To say KW places are for the patients/clients/pupils...

[drspouse]

And vulnerable child places are for the child
And can the rest of you all give your heads a mega sized wobble re "we've all had it so hard" and "why should you get to send your child when I've had to walk up Snowdon on my bare feet with my child on my back".
My DS is in a PRU which is fully open (following all staff testing negative, all will be having weekly tests).
My DH is a KW and is WFH but his colleagues need him to keep the databases running to keep the government's money being paid into people's accounts. Your neighbour who is a nurse needs to be there for her patients.

The Mumsnetter you're telling to pull her socks up has 30 year 7s on the other end of Zoom and her DC's KW place is for those year 7s to get an education. Not so she can have a cup of tea in peace.

The family at the end of the road whose children are in, 3 of them have EHCPs that the school has fought for to get extra resources. The other two are teenage carers for their mum who has MH problems.

You don't know why a vulnerable child needs a place. You may find it hard to WFH and you may feel that your job is more essential than some but that's probably something to take up with the Government definition of KW. Our local bakery owner has sent her child during lockdown. The bakery is a foundation of the local community and was delivering to self-isolating/shielding families. Yet other HTs have poo-poohed the idea of bakers needing KW places.

And if your DC's school is refusing places to anyone with only one KW parent (but the other is working), anyone with a KW WFH (remember they are WFH with patients, including those with mental illness, or children, including those that may disclose something), then they need to get their act together. Hopefully the Governors or the LEA can help.

If you feel nervous sending your DC who has a KW place, or if you have a vulnerable child place but they actually learn better at home, that's an entirely other matter, and I'm very familiar with families in the latter position.

dons flameproof underwear
gets ready to go to her F2F physio appointment and hopes that her physio's DCs haven't been refused a KW place

I'm a keyworker who can work from home. I'm sending my kids in which I'm sure will raise a few eyebrows. However, I work in adult safeguarding and a large part of my job involves being in video conferences about rape, domestic abuse, financial abuse etc. Can't really have the kids running around in the background during those.

I don't think it is for people to judge others for taking KW spaces but I do think individuals should remember the end goal in all this- i.e we are trying to minimise infection rate by closing schools and ultimately save lives. I have a 'right' to a place as I am considered a KW but I don't think I can morally justify it. I do a a fairly unusual job in two schools, there's only one of me but I can mostly do the work at home. My job in the private sector would not have kw status and frankly I think my DH's job WFH (Architect) is just as useful for society but he is obviously not a KW. Like many it is very hard managing between us as even though my youngest is on Google classroom she needs help on the 30 minute tasks prior to the 30 min online lesson. There are only 3 classes, it ends at 1.30 but our working hours do not. However, I still wouldn't say it is morally right for me to take the place. I think everyone needs to make that call for themselves though and really be honest with themselves about their motivation.

@Bonkerz

My DD is ADHD/AUTISTIC. she self harmed last lockdown and because scared to leave her room. She had therapy for weeks after. School know this. She gets low rate care DLA. I am a single parent and key worker. She needs school. She needs the routine and if she can't attend school it will undo all the work Cahms have been doing for the last 6 months. Despite all this we have been refused a place.

Bonkerz, try contacting the SEN team at your local council and explain the above to them. They might talk to the school about getting her in I had to do this last time for my EHC child and it worked.

My son has an EHCP and is currently in a PRU. He isn’t going in as they are only allowing in children with social care involvement so will be home schooled with his teacher doing door step visits twice a week.

The places are hardly overrun either. My secondary school with 1300 normally on roll had 50 children in today, and that's because last lockdown we started to invite them. Prior to that, some days there were fewer than 5, and by the time you'd accounted for the caretaker, the canteen staff, the Head and a teacher, there were sometimes more staff that pupils.

I'm live teaching a full timetable over Google Classroom until half term and my DH is a police officer. My 3 yo will attend his private nursery but I will still have a baby at home; he would normally go to my retired mum's three days per week.

My children’s school actually had vulnerable children at number 1 in their priority list and over key worker children. I was genuinely surprised at this because so much emphasis is placed on to key workers being able to work. But I was actually happy that they saw vulnerable children’s needs as important and that they weren’t number 4 and scraping the barrel and unlikely to get a place. Got to hand that one to the headteacher!

@drspouse

Sorry, they are NOT offering EHC plan children places because too many have EHC plans??! That's a fairly blatant breach of the law. Not enough staff willing to go in if school unsafe = one thing. Not willing to teach online = something else entirely. Making a place conditional on mask wearing and LF test for SEN = breach of Equality Act.

Yes the schools closed before lockdown last time and didn't open again to any children. Two of them had already emailed warning they may not reopen before the announcement. None of the three are open again now. A friend managed to force the LA to provide the therapies from her EHCP from independent health professionals but probably only because she had been to Tribunal twice already so knew how to fight and the EHCP is very tight.

The places are hardly overrun either. My secondary school with 1300 normally on roll had 50 children in today, and that's because last lockdown we started to invite them.
Our school has 15 out of 750.

The list has widened and I am now deemed a critical worker. The work I do I can do from home but it falls under the much wider government remit (and should). Critical IT workers productivity plummeted last lockdown because of how many fewer hours they were working (due to juggling childcare). If you want critical infrastructures to keep working - there are ‘office’ roles that are just as important. And people need to be fully available to keep networks etc running.

I’ll be dropping my youngest off tmrw with zero apology or explanation.

@Cervixvortex I’m not a key worker! And they’re not vulnerable

Everyone’s mental health took a battering!

That why schools need to close properly with only a very few critical worker kids in. Then we have a hope of easing lockdown! I’m not selfish!!