If some parents don’t want to send their kids to school, I doubt they’d be forced to.
It seems wrong for a group of concerned parents (and union-organised teachers) to prevent any children returning to school.
School is vital, not just for the children’s futures, but also for the economy.
The schools should re-open.
All schools have received the same guidance at the same time. Most are making preparations to return.
Yes Chris, schools should reopen… and they will, when the Government has assured parents, teachers (and the Unions as you say) that the time is right. So far we have bungled announcements, U-turns and backtracking (maybe the tracing App isn’t important - Matt Hancock). All everyone wants is to know that it is safe for all children, relatives and staff… surely not too much to ask?
When our PM decides to pop-up again soon hopefully he will have some more reliable and consistent guidance for us all.
Yet it is ok for the posh private schools to go back when it’s safe to do so? How shocking that some people feel it’s boring well sorry it’s not meant to be fun it is worrying times and so wrong to think that we’re all in this together.
I find it disgraceful how the government have handled this. Not being able to be by a loved ones side at such a crucial time when they are scared is horrible.
Again it seems for some a major concern to there plans. We all had plans missed birthdays etc so why do some people feel there situation is superior to others??
It’s not safe for all children, relatives and staff. Nor will it ever be!
The question is - what’s a sensible level of risk to take, given a) a significant number of people now have anti-bodies, b) children can be mostly separated from elderly / vulnerable people and c) there’s a huge societal cost in keeping schools closed.
The school has ample space to accommodate one year group (year 6) even in the unlikely event all parents of students in that year group sent their children in. I could understand there being some logistical difficulties in accommodating the return of three separate year groups (reception, year 1 and year 6) simultaneously. But to not begin teaching any pupils at all on June 1st is a joke. The remote learning materials provided by Kilmorie have been excellent but their teachers have not been delivering online lessons for example. They are not exactly overworked at present. The threat to them from teaching in person is minimal - they are more likely to contract Covid-19 from their weekly shopping forays or from sunbathing in the park with friends.
Other schools are preparing to welcome those three year groups back on June 1st. They are employing simple measures - drop off times staggered by 15 minute intervals, children asked to wear PE kit to school so they don’t need to change during the day, bringing their own pencil case and bottle of water to prevent using water fountains etc.
Kilmorie is a fantastic school with phenomenal leadership. But they have really let themselves down here. One can only guess at the factors at play but I dare say the teaching unions have played a significant part, compounded by Lewisham council essentially absolving itself of responsibility by leaving the decision to individual schools, which is cowardice of the highest order. As the OP states, delaying the return of pupils for much longer will have very serious consequences for many pupils.
It’s a very odd decision and needs justifying.
If there’s one thing the science does agree on it’s that the risk to children from Covid is tiny. Anyone who talks about the safety of children either doesn’t understand the data or is trying to sell you something.
Children are being kept out of education to protect adults. I think we need to start being honest about this, and think about whether the costs outweigh the benefits.
A couple of points:
the approach taken by the school’s management team is in line with what is happening in some other local schools and is within government recommendations (to assess the risk for each school) - I am not sure why one school has been singled out
the school is not closed at the moment and has been open throughout the current crisis, providing care for the kids who have needed it most over the last few months
the detailed letter sent to parents signed by the headteacher today sets out what they’re going to try to do - a phased approach beginning with Y6 returning and seeing how that goes before more year groups are introduced
I think it’s much easier to make a risk call for yourself and / or your own kids than it is to do it for a staff of dozens and a cohort of kids running to nearly 700 and a group of parents / carers numbering over a thousand in total with a lot of different individual circumstances. People obviously have extreme views on this - I trust the school’s leadership team to know the details of the school’s own circumstances best and to manage the risk accordingly - a couple of weeks of caution seems prudent.
A challenge is that by necessity, the message in lockdown was very clear - 2 meters social distancing is vital. And that paid a huge part in reducing the spread.
However, the message is so strong that there is a genuine fear / expectation for many people that if you get within, say 1 meter of another person you run very severe risks of a fatality. You run an increased risk - yes. But if we do persist with 2 meters social distancing for a long period of time that has very significant impacts. Running schools, museums, churches, charities, fianance districts, public transport, pubs, restaurants, airports, theatres etc doesn’t work beyond a few months with 2 meters SD.
So somehow a way has to be found to reduce the 2 meters social distancing well before a vaccine is available. Or suffer the consequences which may be very severe. That is not easy but it has to be done. Testing and tracking I suspect is the least worst.
I would agree that the government needs to lift lockdown for a Now non existent threat. But teachers need to find their sense of focus and purpose. I’d be back in the classroom like a flash if I was a teacher. What an opportunity to prevail in your profession, yet instead there’s a cowering where there should be a lead by example. Lead from the front. Don’t believe the MSM. There’s no threat if you’re young and healthy.
Would you take a vaccine for an illness that you’re Highly likely to to recover from?
Since when were ‘facts’ hurtful arguments? Wow. This is the brave new world.
Yes, every time. While I might be highly likely to survive some illness - those with weakened immune systems, or those that are just plain unlucky might not.
My boss is a fit youngish yoga teacher and cyclist with no underlying conditions and has been very sick with the virus since before lockdown. A friend’s child has been in hospital with the severe Kawasaki immune reaction to the virus. And the R rating has decreased only because of weeks of lockdown. As a non scientist, your estimation that this lurgy is mild and fizzling out is very bold. I expect that my kids, who are both at Kilmorie, probably had it pre-lockdown but I still object to you belittling teachers, who have been teaching throughout, under a pseudonym on your initial post above. You also misrepresent the school’s position, which is in fact as Dave sets out above. I’ve also seen at least two single mums on other threads object to your slur on them. Perhaps it is you who should ‘hang your head in shame’.
Good. There is an identical original post made by Tom Hocknell on his own FB page. Opinions are welcome. Slagging off frontline workers under a pseudonym, not so cool.
I think Tom’s criticism was directed at those teachers who are choosing not to work on the frontline.
Imagine if doctors and nurses also chose not to work on the frontline…
Having recently heard of the loss of a former colleague who was widely described as young and healthy, I would respectfully disagree that this is a non-existent threat.
All the teachers I know at both primary and secondary level have been busting a gut to ensure that the children usually in their care have the materials they need to continue their education at home. Those who have been returning to school to care for the children of key workers have reported how nigh on impossible it is to implement and police social distancing between children, and that’s with only a handful of kids. Some kids are anxious and wary. Others have been told at home that the whole thing’s a fuss about nothing and act cavalier accordingly.
Every school will have a different capacity to adapt, different challenges unique to their space, and different timescales in which they’ll be able to safely make necessary changes. The schools are getting nowhere near the guidance they have the right to expect from the government. I can’t quite understand how one school is being accused here of being anything other than cautious and sensible, protecting the health of the children, their families, and the staff.
And while children may be bouncy and bulletproof, the teachers aren’t. Particularly not the older teachers and teaching assistants. Not all staff are young and healthy. Are we going to insist that only the young and healthy teachers return to teach the young and healthy children, because they’re no longer at risk? Do children with underlying medical conditions have to stay at home? And are we going to accuse older, more vulnerable members of staff of ‘cowering’ rather than seizing the opportunity to be Superteacher, because they’re uncomfortable collecting books and worksheets from those young and healthy children, some of whom have been taught to believe COVID-19 is a non-existent threat?
As Dave and Fran have explained in their informed posts, this isn’t about teachers not working. The school has a sensible plan in place which prioritises vulnerable children and the children of key workers and gets the rest back in asap yet safely. It’s great big non-story.