Schools and Covid 19 (part 5) **Mod warnings in OP**

SusanC10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118409739#Comment_118409739

Must have a read. Thanks. It's just an option to be considered. Short term until 5-11 are vaccinated or this wave of Omicron subsides.

My friends' kids are both under-11 so in Elementary School in the US. Yes, it was hard at the time on both the kids and the Parents but they were both fine. They are both fully vaccinated now since end of November and they are back to school in-person today (and have been since September).

Comer1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118409757#Comment_118409757

The only reason why schools couldn't open would be due to lack of staff. I don't see how anyone at this stage could argue for an extended closure due to safety concerns.

Deeec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118409697#Comment_118409697

I think thats a great idea that would meet all needs and keep students and teachers safer - You'll find though in Ireland the authorities go out of there way to find the problems rather than seeing the benefits. Im guessing the dept of Ed and unions will quote GDPR, confidentiality, technology, wifi , lack of training etc etc as reasons not to do this. They wont see it as viable down to several easily solvable reasons.

PowerToWait

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118409711#Comment_118409711

No, I don’t believe that schools are a child minding service, but it’s undeniable that many do.

No teachers, no economy. Get it?

HerrKuehn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118409828#Comment_118409828

Keep primary closed and open secondary schools and see how the teachers who are parent get on.

Jinglejangle69

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118409828#Comment_118409828

No kids to teach, no jobs for teachers??

Sammy2012

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118409815#Comment_118409815

Fully agree with the above! Covid doesn't really affect kids but unfortunately a lot of teachers isolating and there are no subs to be found so the children can't be in school alone. I know this is the same in my other sectors at the moment. There are massive staff shortages and business have closed this week. One well known supermarket in Wexford has closed for the entire week due to staff shortages.

Queried

Think the main issue with schools would definitely be staffing. Our school struggled badly before Christmas when cases were less than half of what they are now. I suppose we will find out tomorrow!

Sammy2012

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118409945#Comment_118409945

We were the same. We ended up getting a local girl to sit in with the class for a week! We had no other option. There are literally no subs to be found anywhere.

orecir

Staffing issues were troublesome in this country even before covid especially in urban areas. The two tier pay scale and making the one year higher diploma a two year masters had turned many young people off entering the profession. Many young teachers have done the right thing and fucked off to the middle-east.

The total disregard and lack of investment in education in this country in the past decades has decimated schools across this country. You get what you pay for. The chickens have come home to roost.

FishOnABike

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118409822#Comment_118409822

Solvable given time, money and resources. How many secondary schools could currently reliably support 30 to 40 simultaneous video streams, both on internal and external networks. How many have the audio-visual equipment to record 30 to 40 classes simultaneously? How many have the spares and technical support to do this reliably on an ongoing basis?

Given how poorly implemented equipping schools with CO2 monitors and HEPA filters has been I wouldn't have much confidence in the ability of the department to roll out the resources necessary to support hybrid learning.

lulublue22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118410390#Comment_118410390

If I could thank this post x 1000 😁 Our education system is in no way geared to this. It isn’t as simple as other countries can do it why can’t we- one of the biggest issues we found was a lack of access to equipment. You would assume that in this day and age every child would have access to a laptop / tablet / ipad but no we had to organise for school equipment ( limited) to be loaned out to students . Our school internet is a bit glitchy at the best of times and certain classrooms ( despite boosters ) are lucky to have it at all. It’s not unusual for it to drop across the entire school. Couldn’t see us being able to run a hybrid system with any amount of success. We had significant disengagement across the school during lockdown for that reason alone I’m hoping we won’t close.

SusanC10

I don't know the solution to this. But I really believe that starting when the Schools first closed in March 2020 and definitely latest by Summer 2020, the Dept of Education should have started properly investigating all options to continue Education for all children. They should have effectively "disaster-planned" different scenarios and different combinations of solutions to deal with the scenarios.

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Hope that your preparations are not needed but that they are there if needs be.

This idea of black and white - all Schools open as normal with little to no mitigations versus all Schools closed is wrong.

There were effectively no mitigations in our daughter's Primary School until recently when the masks came in. Our daughter was masked all along indoors at school and we took her off the school bus until she was fully vaccinated.

The mitigations in our son's Secondary were masks, no lockers, segregation of Year Groups and allocating Base Classrooms.

Hand sanitiser and windows open in both schools.

If proper plans were drawn up in Summer 2020, we wouldn't be here now.

combat14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118410895#Comment_118410895

we had 10 cases a day in summer 2020 if we had a zero covid policy like china we wouldnt be where we are today!

teachinggal123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118409697#Comment_118409697

That would never even get off the ground in Ireland. Do you think the unions would approve? I doubt it.

Also as mentioned there is no technology and expertise in schools to support this.

ginoginelli

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118410895#Comment_118410895

Agreed. People were screaming for these obvious mitigation measures from the get go. Many countries put a plan in place in 2020 and never had to close.

The government and dept of education seem devoid of the most basic imagination and common sense in this country.

Marty Bird

Staff are all jabbed and boosted, schools need to be open full stop, the virus is extremely low low risk to healthy children

my lad has it and it’s nothing to him a bit of a cough that’s it he’s outside playing football as I type, if parents feel the risk is too great don’t sent their children in. We must move forwards now.

KathleenGrant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118410895#Comment_118410895

The government have done nothing to improve the hospitals for a disaster situation so there was no hope of schools being prepared.

SusanC10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118411148#Comment_118411148

Agree with you. I was just talking about Schools here but absolutely agree that "Disaster-planning" should have been carried out in Health and across the wider Public Service. We were caught out by the Pandemic in early 2020 but we should have used that experience to at least make the best possible effort not to let it happen again.

spaceHopper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118409680#Comment_118409680

In that case talk to their GP' get them signed off sick and get them vaccinated then give it 3 weeks before sending them back.

ginoginelli

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118412166#Comment_118412166

Not too sure about the practicalities of that.

Many parents would be due a tulsa visit well before the 3 weeks due to most having missed so many days already.

Its just a shame we don't have a solid online learning infrastructure in place.

jimmytwotimes 2013

Not knowing if you're prepping for in-person or online work at this stage is fairly annoying.

TTLF

Just heard on the 9PM news there, Secondary schools are doing a staggered return,

6th and 3rd as usual, back Thursday, they don't know about the rest for now.

Wondering If college will just keep shut until I finish in April.... Most classes are online now anyways...

Sammy2012

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118413169#Comment_118413169

I don't think that has been confirmed. Only proposed by the ASTI

tscul32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118413169#Comment_118413169

Is that definite - ASTI planned to propose that tomorrow when they meet with the govt.

Gusser09

ASTI chancing their arms. Why would schools not go back fully?

1. Kids dont end up in hospital.

2. Omicron is even weaker than previous variants.

3. Hospitals are coping. Icu is stable.

4. The rest of our economy cant function properly without schools being open.

I mean where the fcuk are we going with this. Shocking, incredible and disgusting if this happens.

How much school will kids have missed in the last 24 months?

Marty Bird

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118413243#Comment_118413243

And never a mention of the time lost, bring forward the mid term now and if needs be follow on with the Easter break, work through those times and everything is equal.

Jizique

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118413293#Comment_118413293

Should Omicron even qualify as covid? It seems to be significantly more benign and is little more than a run of the mill respiratory illness for those who catch it, particularly in the <80 age group

spaceHopper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118412564#Comment_118412564

There aren't enough hours in the day for Tulsa to chase up on all the kids that will miss school over this. What is the worst they could do, a good scolding thats all

spaceHopper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118413320#Comment_118413320

apparently it comes with the worst head ache anybody has ever experienced - if I can I'll pass