What happens to children over the summer?

[Randomfires]

Have I missed something because I’m sure the government said that there were to be childcare schemes set up but I can’t find anything further on this since early June.

Husband and I are keyworkers and the local holiday summer schemes are all closed. Some of the schools are doing a play scheme but not ours. Really confused as to what we’re meant to do when schools shut in 3 weeks.

Ceeveevee It would be worth parents writing to local MPs I think. The availability of play schemes is varying widely from area to area for some reason.

[quote Randomfires]@ceeveebee that is appalling. How can low income parents just take unpaid leave? Plus that leaves people open to threat of redundancy. Why isn’t anyone raising this issue further?[/quote]
Because not enough people care enough about low income families. And those of us in low income families have so many battles to fight.
Welcome to tory Britain

So Gov funded summer schemes are being introduced in NI to certain years, looks like it may be s postcode lottery. Why do they announce these things so late, they’ve had months bbc.in/2AKp6PO

I’ve reported my own post to Mumsnet to see if they will help drive a campaign. I’m in a fortunate position that my employer will let me wfh as long as I need to but there are many many parents who will not be able to.

@MessAllOver

I find this demonisation of young adults who are certified and experienced really weird (and hilariously blinkered). You do know that your four year old will be one, one day, right? What exactly is it that concerns you?

That the four year old will still be alive at the end of the summer to grow into a young adult? That would be my primary concern.

Seriously, though, I'd be less worried about the potential for abuse/child murder if I hired an unqualified teenager (which is statistically very unlikely) and more concerned about the potential for serious accidents due to inadequate supervision. Young children need very close supervision, especially around water or by roads. You only need to look away or be on your phone for a minute for something to happen...

Same. I don't need childcare, but if I did, my primary concern would be them just not being very good. I think that's more likely than abuse, although it's hardly as if abuse is some rare event.

Also yes, it's simply a fact that some people cannot afford childcare without tax credits/UC paying for a lot of it.

I just got excited as an email came from school advising they are having summer provision, upon opening the attachment it will only be for children who are currently in year 1 or 5, my son is in year r ☹️

Having worked for the government and govt funded agencies all my life, it's very clear to see why holiday cover is of no importance to them.
If we show that we can manage with the resources given, they will always slice off a little more.
As a nation we've proven that we can make do and 'manage', albeit in a cackhanded cobbled together manner, under extreme stress and duress.
We have shown that we can work at home and facilitate the home learning experience for our children.
We have proven we can manage with just a dining table and one laptop for whole families.
Why now, when the kids will have no work to do for the best part of seven weeks, would they suddenly decide its imperative for us to have support with childcare?
Not having to 'teach' kids whilst working at home is going to be considered half as difficult / twice as easy.
Who cares if we lose our jobs in the process? There's plenty of people ready to jump into our shoes and plenty of people available to buy our houses if we default on our mortgages.
It costs a lot less to pay us benefits than to provide wraparound childcare under the new covid workplace/ public space restrictions.

We are the expendable ones.
We will see our workplaces shrink in order to allow for those of us who hhave proven we can work at home with minimal resources.
It's going to be hot desking for many of us who doo have to go back to work, thus making it even more difficult and uncomfortable.
As a disabled person I have been fighting for months for appropriate office equipment at home. I'm also working in the workplace so don't have any facility to bring equipment back and forth each day.
Soon I'll be back in the workplace and I would have shown I can get by without expensive equipment, therefore, when ii ask again for adaptations in future I'm likely to be challenged about the necessity of them.

This is all part of the gradual erosion of our rights and silencing of our voices.

Good post famous albeit depressing to read!

@SmileyClare

Good post famous albeit depressing to read!

Thank you @SmileyClare I don't want to be depressing but any of us could have predicted this years ago. Anyone who can see why business owners predominantly voted leave in the referendum. People having rights has stuck in the throat of businesses since the Labour movement first started There's a good reason why people hated unions and feminists and they are working hard to take away everything that's been fought for for a long time. Part of that includes reinstating paying barely trained or qualified randoms to look after our kids. Who cares if the kids are ignored or the parents stressed. Long as we can cobble the less than minimum wage together. Using unregistered providers forfeits our rights to the benefit. We'll no longer qualify for the tax credits the tories have voted against for years. We shoot ourselves in the foot if we temporarily take over responsibility for this.

@randomfires couldn't agree more...#bekind didn't last very long at all did it?! Xxx

@SimonJT I’d have been weeping at that mail too! Just like I’ve wept at the joyous mails about KW and R, 1 and 6 returning to school. Heads look at overall delivery. Parents look at their child.

@famousforwrongreason it sounds like you have had a terrible time and there are some grains of truth in your rationale of the why/how we end up in this position. Personally though I put this down to incompetence rather than design. The government (/council/school) is obliged to educate children. It hasn’t been able to deliver on that for a whole variety of reasons some unavoidable and some down, imho, to poor decision making and prioritisation. What the government isn’t obliged to deliver, rightly or wrongly, is wrap around care. So it’s no shock that the government is hands off and not prioritising childcare when it can’t even deliver the education it is legally obliged to. The biggest shock is to key workers like the OP who have been provided for, at no cost, at Easter and the half terms. Now that we are out of that critical period they are facing the challenge many have faced since March. Yes, it’s tough.

And what does ‘be kind’ have to do
with it? That phrase has been appropriated to close down discussions and avoid acknowledging that there are different opinions. Don’t think like me? You are not #bekind! Won’t give me what I want? You are not #Bekind. It has become irksome. I should start another thread really

[quote lozster]@SimonJT I’d have been weeping at that mail too! Just like I’ve wept at the joyous mails about KW and R, 1 and 6 returning to school. Heads look at overall delivery. Parents look at their child.

@famousforwrongreason it sounds like you have had a terrible time and there are some grains of truth in your rationale of the why/how we end up in this position. Personally though I put this down to incompetence rather than design. The government (/council/school) is obliged to educate children. It hasn’t been able to deliver on that for a whole variety of reasons some unavoidable and some down, imho, to poor decision making and prioritisation. What the government isn’t obliged to deliver, rightly or wrongly, is wrap around care. So it’s no shock that the government is hands off and not prioritising childcare when it can’t even deliver the education it is legally obliged to. The biggest shock is to key workers like the OP who have been provided for, at no cost, at Easter and the half terms. Now that we are out of that critical period they are facing the challenge many have faced since March. Yes, it’s tough.[/quote]
I'm a keyworker and there was no provision for me or any of my colleagues over Easter and half term? Maybe that is another postcode lottery that I lost
I do believe it is all by design.
We are subject to rents and mortgages. Who sets these rates? Who approves the cost of living? Rates for shops etc?
Unless we are very wealthy or living on the poverty line, We have no choice but to work, and it is very rare to find a job which would pay us to work only during school hours.
Therefore, as a nation, especially those without family support, we have no choice but to rely on wrap around childcare.
It's impossible. The government is fully aware of this.

@lozster

And what does ‘be kind’ have to do with it? That phrase has been appropriated to close down discussions and avoid acknowledging that there are different opinions. Don’t think like me? You are not #bekind! Won’t give me what I want? You are not #Bekind. It has become irksome. I should start another thread really

I can't bear when people bring up #bekind. What about all the people who don't use social media? How would they know to #bekind? It is going to cause all kinds of problems if only one section of society is #bekind and the others are just giving into their basest and meanest instincts, willy nilly because they don't know about hashtagging. It was the same re #clapforthenhs, for a few weeks only people with Facebook knew how to do it until major news outlets caught on to the trend. Neighbours were being vilified for not #clapforthenhs when they hadn't even received their allocated time slot or their instructions.

The whole "keyworkers are now just facing the same as everyone else now" line is so, so shortsighted on behalf of the government.

Yes, in many areas keyworkers have had better access to childcare through the worst periods than non-keyworkers

However, the government are now trying to get more people back to work. Making childcare more difficult is a bloody stupid move. Scotland and NI have made their moves to getting more people back to work by increasing childcare provision (For example where my cousin lives there is the same keyworker hub childcare provision as there has been throughout, and that will be added too when childminders are allowed to open more)

Economically it makes no sense whatsoever to make it more difficult for more people to work. The keyworker provision should have been maintained (not by teachers, but holiday club staff not being used in their usual setting could have worked it) as well as the easing on restrictions for childminders and holiday clubs.

We'd have seen less and less keyworkers kids using the provisions and it could have wound down naturally. Rather than adding more people to the "shit I literally can't work because of childcare" bundle

My husband got made redundant last week. One person tried to cheer me up by saying oh well at least that solves your childcare problem, and then expanded that by saying the whole mass job loss thing would probably work out ok because it would mean less people needing childcare. I don't think she appreciated my response and I don't think we are friends any more.

I hate the way people get snotty about people needing, well, anything in the way of state support. I am happy to pay taxes and abide by laws, but it's a two way process. If we owe the government and society something then we are surely owed something back. I know I am expressing this clumsily but the responsibility works both ways.

@Iwalkinmyclothing I’m sorry you are having to deal with the redundancy AND idiotic comments like that. And yes, the whole ‘you do know education isn’t childcare?’ thing deserves

@lyralalala I don’t think the government have a line at all on this. That would suggest there is a plan that they are on top of. I think they err through ignorance and incompetence. And to be fair, it is not within the gift of government to order holiday clubs to open. They are a mix of private and other settings. Yes, they could offer incentives and influence but it’s not the same as legislating for schools. Where you could point a finger is perhaps around issuing guidelines too late for private companies to sink money in to staff, resources etc etc. I’m not sure how fair that is though and whether the guidelines didn’t come because it simply wasn’t possible to know sooner?

And actually, if I were to point a finger, I think the biggest missed opportunity was in not extending the Easter holiday to 6 weeks and shortening the summer one. It seemed obvious to me even then that this was going to drag on and on... I would rather have accepted the collateral damage of missed bookings on summer holidays than the alternative which has been no education and then limited childcare. I realise from other conversation and comments on here that I am in a minority with this view...

It’s an awful situation. My kids are 2 x weeks into their summer holiday, school have provided none of the usual holiday schemes, and other schools are only open to their own pupils. I’m lucky enough to be able to wfh and children are old enough not to need constant supervision, but that means they are spending all day every day on screens. I try to get them out for a bit and fed on my lunch break. After pretty much doing this since Easter their mental health and physical fitness is awful, and another 7 x weeks to get through!! If my kids are like this, I can’t even imagine how hard it must be for more vulnerable children, or for parents who can’t wfh. I’m disgusted that more hadn’t been done to provide outdoor sessions through schools for all children. They all need fresh air, exercise and to see other people.

Interestingly I just found out one of the sports clubs is also running this summer. We are a low transmission area so parents will be more confident sending their children but I wonder if also being a high unemployment area means more adults are reliant on this type of casual work for their income, and more willing to risk themselves and their staff, which is obviously not good.

Yes, this is where the systematic underfunding of LAs really shows.

They have no reserves in their systems or funds to put on holiday/sports schemes as they did years ago. Subsidised or free. Not even to co-ordinate paying ones.

[quote lozster]@Iwalkinmyclothing I’m sorry you are having to deal with the redundancy AND idiotic comments like that. And yes, the whole ‘you do know education isn’t childcare?’ thing deserves

@lyralalala I don’t think the government have a line at all on this. That would suggest there is a plan that they are on top of. I think they err through ignorance and incompetence. And to be fair, it is not within the gift of government to order holiday clubs to open. They are a mix of private and other settings. Yes, they could offer incentives and influence but it’s not the same as legislating for schools. Where you could point a finger is perhaps around issuing guidelines too late for private companies to sink money in to staff, resources etc etc. I’m not sure how fair that is though and whether the guidelines didn’t come because it simply wasn’t possible to know sooner?[/quote]
The guidelines could have come much sooner. The delay in them is the main reason we’re not open.

They could easily have issued guidelines stating school bubbles had to be maintained much sooner. In fact they could have said many weeks ago “only the keyworkee bubbles” which would have allowed a basic provision to be made. Then if they wanted to relax that then they could have. That would have mean holiday setups could increase provision based on their capacity rather than trying to start from scratch.

By not allowing a keyworker set up they simply added more pressure to already scarce resources.

What you had at the time was a blanket no. Then a maybe. Then a maybe not. Then several guidances in quick succession.

They spectacularly failed to grasp that they cannot get more people back to work with even less childcare than has been on offer recently.

@christinarossetti19

Yes, this is where the systematic underfunding of LAs really shows.

They have no reserves in their systems or funds to put on holiday/sports schemes as they did years ago. Subsidised or free. Not even to co-ordinate paying ones.

By the time the government allowed holiday schemes there would have been no time for them to set a new one up, even if they had loads of money

@drspouse

Interestingly I just found out one of the sports clubs is also running this summer. We are a low transmission area so parents will be more confident sending their children but I wonder if also being a high unemployment area means more adults are reliant on this type of casual work for their income, and more willing to risk themselves and their staff, which is obviously not good.

If it’s a high unemployment area you may find the sports club we’re able to access a good amount of funding in their initial plans for the summer which meant they’ve have that funding in standby

Especially as a lot of what little funding there is around is accessible to sports groups on the health and obesity tackling grounds

I think the justification for preferential treatment of KW children just isn’t there anymore. It may well have reduced competition for what summer childcare provision there is but it would have enraged people like me whose kids haven’t been in school since March as the same children get another chunk of school/state resources. You may as well say, ok schools should be using teachers to provide childcare for any children. The continued use of teachers for childcare for anyone would have been massively problematic anyway. The key worker system, from what I have seen, broke down as soon as r, yr1 and yr 6 went back to be educated not just child care, and then every man and his dog suddenly claimed they were a key worker and that they needed a place. I’d have been incandescent to find these same families again first in line for summer care.
I think as you say, guidelines came too late. Round by me, outdoor clubs took a punt On going ahead because they are outdoors. Facilities related to a school took a punt because they have staff furloughed that they can unfurlough and the equipment/premises is there anyway. Nurseries with holiday clubs seem not to be running, maybe as they don’t have staff or because the main preschool business has been prioritised. private clubs that hire premises and buy in kit seem not to be running. The guidelines probably came too late for them to commit and market the business. It may be different in different areas but I don’t know of any clubs that are subsidised by council/government.