum in human form.

Education Secretary speech to FED National Education Summit

Gavin Williamson addresses the Foundation for Education Development (FED) on education and building forward together

www.gov.uk

 

[William of Walworth]

(Some TLDR stuff about transmission of virus after vaccination )

I’m not sure that point really matters in this context. The research isn’t ready on it yet so basing any plans for reopening schools on it turning out to be good news is just more gambling.

This .
This is the reason I included it. Research shows that they currently don't know in the context of this vaccine, but it is possible to be vaccinated and still carry. Also, this is only shot one, and most people sending their kids to school (with kids of school age) won't have even had that first shot.

Apologies to ATOMIC SUPLEX for over-reacting to your post the other day

I actually agreed with almost all of it as I said, just took too much issue with one bit.
So I was focussing much too much on one aspect that is much better discussed in one of the vaccination threads

And you're right just above as well -- very few parents of school-age children will have had their first jab even .......

 

[existentialist]

Sadly, Gavin Williamson's speech to the FED conference on Monday has made it very clear that nurture, wellbeing and support are not relevant considerations as kids come back to schools. Make them behave! Enforce discipline! He really is scum in human form.

Education Secretary speech to FED National Education Summit

Gavin Williamson addresses the Foundation for Education Development (FED) on education and building forward together

www.gov.uk

I remember, when I first saw the photo of the bodies of Mussolini, Petacci, and the others, hanging from that garage roof, wondering how a country could hate its leaders so much as to engage in such bestial violence.

I no longer find myself wondering that now.

 

[planetgeli]

I remember, when I first saw the photo of the bodies of Mussolini, Petacci, and the others, hanging from that garage roof, wondering how a country could hate its leaders so much as to engage in such bestial violence.

I no longer find myself wondering that now.

What a cunt. Williamson not existentialist .

Children learn from each other

Then stop excluding kids in poverty and sending them all to one place where their poor behaviour multiplies because of this you twat.

 

[gaijingirl]

Sadly, Gavin Williamson's speech to the FED conference on Monday has made it very clear that nurture, wellbeing and support are not relevant considerations as kids come back to schools. Make them behave! Enforce discipline! He really is scum in human form.

Education Secretary speech to FED National Education Summit

Gavin Williamson addresses the Foundation for Education Development (FED) on education and building forward together

www.gov.uk

edited

 

[existentialist]

One of the best things (there aren't many) of being a grizzled old git is you can look into the bright, shining eyes of the likes of Williamson's acolytes, and say, witheringly, "Really? And you don't think we've been round this block umpteen times before you were even a twinkle in the milkman's eye? It's always failed before, and it will fail again. No really, there's no need to thank me for this advice.""

 

[May Kasahara]

gaijingirl I couldn't agree more. Really cannot muster up the words for how much I loathe this inhumane rhetoric, as well as how utterly pointless it is because it doesn't even work! Unless your end goal is creating more misery.

Fuck them.

 

[zahir]

Webinar on reopening schools safely.

 

[trashpony]

My son is having 3 lateral flow tests before he can go back to school. I was on a call this morning with a woman based in Reading, and she has children at 2 different secondaries. One is going back after 3, like mine, the other is starting back after only two tests.

Shambolic isn't the word.

We haven't actually been told officially that our children aren't going back until the 15th - I've just gleaned this from the information they've sent my son!