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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not understand why people are taking children out of school for the last week?

156 replies

TellerTuesday · 15/07/2021 22:08

To be clear, I don't mean people who have travel plans for the the first week of the holiday. I totally understand why people agave decided it's not worth the risk of having to isolate and not being able to go away etc.

But I really don't understand why people are keeping DCs out of school for the last week so that they 'don't have to isolate for the first week of the holidays'

There are 6 children in DD's class who have now finished for the year despite them not breaking up until next Friday. 1 is travelling the first weekend so I do see logic with that one hut the other 5 don't have anything planned.

In that situation are people not just isolating for a week to avoid the risk of POSSIBLY having to isolate the week after?

OP posts:
Wineiscooling · 15/07/2021 23:18

I considered taking mine out this week , I've got my best friend's wedding this weekend and relying on grandparents for childcare and was really worried isolation would come our way. I didn't keep them off in the end ..... One more day to get through. I completely understand why people have though. It's been a rubbish 18 months and so much disappointment for so many. Holiday plans and making memories are so important to so many right now. Much more important than school and certainly in my children's school there doesn't seem to be much learning going on anyway.

Timeisavirtue · 15/07/2021 23:23

I had to cancel my holiday but if I was still going and had the option I would take them out. We were supposed to go next Friday but due to DS special needs and his anxiety around crowds ( now most people are having a uk holiday) and COVID and butlins now have decided to take away the one option for disabled people, we were to move on to Blackpool for a few days after.

BluebellsGreenbells · 15/07/2021 23:27

I don’t blame them. Reports are done, levels have been sorted, they wind down with assemblies, year 6 leavers performances, extra play time etc

Why wouldn’t you?

I’m glad mine have finished for the summer and only mixing in small groups.

Spacerader · 15/07/2021 23:34

I completely understand why parents are doing this. My son had been isolating for 10 days because he was a contact to a positive case in school. He was back in school 3 days and was isolating again, because he was traced as a contact through school. He comes out of isolation Friday, which is his last day of school. If they were in school next week I'd let him stay off rather than risk a third isolation in three weeks. My daughter was also sent home Monday due to a positive case in her class.

Porcupineintherough · 15/07/2021 23:37

Our school has just gone virtual for the last week as it has hundreds of children and dozens of teachers in self isolation. If they hadnt acted I would seriously, seriously have considered pulling ds2 out for the last week. He's had 30 days of SI this year and he has really had enough.

MarshaBradyo · 15/07/2021 23:38

Last thing I’d do

Hoping they make it to last day and get to do the nice stuff

Porcupineintherough · 15/07/2021 23:38

...and the only reason I woulfnt have pulled ds1 was that he is having to SI til next Fri already!

ResIpsaLoquiturInterAlia · 16/07/2021 00:34

If they are being dishonest to cheat the system - it’s perhaps they don’t care about schooling anyway but more interested in holidays? Possibly the type to not take other issues seriously for instance health and safety in a pandemic.

cherish123 · 16/07/2021 01:02

So they don't have to isolate.

They don't do much work in last week.

Goldielow · 16/07/2021 01:07

My friends DD is isolating for the fourth time in 3 months now because of children testing positive in her class. She's been isolating more than she's been in school. My friend called me Tuesday to ask me to look after her because she wasn't sending her back to school in fear she'd have to isolate again. Sure enough today another children tested positive and all the children in her class have to isolate for another 10 days. I don't blame any parent for not sending their children to school right now. Many of them are not safe! Children are having to isolate but parents have to go to work still, who's to look after that child? If the parents have to stay home they're not getting paid! Until the government finds a way to help parents of isolating children then I don't see why parents should send them to school right now.

SD1978 · 16/07/2021 01:16

Because for most kids school has been a shit show this year, with very little learnt, and parents who have booked if annual leave, to spend time doing things with their kids, don't want that to be spent doing nothing in isolation.

DisposableNamechange · 16/07/2021 01:58

Because my DC spent 3 months this year not leaving the house except to go for walks. Fucked if I’m letting them spend their holidays trapped indoors too.

sweetgingercat · 16/07/2021 02:17

I can't understand why the govt are doing this...

avamiah · 16/07/2021 02:18

My daughter ( primary year 6) has been isolating for nearly 10 days now as a kid in her year tested positive so the whole year is out till Monday, then they finish Thursday.
It’s been just awful for the kids as they should of been on school trips, sports days as it’s their end of primary school.
However my elderly mum ( 84 ) lives with us and I have done lateral flow tests every 2 days on my daughter and she is negative, we all are.
That’s the sad thing she is negative and still can’t go to school.
Sorry to go off thread a bit but that doesn’t make sense to me.

Facesandspaces26 · 16/07/2021 03:20

Pulled mine for the last week, no holiday in the first week etc but the first week we have time as a family without no work and don’t fancy if being locked in the house again.

EssentialHummus · 16/07/2021 04:47

One of the schools near me has every year group except Reception off isolating. Yes, I’d be pulling my reception child out.

VashtaNerada · 16/07/2021 04:52

I’m a teacher and our bubble is back on Monday. Can’t wait to see the children! We have teaching planned pretty much to the last minute and I really hope as many children come back as possible. It’s a shame for them (and me!) when we don’t get to finish the year properly and say goodbye.

MsAwesomeDragon · 16/07/2021 05:00

It's the last day of school here and my school is closed to all pupils now due to the number of cases. Approximately 700 pupils from my school alone have been told to self isolate for the first week of their summer holidays. That's a lot of families missing out on: paid for holidays (including several staff members), visits to family, days out, etc. The few who took their kids out early are feeling quite smug now as they are still allowed to go out and do summer holiday type things while so many others are expected to stay at home, again.

DaisyWaldron · 16/07/2021 05:41

Maybe because they want to avoid their children catching Covid? It's not just about holidays and isolation.

NiceTwin · 16/07/2021 05:46

I have a business that suffered terribly and fell through the cracks of government help.

We cannot afford for dd to be in close contact and possibly catch Covid and took her out of school.
I explained to school and they were fully understanding.

The irony is, the whole of yr10 (her year) were sent home on the Tuesday, not to return until September, after a host of positive PCR tests, I feel totally vindicated in taking her out early.

anotherday235 · 16/07/2021 05:56

It's not just travel though. If you have annual leave booked after a hard year of Covid mucking up stuff the last thing you want is more time stuck indoors. Plus a lot of people will have planned days out, or will have friends and family visiting that they may not have seen for a long time etc.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 16/07/2021 05:57

I can't take DS out as I work out of the home plus I don't want him missing any more school.

I won't make him isolate anyway if he gets sent home at this point.

BlueCarPinkShoes · 16/07/2021 05:58

I wish I could have kept DS at home this week. I couldn't because I had to work but next week we're both off and it's my first week off since February. I've been looking forward to meals/days out etc and the idea of him having to isolate through it is really stressing me out. I won't even feel better about it when he finishes today because we could still get the dreaded message over the weekend. So far I've booked nothing.

Sleepyblueocean · 16/07/2021 06:01

Because for some families school is by far the most likely source of becoming a contact so if a child doesn't go into school they are unlikely to have to self isolate.

Etherel · 16/07/2021 06:05

Let's face it, this happened pre-pandemic, too, it's just more common this year.

There are many reasons:

Holidays are generally cheaper out of holiday time, and that still affects the last week of term.

People struggle to get annual leave for the summer as so many people compete for it.

Despite many schools' pointless insistence on teaching all the way to the end, the reality is that there is often nothing left to teach - the syllabus would have been finished and assessed by at least the penultimate week, if not earlier.

The end of the school year means everyone in school is tired and fed up - tempers often flare at this time, especially among staff. Behaviour usually escalates because realistically, there are no consequences. The well-behaved children often find this really hard to deal with and lesson time based on syllabus would suffer far more disruption than usual.

Because of the above, most "learning" in the last week is films and quizzes and "fun" activities, with very little actual learning going on. Therefore, no real point in being in.

The pandemic and the need for isolation now just adds to that.

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