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

@Nicknamegoeshere

I don't understand why you'd send your kids in if you are a SAHP?

Putting yourself above the teachers/LAs/TAs/cleaners/caretakers etc etc needs is the reason.

It is like people think kids learn in a vacuum and all the support is invisible. Each time someone puts their kids in school and doesnt 100% need to, they are showing how incredibly selfish they are

Why do people have kids? Really want to know!!

Re those assuming that SAHP should be keeping their children at home or that they only send them in to school because they don't like their children or are lazy, this is a little silly.
Until this ludicrousness started, we assumed as a society that sending children in to school for both their educational and social wellbeing was a good idea. That is one of the reasons why we do and also why we pay taxes and why generally we are supportive of teachers. The fact that there is now one different virus extant does not mean that all of us in society have concluded that school education is simply about childcare and ridding ourselves of our progeny.

You acknowledge that the virus and lockdown have changed the payoffs so the rest of your post makes no sense.

If my employer told me I had to work either from home or in an office/shop/lorry etc and that I was not to home school at the same time then I would send my child to school. Otherwise how would I pay my mortgage or rent as a result of losing my job. As someone else said the first lockdown was different. We thought it was one off, furlough was extensive, war time spirit, we are all in this together etc etc. Now we know that we are not all in this together and that I need to look after my family, my roof over my head as no one else is looking out for me.

My kids have refused educare this time around they hated it and they adore school.

My exh has them this time. I am front line ss and fully entitled to use the provision.

It's not school its a Creche don't be deluded. It was a nightmare at the ebd mast time the dds didn't have a good time

@OoohTheStatsDontLie

I think it's more or a reflection of people worried about their jobs, and employers being a bit less flexible this time. It was easier for them to be flexible the first time when it was seen as temporary and the economy wasn't as bad. My company the first time was saying 'do your best and we will still pay you unless you can't work at all'. Now they are saying 'agree with your line manager how you're going to achieve your hours'. So we have had to send our youngest to nursery, she is st an age and personality type where she needs constant supervision and we physically can't make the hours up if we look after her all day, without getting ill through exhaustion

This... I don’t think it’s about “younger people’s” assessment of risk, it’s employers and the economy which doesn’t want the economic loss or drop in productivity.

Also many work places have already adapted to covid safer ways of working and clients/customers still want/need services that can’t be put on hold forever, so there is less of a drop in output/workload this time. They want working parents in and there is pressure to find a solution rather than using the furlough scheme this time.

But this is why the government needs to support working parents by either compelling employers to be flexible or supporting parents who cannot go to work for childcare reasons, for a short-term period

I employ people. If my receptionist can’t come in I can’t open as I have a lone person policy - which I have to have. I have other staff who work part time and they cover for sicknesses but they have to be very careful about the extra ours they do as they all have children and receive Gov top ups.

The schools closed on Tuesday I’ve been closed shut since. Not due to lock down but due to child care issues.

Where does this leave me as an employer and a business owner?

Where does this the women I employ if they can not get in to work?

I can’t afford to pay them all to stay at home and then pay for childless agency staff too.

I could closed down completely till the end of lockdown but the government grants don’t even touch the sides.

We can’t all work from home!

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

the school key worker spaces filled up in a day... bubbles now closed

They aren't allowed to limit the spaces. They must provide a space to all key worker children who request one.

That is isnt accurate

There isnt any guidance one way or another.
LAs are urgently requesting clarification and also on bubble size.

@tillyandmilly

Why do people have kids? Really want to know!!

Why do you say this?

I agree with you @NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

We struggled last time with dh wfh and homeschooling our 6yr old, while I was redeployed to wards. Didn’t send dc into school to save a place and minimise spread but he did fall behind a bit as we didn’t have time to do much of the school work and by the time we did he was too tired. All of dh colleagues were furloughed except him, so he was very busy.

Housework didn’t happen and it was very tough.

Then I heard that many people had managed to get their kids back into school for spurious reasons and their kids are now less behind.

So this time we have requested 2 days to take the pressure of us a bit and prioritise our dc and their learning. I didn’t mind for 6 weeks in summer but this is now looking like much longer.

Everyone is in a unique situation and I can understand why people get them in if they can.

Disgusting comment @tillyandmilly

Why do people have kids? Really want to know!

I wonder that sometimes as well when I’m looking at amazing adult only hotels knowing I have to pick the loud crazy child friendly ones

But I have a feeling that you’re question is really coming from a deep rooted place of misogyny with thick ideas that women should just breed and be chained for all eternity to the house and child rearing. Poor you!

@tillyandmilly
"Why do people have kids? Really want to know!!"
So do I. Pre-Covid, half of MN was full of hand-wringing about school-bullying, poor teaching standards etc.
Now parentials seem to be willing to chew off their own right arm to get rid of the offspring.
If you have decided to reproduce, you take responsibility for raising the fruit of your loins. And love and care for them and keep them happy and safe. Or is the government expected to do that?
There of course are exceptions, the real key workers where both parents are expected to work outside the home.

Because people realised how difficult it was last time? Because employers are not flexible at all? Because the longer this goes on people cannot simply manage at home & drop the ball on the rest of their lives? I will need to send my DC this time because I am an NHS frontline worker and my mum died so I have no childcare. I cannot physically be at work and look after her so I have no option. My manager has said 'there are provisions for you so you use them and come to work as normal'

@Heartlantern2

He is a key worker, he is in furlough. He works at the airport.

Yes, it probably is harder for some families, there is always someone who has it harder, doesn’t mean it’s ok to fall to the bottom of the pit!!

I just feel like the more and more we as a family follow the rules the more and more my children suffer for it. Not us as the parents, but them! I feel like I’m never learning my lesson and I’m starting to let them down now for it!

He is not a key worker if he isn’t working. I don’t care what the guidelines say.

The trouble is the more people take advantage of the rules the tougher they will have to become. We are only hurting ourselves by bending the rules.

“Now we know that we are not all in this together and that I need to look after my family, my roof over my head as no one else is looking out for me.”

This is true in my opinion.

There seem to be many more people who are still having to go to work this time around, I’m not sure why this is, maybe the rules are less strict or interpreted differently by employers.

But I agree with others, that if you are expected to work, either outside or inside the home and your employer is not flexible, then what choice do people have?

The government could have preempted this and put measures in place where needed.

Our county council have said full time or none so people who coukd homeschool a couple of days a week. Also school are demanding children are working online all day. Parents can't manage that

I didn't want schools to close especially as my daughter's secondary has only had about 6 cases and no deaths.
My husband and I are key workers so still send them in, especially as we can't WFH. I think if people who wanted schools closed send them in then they are hypocrites.
If people were keeping their children home when they can it might be a short lockdown and maybe the last (as people are now getting the vaccine)
Unfortunately people are selfish and can't see the bigger picture. Government needs to be really strict on what a key worker is otherwise it's going to take months to get the numbers down.
We've already screwed up two years of exams do we really want to try for a third?

I had a Mum who all over her Facebook page posted close the schools posts. Only to ask on our school page has anyone had an email to confirm whether their child got a place under keyworker/EHCP thought we would have heard by now?

I know our school struggled with over 50% asking for keyworker places the last time. They’ve put more rules in place this time but I guessing they’ve had as many requests.
I think it’s hard for everyone:( working and homeschooling already today has driven me mad- and feel like I’m failing both.

It doesn’t matter if you care or not, if the guidelines say he is a key worker, then he is a key worker. Opinion doesn’t matter. It’s in the guidelines therefore we could have sent our children to school.

You're a bit delusional if you think your DC are better off educationally at school right now, they won't be doing a normal school day, it's just childcare as it was in the 1st lockdown, only with staff that are a lot less enthusiastic about being around your germy kids.

If you have decided to reproduce, you take responsibility for raising the fruit of your loins. And love and care for them and keep them happy and safe. Or is the government expected to do that?

Does that not include financially? Because for most parents working is a way they care for and keep their children happy and safe, by keeping a roof over their head and food on the table.

We should just ignore the blatant trolling. I also take issue with people with names like Proudboomer telling us that all the kids should be at home no matter the circumstances. It’s very easy to tell everyone to stay at home when you’re likely to be mortgage free and have no school aged children at home.