AIBU to think school closures ignore parents' work commitments?

But as a keyworker how would I do my role if that had happened it was impossible for me to work from home. I needed to see my patients to generate the work to do my job. If my son wasn't in school there would have been no job and nobody was paying for furlough for me.

I live in Australia and our schools are not all AC. If temperatures exceed what is considered safe, schools will offer the option for parents to keep children home but will remain open for children of essential workers and for children that may live in less than ideal conditions or depraved areas. School can sometimes be the safest place for them.

With less children, a school should easily be able to keep the children that are attending safe. The heat is not the problem for most people, it's keeping hydrated and schools can make sure children drink water and offer water play or quiet time in cooler parts of the school easily with less children.

As a side, I have lived in the UK for half my life so very aware of the school system there.

I completely understand what you're saying. Personally I was lucky that I was a SAHM at the time and my 2 were still in primary and relished not having to go in to school for a period of time. It turned out my DD actually improved her Maths skills in Covid as I could give her 1-2-1 Maths tuition (I'm a further education teacher).... unbeknownst to me it turns out that she was sometimes too embarrassed to ask the teacher if she didn't understand something....so we addressed everything she'd previously struggled with, we did all her schoolwork together and her teacher was amazed at her improvement upon returning to school. Needless to say I continued giving her home maths tuition over the years and subsequently she's always been in the top set following Covid.

Absolutely. Although she actually got the same teaching. All the children were taught virtually by the teacher, it was just that my daughter was looking at the screen in a classroom with 2 TAs, rather than a screen at home with us.

What she did benefit from most was the opportunity to socialise with other children in person, which was really valuable. And giving every child that opportunity even once a week would have been hugely beneficial for their mental health. Learning can be caught up on, but the social experiences are something they will never get back

I think it was a mistake to only have keyworker kids in during covid. Every child should have got a chance to go into school in groups at least once a week because every child's education is equally important. My child was in year 7 at the start of COVID and missed an entire term at the end of the school year. Then missed another full term between Christmas and Easter in year 8. How is it fair that keyworker kids benefitted from being in school and everyone else had to cope with online learning? Most of us parents also worked . My kid didn't even settle into high school until year 9 and by that time was taking his options. Only allowing keyworker kids was a huge mistake and let down every other child. It should have been on a rota for EVERY child, It should NEVER happen again

Yep. We were told (as nhs keyworkers) that our daughter could only go in 2 days per week as they could only have max 10 children in at a time and 25 out of 28 had claimed keyworker status

https://www.mylondon.news/news/transport/almost-2000-north-east-london-34212221

You still haven't read the post I was responding to 🙄

No that's called wrap around care. School clubs are more than often run by outside sports clubs and music teachers who come once or twice a week and charge parents for their services. All if which can be cancelled at a moments notice so shouldn't be used as childcare.
Thechaseison71 · Yesterday 10:26
Many after school clubs are for childcare though

Plus after school wrap around which is child care, not after school clubs which is sport etc. After school wrap around care can still ask for parents to pick up without notice in an emergency like weather, illness etc because they are not the parents, they offer a service which has terms and conditions. They have every right to cancel in an emergency like a red weather warning.

I think you need to go back and read the post I was replying to.

You said after school clubs were for sports and whatnot. The ones I'm talking about are for childcare

IIRC, during Covid, didn't virtually everyone qualify as a Key Worker? Some schools had almost full classes once you factored in vulnerable kids too,

That's one school. If was a parent at that school I would be making a complaint. Keyworkers children should not get priority over other chiidren.

School is not childcare.

I would wager if there is one or two in that select sample there were others.

Sigh. There is!!

• "St John's C.E. V.C. Primary School - Clifton, closed on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons but still open for children of key workers

Yes options to pick up early. No mention of keyworkers only

I was responding to another poster. If this poster had read the post I was responding to the post would have made sense .

That's how I read it too though. You are both patronising and unclear. Lovely.

Edit - there are several schools open to key workers here.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/school-closures-full-list-today-uk-heatwave-b3002678.html

I can Google too.

And any other parent who wanted to keep their child in school during the heatwave. There fixed it for you. A quick Google tells me key workers weren't prioritised during the heatwave and neither should they be. COVID has proved only prioriting keyworkers was wrong.

You are applying your experience to the whole of the UK. Our school was open to KEY WORKER parents

During the heatwave? No other schools have given the option of picking them up early and kept others stay because the building won't be full and can move to cooler parts of the school. This applied to everybody not just keyworkers.

"Schools won't only be open for key workers again""

Well ours was!