Our children have the right to an education.

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So many posts about whether schools will be safe when they reopen but I’m not seeing this point made. Lots of discussion around the childcare that schools provide and the importance on children socially.

My 11 year old has lost all interest and I can’t get him to do anything significant. We’ve had one zoom social with his teacher and classmates. So pretty much zero learning going on.

We know children are less susceptible and there is some discussion around whether they’re transmitting less. The children of key workers (i.e. the ones more likely to catch and spread it) have been at school the whole time and as far as I know there haven’t been massive outbreaks in schools.

So I think I just want to loudly shout: our children have the right to an education.

Maybe it’s time for adults to take responsibility for the children they decided to create instead of them always being someone else’s problem.

I’m sick of hearing about people that can’t get their teenagers off the Xbox at home- and yet expect teachers to get them in learn in school! Stop moaning and start parenting your own children.

There seems to be an idea here that the pandemic will just go away and one day it will be over.

It won't!

We are going to have to live with this forever.

There may be a vaccine in 6 months or never. There may be treatment sometime .

The economy is fucked already and our children and grandchildren will be paying for it for decades to come.

At some point life has to go back to almost normal.

Children could go back with controlled social distancing in the classroom.

Playtimes etc are more difficult, but again, not impossible if they are outside and numbers reduced.

The posters who want a delay on this - when do you think the 'right time' is going to come?

The virus is here to stay.

Get realistic!

I don't want to send my children back to school. The death rate is still too high. There are children dying from Coronavirus especially in London. It's in the news!

Home Schooling is difficult but my children are safe and healthy which is most important to me. One of my children has low immunity and the other has asthma. Unless forced they will not be returning. Personally I would never forgive myself if they became ill again at school, (which is a regular occurrence for my eldest with low immunity.) These are just our personal circumstances. I totally understand why parents are worried. My eldest son was deccelerated due to his SpLD and I feel the best place for him academically is school because I don't want him missing out, however, far more importantly is my childrens' health. I can honestly say he's doing really well at home with more support, but it is a battle and yesterday he told me he's upset so I'd personally prefer not to be teacher and Mummy.

Most children abroad don't start school until they are 6 years old and statistics show they actually absorb more and do much better.

Still, home schooling is very challenging and isn't easy. One of my children is due to return on the 1st June! That's if there isn't another spike by then and I've already contacted the school to try to find out where I stand if I choose not to send him. I don't want to get into trouble with the law for attendance however I'm not willing to take the risk on his life.

Two of his friends have key worker parents, one parent is a Doctor, both are working but they haven't sent their children in.

Not so long ago even taking a child out one day before holidays was ruining their education they would be behind all the evidence suggests that even a few days at age 7 still makes a difference to attainment at 16 , you will be fined as an atrocious parent, now 3 months of part time education of poor quality with no marking is unlikely to affect long term outcomes
Well they can't both be true

Don’t project your own inability to cope with this onto everyone either, some are finding home education and working difficult but manageable.

Are those people teachers?

As there seems to be no consequences to doing their jobs badly, I’ll put little store on that thanks.

We’ll have big redundancies coming up. We’re for the chop if we don’t deliver to the highest standard. Damn right I’m finding that difficult on top of home educating my children.

@PurpleFlower1983
Totally agree. It’s not easy but we all have to crack on.

@Myfriendanxiety You're missing the point. It's not about parents finding it hard - who wouldn't- it's about the quality of education they can get at home versus school,emotional development, and the fact that the workforce in the UK can't get going until parents are free to work.

It's got nothing to do with being responsible for your child. How unkind of you to accuse parents of that.

Of course they do but not at any price and I think the cost is just too high at the moment.

This ^

It’s insanity that people are bitching so much, I can’t get my head around it. ‘Lockdown’ has been a matter of weeks, it’s clear we’re in this for the long haul, for everyone’s sakes. The amount of complaining just feels so spoiled and entitled, some people have no awareness of their privilege. I’d hate to see how these complainers would deal with any real kind of long term hardship!

Straycatshut that sounds so bloody hard, I'm so sorry you are in this situation.
I'm finding it hard to get my kids to do anything, they are 7 and 4. If I force the issue it just ends in hysterical crying.
My 4 year old might be able to go back to nursery on 1st June, I hope he can because I think he needs more than a term and a half of nursery before he goes into reception in September.

I get it. I get that teachers need to be safe. I get all the concerns about going back too soon. I really do. But this sort of thing...

Yes your child has a right to an education. Why aren't you educating him at the moment? Because you can't be bothered to motivate him?

Is fucking unhelpful. I’m trying to work from home, educate a 6 and 4 year old who need a fair amount of input, and look after a 16 month old who doesn’t nap. So no, they’re not getting much of an education. But I’m fucking trying. And being made to feel neglectful because I can’t do everything at once is hard. I can’t sleep at night because I’m stressing about how I’m going to manage the next day. I wake up with dread in my stomach about how I’m going to fail at my job, at educating my children and at adequately supervising my toddler for another day (we’ve been here for 9 weeks now due to self isolation for symptoms). I’m at the end of what I can take to be honest, and reading comments like ‘just fucking educate your kid’ is tipping me over the edge.

Well said @LavenderLilacTree. School admin here, we have plenty of contact with the children which usually is fab. Not in the thick of it like the teachers but even so. We get forgotten about as do midday supervisors, canteen staff etc. Of course my children would be better off at school, I'd absolutely love to be at work now. But my children would far prefer not to have me on a ventilator and likely not come back again. We can't go on like this forever of course but it's too soon, the numbers are still high and there's too much still to learn about it.

don't want to send my children back to school. The death rate is still too high. There are children dying from Coronavirus especially in London. It's in the news!

@Glitter7 If you look at the stats, the number of children who have died is tiny and they probably had underlying (maybe even undiagnosed) conditions. This has been discussed during the daily briefings by the scientists.

I’d hate to see how these complainers would deal with any real kind of long term hardship!

And this sort of thing.

@HairOfTheFrog

Absolutely, I have 2 children with no school place, as suitable provision does not exist.

Not many people give two hoots about my childrens' right to an education, they will never have a school to go to.

However I have managed to secure more than 5 hours through an EOTAS arrangement, LA's try to get away with 5 but that is not the equivalent of a full time provision. Mine now get 12, not full time but better than 5 all the same.

Children have a right to a safe environment in schools, as do head teachers. Schools will not open until deemed safe, no matter how much people whinge.

Hundreds of children are home schooled and do very well. If your child isn't learning then it's your fault. All the resources are out there.

I've seen one research paper that has calculated the risk of dying from Coronavirus for the under 65s as being the equivalent risk of dying by driving 40 miles a day.

How many people commute 20 miles to work and back each day without a single worry?

Schools need to open as soon as possible. This virus has asymptomatic transmission and a high percentage of completely asymptomatic cases throughout the duration. It's not possible to contain it. A vaccine could take years.

Recessions kill people. We're not heading to a recession. We're heading to a depression. Depression kill lots of people.

The hysteria around this virus is ridiculous.

Teachers who are vulnerable should not have to work.
I am a teacher. I have no underlying health conditions (and no one in my household is shielding), am under 45, female, white.
I have no problem going to work or sending my children to school.
I understand the concerns of teachers who are not in similar risk factor groups to me, and I am happy to cover them where possible.

Being Mummy is more important than being in role of teacher for me. As of yesterday I'm changing the way we do home schooling. I want to leave my children with happy memories not a stressed out Mum because I'm too focused on meeting education standards and targets because I'm worried about something that's out of our control as Parents. Maybe schools will need to have a Year 7 at primary and rethink their education system. We're returning to the old fashioned "learning through play," today. It works.

Teachers are probably at less risk than someone on the checkout in a supermarket.

This is because children are infected less and seem to be more robust if they do get it.

I am a retired teacher. I can see how social distancing could work in the classroom if it was planned well.

I don't see why teachers think they are special compared to nurses, or doctors, or dentists, or people working in shops.

Staying alive is more important to me than anything else to be honest. This virus can kill. It can kill adults of any age including those with no underlying conditions

It can. But the chances of that happening to a health adult are ridiculously small. If you drive to school to work, that's the dangerous part. Or the risk of you being hit by lightning. Or dropping dead with a heart attack, or any other weird and wonderful risk which you can think of.

Teachers don't say "I'm not going back to work because of the risk of being in a car crash on my way there. My life is important blah blah blah" because that is plainly daft.

This isn't a link I've seen very often - Royal College Of Paediatric Health summary (it was updated about a week ago and is regularly updated with the most current findings.)

www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/covid-19-research-evidence-summaries#transmission

I think it's all a matter of personal and informed choice, really, isn't it? And if people want to keep their DC at home because they feel it's unsafe that's their right as parents, too.

Yanbu. What is going to happen between now and September? Nothing, the virus will still be here. Better to get on with it and let kids go to school. If people don't want to send their kids then fine, govt have already said there will be no fines.

I find the whole thing pathetic.

It's not ideal nobody is saying it is but theres a pandemic. Secondary will miss 13 weeks at the most. Primary fewer weeks. It's really not the end of the world educationally. Physical and mental health of disadvantaged families is more of a concern.