To be annoyed that not all year 6 children that want to return to school can?

[spongebunnyfatpants]

This is not a teacher or school bashing thread, I'm just interested in people's thoughts.

My child is in year 6, we have just been informed that out of a class of 30 only 10 children will be allowed to return to school because they don't have the staff to provide for any more.

These 10 children will be chosen on a first come first served basis, we have to email if we want our child to return.

This means that some children who want to return won't be able to.

AIBU to think that this is very unfair and that part time schooling for more groups would be more appropriate rather than one group in all the time.

I think it's a bit odd choosing year 6. My son is a yr 6 and I think the opportunity for yr 5s to settle back into school would make more sense than year 6 because he is going somewhere else in september anyway. But the guidance is what it is and the schools are doing their best. I need to fill in a slip saying whether I want him to go back. I'll fill it in and say if they are taking the whole of yr 6 then yes he will go back but if not and they can only take some then he can stay at home

My preschool/ nursery are only inviting back the fifteen eldest children to include those that will hope to begin in reception in September so they can have some sort of run up to starting primary school, which I think is sensible and understandable , although that excludes us!

Funny how poor overworked OP has has time to read 27 pages and regularly copy, paste and respond to 4-5 posts. Day off, was it?

and

If you worked 11 hours, slept 7 hours that leaves 6 hours a day. Shopping for 3 households could be done in a couple of hours once a week... ?

If you worked 12 and slept 8 there's still 4 hours.

So I thought I'd do a touch of looking into productivity and timekeeping (seeing as the OP's job is to monitor others and has made a big fuss over parents poor time management skills and how unfair it is to her).

The OP posted at constantly between 15:10 and 16:35 today (15:11, 15:34, 15:39, 15:42, 15:44, 15:50, 15:57, 16:03, 16:05, 16:22, 16:32 and 16:36 fo be exact). Thats 1hr 20mins. In working hours.

Then once at 17:26

And then had a flurry again this evening for 40 minutes (19:18,19:23, 19:27, 19:32, 19:48, 19:53, 20:01 and 20:02)

Thats pretty much two solid full hours - without much time to read when not typing from the length of posts. Certainly not enough time to do anything else during those periods. Lots more time on the internet than the OP seems to say they have free.

Then again at 21:24, 21:35 and 21:47.

Hardly:
Sorry if I take 5 minutes to check my thread. Oh but all these parents complaining they never get a minute to themselves have also been posting, actually far more regularly and consistently over a number of hours, so are they lying about being busy too?

It wasn't 5 minutes. It was significantly longer.

I note here I don't recall other posters saying that their job was to clock the productivity of others so I find this interesting. Nor has everyone said they are wfh themselves (they may well simply have enormous sympathy for others who are, that they know who are struggling to stay sane).

Have you missed the queues at the supermarkets? The fact I cook for my elderly grandparents and delivery food and other medicines aswell. Have a panic disorder. Actually need some time to drive between supermarket, GP's house, parents house, my house. It all takes time and adds up pretty dam quick.

Especially when you use up 2 hours of that precious time to whinge on MN about other people's lack of productivity and efficient use of time and planning.

As it goes I recommend this thing known as 'click and collect' to reduce your time queuing to anyone struggling in this way. Magic. Available at many large supermarkets. Maybe even in big huge expensive cities. Just book a pick up slot, so minimual queuing time, as they try to avoid lengthy queues. There aren't the same problems as trying to get an illusive delivery slot. Or to try and source delivery to door from alternative suppliers (this is working a treat for us - especially since we've grouped together with other household and given the OP lives in a shared house and is shopping for others - its saving us quite a lot). Great ways to be more organised and to help you juggle things better

Except we have another rebuff here:

Community groups could possibly shop for my parents but I really don't know how to even start looking at this.

A lack of willingness to adapt to the situation and try and find ways to improve the situation because its easier to be a martyr and bash others instead. There always seems to be something there to make life harder and worse than everyone elses.

'I don't just have one job. I have two jobs. Which I'm working over time on for both. One of which is as a carer where I look after sick and dying people. As well as visiting and cooking for my elderly (and vulnerable) relatives. All whilst queuing for hours at supermarkets every day, delivering medicine and managing my panic disorder. So don't you dare question my halo. I have it far worse than you. All with dyslexia'

Also some of my drip feeds, like my dyslexia, are completely irrelevant. And I would not have mentioned it at all had it not been for multiple posters patronising and smugly taking the piss out of me for my spelling accompanied by gleeful grin and winky faces until I felt the need to defend myself from the multiple implications that I am stupid.

When anyone came up with a point that wasn't liked or unpleasant parent bashing comments were picked up on there was an excuse or a drip feed. And people who were implying stupidity, maybe, just might have had a point...

... the comment about sticking kids in front of the tv for 4 hours WAS stupid, grossly immature and naive and the sign of someone who has never encountered a 5 year old in the full grip of the 'but why????' stage or heard the wail of a child going 'Mummmmmmyyyyyy' repeatedly to get attention when Mum is engrossed in something else.

Or is on a deliberate wind up.

So I do begin to wonder just what the game is to be honest. It gets to a point where it just starts to fail to ring true. (And yes I did question it previously)

sorry wrong bloody thread

Bloody good post though!!

Epic post there @RedToothBrush 🤣. I actually read it, not really understanding, until I got to your second post. Classic!

They should honestly just keep them all off till it’s safe to go back, no idea why the U.K. government is hellbent on rushing it.

Economy over lives, I know.

It is not the responsibility of teachers to lead the country out of this crisis. Not on our pay scale, anyway.

@spongebunnyfatpants
think it's about the transition for the year 6's as well as education.
There won't be any transition though. Even if more children were in, they wouldn't all be together, or even with their close friends. There won't vacancy visits to their High School, or teachers coming to Primary from the High Schools to meet them. No end if term activities, plays etc, etc.
All this equates to no transition at all, nothing.

@BakewellTarts
Your daughter may not be with ANY of her friends in her bubble meaning that she will not mix with them at all during the school day. She may also not be with her usual teacher, it could be someone who normally works in Infants and has no idea about transition to High School.

I don't understand the train of thought that says 6r 6 need the help to transition, in reality everything changed for them and they are just getting used to the way it is at home, now they are expected to go back to school but not as they know it, so will have to adapt to that for a few weeks, then the summer break, then maybe year 7 and a whole new situation and set of circumstances to adapt to!! It all just seems too much to expect of them

@Daffodil101
The bubble idea is a bit odd, especially if parents get no input. My DD for example has seen her best friend. They walked the dog. She will continue to see her. It would make sense for them to be in the same bubble.

It would be an impossible logistical nightmare to involve parents in the decision. Your child should not have been in close contact with another child anyway, so your arguement there is totally invalid. Why should your daughter get to be with her friend just because they've broken social distancing rules? Alternatively, if they've stayed 2m apart and not broken social distancing rules, then them being together makes no more sense than anyone else being together.

You know every single family in NZ do you? If My daughter doesn't go back for 2_years she'll be starting Y11, of course she's not going to do that well. Children in school are going to have the advantage, it's not going to be all children having an equal chance. If they were all off until it was safe to return then it would be a much fairer system.
It's nothing to do with transition and even if it was that wouldn't be fair either because the secondary schools aren't open, except for key children. It's nothing to do with saying goodbye either as most children won't be seeing their friends or possibly their teacher.

I do think people should mind their business on how other people parent. Wfh doesn’t necessarily mean people can cope home schooling, not all children cope well being at home all the time- stop judging people’s decisions on what’s best for their family

You've misunderstood my point. It was in response to people saying well I have no choice but to go to work so does that make me a bad parent. My intention was to say no. And the majority of parents will do what they feel is best for their children.

But the unfortunate reality is there is also some parents who could be told their child had a 50/50 chance of catching Cv and getting severly ill if they were sent to school and would send them anyway. And unfortunately I've had the (mis)pleasure of communicating with a few of them recently.

My point was that we shouldn't be labelling parents who are doing what they feel is best by sending children to school as bad parents, as theres often wider circumstances then we are aware of.

But I was trying to keep it brief by generalizing. My mistake.

ladypenelope

With respect, my dd and her friend maintained a distance. I know because I wasnt far behind them.

Unlike the hordes of children in the woods today who I saw riding bikes and sharing rope swings.

Actually, that’s been going on for a long time. My daughter hasn’t seen anyone for months until this week.

And she’s allowed to, too.

So I’m not sure why you are asking why she should have been out with her friend.

Or are the children in school ‘bubbles’ not required to distance?

It’s completely unworkable.

Ermmm.. no rosebel, no need to be aggressive. I am citing researched fact.

@LittleFoxKit the implication being that parents who choose to send their children to school are bad parents.

There are very little data about children and CV because very few children become very ill. I take that as a positive. Obviously for individual cases it is a tragedy.

I do appreciate that for some children or their family, the risk is likely to be higher. Hence shielding and the vulnerable.

I wish people would stop inferring that:

Oh those poor parents who have to work and have no choice but to send their children

Or

Parents havd had enough of their kids and want free childcare.

Or

Any other suggestion that anybody who doesn't keep their child at home whatever is a bad parent.

The risk for staff is completely different to the risk for children.

Schools following the guidance should be prioritising key worker children, then EYFS and 1 before 6. However, the DFE very cleverly put a get out clause at the bottom of the latest document stating that schools could basically make their own judgements so long as they meet H&S requirements. This basically means that any anger is directed at individual head teachers rather than the government.

Our school is following the guidance to the letter, in order to protect ourselves in the future. We have seven small classrooms, plus a hall (village primary in converted house). Thus far about 80% if parents have indicated that their children will return, so that’s six rooms needed for R, 1 and 6 and the last two for key worker bubbles. However, if the key worker/vulnerable children increase much beyond the 20-25iah we currently have we will have to ask 6 to stay at home while we use another room for KW/V children. We can just about staff this - one teacher pregnant and another shielding, but with the HT teaching one bubble and an HLTA covering another we should manage.

Teachers out there - how are your schools managing the toilet issue for staff? Those with R bubbles will get a TA to help them, but others will be alone and no other adults allowed in their room. Our HT is trying to figure out how staff can go to the loo - we can’t leave the children on their own, as the staff toilet is down a corridor, up a back staircase and behind the staff room. Would be a good 8-10 minutes! Any ideas appreciated!

It's got to be all Y6 open or none. First come, first served is a ridiculous approach.

We are aiming to put at least one or two of a child's known friend from their class within their group - wherever possible.

We have to assume that the children haven't seen one another and aren't in regular contact m, so would prefer to be together if possible.

Almost all schools that have returned across the world have used smaller groups and not full classes. Many of maintain social distancing within those groups too. We won't be - it's not feasible or realistic.

But it's not going to be easy, and it's not going to be the same.

The children will be returning but half of them will not be in their normal classrooms. Some won't have their normal teacher and TA. The classrooms won't have all of the things they normal have - anything that isn't easily cleaned can't stay. The children will be sat at chairs more than before rather than the carpets. There isn't going to be sand and water, and dress up, etc. They won't be able to use the outdoor climbing frames etc. Parents won't be coming into school for drop off and pick up - which is what normally happens for us.

But the staff will do their best to make it as nice as possible for those children in their group. It won't be the same. Lots of things will change. But we will do what we can to help them deal with the changes.

How will it work in Sept when children start nursery or reception for the first time. Those children who are peeled screaming from their parents. There is always a few. I assume they wont be able to attend school until their is a vaccine. Or will they just be left screaming in their bubble, will they stay in their bubble? The whole thing is ridiculous either proper school for this age or no school. The priority should be older children.

The toilet issue is actually a serious one , especially for women, and I do wish the apparently really militant unions would ask this. They seem to be allowing schools to play fast and loose with entitlement to any sort of break for employees.

But if everybody went back on a part time basis, they're still not going to have the staff to clean in between the different groups?

I think schools are getting a bad press. They seem to be doing the best they can under difficult circumstances.

Thunder - we are an infant school and it's room space we don't have, not with double the number of groups per year group. So we will only have reception returning and not year 1. Although we have several teaching staff who are clinically vulnerable rather than shielding we are lucky that we normally have a lot of staff - a teacher and TA in most classes - so we can staff the 6 reception groups and 1 KW group we think with each having two members of staff, ideally each having a TA and a teacher in there. This then means the staff can have breaks for lunch, coffee/toilet etc. And to allow the teachers and TA to do some of the cleaning of their areas between times (the two staff will share the duties rather than it always being the TA with the dirty jobs.) Plus the teachers get a bit of planning time for the home learning - as our KS1 staff will be part of the class staff. Those staff who aren't in will monitor the home learning from home - responding to pupil work, etc.