School Closures [split topic]

[bgmnts]

Schools closing in Scotland and Wales on Friday.

[Twonty Gostelow]

There's a primary school near me and the sound of the kids shouting and going nuts at playtime without a care in the world has been cheering me up recently. Only a matter of time before I start resenting them!

[Barry Admin]

Split this off as I was gonna start a thread over this staggering nonsense in Norn Iron:

Derry school turned down over closure request
A Londonderry primary school with a suspected case of Covid-19 says it has been denied a request for "two exceptional closure days".

In a letter to parents, the principal of Ebrington Primary School, Brian Guthrie, said his request to the Department of Education [DoE] was turned down.

The school in the Waterside has been cleaned and will re-open on Thursday.

In his letter, Mr Guthrie said he would "totally understand and respect" parents' decisions to protect their children and families.

"Do what you feel is right for your own individual circumstances," he said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the DoE said the current advice from the chief medical officer, the Public Health Agency and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies is that schools should remain open until advised otherwise.

"If schools have submitted an exceptional closure which has not been approved and are able to provide a fuller explanation as to why the closure is needed, then the DoE would be happy to review the request," they said.

What the fuck? Why all the "dither and delay" over this issue?

[idunnosomename]

Fucking little arseholes

Oh wait no that came out wrong

[Inspector Norse]

Fucking little arseholes

Enough about how you'll spend the weekend, what do you think about schools closing?

[idunnosomename]

Ween consider rewrite

[massive bereavement]

Won't be unexpected when England follow suit, but could trigger additional panic buying. My supplies will run out much quicker with no school dinners to rely on.

[poo]

Looks like they'll be off until September too.

[Dr Trouser]

scotland schools closed until August - great

[hamfist]

Looks like they'll be off until September too.

WTF, it's the summer holidays ?!

[Twonty Gostelow]

Looks like they'll be off until September too.

WTF, it's the summer holidays ?!

Sturgeon has said it's a possibility, but I don't think anything's definite.

It seems to be a reaction to more and more teachers and pupils staying at home anyway, rather than something that's being done to arrest the virus's rate of increase.

My wife works for the NHS in the community (visiting patients' houses) and is already covering for colleagues. Now she (and others across the UK) will have to cover for those who are staying at home with their kids.

[Puce Moment]

Imagine being a kid and finding out that you don't need to go school again until September AT THE EARLIEST. And you are pretty much immune from dying from corona.

They'll make a film about it one day, even if it is a zoetrope sitting on the top of rat skeletons.

[hamfist]

This will make that generation. Be like their nuclear angst & latch-key kid stuff all rolled into one summer. A whole load of generational movies about the summer of 2020.

[Inspector Norse]

Now she (and others across the UK) will have to cover for those who are staying at home with their kids.

It's almost as if the government haven't actually planned ahead!

[Inspector Norse]

To be fair it is an issue. The main reason for not closing them here is because everyone working in healthcare and related jobs will have to stay home (yes apparently absolutely everyone working in healthcare has kids), and they need time to come up with a plan for allowing them to go to work.

A plan like having some schools or preschools or borstals open with skeleton staff basically.

[idunnosomename]

Jealous of the little cunts

[chveik]

To be fair it is an issue. The main reason for not closing them here is because everyone working in healthcare and related jobs will have to stay home (yes apparently absolutely everyone working in healthcare has kids), and they need time to come up with a plan for allowing them to go to work.

A plan like having some schools or preschools or borstals open with skeleton staff basically.

my mum works in a school and they take turns to look after the children of healthcare workers. they only needed one day to come up with the plan and I expect it's the same thing in every other school in the country.

[GMTV]

And teachers will somehow spin it they're being hard done by, being sent home on full pay for months and months with literally fuck all to do.

[Zetetic]

Schools closing in Scotland and Wales on Friday.

By Friday. Some already shut as of now.

[Buelligan]

my mum works in a school and they take turns to look after the children of healthcare workers. they only needed one day to come up with the plan and I expect it's the same thing in every other school in the country.

This.  I find it incredible that no one in the UK seems able to think of a way to care for the children of essential workers that doesn't include the essential workers.

[Jasha]

Imagine being a kid and finding out that you don't need to go school again until September AT THE EARLIEST. And you are pretty much immune from dying from corona.

They'll make a film about it one day, even if it is a zoetrope sitting on the top of rat skeletons.

AND your exams are cancelled 👍

[pancreas]

And teachers will somehow spin it they're being hard done by, being sent home on full pay for months and months with literally fuck all to do.

You are on fire. Now do the feckless poor.

[Emma Raducanu]

If school s stay shut and we're lucky enough to have jobs, it's gonna be a logistical nightmare

[Dr Trouser]

My wife has spent all week making sure she can set and mark work via glow so she can still deliver the curriculum. She thinks it will be harder work doing this this than she normally has to do

[Dr Trouser]

If school s stay shut and we're lucky enough to have jobs, it's gonna be a logistical nightmare

The local YWCA after school club has been funded by the council to hold a day centre starting next week. It'll be like lord of the flies after day 3 but might offer hope.

[Bazooka]

So this is going to eradicate next Septembers 1st year uni influx.

Chris Tarrant: Ok for £1,000,000 John, which year did not have a Freshers Week?

[Albert Soviets]

Well, I'm currently being assessed for Higher Level Teaching status at school... or I was until I found out they're closing the schools so on a selfish arsehole level, I'm slightly miffed. I'm also a bit worried for a lot of our lot who probably won't do much other than play fortnite and live on aldi brand crisps for the foreseeable future. At least at school they get to see their mates, have some decent dinner and do something that isn't play bloody fortnite.

On the other hand I have been cleaning up after someone who projectile vomited blood today. Not doing stuff like that will make a nice change.

(he'd swallowed a lot of blood from a nosebleed, it wasn't a coming of the apocalypse type thing)

[Twit 2]

And teachers will somehow spin it they're being hard done by, being sent home on full pay for months and months with literally fuck all to do.

Hello. You are talking out of your absolute arse. Schools have been working frantically all week, doing their usual stuff they'd be anyway, plus intense and stressful contingency planning, plus an endless raft of ethical concerns regarding safeguarding of vulnerable children, plus planning and compiling home-learning packs for potentially weeks' worth of learning. Teachers are not classed as key workers so they'll still be going in to help with children of key workers, like those high risk children of nhs staff. Meanwhile, those staff who will have to stay at home due to childcare and other extenuating circumstances will have to manage their own children's learning whilst at the same time working from home to monitor, plan and assess their class's learning in a continuous cycle. Or take their own kids into school with them, which defeats the object of them being sent home from their own schools. It's chaos, everyone working their arses off and in the most selfless way they can, because funnily enough that's usually why they chose that profession. Have some respect/imagination/facts/empathy...

My wife has spent all week making sure she can set and mark work via glow so she can still deliver the curriculum. She thinks it will be harder work doing this this than she normally has to do

Indeed.

[Replies From View]

Well put, Twit 2.

Despite schools being closed, vulnerable children and the children of key workers will be coming into school, and I'm expecting I'll be asked to come in and ensure they are supported.  I expect this to be the case even if there is a lock-down quarantine situation for everyone else.

To be honest it feels a lot like we're the "expendable" ones.  It isn't great to read snidey comments about this from people who just hate educators for whatever reason they've sought out on reddit.  (I'd also like to see how much they'd cope with the salary of a teaching assistant if they had it.)

[Twit 2]

There are kids whose home lives are unremittingly bleak and for whom school is their only lifeline. And then there are the middle class kids whose parents will stick them on an iPad until their eyes fall out because they have no idea to look after their kids cos "that's the school's job." If we weren't Tory Britain 2020 there might be a way through this, but those cracks our government have been widening are about to be revealed as a chasm.