Home-schooling.

[FfsAlexa]

I know that this will be anxiety triggering for many people and I know it might not happen BUT I have heard countless parents say that if they have to home-school again especially WFH parents. It will finish them off, let alone the mental health implications for their children, even more challenging for those with additional needs, disabilities.or illness, babies or demanding toddlers, single parents etc. I believe there needs to be a big effort and campaign from the education department to involve agencies (cahms, health advisors, sencos etc) in putting together support and advice for parents. How to prioritise a child's or their own mental health above their learning. Techniques, guidance, etc and assurance that they will have support during and once through to the other side Eg. Tutors, well-being advisors, helplines, free resources etc. It's going to take more than Joe Wickes to motivate the nation if schools close again. Children's mental health needs to be prioritised and so do their parents. The stress of it all needs to be properly validated? Can you tell im worried? Aaaaaaand brreeeeeathe.

They need to keep schools open.

They won't close schools again, I don't think. They're not paying furlough and they're not encouraging people to work from home anymore. Plus they've got campaigners who are desperate for nothing to change in education, no restrictions at all, who are incredibly vocal and would kick up a stink.

In the last lockdown many children attended school, far more than lockdown 1, for all the reasons you list. I strongly doubt schools will close to all students, more likely to offer online schooling to those wishing to have that option

I really can't understand how people can't handle their own children if they need to in a crisis situation, like a lock-down. I say this as a WFH mum. 2 of my 4 children have SEN and one goes to a SEN school so they by no means easy. But we will cope if we have to.

To my knowledge there is no official announcements about closing schools so I would suggest the people who are stressing chill out, and people posting threads that whip to panic with a healthy side order about children's mental health to fuel the fire also stop.

Whatever measures are announced, we will all have to suck it up and get on with it.

Personally I'd rather schools remain open with appropriate health and safety measures in place but as with any thread that's started along these lines, I give it a couple of pages before it becomes a circle jerk of posters arguing everything should run without appropriate measures at any cost.

My son is never going to catch up if he misses another chunk of school

So many parents sent dc in anyway in the last 'lockdown' (not the first one), that it would be pointless trying to close schools. After all, technically every single job is 'key' otherwise it wouldn't exist. Teachers would just end up doing double work for no benefit.

Schools won't close again unless kids start dying in droves so there is literally no point worrying.

I think there are other measures can be put in place before we even need to think about closing schools again. That should really be an absolutely last resort.

As a teacher, I hope the schools don’t close. Trying to home school my DD1 during the first lockdown was impossible. It just didn’t happen whilst DH and I were working and she was too tired in the evenings (she was only just 6). Lockdown 2 was still stressful even though I was on maternity leave. Homeschooling with a 4mo and a stubborn 7yo was bloody hard work. I couldn’t do it again with a nearly 8yo, a 1yo and my own class of 30 to sort.

@Cosmois

I really can't understand how people can't handle their own children if they need to in a crisis situation, like a lock-down. I say this as a WFH mum. 2 of my 4 children have SEN and one goes to a SEN school so they by no means easy. But we will cope if we have to.

Crisis situation is understandable but this will ve the 3rd school year heavily affected if it happens. Becoming an annual thing. Unless the deaths are in the high hundreds/over a thousand per day like last January I would be against school closures.

Parents ‘coping’ is not education.

reducing or stopping education provision has huge negative impacts on DCs and families. We’ve already had two long stretches of this, when some DCs got no education at all.

@Cosmois

I really can't understand how people can't handle their own children if they need to in a crisis situation, like a lock-down. I say this as a WFH mum. 2 of my 4 children have SEN and one goes to a SEN school so they by no means easy. But we will cope if we have to.

Because not everyone is the same? And I say this as someone who has been home educating for years. It doesn’t take much to look beyond my own household and see that different people have different struggles.

I don’t think schools will close again.

I loved it I seriously considered de registering my dc to home school full time but dh disagreed

Schools have built up more expertise though and so have hospitals. The hospitals didn't know what they were dealing with in spring last year and I well remember spending my Easter "holiday" 2020 on Teams calls to colleagues trying to work out how to use it for teaching.

We know what we are doing now, despite the irritating aspects of the situation.

DD (8) just had to isolate for 9 school days and she got a reasonable amount of school work done, despite having SEN and not much interest in being educated. She was a mess last year and so were we.

@Cosmois really? You can't understand how 2 parents working full time in senior managerial positions would struggle to home educate at home alongside the day job?

Rubbish, phiney, state schools were and are still not resourced to provide high quality ‘distance learning’.

@Phineyj

Schools have built up more expertise though and so have hospitals. The hospitals didn't know what they were dealing with in spring last year and I well remember spending my Easter "holiday" 2020 on Teams calls to colleagues trying to work out how to use it for teaching.

We know what we are doing now, despite the irritating aspects of the situation.

DD (8) just had to isolate for 9 school days and she got a reasonable amount of school work done, despite having SEN and not much interest in being educated. She was a mess last year and so were we.

It doesn't matter if schools know what they're doing. If parents have to work they can't supervise their child's education and so it just won't get done.

I’ll hold my hands up: I’ve no idea how we make schools ‘safe’. I just don’t think we can without some closure.

@FearBreedsCompliance

I loved it I seriously considered de registering my dc to home school full time but dh disagreed

This isn't even remotely affordable for the majority of households.

@Cosmois everyone is different. You have 4 children , some people would struggle with that.

@Wizzbangfizz I can understand it is challenging. What I can't understand is people saying it will "finish them off" and they won't be able to cope. Sure it would be hard work, and I would rather schools stay open as my DH and I have very challenging jobs (academics) and with 4 kids at home, 2 with SEN, obviously it is hard work. But we will cope and manage if we have too.

[quote Cosmois]@Wizzbangfizz I can understand it is challenging. What I can't understand is people saying it will "finish them off" and they won't be able to cope. Sure it would be hard work, and I would rather schools stay open as my DH and I have very challenging jobs (academics) and with 4 kids at home, 2 with SEN, obviously it is hard work. But we will cope and manage if we have too.[/quote]
Some people literally won't be able to cope though. Everyone handles things differently, why is that so hard to understand?

I think it goes beyond what you are suggesting, support and advice etc, and damage needs to be stopped by keeping them open.

I doubt they'll close schools again, although I expect with the already existing shortage of staff, if teachers are off poorly they might not have enough for all classes to be in; but thats more to do with underfunding and rubbish working conditions that the tories have been working away at for many years than just covid. Not sure about nationally, but here all children have a device to work from, access to WiFi and schools are set up for home schooling if needed which I do think is a good fallback in case.