Schools

When schools start going back could there be: Thermometer checks at gates Social distancing 1 way systems Fewer children in class More classes online, live with teacher Less days at school Staggering of children attending school Cleaning of desks after each lesson Constant reminders of hand washing Wearing of facemasks by pupils and teachers

Why the contribution is important

We, as parents need to be as absolutely certain as we can be that our children are safe at school and that everything possible is being done to this regard. This needs to be done to the highest of standards with very strict "rules" in place. Some teenagers think they are invincible and it does not apply to them so there needs to be very close monitoring to make sure all apply for the safety of everyone.

by fionaosborne on May 05, 2020 at 03:43PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 3.1
Based on: 7 votes

Comments

  • Posted by Laraanne May 05, 2020 at 15:49

    I would rather wait until after summer for my children to return to school than to go back to soon and to have to close schools again. I believe that will do more harm to their education than continuing as we ate at the moment. For safety, vulnerable children may need to go back sooner, if social distancing, temperature checks and proper measures are in place.

  • Posted by MairiM May 05, 2020 at 15:49

    Individual schools could ask (they could already be doing this) parents do they wish their child to resume their education prior to summer break. Give the places available to those who want to return, instead of simply allocating them and having numerous empty seats.

  • Posted by ryantravers May 05, 2020 at 15:55

    The ability of temperature checks to detect Covid-19 has been shown to be very poor and countries that have tried it, e.g., the USA, have had little difference in their ability to control the outbreak compared to those that did not use them. Furthermore, even the surgical masks when worn perfectly have been shown to only reduce the transmission of viral particles by 50%. This was assuming a person was wearing the mask without any movement of the mouth and done under laboratory conditions. If the average cough were to produce 10,000 viral particles and 5000 viral particles managed to get through the surgical mask (assuming it is worn perfectly) then this is still multiple times the number of viral particles needed to cause an infection. So both ideas to use thermometer checks and masks to control the spread will be mostly ineffective.

  • Posted by ryantravers May 05, 2020 at 15:59

    I would like to add another comment about the disproportionality of wanting to change the environment in schools drastically when confronted with a disease that has led to so few deaths amongst the under-14s. So far from 1st January to 24th April only 2 people (both females) under the age of 14 have died of Covid-19: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/weekending24april2020 Hence why I think it is hysterical to talk about "children being unsafe at school".

  • Posted by micaela87 May 05, 2020 at 16:23

    Social distancing in schools is irrealistic, schools should not resume until next academic year in order to postpone a second peak as much as possible.

  • Posted by Redken May 05, 2020 at 16:36

    Choldren have been locked up at home for 6 weeks, if they had the virus then the whole house would have it. Since we are not hearing reports of this we can conclude the children are free of the virus and can safely return to school. Test the teachers.

  • Posted by Sarahking May 05, 2020 at 16:43

    I would be waiting till the virus is gone down a lot people with health anxiety going be scared to get there kids to school

  • Posted by JohnMorton May 05, 2020 at 16:48

    Primary schools in rural areas can manage to social distance relatively easily. Send them back now, Ms Sturgeon has no evidence that sending children back would put enormous pressure on NHS , there were very few instances before lockdown in schools and with social distancing not being observed in hubs at break time without any evidence of cases increasing then the risk is worth taking.

  • Posted by LauraMcLelland2 May 05, 2020 at 16:50

    I agree with deferring school return until August 2020, however it seems increasingly unlikely that even that will be a full return. Teachers and the government need to do more to support home schooling. Our school does allocate a couple of hours work per day which helps to give some structure, but there is no eg online classroom, checking in with the kids as individuals etc. My husband and I are both working full time from home and trying to homeschool a P3 and pre-schooler. I can’t help but feel the teachers could be helping us out more if they engaged more in online learning. Teaching online isn’t new (I work in education myself - it’s common place in the private sector) but there seems no drive towards getting it established in Scotland. I understand the attainment gap and the risk that online learning increases that, but continuing as things are increases the risk that people can’t work, pay taxes, contribute etc because they need to homeschool. I read a message on the school chat board the other day in which a teacher replied to a pupil who has asked if she was having a good day by saying ‘yes, just about to do some housework then I’ll pop back online later’. Surely (given the recent pay rise, constant calls for more recognition for the work teachers do) that ‘housework’ time could be spent learning more about how to deliver classes online? I repeat that I work in education myself, have done for 12 years so I’m not out to get teachers, I just wish they were being more innovative and forward looking in the current situation.
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