So many keyworker/vulnerable children at school this week!

[Crazyoldmaurice]

All I've seen on mumsnet for the past month is people yelling into the void that unless we close schools to all that the numbers will just keep going up and up. And unless schools close lockdown is essentially like trying to brush your teeth whilst simultaneously eating a bag of wotsits.

I live in SW London in a very affluent area with the average house price at 750k+

Out of the 75 of my daughters year group, 48 or more will be at school tomorrow and for the rest of the week. I'm assuming most of these kids are going to be classed as children to critical workers due to the demographic.

I've seen on other threads others reporting very high rates of those at school in previous lockdowns and predicted for this one too.

If kids are causing so much of the spread I just dont get how having such high numbers still at school is going to help to drastically slow it down!

I live (and primary age dc's school is situated) smack bang between two large acute hospital's. Plus big schools (teachers) and an additional NHS technical service is sited near by. I actually work for the next trust along so don't know whose who but I assume that the primary DC goes to will also have high numbers of DC in....But plenty of schools won't. My others DC's secondary will have very low numbers as most of them can be left on their own....I imagine the primary near my mum's will have far fewer key workers as the demographic is different...

I am a critical worker but I am WFH. In March I didn’t send DS to school because I felt real guilt about doing so given the amount of pressure the teachers were under trying to work out what the fuck they were supposed to do.

But it almost broke me TBH.

He is going to school this time around because even though I’m at home, I could not do my job (I won’t say what it is as it’s very specific but it’s pretty vital on a national level this time of year), home school DS and keep my sanity if I tried now.

I don’t feel guilty about it at all.

@UsernameSaved
The key words are surely 'if required' . It isn't a requirement if a parent is sitting at home doing sod all!

Over half the children will still be attending DDs school.

Last lockdown they had less than 20 children.

DH and I are both key workers but so far have kept the children home.... but that is because we are lucky and have supportive employers

Do you find your kids who have gone to school actually do much work? My son went for 2 weeks last lockdown and he was only doing 2 hours of actual school work a day. They did sports all afternoon and had the usual hour lunch and 20 minute break aswell as watching films some days or doing craft. I found he was really falling behind those 2 weeks he attending school and was having to come home at 3pm and then do the rest of the home learning work online.

And in special schools where you may have an entire cohort of clinically vulnerable children and young people they are completely open and often almost full.

Also completely unable to social distance due to their additional needs.

Slightly off topic I know but places have to offered to all and all staff have to work without social distancing and often minimal PPE

Tbh some parents are taking the piss. I get it, I am a key worker and lone parent (as in widow- other parent very much not available) and work with vulnerable children because they are all under child protection upwards.
Schools I work with are amazing and have been since March. I work on a very deprived area though so it is not a sense of entitlement but real need.
My daughter is old enough to be left alone for a while whilst I undertake visits otherwise I work from home. It is not easy on either of us but this is not easy on anyone. I think most parents could argue that their child needs to be in school but the reality is that schools are really struggling. Teachers are also parents trying to teach remotely, they also need people in school for keyworker/vulnerable children and the health and safety/track and trace staff have to add to their normal working day is insane. They will also have people off with covid.

It's very difficult to apply the 2 parent rule when all jobs that can't be done from home, can still go to work. We had this problem in the first wave. Most HCAs are the lower paid parent (often some nurses too) so if they say 2 parents are key workers only, you're asking a family to give up the breadwinner job which people can't do. It does need to be better policed, especially if teachers are supposed to deliver online lessons too, but automatically banning 1 key worker families isn't a good answer

Two thirds of our very large primary are in. It’s pissing me right off. Some parents are legitimate keyworkers but often only one of them works. For example one friend’s husband is a covid doctor - fair enough. But she doesn’t work and the kids are in three days! Another friend (nurse but non covid) works two days a week but has banged 5 days down on the form because “she can’t cope”). The worst ones are the ones who’ve out and out lied. Fur example one kid I know doesn’t even live with his dad (who is a cook in a large secondary school) but is coming in four days on the grounds of the dad being a key worker. The mum is furloughed! I could go on.....

It does help when the school offers a school club, instead of a normal school day with the regular teachers. It's very clear parents are expected to deal with homeschooling same as everybody else.

It does prevents parents taking the piss because they just want to get rid of their children and leave the work to someone else.

Most children at school around here have a key worker parent, but family circumstances who do not require help.

I'm not sure how many are in at ours yet but I have to send DS tomorrow- DP is a firefighter so fair game, I'm police support staff working from home so classed as a key worker but there is nothing critical about my role whatsoever. My manager had made it clear that I'm not to be home schooling or taking time away when legally I'm allowed to send DS to school 🤷🏻‍♀️ what do you do.

There are groups of mums locally who are organising running dates and online fitness activities whilst the kids are at school, which is fair enough, but they make no secret of sending the children to avoid homeschooling and to have their me-time.

@Crazyoldmaurice

No it doesn't. But the proportion of vulnerable children is much lower in affluent areas. Therefore deducing that most of the spaces are for keyworkers.

Do you have stats to back that up? There are a significant number of adopted children into very affluent families that I can think of who would come under the vulnerable category. Then children who need to attend to school so they can receive support or manage risks to their mental health. Mental health doesn’t discriminate because of wealth, likewise it doesn’t discriminate all those children who need an EHC plan (especially when due to SEN).

Many other children and parents will be unaware of the reasons a children is considered vulnerable. Poverty does not equate to vulnerability.

@baubled that sounds totally legitimate to me - police & fire should cause no quibbles at all about using schools.

I’m just annoyed at those who are clearly either not working or have used very spurious key worker claims. One local university to us has given their entire workforce key worker status. So that’s thousands of people from lecturers (fair enough) to admin assistants to librarians (the university buildings are closed!)

I have a critical worker letter from work as I work for the NHS. I am working from home so have had both mine at home throughout, its been considerably longer days to get everything done but I felt it necessary.

My 12 yo has autism, adhd as well as a processing disorder. We have reached breaking point after the 1st lockdown and then over 4 weeks in isolation due to cases in his year group between Sep and Dec. He will be going in 2 days a week for all our mental health. I would be really upset if anyone questioned it as they wouldn't necessarily know our situation.

Yes, DHs school is roughly 1/3 medic parents and enough others to make up about 50% of the school having been offered a keyworker placement. They haven't all taken it up. A handful of vulnerable kids, but most with NHS parents.

It's a tiny school (68 kids) and we have a whole school whatsapp group!

In DSs class 1/3 are in. Other years have more though.

And whilst I know that they had to do a whole country closure thing, but DSs school had worked it so that each class (max 15 kids and 2 staff) were their own bubble - each with their own play area and dining area. As a result we didn't have a single bubble close due to COVID since September. Now the whole keyworker group is a bubble - due to most staff teaching online!

I agree with @EagleFlight my DCs are at a private school, there are definitely a lot of adopted children, people who foster as well as about a quarter of the pupils who access the learning support unit (generally dyslexia). There are 3 children i know of with ADHD just in DS2s tutor of 12.

Pretty sure it's not the same everywhere. I'm patient facing NHS and I can't get a place. Can't do my job without one, as husband cannot work from home and cannot not work. So it's a conundrum!

I don’t understand the ones with two accountants and one with a stay at home parent mentioned up thread.

But I am one of these terrible key workers ( critical and frontline) sending mine in with only one key worker. DH is working from home but has own business ( no help whatsoever from government) - there are some key worker element to some
Projects he is on so prob could swing it.

Last time we struggled with me working long days and him dealing with the kids. Two littles went to nursery after a month and kept the eldest at home. Eldest (7) was ignored by DH for majority of the time and left on devices. It really affected him. DH was trying to keep his business together. Not doing it to my kids this time so they are in three days a week, when I am at work. DH still has to do all the school runs as no before and after school club so still isn’t exactly a full working day for him.
I am not slogging my guts out for the nhs and seeing my kids suffer while other people are on furlough and able to home school their kids etc,
A lot of people feel The same this time. They are just doing what’s best for their family,

I also know of someone who sent their DCs in during 1st lockdown and it caused uproar as her job is a very non essential job and she is known for being a bit entitled however I know she had a very personal and completely justified reason for them going in, not one you would want everyone to know. It is really is no ones business but I really would like to think that no one is taking the piss.

We're trying to avoid school completely if possible. Due to insane work levels and having to do my bosses job because he's long term sick with stress, I have a part time nanny that was supposed to do wraparound care. My husband can work from home most of the time but has to go in at least one day a week (also critical, key worker). Thankfully the nanny is an ex hospital worker and understands the pressures so is doing long days a few times a week rather than wraparound.

I now have expanded my bubble to her, her 2 kids and husband. There's enough risk with me working at the hospital, without my daughter going to school too.

I don't think this lockdown will be enough; we need everyone bar critical workers at home. Having highish numbers in schools will increase cases further; it's already rocketing and the kids have been off for 2weeks!

Our school has a limit of 15 children per year (each year has 60 kids) but today there were 18. The school have sent an email asking us all to “justify” our keyworker status. Myself and my husband are key workers (healthcare and telephone/communications/internet) and have justified our reasons for asking for a place and have stated we only need it 3 days a week.
We are trying our hardest to only use what we need to rather than what we can apply for, but I know of so many parents who don’t really need the space (they are working from home, they are SAHMs or have furloughed partners) but have still applied for the space.
It’s downright rude to me!

Loads of KW and vulnerable children in at my primary school. We might as well be fully open. Some of the KW claims are very dubious, but no questions are being asked yet...

Sounds like there are a lot of parents out there who don't like being around their kids! I hope more schools start to push for justification, confirmation of working days/hours from employers because there is some absolute pish taking going on.