Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To Think some schools won’t reopen in September

209 replies

Lardlizard · 26/05/2020 10:04

Yanbu if you agree

Because so many school are not reopening for year r,1 and 6 in June

Because of reasons such as a quarter of the staff are shielding etc, so how on earth will they we able to reopen all years in sept
They will still have the same staff in September

OP posts:
Frouby · 27/05/2020 08:01

I am praying that come September everything is back to normal in schools and education.

Ds is year 1 and could in theory go back 1st june. However, his head was neither enthusiastic or positive about what school would look like so am keeping him home for now, mainly because he loves school normally and dont want him put off by some weird environment that's more about avoiding C19 than learning and socialising.

Dd will be starting A levels, I am starting a degree so we are all desperate to get back.

Am not worried about what on the curriculum ds has missed because all the dcs are the same and all pretty much missed the same thing. There is nothing to catch up, we've done bits at home but I can definitely see a change in his social skills.

At the start of lockdown he would facetime his friends and chat away. Now they each have a 1 sided conversation and just speak at each other rather than talking together. If we see any of his school mates while exercising he is shy and withdrawn as are his friends. He's gained lots of new skills like making his own breakfast etc but would have done that anyway. They need to be back and it needs to be normal.

bogfi · 27/05/2020 08:10

My point was I had assumed (perhaps wrongly) that by September secondary schools would be "back to normal". I hadn't envisaged schooling could still be on a part time basis.

LavenderLilacTree · 27/05/2020 08:16

Missing some school will be fine according to the evidence. They will catch up.

Let's be honest it's purely about childcare and the economy. There no way anyone can say it's safe for teachers, TAs etc. They are in an enclosed space with close contact with 15 others for hours, no social distancing, often performing intimate care, no masks allowed to be worn, no PPE.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/12154266

Bollss · 27/05/2020 08:25

There no way anyone can say it's safe for teachers, TAs etc

No because nowhere is ever "safe" for anyone. There is no such thing as totally safe. Corona is just one extra risk and unless you're elderly or have underlying conditions it is not a big one.

bbc.in/2TAZlHQ

Bollss · 27/05/2020 08:28

It really is not a big deal, why making it one, stressing yourself out and stressing your child too?

Stop telling me what to fucking do.

It is a big deal. I'd be a shit parent if I didn't think this wasn't a big deal for my child.

I am not stressing my child out stop accusing me of shit and go away.

Findingapath · 27/05/2020 08:48

But how can they open at full capacity in Sept, while implementing social distancing? The two (full capacity and social distancing) are mutually exclusive. Social distancing will still be required, as the vaccine will not be fully rolled out (if at all) by then....so unless we plan to sacrifice social distancing within schools then schools opening normally, at full capacity, will be impossible.

I do believe this is likely the govs full intention, as a means to promote herd immunity within the younger generations (kiss & parents). They are playing on people’s desire to get back to normal, by slowly opening schools now in order to shift the nations mentality by Sept and have everything back to ‘normal’.

onemouseplace · 27/05/2020 08:52

If our school is full with only keyworker/ vulnerable and Year 1, there is no way they’ll be able to open up to any other year group in September unless guidance changes.

middleager · 27/05/2020 09:04

As mentioned upthread, our MAT is working on the basis of part-time for secondaries.

One of my sons' schools (not in MAT) has a 95 per cent demographic of BAME children, same for staff. It's in a city centre, densely populated in a hard hit area, so we don't know what the guidance will be there, as there will have to be a localised approach, surely?

PafLeChien · 27/05/2020 09:18

TrustTheGeneGenie
I am not accusing you of anything, you really need to chill.

It's only a big deal if you make it one, that's all I am saying. We are talking about keeping your children home for a few weeks... that's pretty much it! So much drama.

FudgeBrownie2019 · 27/05/2020 09:22

I don't think all schools should open come September in the same way at the same time - a tiny village primary with plenty of space for distancing isn't going to be as vulnerable as a city centre primary with higher intake of BAME children. LAs need to work out what is the safest approach for individual schools and move from there. One blanket "school's are open" announcement has the capacity to do great harm to some communities.

PafLeChien · 27/05/2020 09:24

No way all primary schools won't be told to open to all year groups by the end of July. The question is when will the government announce that the 4 other year groups are in, either this half term or possibly mid-June at the latest (leaving a full month anyway).

September WILL be back to near- normal, as I wrote earlier, there's neither staff nor time to build extra classrooms. There might be staggered times and break, but when you tall all the children, you have to put them somewhere. It's physically not possible to offer "bubbles of 10" when our schools have long been over-crowded.

It might be very shit for the children if they only go for strict schooling and miss out on all the fun parts of schools, and see all they've been looking forward cancelled. Hopefully it wont', but the issue is not going to be about opening or closing.

PafLeChien · 27/05/2020 09:25

FudgeBrownie2019
I completely agree, but parents will put so much pressure and refuse any "special treatment" when their own children don't get it..

Nihiloxica · 27/05/2020 09:28

Trust

Why won't you just do as you are told?

No, lockdown enthusiasts are not controlling assholes. Why would you say that?

TitianaTitsling · 27/05/2020 09:42

nihil was a bit 'whhaaaat!!' there at your post then saw was you! 😁 Trust as my old boss would say some people are just 'windup merchants' so try to ignore!

Bollss · 27/05/2020 11:32

Ah @Nihiloxica my voice of reason Flowers and yes @TitianaTitsling can't be arsed anymore Grin

LittleFoxKit · 27/05/2020 11:41

This is what I dont understand...

Early years learnt best through play, and continuation of play has been shown to be hugely beneficial in formative years. Many children will benefit from the 121 teaching of at home if provided with adequate resources.

The biggest concern should surely be socialisation during early primary.
That leads onto my point..
By returning to schools which have to follow guidelines children are not going to be able to get the adequate socialisation and contact they need with peers, (not condemning schools as I fully understand the need to) and likewise play will be much more restricted.

So surely it's better to not go back to schools, but as lockdown eases to allow people to create their own bubbles of one or two other families their children can play with safely. This limits their overall contact, allows for smaller bubbles, but allows for unrestricted play if everyone stays within the bubbles they chose.
This could also mean that more vulnerable children still are able to socialise if theres agreement that they socialise with either other shielding children or with close family friends who are able to shield and mitigate the dangers to allow their children to play together.
Otherwise all this shouting about needing schools to go back so children can socialise completely ignores that their are children in shielding families that will have to miss out, as once schools are back and children are in big bubbles in classroom the risk will be much to big for them to socialise with anyone outside the household as those in school would be unable to mitigate the risks. It also dosent make sense when children are going to have their ability to socialise in school severly impacted. When it would be safer and easier to instead form small bubbles to socialise with.

Nihiloxica · 27/05/2020 11:48

No, it's better for children to go back to school and receive the education they are entitled to.

People who want to live in bubbles may deregister their children.

Worriedaboutthefuture1 · 27/05/2020 11:55

Can I just say I fucking hate this term of children being in ‘bubbles’. It sounds so stupidly twee and precious.

PafLeChien · 27/05/2020 12:04

No, it's better for children to go back to school and receive the education they are entitled to.

maybe parents should accept that they have to .. parent sometimes? Education is part of it. You should try it.

cologne4711 · 27/05/2020 12:05

Children have missed 6 weeks of school so far or 7 in some counties. That’s not months and months like people are pretending

My ds stopped on 20 March and may or may not return around 10 September. That is "months and months", even when you subtract the holidays.

PafLeChien · 27/05/2020 12:05

LittleFoxKit
I completely agree. We are looking at things upside down and parents are so keen on getting their "me time" and give their job to someone else that they are completely forgetting what is the best interest of the child.

PafLeChien · 27/05/2020 12:07

Children have missed 6 weeks of school so far or 7 in some counties. That’s not months and months like people are pretending

Most of these children have also kept up with their learning with parental help and resources from the schools. For 1 parent on MN that is struggling, there's 25 other families who have been homeschooling as best as they could.

cologne4711 · 27/05/2020 12:08

maybe parents should accept that they have to .. parent sometimes? Education is part of it. You should try it

This annoys me so much. Why do we bother to train teachers and pay them reasonably decent salaries if all we need is for parents (mothers, lets face it) to stay at home and educate them.

Smugness at its worst. And you are a parent, you don't parent.

cologne4711 · 27/05/2020 12:08

For 1 parent on MN that is struggling, there's 25 other families who have been homeschooling as best as they could

You really think only 1 in 25 children are not being "home-schooled"?

cologne4711 · 27/05/2020 12:10

parents are so keen on getting their "me time" and give their job to someone else that they are completely forgetting what is the best interest of the child

what is in the best interests of (most) children is to get them back into school. Not those who were being bullied, or have SN that the school can't cope with, but the majority are probably happier and better off in school and seeing friends.