MN yesterday: The schools must be closed! Today: but not for my child!

[saraclara]

That's it.

Everyone deserves to have their child in school. Because everyone's job is vital. Suddenly there's no risk to MY CHILD being at school. Only everyone else's kid is a risk/at risk.

This place does my head in sometimes.

Is there any poster that has actually said that, though? Or is it just lots of people saying that schools should close, then lots of other people saying they’re keyworkers and their children need to stay in school?

Personally I’ve thought the schools should close for at least the last week. It doesn’t remotely mean I’m looking forward to trying to educate my DC while also working from home. Those feelings aren’t mutually incompatible.

Agree 100%

I am a key worker and single parent - I would use it the provision if I had to - but my kids are older (11,15 and 17) so we should manage

schools here are asking to see your work badge as proof

It's not lazy entitled parents it's people keeping the system running

Yup, it's a case of be careful what you wish for. One parent in tears in the playground at the thought of the school NOT taking her child

I don't think closing schools will have much effect apart from causing misery for everyone but the clamor was too great. In a few week's time the very same people will be positively agitating for schools to open again.

DH: people are just going to have to suck it up, it's a national emergency.

Me: you know you're not a key worker, right? I'll have to go in to school and the expectation is that you stay home with DD.

DH: but the factories and hospitals need me to fix the broken things!

Me: yeah, but you aren't always fixing essential things, and other engineers are available.

DH: but if I don't work I won't get paid!

Me:

Clipsy There are “spaces” in effect because there needs to be a certain ratio of staff. Clearly if a key worker chooses to keep their children home it helps the school keep running. Nothing to stop staff self isolating once they’ve had enough of offereing poorly organised childcare.
Many school won’t have the resources or staff to have amazingly fun days in school. Not supposed to take them on trips out either and the weathers horrid.

Only applies to children where both parents are key workers? Eh?

Because the parent who is NOT a key worker can take care of their own child! This applies to me. I earn a pittance as a school worker but DH would be expected to be the one to take care of our DS if he wasn’t old enough to be on his own. I would have the option to take DS to school with me though.

We won’t be providing an education... just childcare.... I am not a teacher so I won’t be teaching anything except maybe some new games....

@TAKESNOSHITSHIRLEY I'm sorry, but as someone who taught severely learning disabled children for several decades, I absolutely know that there are parent out there who absolutely cannot cope, nor could they be expected to, if their kids aren't at school. I know their kids very well, and every day I wondered how they coped even at weekends.
We tried to arrange help for them in school holidays, but when you have a mother who gets literally no sleep every night, and whose kid is violent, you know she relies on school in order to get some sleep 5 days a week, so she can cope with him when he gets home.

Don't judge other parents, when you have no idea what their individual challenges are with their children with SN.

I assumed the schools would close due to social distancing & the aim of flattening the curve, but I didn’t think it would be for months.
Our school home learning packs have 2 weeks worth of work in.
We’re self isolating because I had a couple of the symptoms, although it now seems like it was just a bad cold. DH is a Police Officer & absolutely couldn’t chance passing anything on as he works in a very niche part of the Met & I was a TA in a private school, but as I was agency I’m no longer employed, so no pay for me. I’d love them to go back to school, both are sad that they’re not going in, particularly DD10 & in yr6, but they’re home for the duration.

Im a TA and the ammount of parents who've been sending obviously under the weather snotty children with heavy coughs in to school over the past few days is shocking. Don't they even watch the news?

My work have announced that time off for childcare issues will be unpaid parental leave. No idea how long schools will be shut for, how do we plan financially?

Ideally we'd all have a full time parent at home and be able to survive on one salary with a 6 month buffer, but that's not realistic for lots of people.

I understand the reasons for closing schools, but this is going to cause panic in a lot of people.

There are quite a few parents at my DDs school who assume that they’re going to be in the key worker category & a few who due to no childcare are going to be losing their jobs.

Bulb, unfortunately when having a baby, you don't get to cherry pick their personality and needs. Some people have children that have more demanding needs than others and parents need space for their own sanity. Some children have acute medical needs and are always high risk. Some have high emotional or developmental needs. DS is "high functioning"... except when he isn't and emotions take over rational behaviour like toddlers do... except he's not a portable toddler, he's up to my shoulder.

I am concerned either way:
A) He finds a prolonged period off school very challenging and life is very unpleasant for the rest of the family all trapped in together.
B) He will struggle to adapt to a return to school for the social skills and dealing with all the sensory input, and it will take a long time to re-establish school routines.

He does not have an EHCP as yet as his diagnoses are too recent. So I am presuming he will stay home. He doesn't like roles like "mum" and "teacher" being jumbled up, and it is more difficult to support his education at home than I would like.

Hats off to parents dealing with children with even greater needs than my child's however they present, but at times, no matter how much I love him, being his parent is frequently a challenge and I will miss the personal space away from that over this period. I've sacrificed my career to give him more of my time, but I do need some of me left for myself, and that makes me a happier, better mum.

her 3 yr olds nursery has decided to stick 2 fingers up at the government and stay open anyway.

How are we ever going to suppress the virus if this is the attitude?? I would report them.

DH and I are both teachers. Hoping a rota system will work out so that we are not both in on the same days. Otherwise hopefully teachers will be designated as key workers so our kids can go to school. Or I may be able to take them with me.

I'm a key worker and don't qualify for a school / nursery places for my dcs, because DH isn't a key worker. Childminder's are also being forced to close (even though my childminder only looks after mine and no others at the moment), so that option is out.

Unfortunately, as I think will be the case for many, DH's salary is higher and we could live without mine for a little while. If he doesn't work / get paid, we could end up losing our home. He can wfh, but with an active toddler, the amount of working possible is minimal. There's some hard choices to be made - I could take unpaid leave due to lack of childcare and we could survive, but it would mean my team are a worker down.

I imagine there are a lot of NHS workers who are in the same boat - and why would they effectively risk their life to come in and work if they can't survive on their salary, but the other parent earns more and could keep food on the table and the mortgage paid?

I know there is w lot of talk of "community spirit" and we're all doing it for the common good, but the common good won't help if people are hungry and homeless by the end of the year.

@Clipsy Feel better? Do you need a cup of tea or anything?

He's also WORKING! Which a lot of people are also spectacularly missing the point of. This means he spends 90% of the day attached to his laptop and on calls. Something that's extremely difficult to do with our DC around, unless they're on screens.

I forgot I was on the CV thread. Where WFH suddenly means that's you're a SAHP with the whole day to educate and entertain your children. Suddenly all the threads about how you're not taken seriously if you WFH, and how it doesn't mean you're not busy and working hard have disappeared.

Incidentally, my school have said that there is a grey area when it comes to one parent being a key worker and the other able to WFH, because they know that it's not as clear cut as you 'catorgorically cannot' have a space. And my children's school have already said that I could if I wanted it. Because we are WORKING!

I assumed the schools would close due to social distancing & the aim of flattening the curve, but I didn’t think it would be for months.

This is what so many of the parents apparently thought at ours too. And now they're shocked that schools are highly likely to remain closed for months, and potentially through to September as for many on the continent.

The pandemic is terrible and needs to be slowed, but recessions kill people too, and blight lives. Singapore has got a good handle on coronavirus cases without closing schools at all, I wish the govt had followed them instead of letting schools close and pubs stay open...

OH MY GOD!!! THOUSAND YES-s FROM ME!!
Bloody other mums at school, all this non stop whining "Why aren't they shutting?? This and that country did, this country is in lockdown. Bloody England!"
And last night. THE SAMEEEEEE parent moaned that whyyyyy is this necessary and obviously if I pointed it out that she complained previously about non-shutting, then she got her back up and got personal.
Some people are just never happy. Always cup half empty!

@MyGhastIsFlabbered speak to your school, if they are aware of her need, they will let her come in, as it will help her maintain her school routine.

I’ve been told I won’t get paid...for any time taken off to look after the children unless we are self isolating with symptoms 🤷‍♀️ And if we do self isolate we have to provide a sick note (which are currently unavailable)

That’s us fucked for money now...

"these are your kids for YOU to look after special school is not supposed to be bloody free childcare"

Some children need more looking after than 1 or 2 parents can do for a long period of time. Society should be stepping in to support those children and families. Perhaps it should be respite that is offered instead of school but we all know that isn't going to happen.

At my school In the south, we will all be expected to work when required.
Teacher’s children can attend but ONLY if both are key workers There may be an expectation to work in the holidays.
It’s childcare only that will be provided so that the children who are at home are not disadvantaged.

I think people will change their minds again when they see the reality of it. I know in both my BFs school and my DSis's school they are planning on having the children in the large hall in an exam type set up with the tables distanced and the children are going to be doing the work set by their own teachers online or that was sent home. There will not be separate subject teachers and they will not have their own teachers. The supervisors will be teachers but probably not in the subject the children are working on. Then they will do drawing/colouring in the afternoon and will be allowed to run about in the playground periodically. Its very much childcare not school. Rota at BFs school has her in once every ten days. They are also getting the parents and the children to sign behaviour contracts and they will be sent home if they are disruptive.

Will it be teachers manning it though? DH is a teacher and I work in education (former teacher) and the unions are doing their pieces. Its not teaching they’re being asked to do, it’s childcare of kids they potentially don’t know In age groups they aren’t familiar with and teachers aren’t trained childcare professionals. Only way they’ll get teachers to work doing the childcare of keyworkers kids is if teachers themselves are classed as keyworkers. Which is batshit and suggests that the list of keyworkers will basically be everyone and so therefore most kids will be in school, making the point of shutting schools And absolutely pointless

@BogRollBOGOF

Extremely well said. I love my DC more than anything in the world but I have health issues and he can be extremely challenged. His teachers flagged ADHD concerns earlier in the year, and his was supposed to be reassessed in April or May once he’d settled into school more. Obviously this won’t happen now, so he doesn’t have a diagnosis but it doesn’t change the fact that the next few months will be very challenging. When I got pregnant with him, I couldn’t foresee either my own or his issues.