Am I the only one not pleased that schools are closing?

[xtinak]

I understand that the government consider this necessary and I know it's about saving lives, possibly mine.

But please tell me I'm not the only who feels a deep dread at us all being home? I could cry. Until the summer. How.

FFS, there's no indication yet that school's closing will coincide with general lockdown! Get a grip people.

Italy, then Spain, then France... all now in lockdown. What makes you think we’ll be spared?

Nicola Sturgeon didn't say six months, she just said at this point she couldn't guarantee they would re-open before the start of the summer holidays (which in Scotland is the last week in Scotland).

The six months includes the summer holidays. And for Scotland is actually 5 months away as they go back in August.

I’m going to be completely stuck, single parent working for the nhs so can’t work from home. I have no family support and an almost 6 year old. Our trust have released a policy stating that any leave due to school closures will be unpaid so what am I supposed to do?

If I don’t go to work my child will starve and freeze but I can hardly leave her alone at home!

I know people will say claim benefits but that will mean making the change from tax credits to universal credit and when I then go back to full pay at work I’ll be £70 a month worse off than I am now according to the benefit calculator.

So basically I’m screwed whatever I do

If this is the announcement and if schools don't go back until the next academic year, I hope all future governments remember this until those affected, even those just in reception, have graduated. There is so much pressure on teachers to get children to a particular level by the end of each year and this is going to leave a massive gap. Many children go backwards over the 6 weeks summer holiday so a 5 - 6 month break will have a massive impact not just on their next school year but all subsequent school years.

The schools near us are still open. I work in a shop with a high percentage of elderly customers and yesterday there were quite a lot of parents shopping with their children and telling us they were keeping their kids off to keep them safe. Kind of defeating the object for everybody. We have been telling our older customers to ring us if they need anything and we will deliver it to them. It's all very well telling people to self isolate and not stockpile but that's not a realistic expectation.

I’m also dreading it. I think the way it is right now is working quite well round here - parents can pretty much choose wether or not to send them in. If you’re quarantined then it’s authorised absence. All the time my family is healthy I can continue to work (from home) and my children have a sense of normality. Once they’re off then the economy is really going to take a hit.

There is no normality in schools though as it would be increasingly difficult to teach any curriculum with children being absent and year groups being put together. It would be babysitting children who would be very anxious and perhaps disruptive because of the changes. I am glad the schools are off. Its unworkable.

^ this. I have one in year 10 and one in year 12. There will surely have to be massive allowances/compensentation made for all students, but particularly those in years 10-13 when setting grade boundaries etc in the future.

And its very selfish. I am a parent and a teacher and do not wish to be put in this position of constantly being vunerable to catching it from the children. Who is looking out for teacher welfare.

I think some parents are deluded about what schools would do if they were open.

What if one child was absent with it,? Close the school? It opens and it happens again? It would be impossible.

But Facebook has so many good ideas of how we will all be doing this stuff! Self righteous shite making me mad!

I'm DREADING it and we are in an incredibly fortunate situation that we have a reasonably large house with a garden and DH is a peripatetic music teacher who is a trained primary school teacher who can teach both the years our DC are in and I can wfh. So, on paper we are in the ideal situation.

But they are going to miss so much. DS is in year 6 so as someone else said it's going to impact on him massively. All extra-curricular stuff cancelled which is a huge disappointment. DS is also extremely highly strung and needs exercising like a bloody dog otherwise he has complete melt-downs. It's not going to be a fun time.

I know it's all necessary and of course we will get on with it and make the best of it but I can't say I'm pleased. There are 2 recorded cases in our city of 260,000 and whilst I know it's due to rise, it just seems crazy.

I also work in travel so am likely to be out of work in the not too distant future so then we really will struggle and DH obviously is on zero-hours.

I feel like I'm living in some kind of dystopian parallel universe. What has happened?!

Well they’re definitely closed now Uk as well as Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

Gavin Williamson announced that schools will remain open to the children of key workers and vulnerable children

Well they’re definitely closed now Uk as well as Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

You mean England as well... Scotland and Wales are part of the UK

Also dreading it. Also hating the smug people. Holding on to hope that it works within a month or two.

Absolutely fucking dreading it. Single mum to a high functioning autistic DD who is 6 and questions every single thing. Love her dearly but good frigging grief its going to be a struggle.😭 Need more gin in my cupboards I think.

So thankful that they are remaining open for the vulnerable and funding school meals or vouchers for those who need them. And for key workers of course, but that was expected, I was a lot more worried about the former not being done. Hopefully now those who have kept going on about closing schools whilst squirreling away food and working safely from home will stop harping on about it. Heartbroken for those due to take exams, I know all of this is much more important- but that must be stressful too.

I work in a school office. Average sized state secondary of around 1000 pupils. In every year, there are around 10 or 15 students with an EHCP who will still be coming in. There are also around 20 or 30 students in each year who have a parent working in the NHS. And about 3 or 4 with parents in the police. And probably another 10 who have a parent who is a delivery driver. That means, in each year - and we have 5 year groups - there will be around 50 students coming in. So a total of 250 students.

Schools are by no means 'closed'. We still need a receptionist, a caretaker or two, a school nurse, learning support staff, teachers, admin staff, kitchen staff, lunch and break time duty staff, library staff, to look after these 250 students. Cleaners too. IT Support staff.

Who is going to look after the children of all these people? I'm desperately hoping Boris puts school support staff down on the list of key workers, so that at least we can send our own children into school while we're working in one.

Lots of parents will also be supermarket / food warehouse workers, care home workers who work nights and have to sleep in the day.
They are as essential as NHS etc.
I imagine quite a large list of key workers.

That’s a bit selfish, what about everyone else who isn’t a key worker? Many will have to give up their jobs to take care of their children!

@EmmiJay
Teacher here....If your child has an EHCP then they will be able to go into school

Shenandoah9 - but while the school might be open to them, will they come in?

I can’t see 14 year olds coming in.

@Kitten124

Key workers need to take priority otherwise they may as well keep schools open at capacity. These are the difficult times we face. The line has to be drawn somewhere

Kitten and some will have to give up their children to take care of others' children. Shenandoah was not being selfish - nowhere did they say they didn't want to look after those children, they just said they were concerned about who would look after theirs.

@Millymaud

As key workers it is up to parents to get their kids into school if they need childcare...likewise if they have an EHCP.