AIBU to think parents should be offered the option to keep children home from school?

[Nefariousnick]

I don’t think the current decision takes account of individual circumstances.

The DoE states ‘ Our overriding priorities are fairness to students this summer and keeping disruption to a minimum."

I have 2 primary aged DC under 5 with asthma. One has been hospitalised for it in the past.

In terms of fairness to students, this should be a concern for secondary school children and those with exams approaching. Parents of primary aged children should be offered the opportunity to home educate temporarily.

I know a key concern is disruption to the workforce and I appreciate some jobs can’t be done remotely. However, some can. I’ve agreed condensed WFH hours with my employer. Again, I appreciate this may not be well received as it’s not considered ‘fair’ but in this situation, I sincerely believe reduction in social contact where possible will ultimately benefit us all.

Finally, giving the public more options would allow families to address their own circumstances. A friend of mine cares for her immune compromised mum. mortality rates are 20% for the immune compromised. She would like to keep her primary aged DC home as any lost learning doesn’t outweigh the risk to her mum and I think she should have the option.

I agree with the principle, but as a teacher I think it would be chaos in schools.

Personally, I'd just be keeping my DC off and if school wanted to be funny about attendance then I'd be being polite but firm in any challenges that were made.

Thanks @lolasmiles and I appreciate how hard it would be for svhools to not know how many kids to expect from one day to the next and prepare 2 sets of lesson plans etc.

I might actually keep my DC home if it gets worse and schools aren’t closed.

If you feel strongly about it just keep them off and tell the school they're ill or that one of them / you have a cough or fever and have decided to self isolate.

If your 2 DC are under 5 is there anything stopping you keeping them off now anyway? Aren’t they below the age of compulsory education?

But your logic of only offering it to primary schools is flawed in itself due to the fact they are thankfully in one of the least at risk groups.

How will work from home work with two under 5s in the house anyway?

Ds is 10 and has a lot of health problems including severe respiratory problems. He is off school at the moment as he is ill anyway but as things stand at the moment he will go back on Monday I am just keeping a close eye on the situation locally and the official advice.

Taking them out of school is all well and good but for how long? The peak isn’t expected to hit until May/June time according to most experts so are you going to stay locked in the house until then?

The knock on would be chaotic, for example:
10% of people don't come in for medical reasons or self isolation, but then another 100 stay off just because they can, then some more are in on the days when it's convenient but off on other days so are coming in and out, staff try to teach the curriculum but not cover so much that they're going to have huge gaps for a class that will need reteaching anyway (think GCSE where a topic to a half term is common and then it's revised in y11). So the teachers stop doing the curriculum as much, then students rightly point out they're not really learning anything in school so what's the point in being there. Then more get taken out because what's the point. Before you know it you've not got a clue who is likely to be in and when, it's really hard to monitor the children where there's safeguarding concerns or complex pastoral needs and staff haven't a clue whether they're coming or going because they're teaching a mishmash of lessons and providing study packs online (which may or may not be completed) only to have to start from scratch again when everyone is back.

It's much easier to either have closed schools, partial opening for certain years such as y11/13 only, or open with parents keeping their children off if they have concerns or medical reasons.

@accountantsy
I’m not sure - one is in reception, one in Yr 1. If attendance is optional that should be communicated. Their school monitors attendance closely and I don’t know where I stand in terms of just choosing to keep them home.

In England there's no legal requirement for under 5s to be in full time education, so if you really want to keep them out of school, you wouldn't face any repercussions.
However, keeping children off school seems a bit pointless if you're still planning on taking them outside to shops etc.

If they're under 5 then they won't miss much, especially if you are home and can cover most of it. However one thing to consider is how long you're going to pull them out for. If this peaks in May, will they be off until then? Would you start not being able to deliver at work, or potentially lose a school place?

Every school , college and creche is closed in Ireland

Everyone currently has the option not to send their child to school. If you have a genuine health concern why would you need to have anyone's permission.

Secondary schools are gearing up to teach remotely using Google Classroom and the like. We had an email about it yesterday.

In England there's no legal requirement for under 5s to be in full time education, so if you really want to keep them out of school, you wouldn't face any repercussions.

The school might withdraw the place so it’s not true to say there aren’t any repercussions. However, I’m sure most schools are going to be realistic about attendance at the moment especially for a vulnerable child.

If parents are given the option to keep their kids home for a set amount of time e.g. until the Easter holidays, it reduces the risk of infection for both the kids who stay home and those who attend. We are in austria and schools are closing for education but will offer childcare for parents who can't work from home.

It is insane that children with pre-existing conditions and whose parents are at home are being forced to attend school.

So how long are you keeping them off for? If you listened to the advice they would need to be off for something like 10 or 14 weeks for it to have any impact. Closing schools in Italy and elsewhere hasn’t worked has it? Cases are still rising.

My 2 primary age kids do have a cough and were supposed to be doing a charity athletic type event today inside and all parents were invited. I rang the school to say the kids had coughs and the receptionist told me to keep them away from school for a week.I think the schools will all be shutting soon anyway

halcyondays
Or staff will be uploading materials to whichever platform they use for homework.

Most schools aren't set up to do proper online learning.

Have you spoken to the school? There is one girl with leukaemia and one with severe asthma in DD2’s reception class. They’ve spoken to the school and agreed with them that they will keep their children out for a while.

The school can’t legally do that Wintercat

Compulsory school age is the term after a child’s fifth birthday. Before this you can’t be penalised for not sending them in. You could send them part time or defer their start if you chose to.

But the OP has a child in year 1 who will be age 5 or 6 and will be compulsory school age. I don’t think councils are going to fine at the moment though.

I think the schools will be closing too soon but at a guess I think they are trying to get closer to easter hols as well as getting ready/organised for closure.

I know our school is putting all the measures in place to ensure google classroom is available and will run lessons for the older children remotely if they are told to close. For the primary age kids they are putting together packs of work for them and all teachers will remain available to be contacted each day.

Personally I think this is the most sensible thing to do regards to waiting to close as otherwise kids will be sent home with no structure and will be out and about causing chaos and potentially spreading the virus.

@ HoffiCoffi13 thank you, that’s a great suggestion. Thanks @LolaSmiles you explained the logistical problems really well.

@Crackerofdoom “It is insane that children with pre-existing conditions and whose parents are at home are being forced to attend school.” This is exactly how I feel and I think the responses on this thread sum up the level of uncertainty because we just don’t have enough communication from the DoE. Some posters know their schools are preparing for remote working, others don’t, repercussions for missing school aren’t clear.

The whole country need to self isolate for 28 dats or the virus WILL NOT GET BETTER. It’s that simple.

I would imagine the schools are going to close imminently anyway. If you want to keep your kids home, do so. There is no way I'd send an asthmatic child into school at this juncture.

its that simple

If only it were.