Is it safe for our children to go back to school?

I must concur with last weeks readers concern about the lack of response from our MP. I have also asked questions and, to date, I have no response from Siobhan Baillie or her team. However, at this time, I am more concerned about the absurd comments that she has used to support a return to school which does not in any way deal with the issue of mitigating the risk to school staff and children of contracting the virus, her “is confident social distancing can be implemented effectively” is not good enough and demonstrates a lack of understanding of the risk management process. The two points that she raises to support her view are social issues which need separate resolution and if she believes they are true then she needs to take urgent action. To suggest that children at risk of harm or neglect are protected by going to school is worrying, if no action, in these cases, is being taken. What happens before and after school and during the lengthy school holidays to these children, I would suggest she needs to discuss her concerns with social services and take some urgent action. If she is so concerned about the lack of laptop resource, for some of these children, then this is easily resolved by an allocation of resource. The issues she raises are not mitigation of risk to the return of children to school. I am in no doubt that teachers and staff want nothing more to get back, doing the great job they do, to our schools but under a safe environment. Under the proposed criteria of social distancing for very young children, minimal PPE for teachers and staff I do not share Ms Baillies confidence or assertion that it will be safe. If she understands the concepts of risk then she will know that sending children back to school will increase the risk to staff and children, no-one knows what the increase of risk is, it may be small, but it will increase. Most of us just want an honest open debate about the issues which affect all of our lives.