Be honest. Have you sent your kids to school when they could have stayed at home?

[Witchcraftandhokum]

I left my job in education before Christmas mostly because of the governments appalling response to Covid in schools and anti-teacher sentiment generally so I haven't really got a vested interest. But I'm curious, after speaking to my ex-colleagues and friends who work in other schools there seems to be a dramatic take-up on the offer of places for vulnerable students and children of Key-workers compared to the last lockdown.

The numbers in my old school during the last lockdown made it hardly worth opening the school, this time they're at capacity and are having to bring extra staff in at a risk to themselves. In my friend's child's class there are 21 out of 32 currently attending.

What's going on?

Joining to the million others who have said that mine are at home when they could be in school. Juggling NHS shifts, self employed partner taking time off work so family losing money. To me, it’s just what we have to do. I know so many who are in school though when they really shouldn’t be and a very entitled attitude from the parents.

Yes and no really. DD is at school 5 days. I asked for a place for 3 days while I was at work and was told it was 5 or nothing. I do feel guilty the 2 days I'm not at work but that's the Head's rules so nothing I can do about it.

Usually I would have sent DD to my parents on my working days but I can't use them as my childcare bubble at the moment as my grandmother is at end of life and parents are caring for her.

It's a truly shit situation for everyone.

DD2 has ADHD (we're in Germany, so no ECHP or whatever it's called, but she has the local equivalent) - there wouldn't be much point sending her in though as I'm a SAHM, and anyway her twin DD1 woild be at home doing the same work. Actually easier having them both home. I worry about their opportunities to speak German. However half their class is bilingual and they all have the same problem. At least they are getting an absolute ton of homeschool German work to do, lucky us...

I’ll admit it. I work in healthcare 3 days and DS is at school for those days. DH is WFH - he’s financial services so also essential but from home.
DS is an only child and it was awful last lockdown to see how sad he was. He needs some interaction with other children to keep him sane. I’m doing Covid vaccination on the side and think ai will volunteer another day so he can go 4 days. They can’t argue with Covid vaccinator as an essential role!
There’s 11 out of a class of 21 in and many are really stretching the definition of essential worker anyway- far more than us!

Ds is in school. He has an ehcp but it is more about him being unable to cope with change in routine leading to him hurting himself. His asd special school are expecting them all to be in.

Mine are at home although DH and I are on the list of key workers (who isn't, this time round). It's really hard but we are all safe and not making things even harder for our local school. It makes my eyes roll when people say they are sending them because their kids like it or because it's tough wfh with young children around - that's the case for everyone, but isn't an excuse to send them in.

Our school has been actively ringing up SAHMs who are married to doctors and offering them places at school because it "makes their lives easier to have a bigger class of children"

My friend has. She is a pastime primary school teacher working 2 days a week from home. She sends her son in full time. She said she can't home school him as she also has a two year old. She could apparently keep him off once a week as her husband has one day off but she says he thrives off being in school and it's apparently not worth disrupting his routine

Nope. Am key worker and so is husband technically. Our children at home. We have made it work as fortunately both senior enough to manage our own time.

Nope. I could send my DD to school and it is VERY tempting as it's a real struggle juggling working full time and home schooling but it's just not right so I haven't. I'm lucky that my boss is great and I have flexibility in when I work to an extent.

The government didn’t want to close down the schools, the unions applied tremdeous pressure and the gov capitulated but left the back door open by loosening the rules of which kids can go. They also havn’t offered the same furlough deal as before.

Actual schooling is expected of children and teachers this time round, and employers are much less forgiving you’re not already lost your job yet. Meaning that people inc. teachers themselves who could just about juggle the two last time, this time can’t.

Add to that the very real risk to children being unsupervised in the home (a toddler died while dad was at work and mum was in a two hour conference call).

And just the total disconnect from reality that someone could deliver remote learning or organise the vaccination role out or work nights, and home school their kids at the same time.

I feel totally for the teachers who have been thrown to the wolves without even priority for a vaccination. If my Mum was still one I would have told her to quit when all this started. But I will not judge any parent who sends their kids in.

The failure to lockdown when they should have and to the extent they should have including opening up the schools like this is the governments fault and responsibility but they are successfully getting everyone to blame their neighbours instead just like it was the ‘lazy’ teachers or ‘sunbathing furlough scroungers’, now it’s the ‘selfish’ parents

AngelicaElizaAndPeggy

Yes I left my job over this. I do realise that I was in an extremely fortunate position. I worked as a deliver driver for a supermarket and managed to pick some consultancy work, which has now developed into a full time role.

A lot of school staff I know are currently looking for other work but it's scarce. I feel so very sorry for them.

I kind of get why people are sending their kids in. Home schopling is tough, people are fed up and concerned about their kids future.
Dd is at home but i was tempted to send her in...

Schooling

[quote OverTheRubicon]**@breadwidow* I only know one person at work who us doing this - she argues it's because she's on her own during day while husband at work. To be honest she should keep her son home. My two are both at home but my DH is around and doing the lions share of home schooling*

So... She should keep her kids at home with her when she's on her own during the day, even though you are presumably busy enough that your DH manages the homeschooling? [/quote]
Yes she's in a tougher position than me as my DH is working from home and doing a lot more of the hone schooling than I am. But she is at home and our employer has offered a scheme whereby you can reduce hours at no loss of pay. I don't know why she's not using that, like a couple of colleagues are. Another colleague is also not reducing officially hrs but has blocked out some time for home schooling (split with her husband) and is working a bit later to make up for it. She also only has one child, which does make things easier.

Sorry, just catching up on replies. For those of you having a go because I left my job because I was unhappy, I don't understand why it bothers you. Since Christmas I've been working part time for a supermarket while I secured some consultancy work. It's been a struggle but we've managed. Working in education was taking a toll on my mental health and I got out, it hasn' t affected anyone outside my immediate family and we're doing OK.

@Alfaix of course you should have your place but at my kids school wouldn't be eligible as your husband wfh. They don't care what job is being done from home that's the line.

@Arundelclassrom that doesn't surprise me. The thing that was so difficult last year is that our school encouraged huge uptake by keyworker families in May so they could say the school was too full to have any other children in, at a time that others allowed y1, y6 and other years back. They didn't base it on who was at home working or anything like that, just who had one keyworker parent.

So hardly surprising they ended up full this time.

The frustrating thing for everyone is that we were told schools should shut for safety reasons but schools are picking and choosing who they accept and doing it in large numbers. I don't know of any schools who are really strictly limiting numbers and it makes a mockery of it all. Some teachers do feel reasonably safe in school and prefer it. Not all of course but enough.

@IceCreamAndCandyfloss really, you don’t understand that we’re a country of lazy, entitled, arseholes who view school as free childcare?! Obviously not including you or I in this

My friend’s a SEN coordinator and they’ve got 4 times the kids in, absolutely loads in that where one parent doesn’t even work - lazy c*nts.

The stupid thing is they’re all moaning but don’t realise that by sending their kids in they’re adding to the potential prolonging of the whole situation!

2 keyworkers, both working outside the home. We have kept kids at home. Their grandparent are in our bubble so are minded by them whilst we work or alternative shifts to each other

"My friend’s a SEN coordinator and they’ve got 4 times the kids in, absolutely loads in that where one parent doesn’t even work - lazy c*nts."

If your friend is an SEN coordinator she should really have a bit more understanding of why some children need to be in school even with one parent not having paid employment.

My son is at home 2 days a week and in school 3 days a week. We trialled keeping him home all 5 days, but it just wasn’t feasible or sustainable and very unfair to him in terms of what was expected of him whilst me and my husband were both working on Zoom all day.

He’s in Year 2 and across the year they are allowed to take 20 students and including my son there is only 8.

No have kept ours off even though I am now classed as key worker (wasnt in march). Am happy to as we need to see my mil to provide her with support. What I did find incredibly annoying and insensitive though on the morning zoom class was when the teacher in school is telling the kids at home how much fun they all had doing forest school. Cheers for that!

DS is at school but we can't keep him home. I'm not a key worker but I work outside the home, cannot physically do my job from home. His dad is a key worker and also cannot work from home. So there are no parents home during the day. We have no grandparent help and no one else to help with childcare.

@Spikeyball 🙄🙄 of course she is but it also means she knows who’s taking the piss and are just CBA - and it’s a big number!

It would be interesting to see what take up of KW provision for wfh parents would be if the test was: “if your child’s bubble burst, would you be forced to stop working during their isolation period?”