Reassuring news: Schools opened again in Denmark with success.

The key issue for me is the age of the pupils. The youngest pupils in Danish schools are almost two years older than the pupils in UK schools. Danish pupils have been banned form sharing anything with other pupils, which means they can't play with anything provided by the school. They have been told to bring all the equipment they need. If Danish primary schools are anything like schools in other European countries, they don't have the same system as the UK does with reception and Y1. They are older and are used to sitting at desks from the start.

I read a blog by a Danish teacher, who pointed out that most Danish schools are all through 6-16 schools. That means that they have more space for the children to be in separate classrooms and stay in "bubbles". They are also being provided with hand sanitiser throughout the school and the schools themselves are being cleaned twice a day.

Are you really willing to put your staff at risk WOODMOUSE? What safety measures are you planning?

The UK is not Denmark. The UK is having 1000s of new cases a day, it’s rate of deaths per 1m is 5x that of Denmark ,its its school system is vastly differently funded and organised, it does not have the huge inequalities we do - apart from that, sure we can learn from Denmark

WOODMOUSE49 with classes of 30, support staff cut to the minimum, some staff still trying to provide on-line education for the children still at home could you explain to me exactly how the same staff-pupil ratio could be achieved please. It would take 3 members of staff for just the reception class in a one class entry school and 6 for reception and year 1. There are sually 6 teaching staff and perhaps 3 support staff in a small primary school. So either the rest take the year 6 children and ignore the children at home or it can't be done.
There is also the question of space most small primaries are already using every room, where are the small groups supposed to go?

Furret. Yes I am aware and have followed what Denmark has done and when.

I had hoped the clip from the Denmark school showed how children responded to the changes in their schools and also what the teachers thought to it.

trisher. Schools here could have this ratio on re-opening, I wasn't inferring that schools would look permanently like this, as you are.

I speak with the knowledge of being a deputy of a 400+ primary school. I would hope, and I am sure the unions will fight for this, is sufficient time for schools to re-organise/re-structure the layout and movement around schools+outside.

My dd works for an LA and they are looking to the Danish system to get children back to school. Her council has a lot of vulnerable and disadvantaged children and the longer they are out of school, the worse is it for them. The staff seem happy with arrangements, partly because the key-worker system has been successful with no upsurge of infection.

WOODMOUSE49 I looked up Denmark. Children don't start school until the year of their 7th birthday so the youngest are 6+ Class sizes average 19 and staff-pupil ration is 10.4. There is no way Engish schools could reach this level of supervision. I also worry about the children sitting alone who look so unhappy.

Do you know how few deaths Denmark has had from Covid19 and how well it has been contained? The situation is way different from here in the UK.

I would hope that UK schools are given enough support by UK Gov to make it as safe for children and staff to return to schools.