Children more likely to be infected...

Having read a lot of people's views on this and listened to a lot of experts, I'm genuinely non the wiser. My disabled son, for who the lack of school and routine is a real issue is not going not be able to go back anyway as his school have informed us he isn't in the selected groups. He has been self harming again and his medical care as basically been abandoned by the NHS.
The welfare calls by staff from school are a total waste of time to the point where I told them yesterday to just not call anymore. A telephone appointment with Sheffield Childrens hospital gave us very little help either. My wife is in bits about it all.
My other son, who is coping fine with the lockdown, is allowed to go back from June 1st, the irony would be funny if I wasn't so stressed about it all.
So I think it's fair to say my views on if School's should open and on the shutting down of NHS services are definitely biased.
Ultimately my opinion doesn't matter as I am powerless to control the outcome.
I've been coming on here more during all of this for a mental break for my stresses at work and home.
I have decided now to have a break from posting on here.
My name has been mentioned as someone who is arguing in favour of something others believe to unsafe.
I do not wish to upset anyone or argue about anything, I simply don't have the energy.
Hopefully things will improve for us all and we can get back to arguing about the reds.
Until then take care and stay safe.
C thi for nar.

 

Whatever it takes, I'm being responsible for her and other members of our family not getting it. I'm now asthmatic following a bout of what i think was covid. So I'm now at risk. Government won't care, if my daughter lead to me getting it again and I died. Who's at fault? Tories will explain it was unforeseen, it was her fault and that big businesses were more important than our family unit. That'll probably happen in many households.

 

I don't think they've out big businesses first at all. They've put many businesses into liquidation

 

Right so In 5 weeks of April, which is the last lot of data that ONS have published the average was 9100 extra deaths per week. It’s the last lot of data we have. But you’ve just chosen one data point and ran with that and then made some arbitrary percentage up. I told you we were averaging 10k deaths extra a week, you scoffed at that and called it rubbish. 2 of the weeks were 12k extra. Those weeks were just 3 weeks ago. Now is not the time to be having a debate about easing lockdown or sending kids back to school.

 

I think I’ll leave it there. It’s clear that currently there aren’t 10k excess deaths a week. I’m not denying there was a few weeks ago when we were at the peak of the pandemic in the UK, but we’re in a completely different place now.

Happy to check back in two weeks when the current excess death data is available. It won’t be anywhere near 10k.

 

Not according to this

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52770353

 

I get your point and there maybe some examples but the whole supply chain has been hit and so demand has reduced dramatically in loads of sectors. I haven’t seen many examples of abuse of the furlough scheme to be honest

 

So, if you make teachers redundant, where do you find the teachers you need to actually erm teach - If they refused to go back to work until they got an offer they couldn't refuse it could cost the country a fortune. If they don't go back, the school system in the UK collapses. And then you get the issue of Scottish or Welsh teachers not working because their government thinks it unsafe and English teachers having to.

Children in most of Europe don't start until they are 6-7 - until that age they go into kindergarten - with no ill effects. In fact, children from many of those countries perform better educationally and have fewer psychological problems than British kids.

 

You've just made me cry. I hope you're OK.

Some people on here need a long look in the mirror but they'll only see themselves because that's all there is for them.

 

Your son should have been allowed into school all along, the provision has always been for the children of key workers and for vulnerable children. He clearly fits into the second category, I would be having strong words with the school if I were you, I find it hard to countenance any school not accepting your son in those circumstances.

 

Sounds a very stressful situation at home. Even if his year group went back it wouldn't be school.as he knows it, but it will be hard for him with his sibling getting to go.
Take care and enjoy your break

 

it’s a nonsense suggestion. To do so they would have to renegotiate the contract if every single teacher within a 4 week period. Then they would have to find enough time to give them their delayed holidays later in the school year. Most teachers I know are working full time and have been throughout.

 

you can’t make someone redundant for refusing to work. That’s not how redundancy works.

 

Thank you all for the replies I took a few days and things have improved. We have broken the rules to achieve this (I think, the rules are unclear) and my parents have stepped in to help with childcare which has really taken the strain off, especially with me working.

Specifically to @JamDrop point we fit into both categories, not only is he vulnerable but I have been classified as a key worker. One of the outcomes of that is if I don't go to work I get SSP. With me being essentially the sole earner this is not a option. Hence the decision this week of my parents to step in and support us.
The school are in a very difficult postion as all the pupils in the school fall into the vulnerable category. Every single pupil who attends has a EHCP in place. They simply can't take them all, especially with the care needs they have and apply social distancing. I had a teacher in tears to me down the phone that they couldn't help.
The NHS care took another turn for the worse this week after the doctor I spoke to by telephone appointment didn't log the call or send the promised care plan to my GP. We waited 5 days for nothing. I didn't applaud the NHS last night. We feel completely abandoned by them. To be clear I still have great respect for those working in the NHS. But it's hard not to feel let down by the way our needs have been swept aside.
But again to finish on the positive, while my son is still struggling day to day and is suffering we are in a much better place than when i wrote that post. I can't put into words how greatful we are to my parents.

 

a cautious estimate shows over 60k excess deaths.

 

If they collectively refuse to work and therefore there's a situation that schools can't open and therefore teachers aren't needed you can. Alternatively you can sack them

By the way I'm not actually suggesting doing that

 

you can only make redundancies if the position is redundant not to settle a workplace dispute the school would have to permanently close for that to be correct.

You could terminate someone’s employment however in this situation I presume the teaching unions will just insist on workplace inspections. Those inspections will identify risk and look to remove that risk or if that is not possible to mitigate that risk. The removal of Covid is not at this time possible. Therefore you mitigate risk. Control measures are those that other front line workers are using. So Perspex screens between staff and pupils. PPe for staff and pupils. Social distancing measures with an effective test trace and isolate system. You might also look at more innovative measures like infra red scans. Whatever those control measures are they would need to be implemented prior to schools reopening. If those measures were not implemented you would refer the matter to the HSE and request that a prohibition notice was issued. This would legally insist that the control measures were implemented or the school would be closed.

No employer can run any sort of workplace if it refuses to implement reasonable measures and good lack sacking someone in that situation they would take you to the cleaners.

 

Safety is the wrong argument anyway. Logistics are the think that will scupper it.

https://www.newstatesman.com/politi...schools-question-logistics-not-risks-teachers

 

My girlfriend is a psychiatric nurse. I listen to her describe her day at work and what she's dealt with and I can't imagine what it's like. It's not a lack of imagination or a lack of empathy on my part, it's the realisation that I'm spared that, that, thank fk*c, I will never fully understand what it's like. It is beyond my experience, beyond my coping strategies and beyond my emotional strength. I don't offer advice, I just listen. I never complain about my job, and I no longer ever feel anything to complain about, in work and life. I can't fully understand what you're dealing with. I can't offer anything, but I'm reading it. I'm listening. When this is over there's a pint or six in the No 7 after a game if you want them. And I'll introduce you to a lot of people who are a hell of a lot nicer than I am.

 

This is what I've been saying all along. It's simply not possible. She's also not mentioned the fact that start/end and lunch times are supposed to be staggered but that there isn't time in the day to do that with every class anyway, never mind with a greater number of smaller classes (one school I was at was 3 form entry so even with just Year 1 and Year 6 that's 6 classes normally, 12 classes if split in half - you can't stagger times for drop off, pick up and lunch between that many classes). I also keep seeing comments around the fact that 'teachers will just have to be flexible and adapt, everyone else is having to' like we've not been adapting for the past 9 weeks. Nothing about the way we have been working is normal, I'm not even in a direct teaching role now and I've never had to adapt and learn new skills so quickly as I have since lockdown. The Head sent out an email today thanking people for their work this half term and listing everything that has been going on and it is insane the level of work that teaching staff have been doing and to think that people are calling teachers lazy and that they are doing nothing is insulting. I really want to copy and paste it here but I suspect I may get into trouble for that!

If schools are to open then social distancing is 100% impossible and that needs to be accepted and factored in to the risk. If it is deemed an acceptable risk then that's that but no-one is discussing the safety of having children back in with no social distancing, although that is what will invariably happen.