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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

So parents now have 5 days to...

320 replies

Tanaria · 30/12/2020 17:07

... find appropriate childcare?

The announcement that secondaries are not going back until w/b 11th with exam classes and w/b 18th for all other years, together with the very vague "some" primaries will be shut in high-infection areas.

Given that most of us have been plunged into Tier 4, how will we actually find out whether our children can go back to school?

OP posts:
twinmum2007 · 31/12/2020 18:30

^^@Goinglive

So to be clear? Rather than going back from next week onwards the secondary schools have an additional week at home with no learning. Then commence home learning on the 11th? Rather than commencing next week from home
I'm so confused

Both my Y9s (separate schools) are being taught online via Google Classrooms/Meet and Microsoft Teams from Jan 4th. Following the same timetable as usual, including form time and, i believe, uniform.

Ritasueandbobtoo9 · 31/12/2020 18:33

Wales (low risk area but all tier 4)

Primaries and year 7-9 back 6th
Blended learning for year 10+ until 11th

bananasplitsallround · 31/12/2020 18:33

Yep. But too bad. Sort it out.

ejhhhhh · 31/12/2020 18:38

I think most people who have been following the news and SAGE advice knew this was on the cards. What is astonishing however, is that this appears to have come as a surprise to our government. They HAVE delayed making a decision, and hospitals are overwhelmed again. They have not learnt from the mistakes they made in March, they've been too slow to act again, and many thousands of lives will be lost as a result. We don't need to look very far to find governments who have done a better job than ours, the vast majority of other nations have a dramatically lower death rate per capita. They have also protected their economies by acting faster than us, as their lockdowns have been shorter, with less economic fall out than our never ending emergency half baked lockdowns that haven't worked. I just cannot fathom how anyone can defend our governments handling of the pandemic, when you have sooo many examples to look to from other nations who have handled it competently.

marktayloruk · 31/12/2020 18:46

All kids could and should have been tested at school months ago We had medicals in my day.

caspersmagicaljourney · 31/12/2020 18:53

@Coffeeandcocopops

Poor Head Teachers. They got Christmas Day off but now need to organise the return of kids, testing, Brexit. Such poor communication.
I really sympathise with Head Teachers, I agree poor communication which has been ongoing since March.

Not sure what this has to do with Brexit though?🙄

Respect1another · 31/12/2020 18:54

Aldis- fresh fruit and veg from 20p, loaf of bread 49p, milk 2 litre 89p, butter 139p, cheese 139p, corn flakes 149p, ham 99p, beans 29p, rice pudding 39p etc etc. How can anyone be hungry when food is this cheap? Oh yeah coz the parents gotta by pristine new trainers for Instagram and take photos with their 100000p phone false lashes designer clothes but hey my children are starving. Get your priorities right and take responsibility people. poverty in the UK not so sure sorry

ExpatAl · 31/12/2020 19:05

A pain in the arse but surely not a surprise.

cherubtastic · 31/12/2020 19:10

I’m lucky in that mine can go in as key worker kids and enjoy going in. The school have been fab and last time provided lots of learning/practical experiments etc and provided free food. and I know they are geared up to provide much more of the timetable for at home pupils this time as have more time to prepare.

What I have really struggled with is having to leave them over the holidays - no childcare as I’m a single mum Nurse with days off and annual leave cancelled as the hospital staffing is at a critical level - but leave them I must. What annoys me slightly is people stating they have only had 5 days notice. This surely could have been predicted? (Insert head tilt). There have been suggestions of school closures since October half term! The whole situation sucks, so wishing good luck to everyone finding themselves stuck, hope you all manage to get some childcare sorted. Hopefully we will all have a better year this year Hmm

christinarossetti19 · 31/12/2020 19:46

@marktayloruk

All kids could and should have been tested at school months ago We had medicals in my day.
Yes. If there had been proper diagnostic testing in schools from the get go, with testing of close contacts to positive cases, we wouldn't be in the situation we are now.

Lots of children would have still missed lots of school though.

Celestine70 · 31/12/2020 20:54

We all know the government is incompetent. Just have a lock down and be done with it I say.

Penguinmuma · 31/12/2020 21:06

What else are they expected to do. They can't give loads of warning because they don't know how bad the situation will be from day to day, deaths & cases.

If my child was going to school I certainly wouldn't want to send him. They are carriers & don't show symptoms but pass it on rapidly. They will end up bringing it back home.

Especially as alot of parents are still sending their kids to school even when they have covid & still going to work etc because money is more important to them then others health.

jentinquarantino20 · 31/12/2020 21:21

We’re tier 4 and pre-school and primary are open as of next week

TheSunIsStillShining · 31/12/2020 21:25

Especially as alot of parents are still sending their kids to school even when they have covid & still going to work etc because money is more important to them then others health.

Let's be fair, if it comes down to paying rent and putting food on the table probs you'd do the same.

And there are also the idiots, but I'm just saying that the people who want to do the right thing might not have that option. And they should have financial support to do so.

CeibaTree · 31/12/2020 21:31

Our school have just announced that both parents need to be keyworkers, not just one of them as it was before 😭 But single parents have it much worse so I can’t really complain!

Carriecakes80 · 31/12/2020 23:24

What do we expect the Government to do?? Listen to the bloody science for one thing!
We KNEW it was going to be like this, they spend our money like its going out of fashion on test n trace and palming off money to their mates left right and centre, the Nightingale hospital has been quietly dismantled, it was all a pr stunt anyways, and the Blonde blob is off faffing about, when instead out NHS should have been pumped full of money, along with its staff, schools should have been closed earlier, and we should have had a heftier lockdown in november. Its all bluff and bluster...all because Johnson-Kemal doesn't give a damn as long as he and his mates get their pay-out.

Mamanyt · 31/12/2020 23:35

@Ribrabrob

I don’t mean to be rude and I’m certainly not intending to be fussy but, genuinely, what do you expect the government to do? The situation is fast-moving and they are reacting when need be.

I get that it’s frustrating but I do wonder what people want the government to do. They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

That was my thought, as well. The situation changes almost hourly at this point. And you have a government who is at least trying, even when they miss.
riceuten · 01/01/2021 00:09

I'm tremendously disappointed that no-one has managed to blame the teachers yet. Surely "Boris is doing his best" or some such other nonsense ?

user1472151176 · 01/01/2021 00:30

The Oxford vaccine has been approved. We are so close to seeing the back of this virus. Personally I think they should just close all schools for a few weeks and give the NHS a chance. All the tier 4 areas that aren't 'hotspots' will be in a week or two given the transmission rates. At the moment they can 'ship' out patients to hospitals with some capacity. We are going to swamp the entire country and there will be nowhere to go. I find it terrifying. I don't want to send my children to school but I dont want to be fined. I don't know what to do for the best.

CaptainMax · 01/01/2021 00:52

@Ribrabrob

I don’t mean to be rude and I’m certainly not intending to be fussy but, genuinely, what do you expect the government to do? The situation is fast-moving and they are reacting when need be.

I get that it’s frustrating but I do wonder what people want the government to do. They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

I think that people want the government to govern, and to do so with clarity. I think that people do not want the government to seemingly ignore advice, delay and then ultimately react when it is too late.

In your own post, you highlight the precise issue, but then seem to miss the point .. "reacting when need be" , is not the way to successfully navigate through any type of problem.

Babba · 01/01/2021 01:04

Moan, moan, moan.

Domino20 · 01/01/2021 07:31

Astonishing, the number of apologists for government incompetence on this thread!

BackBoiler · 01/01/2021 07:35

We are in tier 3 and our secondary told us this at the end of last term. How are other areas only just finding this out now?

SimonJT · 01/01/2021 07:37

@BackBoiler

We are in tier 3 and our secondary told us this at the end of last term. How are other areas only just finding this out now?
The two week delay (rather than one week) hadn’t been announced before Christmas by the government, nor had primary closures.

How come your secondary school knew before the government?

Casschops · 01/01/2021 07:56

Its just a list of London areas I think no Greater Manchester ones!