To think that high levels of children being sent to school are the beginnings of lockdown resistance from the working age population

[NoIDontWatchLoveIsland]

I keep hearing widespread reports of high levels of children being sent to school under key worker provision. In the first lockdown many people did what they could to keep children at home, and employers tolerated this, but this time almost everyone I know even vaguely connected with a key worker occupation has been given a letter from their employer and told they must get their children to school. In almost all cases the parents are happy about this.

AIBU to think that this is the beginnings of resistance from younger people at continued school closures & lockdowns, when the statistics continue to be clear that few people under 50 who are not CEV are getting severely I'll with Covid?

YABU - no, people are supportive of school closures & wider lockdowns
YANBU - yes, younger people are becoming less tolerant of school closures/wider lockdowns

my husband who is not a key worker earns 4 times my rubbish key worker wage

This demonstrates the really problem in a nutshell. Far too many “critical” workers are paid way less than non-critical people. And I’m not just talking about government funded ones, so the “private sector needs to pay taxes to fund critical workers” simply doesn’t wash. The population (as a whole) wouldn’t cope well without the private-sector food supply chain, where most workers earn very little indeed.

@Napqueen1234 I am honestly so fed up of it! I love my job and have continuously put myself at risk since March. I get that 2 parents WFH are exhausted from juggling the kids around work but at least they are all safe. From some of the responses on here though I should happily keep putting myself at risk AND my family should risk my husband losing his livelihood because he can't run a business looking after two children under 5 all day while I am out of the house.

The government haven't got much right but children of 1 key worker in the household should ABSOLUTELY have a school place because to be frank we have been short changed in every other way!

Huge fuss all last week: close the schools, close the schools.

This week: Schools are closed, but now I'm sending my kids in anyway because it's difficult to have them at home while I'm trying to work, I hated last lockdown/home teaching (I'm getting all the never again posts on fb from parents who could easily have their kids at home but would rather not) and the kids don't like missing their friends etc etc.

It's a pandemic. Schools end up with over half their kids in anyway, no one's any safer, transmission will go on raging.

It's all shit, there are no good answers anywhere. Its the least worst long term option each time. But the govt are going to have to sort out the gate keeping quickly before they're forced into closing schools period in the worst affected areas.

@MichelleofzeResistance

Huge fuss all last week: close the schools, close the schools.

This week: Schools are closed, but now I'm sending my kids in anyway because it's difficult to have them at home while I'm trying to work, I hated last lockdown/home teaching (I'm getting all the never again posts on fb from parents who could easily have their kids at home but would rather not) and the kids don't like missing their friends etc etc.

It's a pandemic. Schools end up with over half their kids in anyway, no one's any safer, transmission will go on raging.

It's all shit, there are no good answers anywhere. Its the least worst long term option each time. But the govt are going to have to sort out the gate keeping quickly before they're forced into closing schools period in the worst affected areas.

Yep. Closing primaries is a huge mess and it’s the same dc each time left out.

You're lucky if you get time to have a poo during the day!!!

It'll be interesting to see what happens with figures in school aged children and number of bubbles bursting over the next month.

The more children that attend school the greater transmission risk.

At some point that is going to lead you our KW having to isolate and having an effect on how the country runs etc.

Absolutely there are families who have no choice other than to use school.

But there are so many people who really if they were honest don't don't want the difficulty they had before. I get that. I had that too.
But at this time we really need to decide if it's easier life and longer lockdown or not?

I fear those who are prepared to make that short term sacrifice will get screwed over by a longer lockdown because of those who aren't.

But I just think it's people's morals. And differing morals and opinions is human nature so I'm not sure how we bypass that? Has anyone seen the behavioural scientists reports lately? I always found them very interesting.

And yes, myself and my OH are both critical workers on low wages. My ex is an accountant and earns at least four times as much as the both of us combined!!!

Just as a contrast to all the "too many kids are at school" posts I've seen today. There were 10 kids in dds primary school today. More staff were in the building than keyworker kids.
They didn't find out if they had places until 4pm yesterday so we may see more tomorrow or next week.

It's not the fault of the people working, it's government lying and saying they were closing schools.
Everyone is a key worker if you think hard enough.
Our PM had no problem

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

on what basis can age of parents be calculated?

Excluding the tiny number of adopted children in the UK, any woman with a primary age child is guaranteed to be under 60. That's pretty basic biology

Or IVF. Or one of the few women who can naturally conceive in their very late 40s and 50s.

It's not the fault of the people working, it's government lying and saying they were closing schools.

Exactly this. Fake-closing schools is obviously just giving a public message that they are pretending to do something to lower the transmission rate. It makes me wonder if they actually care about that at all? Maybe they have just decided to go with the high infection and death rate but to put out the message that they are trying to do something about it.

In reality, this is the worst of all worlds. It's been admitted that school children are vectors of infection. The sharp increase in the number of pupils of all ages receiving positive tests in December suggests that they are contracting the new variant much more easily. However, there are now large numbers of children still in school, so little to no effect on reducing the transmission rate, but enough children out of school that remote learning also needs to be provided. In reality, it is impossible to balance both these things so neither group will receive a decent standard of education. I really don't know what their game is, other than they don't care about either education or containing Covid.

I think generally people just would rather have money than their health.

I don't support the lockdown or the scare tactics used by the media /government.
Cases are increasing because of more testing.
The data is deaths from any cause within 30 days of a positive covid test.
Could've been hit by a bus ffs!
Yes there is pressure to get keyworker spaces due to pressure from employers.

I think it’s likely employers not tolerating the lockdown (or being made to suffer financially for it) as much this time. I don’t blame people for taking the places as people do need to think of their own families but it probably is going to mean it’s much harder to reduce community transmission. We are getting help with childcare from my parents. It’s not a perfect solution but they miss their grandkids and we go nowhere except the beach down the road for a walk so we aren’t likely to be infected and pass the virus to them

At my son's school both parents have to be a key person to get a place.

If anyone is unhappy with this write to your MP’s.
In lockdown one, offices were forced to close, categorically. This lockdown they have not been.
Our offices remain open (with very strict rules) but essentially people can go into the office, either if they cannot work from home and/ or have mental health/ anxiety as a result of lockdown (which we have seen a sharp increase of).

The critical workers list is huge - and with good reason. There is a lot (downstream supply chain) that probably needs to keep some economic/ infrastructure cogs turning.

So the reality is, the current school situation has been created solely by the government. If they wanted less kids in, that list could have been much shorter. Offices could have been forced to close.

Walking through school today at pick up I found out there are 11 kids in Year 1 but not all in everyday, 6 in Year 2 and 3 in Year 3. I don't walk past the other rooms so didn't hear about them.

@Chimeraforce

How do you explain the numbers in hospital then?

And how do you propose we stop that number increasing?

Do you watch the news where doctors are saying they WILL have to turn people away from ICU? Not just Covid patients but heart attack patients, traffic accidents.

I’m not resistant to lockdown this time, but my employer is!

You are right but I’m not sure why! Schools are being closed for safety, why send your children if you really don’t have to?

Because people don’t want to home school. I certainly don’t! The timetable is crazy this time round. The school is being very aggressive with their expectations. I’ve already spent a day in tears. But I have no choice and I’ll do it again. I can totally see why people are sending their kids into school though. I bloody would too if I had any ability to do so.

Over half my child’s class of 30 is in school, including one who has a SAHP (and no SEN), one with two parents working from home who have time to go for runs in the middle of the day together (so hardly putting themselves on the line in a COVID ward) and one with one parent who is technically a key worker but actually a lawyer who can easily work from home and another parent wfh part-time. It takes the piss. Meanwhile those of us with two working parents and other children to look after are pushing ourselves to the limits trying to keep up with school work which the teacher isn’t even marking - presumably because she’s busy delivering lessons to the majority of the class who are in the classroom.

Friends of mine in different areas have reported over 50% attendance at their children’s schools as well. What is the point in closing?!

The point of closing was to appease the various teaching bodies that wanted the schools shut or else they were going to strike or sue.

I’m shocked people didn’t see this coming.
The government, the teaching unions, the middle class parents clamouring for school closures are beyond out of touch with the country at large.