Please don't send your child to school if you don't need to.

[Zacharyezrarawlings]

Please, please can I ask you to NOT send your child to school unless you really need to?
I realise the government guidance is badly written and clear as mud (what a surprise) but actually if you read it all (and not just check if you're on a list of keyworkers) it does state many times:

"If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be."

"If children can stay safely at home, they should, to limit the chance of the virus spreading."

"And every child who can be safely cared for at home should be."

already I am seeing posts on here and elsewhere along the lines of "Im on the list of keyworkers, wondering if I should send my child to school. My DH/partner is WFH but would get much more done if fred went to school" or " I'm on the list of keyworkers - should I send 15 yr old betty to school s she can see her freinds and keep up with her studies?"
Or even posts asking " can I turn down my child's school place if I am a key worker"

I am a doctor. This is going to be the worst few months of my medical career. Im not scaremongering but we need to take responsibilty for doing what we can to limit the impact of this.

I realise some people absolutely will need to send their dc to school for various reasons and so they should, but please, please if their is any way your child could stay at home please dont send them in.

[Stellaris22]

I also plan on helping out other parents where possible and with childcare when others need to work. We need to be very community spirited now.

[Chanel05]

Parents and carers should absolutely not be sending their children in if they have someone at home, regardless of whether they are wfm. If schools are inundated with pupils, it will only be a matter of time before teaching and support staff are off and the schools will be unable to be open whatsoever.

[Magneticred]

We're in self isolation at the min but I have 2 with echp in special needs education will be sending him as his anxiety is through the roof at the min the other is ok at home and I spoke to my youngest private nursery about all this they are asking parents to still send dc in as they haven't been told to close but I have said I'm happy to pay for dds hours but give it up for keyworkers if they ask as they need it more.

[Mrhodgeymaheg]

I can look at my group of friends and predictwho will send their kids. It's the same peoplewho went back to work the second their childturned 1.
Some people just don't like their kids and it'sobvious.

With that attitude I'm surprised they like you either. You are fully aware people have no choice but to do this. Stop being so antagonistic.

[Aragog]

Please also remember that at the moment schools and teaching staff are there for childcare reasons, to support critical and key workers to do their job.

Please don't expect school.s to be providing a normal education at this time.

Children will be kept,occupied but they won't have their same learning.
Some may well give them the same jobs as the home learning activities.
Some managements may try to make their staff teach full lessons, lets hope most are sensible and don't.

Only use the service if you need to. If it gets over used by people who don't need it we risk teaching staff becoming ill and the service having to,stop entirely. Many teaching staff are in the at risk groups, s school won't have their full complement of staff on site as it is.

So please be responsible.

Use the service if you need to. That's what it's there fore.

If you don't need to - leave it for those who do.

[BadgerBadgerMushroom]

I'm a teacher and we are expected to go in as normal on Monday to see how many children we get in. We have no idea how many children will turn up as yet and have absolutely no planning in place -apart from packs we have sent home. Those parents expecting formal lessons need to have a long hard think about potentially taking up a place they don't need. We've had 3 days to turn this around with no guidance until this morning so please please don't send in your child just so they don't get bored at home 🙈

[TootsieTweets]

BadgerBadgerMushroom

I presumed that School would email us to ask who is a Key Worker, then set something up after Easter?

[MirandaWest]

My XHs wife is a key worker. Her son is 16 and thought that having a parent who is a key worker means you have to go in.

XH said to me that “it now appears to be optional if there’s another parent around”. And my XH is an intelligent person. If he doesn’t understand what only send your child in if you have to means then I am concerned many other people won’t either

[Alone07]

My son has an EHCP and my husbands classed as a key worker but I will not be sending any of my children into school.
I feel for the ones that have no choice but to, just an awful situation all round.

[Underhisi]

Ds is going in because the level of his needs are simply too much for 1 or even 2 parents to cope with on a long term basis without support. I am also not trained in managing his behaviour safely. Parents are not trusted with this sort of training.

I would be happy with respite - someone coming to our home a few times a week to me a break so I can clean, shop etc - but that is not available due to his very specialist ( non physical health) needs.

Dh is on nights, cannot work at home and is a keyworker on that list. So for the moment at least he is going in.

[SweetMarmalade]

I think there needs to be a further statement to clarify this. Many parents will not be reading the government’s guidelines.

[BadgerBadgerMushroom]

@tootsietweets Yes our school has sent out slips asking but as the government has said only one person in a household has to be listed I imagine some people will send their children in even if the other parent can stay at home. We have two weeks until the Easter holidays so hopefully it will be more settled after that. The next two weeks will be interesting though.

[xine15]

@Underhisi and that's exactly why they have included children with ehcps. You are perfectly right to send him in as his need far outweighs the risks. That doesn't mean it's the same for all sen children, many of whom will be fine at home, or at least more fine than staying in school which will be very different from usual.

The more people sending their kids in when not absolutely necessary the less we can keep kids that need this safe and that's just selfish. Not to mention increase the chances of keyworkers who don't have an alternative getting sick. We need to keep schools small safe places as much as we can.

[DBML]

This situation will get worse and advice will change. More teaching staff will get sick and have to isolate.
We’ll start to hear about more young people in hospital.
In another week it might be a different situation entirely, so people get used to having your children at home or think of ways to juggle your childcare, because you might not get the chance to send kids into school because you cannot cope with their needs, or because a partner has to wfh in peace. This service will only last as long as it can be staffed.

Oh and anyone who has to send your children to school, I feel for you. It’s another worry added to your plate you don’t need. I certainly wouldn’t send mine right now.

And for anyone sending them needlessly, they are fools. Schools will be one of the most dangerous places for viral spread at the moment and your children are not immune.

[AgentPrentiss]

I don’t need to send mine. I’m a SAHM.

I will still be sending them to school. Why?

1.) Our school has no intention of closing unless the government says we have to, and therefore will not be providing any materials or schoolwork unless absolutely necessary. Eg. forced isolation.

2.) I am in no way qualified or capable of teaching year 10 and year 5.

3.) There is currently no indication of “how long” they will need to be off school for. It could be months until it’s “safe” to return. In which time my children would miss a chunk of important education while the rest of their peers carry on. They would probably have to repeat.

I’m not going to disrupt their education for an undetermined period of time.

[keentohelp]

@AgentPrentiss is that a joke? I sincerely, sincerely hope so.

[AgentPrentiss]

Nope, no joke.

[keentohelp]

@AgentPrentiss why is the school not shutting? Are you not based in the UK?

Also just to make it clear, schools will not be providing lessons for students (not at secondary anyway). They will be asking students to sit in computer rooms, completing the remote work set by other teachers. Your poor DC will be bored senseless, much more likely to get infected and will be putting unnecessary strain on the schools and teachers.

[Stellaris22]

I'd love to know what school is ignoring the government

[Wejustdontknow]

Schools that will be open are not going to be running lessons as normal they are providing care for the key workers who have no other option but to take time off work to look after their kids unless this is in place. It should only be used if you have no option to keep your children at home. What is it about this that people are failing to understand?

[Chanel05]

@AgentPrentiss schools will not be continuing with their regular teaching patterns, lessons and assessment. Many classrooms will be managed by teaching assistants who are also not qualified to deliver lessons. Their peers will not be just carrying on. At the moment I think it's possible for schools to reopen in June time but with people taking attitudes that school is casual childcare, the spread will be far worse and schools will be closed until at least September. This is a global epidemic and we all have to do our bit, whether we want to or not.

[MirandaWest]

Do you understand why schools are being closed? Why the GCSEs and A Levels have been cancelled?

It is to try and limit how many people die.

[Isseyflora]

agent

If you ARE in the UK, then your kids will be the poor weirdos forced in.

[AgentPrentiss]

I’m in Australia.

Lots of people I know have taken their kids out of other schools indefinitely. I don’t know if they are being provided with work or not. I only know of one of my children’s peers at our school and she is not being provided with any online work, until such a time where the school is forced to close.

Like I said, it is pointless at this time where my kids would be sitting around at home doing nothing while the rest of their classes carry on as usual.

[SweetMarmalade]

I think some parents have possibly assumed that lessons would go on, albeit condensed, as they did before the shutdown.