Critical Workers: guidance change has had no media coverage

[wrabyy]

We've heard a lot in the media about some year groups going back to school on June 1st, but there's been hardly any coverage of a significant change to the Critical Worker guidance. From June 1st, all Critical Workers are encouraged to send children back to school. Previously they were encouraged to keep them at home if possible, and only take up a school place if they had no alternative childcare options.

I also think that the list of potential Critical Workers is much broader than many people realise.

Here's a link to the guidance: www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

I guess people most affected by this are too busy working to be on Mumsnet at this time of the morning.

So do you think they are trying to get as many people out of lockdown as possible without actually lifting lockdown?

Coverage of the June 1st changes in general has been quite muted, I think. Isn’t it also newsworthy that it is now illegal for grandparents to look after their grandchildren?

Interesting, i know of a couple of healthcare workers whose children have been attending part time under the key worker scheme and they were offered the choice of a one weeks attendance for the rest of the term or to continue with part time attendance under the key worker scheme. We are getting mixed messages all the time. I really think they need to rethink the 2m social distancing if they want to have any chance of enabling larger numbers of children to attend and have an education which is usually deemed so important that parents get fined for taking a holiday in term time!

I think they're trying to get a critical mass of students back to school, to help swing the balance between the nervous and the bold.

At our (secondary) school, some key workers who wanted places in March were strongly discouraged from taking them up. I'm not convinced they are aware they now have an opportunity to try again.