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 think some French schools had to shut within a week.

We’re going back with relatively high levels of circulating virus compared to other places, so individual classes closing down and having to self isolate for 14 days is inevitable. Probably more than once.

I’d guess it’s up to individual parents to decide how disruptive that would be for their children/family.

Exactly what HelloMyKitty says. South Korea has only a slightly smaller population than ours. We have almost 21000 primary schools. So I'm thinking they have 19/20 thousand 200 is around 1%. Let's not get too uptight about this

It isn’t about full time education at all. It is about childcare.

Why do we keep pretending that school has no other benefit to children apart from imparting knowledge?

Good schools are - or should be - a much richer experience. If I get to send my eldest back, I won’t be doing it because I’m worried for him academically. It would certainly help us be able to work but if I thought it would be damaging we’d keep him out. But the ability to spend time with other children, other people, even distanced, is so valuable, particularly in the isolated lives so many children are now leading.

@Sittingontheveranda but more flexible working will only work for parents who aren’t already, we are already working as flexibly as we can

Thank you @GoldenOmber. Have filled it in and expressed my opinion. Strongly.

Me too @SockYarn

This leads back to it being far more useful to debate more flexible working conditions for all parents.

The problem with that is that not all parents need flexible conditions, some will need a level of flexibility unsuited to their jobs and not all the work force are parents. That coupled with a recession is likely to screw a lot of people.

My concern about ds's schooling has nothing to do with his formal education. He's 5 and is interesting in everything. It's about socialisation. He's losing everything we've worked so hard for without interaction with his peers. He's got a sister but she's a very different personality and is 3 years younger.