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?

No

I’m keeping mine home when they could be in school, dd2 has sn’s (vulnerable) and I’m a key worker. I have reduced my hours so I can keep them home and homeschool, I’m self employed so am now skint but I would rather keep my kids home.

Who would have thought we would all be at each other's throats for sending our kids to school.

some children are being completely abandoned and isolated and are getting much less of an education because of CF. You can't blame people to get annoyed.

A much smaller group in the class allows the teachers to work very differently. When a teacher has a class of 15 or 20, the poor sods at home get completely forgotten.

I bet the parents taking the piss are the least likely to volunteer or generally contribute anyway.

My kids are in this time part time when they didn’t go at all last time.
For good reasons.
That I can’t be arsed to explain.

@EmilySpinach

Incidentally I am categorically not talking about people who properly qualify and need the provision. That is what it is for. I am talking about SAHPs with a non front line keyworker partner, or people who are part time in also non front line but designated key worker roles...

I appreciate you saying that but the problem is that people in the second category are not reading these threads, or if they are they do not give a shit. Literally their only effect is to make those of us in the first category feel even more guilty.

This. Exactly.

Nope.
I’m a carer so I could but never ever would do.

I've taken a place this time. Both me and DH are critical workers - I'm a frontline HCP in NHS.

Last time my DH had more flexibility than now. This time he doesn't. We have only got a school place today after 3 weeks juggling home school. We ve taken annual leave to cover and it's been stressful.

Just like school teachers are experiencing - more and more is expected from people in most jobs with no more resources.

We have organised our work days so they only have to go in 2 days, both KW so theoretically they could go in everyday but we don't send them, we tag team the other days.

However, on one of the days they are in school we are sometimes at home but on call and need to dash out at any moment so I suppose theoretically we could keep them at home and drop at school if needed but I think that school would rather have them all day than turn up unexpectedly
!

@Iknowwhatudidlastsummer

Who would have thought we would all be at each other's throats for sending our kids to school.

some children are being completely abandoned and isolated and are getting much less of an education because of CF. You can't blame people to get annoyed.

A much smaller group in the class allows the teachers to work very differently. When a teacher has a class of 15 or 20, the poor sods at home get completely forgotten.

I bet the parents taking the piss are the least likely to volunteer or generally contribute anyway.

No I don't blame anyone, it's an impossible situation. Some kids are absolutely suffering more which is heartbreaking. It's just gutting. What makes it harder is that in London restaurants and theatres were open in December, despite the fact that hospitals are on their knees every winter. Our children have been sacrificed due to poor government. And we're supposed to just bear it and point the finger at desperate mothers who are faced with the agonising choice of whether to send their children to school. It's traumatic.

One reason why more children are attending is because legally more children are eligible for places.
Sen children with ehcp's had no legal protection last time; thus time BY LAW they must be offered on site places if possible. For my family that is an extra 4 places...and yes I have taken them - 4 disabled children needing 1:1 care in school means I can give my 5th child the home schooling they need, and attend the hospital apps for the other 4 with that child.

I know some people are taking advantage, but lots of us are simply taking the school places our children desperately needed and were not given in lockdown 1....and now bump up the numbers falsely.

Our preschool is attached to a primary and was initially on school rules (key workers and vulnerable kids only). So we did two weeks of home schooling whilst working from home, as we did last lockdown - it was shattering but neither of us are key workers so we accepted that's how it had to be.

Then last week pre-school lead called me up and said they were reverting to Early Years provision rules, and they had space for my daughter after key worker and vulnerable children were accommodated. I didn't ask for it; but I didn't say no.

Mainly because I'm going to give birth in early Feb and I want my DD well settled at school before the baby arrives so she doesn't feel pushed out by baby when school does re-open fully.

Not sure where that puts me on the sinning scale; I don't NEED to send her in, and I didn't ASK to send her in, but for sure when I was OFFERED the chance I snapped at it because it will be better for her stability, it will be better for my partner and I to be able to work properly, and I am incredibly huge and knackered and struggling to wrangle an active 4 yo and a busy work schedule every day without burning out.

I think my main point is that these threads are a bit horrible; anyone who is sending their kids in will have had to justify it to the school in some format. It's up to the schools if they will accept that justification. It's up to the govt to set the parameters for this. So really, what is gained by being so mean-spirited to one another?

I guess...

I could technically have my DSC home with me, but both parents are KWs so they are in school.

Drained - aren’t you worried about the risk of Covid though? In normal times, yes, I see your reasoning. Do you really want your DC to bring Covid home to yourself now or your new baby when he/she is born?

The problem is, the risk of covid to young people isn't going away. We won't get vaccinated until September. We've all been roundly terrified into keeping our kids off but will be expected to send them every day as soon as they open despite the risk. The school closures are to avoid overwhelming the NHS, not to protect us, our kids or teachers. We'll all be expected to crack on soon enough.

What's going on? Well the first lock down scared the bejesus out of everyone including KW. Now given we are more informed those that meet the criteria are sending their children into school. It really is that simple and teachers like other keys workers should be as turbo charged to muck in not throw in the towel. As a KW I've travelled daily across London for the past 12 months & my son attends full-time school, guilt free.

But yb7b these are not the people taking the piss. The people taking the piss are those that could easily have their kids at home and aren't. Those with a SAHP for example (and no vulnerable categorisation).

I am sorry but the people everyone should be angry at are the people taking advantage.

I am wholly sick of people that follow the rules and guidance being inadvertently penalised for other peoples actions.

Schools where I live are struggling to give places to those that would really benefit from a few hours a week in school and a lot of that is because of the people abusing the system.

No we should not all be turning on each other, not at all, but equally people should be made aware of the consequences.

I am truly sorry though if that makes people who really should be using the provision feel guilty as a PP said. The same poster pointed out that the people that are abusing the system probably don't read these threads and unfortunately they are probably right!!

Yes, because school is insisting they go full time even though I'm part-time and DS doesn't need to go every day.

I was offered a place for DD who is 13, I said no. I'm mostly working from home and she can stay on her own if I have to go into the office.

I felt really guilty about sending mine in and have criticism from some but on here I got lots of support. To do my job safely I could not have done it with the kids at home even though I’m working at home I’m dealing with serious safeguarding issues, suicides, domestic violence etc I could not complete that with the kids at home and care for them too.

Drained - aren’t you worried about the risk of Covid though? In normal times, yes, I see your reasoning. Do you really want your DC to bring Covid home to yourself now or your new baby when he/she is born?

@WinstonmissesXmas

Of course I am.

But for one thing I think I already had it (way back in Feb last year when it was barely a thing - whatever I had though I gave it to my colleague and she had confirmed covid - still feel bad about that, I thought it was just a bad cough ).

For another, I have to weight the risk of covid to our family (which is in the majority of healthy adults and children a mild illness) against the certainty of all the negative effects lockdown and home schooling will have on us all.

I live in a city which has basically not been out of lockdown since last spring - we have been the most restricted city throughout this whole nightmare, and I have seen what it has done to my daughter's wellbeing and development, my partner's mental health, my own physical health as I've worked into the late night throughout 1st and 3rd trimester so I can look after my child during the day.

Our workplace has decided to have a massive restructure right in the middle of this, so everyone's performance is under scrutiny, performance has to be high. We're about to have a second child, it's not a good time for one of us to be made redundant.

There's a whole raft of considerations, and in amongst them is 'what if we get covid?' Well, if we get covid we'll probably be sick for a week or two and then get better. Very unlikely to need to go into hospital, very unlikely to have any long term or acute ill effects.

So no, for us personally, I'm not as scared of that as I am of what will happen to us all if we keep her home. I worry about other people thinking ill of us for it; and I worry about us having a negative impact on others. This is why I would never have pushed for her to be given a place or felt resentful that she hadn't one; but when they ring me up and offer? Yeah I'll take it.

If she was in a regular nursery it wouldn't even be a consideration as they're all open to anyone anyway.

No

My son has an EHCP so been going to school because we believed it was best for him.Today he tested positive for covid 19.The good news at least is that's he's fairly well in himself;his temp/headache has disappeared after only 2 days,he's no other symptoms really aside from being abit paler than usual and a little lethargic

The first lockdown was a novelty, lots of people furloughed, the weather was nice, lots of o I’m doing this and how fantastic is this, happy to keep the kids home and manage homeschooling because they thought it would be easy, employers were far more flexible and schools hadn’t realised just how many children didn’t have the capability to homeschool from lack of internet and technology.

Now it’s winter, not as fun as lots of sunny weather, parents have experienced home schooling and realised it’s not easy and it’s no longer a novelty. People have had 11 months of not being able to live their normal life’s they are stressed, not coping, employers are not as flexible, money is tighter for so many. Schools and the government realised so many children don’t have the technology or equipment to home school and have offered places to these children in top of the key worker and vulnerable children.

DD is in a GCSE year. At home, lonely, getting depressed.... but will not accept my help with schoolwork. Same last lockdown....in September school identified her as having fallen behind. The promised 'catch up tuition' from the government never materialised and here we are again. Many of her friends are similar or worse. It is so sad to hear of people taking places unnecessarily....every extra case spread in school by pupils who really don't need to be there, means it will take longer for pupils at home to restart their education.

The ones that bug me the most are the dads who have “really busy roles” / “he’s the main breadwinner” / “he’s on Zoom calls back to back”.

Wife KW and kids are in school because heaven forfend that men’s lives get a bit difficult. I don’t know a single dad who’s staying home and juggling his work and home schooling. If more men stepped up fewer kids would be in school.

@DitherFlicker - I’m so sorry. I think that year group are the worst hit. I really feel for all of you with “exam year” children.