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Covid

Primary school bubbles popping - what happens with the other DC?

11 replies

MinaMurray · 09/09/2020 18:08

This is something I’ve been wondering about, as a number of schools near me have been reporting cases of coronavirus and sending children in particular bubbles / year groups home. Theoretical at the minute, as no cases in my DC’s primary school as yet.

What do you do with your other DC if one DC is in a bubble with an infected child and sent home to self isolate?
My understanding is that someone who’s self isolating is meant to stay at home and not go out at all.

I’ve got 2 DC in primary school and a 3rd at the nursery attached to the school. The school run is about 30 mins round trip if there’s no delays. DH isn’t usually available for the school run because of his working hours.

The school would probably say that DC1 (9, ASD and immature) could stay home while I did the school run as kids in his year group are allowed to walk home alone with parental consent, but neither DC2 or DC3 are old enough to be left home alone.

There’s no parking near enough to the school to see the car from the part of the school grounds where the kids go in / out, and that would be kind of breaking self isolation anyway.

So how are parents with more than 1 DC supposed to manage a situation where one DC’s class has been sent home to self isolate, but their other DC’s classes are meant to be carrying on as normal?

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Jagoda · 09/09/2020 18:37

I think you are supposed to magic up childcare for DC1 (I wouldn't leave him alone for 30 minutes)

If you are not a single parent I would expect other parent to step up and look after any DC having to self isolate, taking parental leave if necessary.

If you have nobody to help then I guess you have to tell the other DC school that you are unable to bring them in. Flowers

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Sleepyblueocean · 09/09/2020 18:48

Some schools are sending all siblings home too.

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BrieAndChilli · 09/09/2020 18:52

Honestly - I would just take them, it’s a bit of a mockery anyway, if your child has it odds are they have passed it onto the siblings - who are still going into school!!

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jagoda · 09/09/2020 19:28

I don't know @BrieAndChilli. It makes sense, but you would have to be really sure that nobody would dob you in.

Unless OP can afford the potential fines.

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MinaMurray · 09/09/2020 19:51

Sending siblings home as well sounds sensible.

The issue with magicking up childcare is the possibility that the DC self isolating may be incubating coronavirus, and it wouldn’t really be fair to ask someone outside the household to expose themselves and potentially get infected.

I don’t think that expecting DH to stay off work if one of the DC is self isolating with no symptoms is a great solution either - this is a situation that could repeat itself multiple times over the school year, and we need DH’s wages to pay mortgage etc.
He’d have to stay home if the DC themselves had symptoms, but that’s a different situation.

I can understand the argument about taking the self isolating DC on the school run TBF. It’s not as if we’d be able to effectively isolate any of the DC from the rest of the household anyway.

I wonder if the fines for taking a self isolating DC on the school run would be worse than the fines for not sending siblings to school?

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Augustbreeze · 09/09/2020 19:52

You don't keep siblings off, as they're one "tier" removed from the possible risk the child in the affected bubble has.

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Augustbreeze · 09/09/2020 19:54

Sorry wasn't very helpful. That kind of dilemmas are going to be faced by many many families in the coming months. All should be planning for it. But I know there are no easy answers.....

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TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince · 09/09/2020 19:55

My school is asking siblings to isolate too

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MinaMurray · 09/09/2020 20:02

@Augustbreeze
I can see the argument about siblings staying in school as they’re one tier removed, but from a practical point of view, it doesn’t seem easy to manage that when all the siblings are primary school age!

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Keepdistance · 09/09/2020 20:04

Personally i would isolate the siblings too.
I guess wecwill soon see the effects of all the 200+ that have been in school already and siblings continue to go in.

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Kmx123 · 09/09/2020 20:40

It makes the most sense for the family to isolate but i know someone that had 2 kids positive third still at school and dad going on public transport to work

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