It's now 3pm on the Friday before back to school week...

[SirSamuelVimes]

... and my DDs primary school have still not told parents anything about the arrangements for next week.

We don't know:

• What the arrival time is
• What the end of day time is
• If staggered starts / finishes remain
• Where on the site to take our child
• What the rules are for site access, mask wearing (we had to wear masks in the playground for pick up and drop off until the end of the summer term)
• What can be brought in from home, or not.

I am lucky in that my working hours are fairly flexible but even so this is stressing me out.

Is it just me, or is this ridiculous?

They go back on Tuesday. Wouldn't be surprised if we got an email on Monday afternoon.

To be fair the DfE love a late Friday email update. Sometimes during the afternoon, sometimes late into the evening. The guidance now is quite vague and schools are having to balance what they think is common sense, what teachers are prepared to put up with and what the guidance says. It's a nightmare to manage. And you need a contingency plan where you can step measures up and down at short notice.

I got an email at 2.20 this afternoon for Monday. I didn't expect any earlier, partly because I am used to the school's late notice information and partly because I didn't expect the school to be told anything by the government/ council/ whoever until the last minute.
They are keeping staggered starts and finishing times, one-way systems round the playgrounds at the start and end of the day, but mask wearing now optional and they will start to allow gradual mixing of year groups and assemblies and church (it's a Catholic school).

Our head sent out an email provisionally for what would be happening, pending last minute changes before they broke up. Then resent the email at the end of last week confirming this was now happening. The school reopened yesterday.

So i dont think there is any excuses for parents not being told.

If our head managed it, wtf is wrong with others?

@RedToothBrush

Our head sent out an email provisionally for what would be happening, pending last minute changes before they broke up. Then resent the email at the end of last week confirming this was now happening. The school reopened yesterday.

So i dont think there is any excuses for parents not being told.

If our head managed it, wtf is wrong with others?

See, I would have been more than happy with this.

I don't get the people saying heads will have only just gone back in. I was a teacher for twelve years, the whole senior leadership team (and many of the rest of us) were in and out for the last two weeks of August. Maybe it's different because I was in secondary and we had exam results to deal with, but I find it really difficult to believe the senior staff haven't been through the door before today.

Anyway, at least now I have the information it is sensible enough, and they've dropped a lot of the Covid safe performance theatre of the summer term.

If our head managed it, wtf is wrong with others?

There’s still time to be fair. School staff have had a very rough ride over the last 18 months and will be doing their best.

We were told at the end of term that school will finish at 2.40. Got a text yesterday amending it to 2pm.
No idea how Im going to deal with that.
It's as if the school thing we all sit around all day waiting to collect our children. Some of us have jobs that can't be altered at such late notice.

@WinTheNight

If our head managed it, wtf is wrong with others?

There’s still time to be fair. School staff have had a very rough ride over the last 18 months and will be doing their best.

How is that any different to our head who has had just as much to deal with as any other primary head?

@Zorinindustries

We were told at the end of term that school will finish at 2.40. Got a text yesterday amending it to 2pm. No idea how Im going to deal with that. It's as if the school thing we all sit around all day waiting to collect our children. Some of us have jobs that can't be altered at such late notice.

That's insane!

An Inset Day! On first day of Term.
Lazy bastards.

How is that any different to our head who has had just as much to deal with as any other primary head?

Different schools will have different issues to deal with, obviously. I’m sure they’re not deliberately withholding information from parents, what would be the point in that? This is a very busy time of year and everything will be ready for the children. Parents will get their information.

My oldest won’t be getting his timetable for college til the night before he goes back. There are good reasons for that that other colleges won’t have had to take into account.

@WinTheNight

How is that any different to our head who has had just as much to deal with as any other primary head?

Different schools will have different issues to deal with, obviously. I’m sure they’re not deliberately withholding information from parents, what would be the point in that? This is a very busy time of year and everything will be ready for the children. Parents will get their information.

My oldest won’t be getting his timetable for college til the night before he goes back. There are good reasons for that that other colleges won’t have had to take into account.

Timetables are not usually issued until the first day of school. That is normal practice.

Very different from primary schools not telling parents when they can drop off and collect their children, especially when those parents need to organise their work commitments and childcare around that timing.

Different schools all have working out when they start/finish and how that impacts parents. Its very basic and should be a priority.

If you were talking about timetabling or after school arrangements etc I'd agree with you. But this is the very basic and if parents are unable to sort at the last minute it raises safeguarding issues in its own right!

@Zorinindustries

We were told at the end of term that school will finish at 2.40. Got a text yesterday amending it to 2pm. No idea how Im going to deal with that. It's as if the school thing we all sit around all day waiting to collect our children. Some of us have jobs that can't be altered at such late notice.

Do you mean a 2pm finish every day? . Or just for the first day back?

YANBU, I’ve experienced similar and it’s stressing me out massively. DS starts a new school on Tuesday and until yesterday they hadn’t provided info on Covid procedures, pickup and drop off, safeguarding procedures, given me the names of his teachers, explained how they would update me with regard to my child’s progress, let me know whether the requested funding had come through, or even let me know what he had to wear. I didn’t dare buy school items in case I unwittingly violated the rules, like maybe he’s only allowed to have certain shoes or maybe his coat has to be navy or they’re only allowed to write in blue pen, I had no idea. So I’ve had to wait until they gave me the info yesterday and now I have a mad rush to buy everything for Tuesday and label it all.

The worst part is he has a food allergy and I asked if he could have school dinners or not, they said it would probably be fine but I didn’t get a reply until yesterday. And they said no, so now I have to go out and buy a lunchbox and make lunches that I wasn’t expecting to have to make.

The school gives absolutely zero shits that I have all of this hassle at the last minute. I’m autistic and last minute changes are very stressful for me, I need to have everything planned and have time to think about it and come to terms with it. I’ve been panicking for weeks because I didn’t know who I’d be handing my child to or what procedures I’d have to conform with. I don’t have time to process all of this mentally before Tuesday.

Timetables are not usually issued until the first day of school. That is normal practice.

Not for colleges here it’s not. Last year my son got his college timetable almost a week before. Other colleges do similar. This year my sons will be later due to specific circumstances. I’m just saying stuff happens which means some schools will be later giving out info than others.

The primary my SIL teaches at has had an issue with after school pick ups due to a gate being broken. This has delayed them releasing pick up info until they knew it was sorted. Stuff happens. It’s of no advantage to the school to not give this info to parents as soon as possible as it just results in lots of phone calls from parents.
Schools will send the info as soon as possible.

@Wandawide most schools have at least one INSET day before term starts for pupils. It will usually involve Safeguarding training as the guidance is updated every year.

We got an email the day before, at about 2pm.

It is ridiculous I agree but they couldn't have confirmed at the end of summer like normal because of COVID and who only knows what was going to happen in six weeks, and they were only in one day before we were so I'm not sure what else they could've done?

I'm a teacher and my LEA only had their Heads' Briefing this afternoon and still lots of unanswered questions for schools, so please don't feel like it's the school's fault. Everything is last minute. Very frustrating for everyone!

I get you op. I was annoyed last week to get an email chainring e start date of the term - not because I need childcare (although annoying if he'd been younger) but because we said no to a holiday with friends that it turns out we could in fact have gone on.

We got an email in July with the start dates which said all school back on 3rd Sept. and last week an email saying only year 7s in on the 3rd Sept and the rest in on Monday!

W00t 2pm every day.

Good lord! Do they not have to consult/give notice on that? That's horrific How can anyone work?

We go back Monday. Message at 16.45 today.

Going back as normal. No staggered drop offs and pick ups. Parents allowed back in playground (we had staggered drop offs and collections outside of entire premises)

No need to self isolate unless showing one of the main 3 symptoms / have tested positive. Absolutely no mention of what happens if you have other kids in school whilst you await PCR results / you have one positive child

Masks "encouraged", loitering to chat after pick up and drop offs "discouraged"

Back to normal.

Fucking water bottles still required though. God I have those hard to clean little bastards.

@fingersdoublecrossed

I'm a teacher and my LEA only had their Heads' Briefing this afternoon and still lots of unanswered questions for schools, so please don't feel like it's the school's fault. Everything is last minute. Very frustrating for everyone!

So how on earth has our head managed it?

She's obviously a mind reading super woman with magic skills of super sleuthing.

Pretty special talent. I'll be sure to tell her on Monday if I see her.

God forbid she read the government guidance herself and had a fair idea what the hell her job is.

Sorry, these excuses just don't cut it for me.

So how on earth has our head managed it?

Because all school and Local authorities are different.