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

@HelloMissus

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.

It was easy to see but I’d say government attempted to go for as long as possible. But yes to others. Hopefully they will be better than last time at re opening.

@B33Fr33

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

Money is directly related to health. The less you have the lower your life expectancy for instance. Poorer people have worse health outcomes.

@HelloMissus

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.

They saw it coming but they covered their eyes and hoped that would make it go away or make it someone else's problem

@metellaestinatrio I have to stick up for lawyers here. It is not as easy as you assume to work from home. Yes it’s desk based, but you try doing a remote court hearing with 2 screaming or arguing children in the background, or telling them not to interrupt why you make submissions!

You try concentrating and reading an 80 page lease and it’s terms, where if you make a mistake, you are negligent and your firm is on the hook for £80k and you get struck off!

If this comes across as superior then so be it. But it is not as straight forward as your usual admin/desk based role. You’re held to a much higher account!!

The next thing we can see coming is that schools will close for everyone, including legitimate key workers because of staff illness, children isolating and ( most importantly for the government) community transmission - we all know what the figures looked like yesterday. Subsequently, there will be staff shortages in hospitals and limited medical care for any illness. There will be an impact on the food chain too. If you can convince yourself you ‘need’ a place in schools, do try to consider everything and not just you and your immediate ‘wants’.

We received an URGENT communication today from the council begging people to consider whether they really qualify for a school place. It’s obvious the uptake has been way above what they expected.

The biggest change would be to needing two KW parents

That would bring numbers down. If you can people will. No one will listen to pleas I doubt it anyway

To the person saying it is all scare tactics blah blah blah and you could be run over by a bus... In my 46 years no one of my acquaintance has been run over by a bus, bus victims aren't clogging up wards and intensive care. I personally know two people who have died, another a week in intensive care at 45, I can count on my fingers out of the top of my head 20 plus friends and acquaintances who have had it, one my cousins wife who is 35, slim, perfect health nine months later they believe the damage to her lungs may be permanent. You wanna be her? Go ahead. I know I don't.

Totally agree this was the governments way of closing primaries to all children and making a pretence of remote learning where it can be done and actually keeping them open.

I do believe he does want secondaries and colleges closed longer term and the evidence with regards their transmission means he definitely couldn't do a pretence with that.

@BustopherPonsonbyJones

The next thing we can see coming is that schools will close for everyone, including legitimate key workers because of staff illness, children isolating and ( most importantly for the government) community transmission - we all know what the figures looked like yesterday. Subsequently, there will be staff shortages in hospitals and limited medical care for any illness. There will be an impact on the food chain too. If you can convince yourself you ‘need’ a place in schools, do try to consider everything and not just you and your immediate ‘wants’.

THIS!

Anyone who didn't need a space at the beginning of April is not a "critical" worker.

(OBVIOUSLY with some exceptions as always, teachers who could work from home but have to be in class for all the newly self-appointed "key workers" need school space for their own children now!)

@MarshaBradyo

The biggest change would be to needing two KW parents

That would bring numbers down. If you can people will. No one will listen to pleas I doubt it anyway

Our school has already implemented this.

Both my husband and I are police officers.

This morning I got a call asking why my MIL had dropped off DD1 and could she not have her all day?
I explained she helps with drop offs because we both technically start work by 0730am and I have to get a younger child to another school. Her partner is over 70 and at risk so she really is doing a huge favour.
I was then asked if my mum could have her. No, she also works and has appointments out of the house.
Is my mum a key worker? No, but I can’t force her to home school my child.

I can’t be furloughed or do my work from home.

So what do I do because I don’t know anymore 🤷‍♀️

Snoopy they can ask and you’ve said no so can you keep the school place? Don’t feel bad just keep it.

If they’re not letting you then I don’t think they can do that

Thanks Marsha. We are keeping the place.

I’m just tired of being made to feel guilty.

I had both kids home from Match to September last year because their pre school didn’t reopen due to low demand. But I was in a different role then and could work around them.
My role now is sensitive and needs me out of the house although I can try to do it during school hours. My husbands role is 12 hour shifts so he’s out of the house from 0430am for a day shift.

Snoopy don’t feel guilty whatever you do. Two police officers is practically definition of critical workers

I think the answer to the question is yes, and it comes from a few directions.

One is financial/economic/practical. Businesses can't afford to shut down long term in the same way they did in the Spring. That was touted as temporary and unique, it is a totally different ballgame when you are talking about something long-term.

Employees cannot afford to not work, or lose their jobs because they won't work. Many people have already run through their savings, and even their credit, their vacation time and sick days. They have done all the extra projects remotely that can be done.

As for schools, the economy for decades has depended on school-based childcare as integral to it's operation. No matter how you slice it, that is the reality, it's been encouraged by the state (gets that GDP up), and it's also been culturally encouraged (check out is it feminist to be a SAHM) and it's become an economic necessity for almost everyone. Older people are often working longer and grandparents are more elderly than they were even a generation ago.

There is no pool of people who can take on extra domestic duties.

People are also recognising that online education is largely unsuitable for primary aged kids and that even with older ones is kind of crap and requires parental supervision and help.

But I also think there is increasing mental resistance. People are looking at the one year mark coming up, and thinking that this is not the month or so they thought was reasonable to flatten the curve. They are looking at missing more and more significant things, they may not have seen elderly relatives for a year, or had family deaths where they hadn't seen them in many months. Their kids are online all day or depressed. Their rights as citizens to travel, to meets together, have been remove for a significant period of time.

Snoopy don't feel guilty. You really do need the space.

I am a KW (education) with a ds who also gets space under ehcp. I declined because I am able to juggle both for a number of weeks. It won't be easy and if I couldn't I'd have taken the space.

Thankyou to you and DH for your service too. I think people have underestimated the pressure on police this pandemic - especially trying to enforce guidance and law that's totally unclear and open to various interpretations!

@Jimdandy I am a lawyer! I’ve had to work from home with my children in both lockdowns, so I know exactly how hard it is. Plus I am in private practice in a busy area, so probably have a less understanding boss and clients than someone who works for a government department. Doesn’t mean my children are entitled to a place at school...

In a lot of instances employers didn't tolerate it there was just a lot more forced to shut first time round. It's not a full lockdown like the first one

@Snoopysimaginaryfriend

Thanks Marsha. We are keeping the place.

I’m just tired of being made to feel guilty.

I had both kids home from Match to September last year because their pre school didn’t reopen due to low demand. But I was in a different role then and could work around them.
My role now is sensitive and needs me out of the house although I can try to do it during school hours. My husbands role is 12 hour shifts so he’s out of the house from 0430am for a day shift.

Unbelievable - I have a feeling that soon the decision will be taken out the schools hands and there will be one, 'admissions officer,' who makes the decision for everyone (obviously in your case it was the right decision.)

@metellaestinatrio it’s clear you are making it up that you are one to now suit your purposes.

I never said they were entitled to a place. I said it cannot be done easily from home with two children around. My colleagues who do child law certainly couldn’t have children in the background during a hearing!

snoopy - Some parents on these threads would hate it if I were making the decisions about which children were allowed into school because I would call bullshit on quite a number of their claims. You and your partner have truly essential jobs and both of you are working outside the home. You are the definition of key workers who need childcare.

I would have been very concerned about my health if we had been asked to continue teaching in school and the thought of supervising key workers’ children is still scary because of the rate of infection and the potency of the new strain. I would take the risk for you and people like you. The piss-takers (you know who you are) could take a running jump. Like @SVRT19674 I know people in their 40s who have died of Covid and a number of others (younger) with Long Covid. I won’t take that risk for the selfish.

I pass my kids teacher on our walks home from work and she always tell me to send them in. I keep saying no thanks. I think she's just being lovely though.

Both my husband and I are police officers.

You of all people should not feel guilty! Feel embarrassed for the people who should feel guilty, who should not claim a spot and who are damaging the whole system.

Does any parent want to homeschool their children? Of course not, or they wouldn't have registered them at school in the first place. Is it convenient to anyone? Again, of course it's not.

2 police officers are just as entitled to their space than they were at the beginning of April.

@Jimdandy why would I want to make that up?! You can advance search me if you like; I’m fairly sure I’ve mentioned being a lawyer in previous posts. I was simply trying to make the point (after your somewhat patronising post) that I know how difficult it is to work as a lawyer with small children around as I have done it for months. It is, however, possible, especially when you have only one child and the other parent at home to help look after that child (as is the case for the family I was referring to in my initial post). Therefore in my mind this family should not get a key worker school place - those should be reserved for families where both parents are police officers (as a PP mentioned), or hospital doctors or supermarket workers.

Also, you are extremely unlikely to get struck off for messing up a lease.

Just open the bloody schools fully to every student!