To feel I can't cope with schools only going back part time in August?

[jbonsor]

Just that. I was coping OK with lockdown, and trying to keep positive about juggling kids and working from home til June, then take a few weeks holiday over the summer just to do things with the kids even if still restricted. This week I have received a letter from my son's nursery to say he has a space for the 2020-2021 school year but that due to covid 19 they can't confirm pattern of attendance, as in, they can't confirm if he will have the 30 hours he was having since August. I also have read a lot that primary school might be 2 days only a week or a very day but only morning or afternoon session.. This has really tipped me over the edge as I am dreading having to keep juggling all this for over a year. This really puts a strain in family life and finances because now we have to basically decide on one income only, and not onky that but I don't feel I am that good at home schooling and feel like my kids are going to fall behind. Sometimes I can't believe how everything fell apart so spectacularly and how is the Scottish government deciding this is the best course of action without any regard for the mountain of problems this will bring to a huge amount of families.

I won't be able to work. It's the one thing that has kept my already fragile mental health from deteriorating. I've come a long way and I was getting better.
As well as everything else that my DC are missing out on, what will be happening is that they will be learning to live alongside a Mum with a spiralling MH condition.

@masonmason it will be detrimental for them if their parents can't cope with the stress, if they lose their family homes due to financial issues, if no having social interaction outside their home becomes the norm for over a year.

We can probably, hopefully manage to have one adult in the house WFH when DC not at school. But we’re still not going to be able to do hours per day of ‘in-home learning’ support if we’re going to keep our jobs.

Asking if you have a child of the affected age is relevant don't you think if you are saying you know they are not being affected?

@salem it will be tough, I have a nursery one and a Y3 so even if I only spend 2 hours home schooling each that's 4 hours a day plus my 8 hour job (providing husband will do all meals and tyding up during the day)

it will be detrimental for them if their parents can't cope with the stress, if they lose their family homes due to financial issues, if no having social interaction outside their home becomes the norm for over a year.

Of course. But that's not what I meant. Apologies.

@some I agree 100%, seems these measures are causing more damage than they are preventing.

I have a reception aged child. School have just said they will take them 2 days a week. What good is that? Why are they allowed to do that? Surely they have to provide a full time education? Clearly not.
My nursery aged child on the other hand is going back 5 days. Strange that, given it’s a private fee paying nursery.
Must admit I’m passed off at the school.
I don’t know what will happen when they are expected to have all children back? Maybe she’ll be allowed to go in one day a week every other week?
There’s no way I can return to work with a 5 year old child at home 3 full days a week. I thought June was going to be a slow return back to normal but it won’t.

Or pissed off.

@coronamoaner so the private nurseries are taking kids FT but the public ones are not?? I feel the same as you, there is so much flexibility from employers and unlikely to keep this flexibility long term.

It's totally shit. There are no benefits to it, whether you have a child in nursery, primary or secondary.

And it's all about scoring points over Boris and trying to prove that the SNP is "saving lives". While simultaneously wrecking the economy, demonstrating that children's mental health isn't important, stopping people going to work, short changing children and wriggling out of their obligations to provide an education.

Couple of points. Alot of children will suffer from the school closures. Kids who school was their safe place, kids who need routine, kids who have no stable adult in their life.

I'm in Ireland and I have 2 kids one going into 1st class and 1 starting. However have my kids suffered from being off. No! They have loved it for the most part. They do miss their friends but are happy. We are both WFH at the moment. Me full time (I'm a teacher) and husband now 3 days a week. He was 5 days a week. We don't have money worries and our jobs are fairly safe for now. So our kids are in a happy laid back home. But other kids are not and for people to think that everyone is in the same boat is very naive.

Childcare and schools must reopen by the next school year. People cannot be expected to work, provide childcare and teach. It's just not possible.

stopping people going to work, short changing children and wriggling out of their obligations to provide an education.

@SockYarn the 30 hours childcare rolling out and used this as an excuse

Yes, women, because it will likely be women having to give up their jobs because of this.

This. It's horrifying to watch.

Aside from that (and the isolation of children), the indirect impact of mothers' job losses will impact these children for the long term and possibly into adulthood.

Are you in Scotland OP and one of your children is in pre school nursery (a nursery attached to a primary school)? My DS was attending 15 hours a week on that setting from January until the lockdown started. The 30 hours funding was meant to be starting in August so we picked 8-1 Mon-Fri as his hours from August. We have heard nothing. We don't know if he got those hours, never mind if he even has a place. Even just a letter to say he got that place BUT it will be staggered/part time at first would be helpful but hearing nothing has left me in a pickle as to how I'm supposed to work. I'm currently on furlough but my employer is saying he will probably start taking us back towards the middle of July. I plan (and DH) to take a few weeks holidays between us to cover the remainder of the school holidays until the 11th of August but what then? What do I tell my work? I can't even tell them that I will work within the 8-1 Mon-Fri but it will be a bit all over the place at first because we don't even know if he has a place!

@CoronaMoaner have you not had any explanation? My daughter's school simply can not fit all the children in and due to staffing having to be spread across more rooms they can only accommodate Reception and Year 1. At least they have explained why. They are simply following the guidelines the best they can. The government have passed the buck over to the schools to sort out without consideration that each school is different.

'Nothing is happening to our children. They will not be damaged by this'

Maybe not your children and maybe not those of people you know, but some children live lives that don't bear thinking about, your comment is really incredibly naive (at best)

This is going to just increase the disparity between children from different backgrounds and decrease social mobility.

I also think that when children do go back, teachers will be dealing with emotional issues even more than educational ones.

And I do hope no LA even thinks about fining parents when holidays eventually start up again. A fortnight really won't make a difference now.

We can probably, hopefully manage to have one adult in the house WFH when DC not at school. But we’re still not going to be able to do hours per day of ‘in-home learning’ support if we’re going to keep our jobs

I really think hope that by September things will look much better and we'll have children in full time with a few safety measures EG increased hygiene, no classes mixing, staggered breaks and more outdoor activity encouraged in all weathers. If it doesn't though and children are still at home part time we will absolutely have to establish proper virtual learning. As in, we make sure every child that needs one has a laptop or an iPad at home then there's a virtual link to the school so that every lesson taught is simultaneously taught to the children at home too.... with packs of materials and books being handed out at school so they have everything they need.
That may take a tiny bit of pressure off working parents who won't have to print things off, explain concepts etc.

From a child's point of view, having some time in school is better than none at all. Nurseries have higher ratios of staff anyway, so it's much easier for them to staff bubbles.

From a childcare point of view, I accept part time may not be very helpful, but childminders etc are able to reopen, so you may be able to find a childcare place for the other three days.

It will only affect women more if we don't stand up for ourselves and ask the children's father's to take on their share of childcare too. E.g. you could both ask to WFH one day a week or work 4 days a week, rather than one person giving up their job.

@yapppity yes I have a child in Y3 in one school (which has no nursery) and one in his 1st year of nursery in another school that has both nursery and primary. There were only 2 schools offering the 30 hours last August and the plan was that by 2021 all schools should offer the 30 hours. My son qualified as I was in FT job, whilst my husband is in FT education, and working around 24 hours a week (seasonal job). We were a well oiled engine and organised ourselves to do drop offs and pick ups, it didn't last long though and dreading having to re organise our family life

@Devlesko well as a single parent I NEED to work. And many couples can't live on just one salary any more.

Sounds like you are the higher earner, so surely your husband will be the one who may have to pick up more of the slack?

YANBU - but it’s not actually six months of no school - there would have been a 2 week Easter holiday, a 1 week half term and a 6 week summer holiday.

@LuckyMarmiteLoverm not talking about from march to August. We were fully prepared to do that but it's looking like they will only go part time from Aug 2020 to Aug 2021