One key worker, child should stay home

[Areyouactuallyseriousrightnow]

Not sure if there has already been a thread but AIBU to think that if only one parent is key worker and other is WFH, child should be staying home as school provision is for key workers who cannot complete their important role if they have to look after child at home, not so that the other parent can continue with work without interruption?

My partner is a key worker, but I don’t consider us eligible as I am home and therefore technically can be with the children.

YABU- if there’s one key worker take that opportunity to send the child in.
YANBU- if there’s another parent at home, child should stay home.

*Wow I am totally shocked by this. I am a keyworker that is WFH so to me it is easy... the kids stay home with me. Yes it’s tough, almost impossible but we are in a pandemic. I work very early and late into each evening then ‘stay afloat’ of email etc in working hours.

The only exception to a key worker WFH not having the kids with them is a GP type role where you couldn’t be juggling childcare and patients. XmasSkies2020 I am shocked you think that the Doctors partner who WFH is sending the kids in. Really bad form IMO.*

Congratulations, here is your medal.

It's not a race to the bottom. If you believe you can adequately parent and work from home then i would question whether it's your parenting or your work that's suffering. You cannot do both and that is why more people are taking advantage of key worker places this time. They know they weren't able to do it last time.

Surely they’ve just sent the same letter out and parents reply. There is no limit to bubble size and they’re all doing the same work via the same platform. I would have thought the more in the less there will be to chase at home. Why would an increase in numbers replying to an email to take up places they’re entitled to have an impact on planning?

@Jetatyeovilaerodrome

MN is obsessed with this issue.

Everyone just has to do what is right for them and their kids, within the parameters of the way in which their school is operating. Anything else is no ones fucking business!

This. It's none of your business. Just get on with your life and let others do the same.

@W1nterBerry I would presume the more teachers needed to teach in school the fewer available to support online learning- live or recorded lessons, marking work online or giving feedback etc.

Teachers are teaching their own classes.Those children in school face to face and chasing those at home who are doing the same lessons online. Makes no odds how many are in, they’ll be in regardless.

You are right Whatafustercluck both my parenting and work are suffering. I am in floods of tears because my four year old banged his head whilst I was on a conference call. I feel like an awful mother.

Sorry if my post came across as hail me, trust me I am not coping well. I guess I am super shocked that I could send the kids to school and it seems tons of others are.

Our la have limited classes to 15. Not sure if this is a national thing. It means at least half of classes will be operational, obviously needing teachers. Yet we've been told to do at least 3 online lessons a day. How exactly is that possible??
The numbers requesting school places this time seems way higher than before. Which means schools aren't closed at all, teachers are just doing 2 jobs (online and in person teaching) at the same time!!

@mamange please don’t beat yourself up, so many of us feel like we are doing a pretty shit job of both parenting and work at the moment, you are definitely not alone.

@Pamelaaaaa yes, two jobs for teachers and obviously the associated risk for everyone in the school setting, we need to keep numbers in school as low as possible. Not use loopholes we don’t honestly need, in my view.

I thought that work/parenting suffering for a while was the price we were all prepared to pay to being this virus back under control as quickly as possible before the vaccine has rolled out. Whilst others not as fortunate have lost lives, jobs etc.

“Everyone just has to do what is right for them and their kids, within the parameters of the way in which their school is operating. Anything else is no ones fucking business!”

Well it is our business if half the local school population is still going into school?!

12 people in ds's year group of 60+ were in school today. Hardly half the local school population. Fair enough in areas where numbers are large, but it's simply not the case across the UK, it varies hugely. Many have been surprised today at the low numbers.

I’m a teacher mostly
WFH and am taking the place.
I’ll be doing live lessons all day. There is no juggling or shifting around of times. I’ll have 20 min break and a 40 min lunch.
I physically cannot look after my children and they’re going into school.
DH is WFH. They could have stayed with him even though they would have done little to no work because he would have been on calls all day and youngest in reception especially wouldn’t have been able to do any of the google classroom stuff without an adult but school was happy to take them. I’m not being a martyr about it. Why should I?

My boy is SEN bit doesn’t yet have an ECHP as school said there’s 1 year- 18 month wait list. He does receive Occupational Therapy a few times a year, and extra support. Both me and DH work.

3 mums in his class all have keyworker DHs (only 1 in a vaguely “critical” job) while these mums are stay at home mums.
All their kids got to return today.

It made my day so so much worse at the complete unfairness of it all.

@Faffandahalf because we’re supposed to be keeping our kids home if we can, to protect each other including your colleagues in the teaching community?
Lucky you aren’t teaching in a school with 200+ kids attending today I guess.

Depends on the school. Many schools have widened the key / essential worker status. So now I’m included as a civil servant, but I’m certainly not an essential worker. Mine are 16 & 13 anyway so I don’t need if but I work from home and so wouldn’t need it anyway. My friend has taken up a place, she’s not technically a key worker either and it seems a risk given she’s vulnerable. But at the same time she stuggled hugely last time trying to work at home and homeschool, but so did many many others. Seems wrong to me they go in when she’s working at home but I also see why she’s taken it. Who can blame parents if they meet the criteria?

And still people spiel out the reasons they can’t possibly look after their own kids at home. Yet many simply have no choice in the matter, because they can’t tick one of the required boxes on the list. It should be reserved for those workers who are not in a position to work from home. As was originally intended. As it is, there will still be many many children mixing in our local schools tomorrow...and the virus will continue to circulate. And with numbers in excess of 100 per 100k, that is simply not right.

Totally in agreement Schoolmummmy.
Can anyone who also feels this is an utter farce do what you can- email your MP/ school/ local paper. Tweet department for Education/ politicians/ newspapers... anyone & eveyone you can think of. This needs to STOP!

My children could be looked after at home. Poorly I’m sure like thousands of many others.
I’m not special. But I am a key worker and the govt hasn’t made any rules about two key workers and schools are accepting children of just one.
My colleagues are all very pleased for me for my kids to have a place. I work in a hugely supportive department full of friends and working mothers and no mothers at all who all understand the nature of our work.
My children’s school isn’t complaining.
It’s always a race to the bottom on MN. Everyone has to be miserable as each other. No one should be given even an inch. All must suffer equally.
It’s all shit but yeah some kids get to go to school and some don’t. Mine didn’t go during the last lockdown. I could have sent them but I didn’t because I wasn’t doing live lessons. This time I am. I made a different choice. It’s not illegal. It’s not recommended against. It’s perfectly acceptable and parents are within their rights to use the service.
I’ll be going into work as well on a rota for the key workers children there. So I’ll be on both sides.

schoolmummy and dollyparton2 would you like to tell me how I can teach a full day of lectures AND care for my 6 year old while providing home learning?

I'm open to suggestions..........

My child is going to school not because I can't be bothered to look after him but because I don't want to neglect him.

Just people looking for excuses to circumvent lockdown. It's tough for so many of us but "I work from home" is not a reason to send your child to school neither is it part of guidance rules.

School places are for keyworkers who have no childcare. If a key worker parent has a non-keyworker partner then they shouldn't qualify for a school place and I hope schools start to look at this carefully.

Employers know what they need to be doing in this situation. Schools aren't there to make sure employers aren't inconvenienced, that is not the role of schools.

Too much "I want rules to apply to others but not me as it's inconvenient".

& So much reliance on schools as a catch-all. I don't know how teachers can stand it.

Faffandahalf it’s not people like yourself (well me anyway!) is directing this towards. As a teacher you definitely fall in the critical keyworker list and are there providing an education for other kids.

My goat is mainly at the farce of stay at home parent families with 1 (non critical) keyworker taking up these places. Where they could so easily and with FAR less stress than those of us WFH, homeschool their kids. But they just can’t be arsed.Makes no sense to me whatsoever.

SueEllenMishke please read my post, not directing this at you at all.

Absolutely @DeeCeeCherry

@DollyParton2

SueEllenMishke please read my post, not directing this at you at all.

Thank you.

There is a reason I'm considered a key worker. The fact I can wfh has nothing to do with it. Not all posters seem to understand this!

I do 100% x

@Faffandahalf and @DollyParton2 - yes I agree. It’s not directed at everyone, and of course there are many deserving cases. It’s the many people who are doing office based jobs just like ours, that still require our time & attention from dawn till dusk..yet also have to run the gauntlet of managing our children and their schooling in between. Aside from the obvious unfair aspects of this, it’s hardly good for curbing the growth of viral spread in the community. The list is too broad..and two parents working from home, need to juggle it between them. Just like the rest of us.