What is it really like out there (keyworkers and schools)

[ToCaden]

BBC news has said most schools only have 20 percent of its pupils, but the keyworker parents I've talked to say they have much more than that and even with some keyworker parents choosing not to send their children to school, children are still being turned away at the school gates.

So what's the real situation with schools?

And there seems to be a lot of key workers out there. Including many who could be working from home but are not being allowed to. Any insights on this?

For my contribution I'm an admin worker for the government. My role is solely computer based and could be done from home. There are hundreds of thousands of staff across the UK with my job role in the same position. None of us are being allowed to work from home and no satisfactory answer as to why has been given.

OP - how are your department treating its own workers having to go in? Do you sit far apart from colleagues ect? Neighbour works in a gov contact centre, their conditions sound grim at the moment.

We've only got about 10-20 children.

Mixture of playing and doing the same online curriculum as the children who are at home (or their own work - not all are from our school). We help them with their work but don't formally teach - just like a parent would, I guess.

Like babymamamama I had a terrible fight to get my kids in. NHS worker, no other options for care and school making up its own guidelines. They have very few students in but I wonder how many key workers they have stopped from working as a result.

I feel sorry for the teachers and all the kids, including mine, that have to go in but if we all stayed at home who would look after people when they do get ill.

Same as you op, I work for the nhs, admin/computer based on a business park away from our trusts, no sign of us being able to wfh. It's believed they'll redeploy us to the hospital when needed, which fills me with dread.

One form entry village primary; we’ve had between 3 and 10 per day, depending on shift patterns. If we’d have had over the recommended amount we’d have had to start checking if either parent could WFH etc.

Only one taking the mick - her mum works in admin for the NHS and dad is a mechanic. All fine we thought, until the child (age 7) pointed out that Mummy has a home office in the attic that she can work from....

I know people have come back on this thread telling me the questioning is justified etc etc but actually it's quite traumatic to have to put your child into school when nobody else is, you feel guilt for your child, you are also exposing yourself by continuing to do your keyworker role so I just think a bit of compassion was needed by school staff and less (unjustified) judgement. Also I think it's absolutely unprofessional for teachers to berate/challenge keyworker parents in front of other key worker parents. I don't always want other people to know what I do due to the confidential nature of the work. I know there are much bigger things to worry about than this but honestly when the prime minister made his announcement about schools staying open for those who needed it I never thought there would be this kind of issue.

@HuggedTheRedwoods it's very tense at work. We're thankfully not squeezed together too much (partly as so many are absent due to vulnerabilities).

Desks are lined up down the room. Two desks in rows on one side and three on the other. Each row is two desks thick. Each of those facing each other. A metre or less from me and the person on my right. Much less to the person facing me (though they are partly behind their screens) and a bit less than a metre to the one sitting the row behind me.

The main problems are walking out of those rows as you need to walk in the middle to avoid the large chairs. So you pass less than an arms length from people.

The space walking down the middle of the room isn't enough to keep 2m, and you can't duck into a row to let someone pass as there are people there too.

The hallways are difficult too. You could just about manage 2m or close to it if you each hugged a wall, but then you'd risk a door swinging open into your face.

Work stopped putting hand sanitizer bottles out last week as a staff member stole them! (though there must not have been many to begin with as I didn't see any). And they sent around an email telling others not to leave their bottles out for others to use either.

It's all a lot of drama. Mainly as because the staff at home can't continue to work we have very few staff so aren't doing a good job. There's no stress like working flat out and getting nowhere.

My room had maybe 30 to 40 percent of its staff left, and as we work on the admin side of UC which is needed by many at the moment it's distressing to see the work keep piling up.

In my part of UC we see a lot of fraud. Children put on multiple claims. We're supposed to check to see if someone else might be claiming for that same child before verifying them on a claim if that claimant isn't receiving child benefit.

We've always had pressure not to check to speed things along, but now it's gotten extreme. Just click verify if they provide a birth certificate.

Never mind that in most of those cases it does turn out that another party is receiving benefits for the same child. So many parents seem to think that if they have any amount of custody from 50 50 to the odd weekend (did have a dad try to justify himself by saying they had the kids a weekend every fortnight) they can put the child on their benefit claim.

Even had a rapist once claim for a child the mother had on her claim. He had no contact at all with the child. And once four separate family members attempting to claim for the same child.

So here's my PSA of the day. If you suspect someone may be claiming for your child. Say they've had access to the child's birth certificate or passport. Please send a fraud referal with the person's full name, dob, address, the child's details, and that you're concerned they might be claiming benefits for a child you are the main carer for.

If they are not claiming benefits for them, fraud will be able to check and close the referral. But considering how many kids I've seen paid on multiple claims it's worth sending one off if you have any hint of worry.

Better that than finding yourself in the midst of a fraud investigation and the party who is not main carer going to prison when it's found out later and the overpayment has multipled.

Also worth sending one if you notice someone's children have been taken into local authority care. That ones less a problem with the UC system than a lack of communication between UC and CPS.

Am finding reading all these experiences very interesting. Gives us a better idea of what is going on out there than we've picked up through media.

I'm NHS admin and desperate to work from home but they won't let me. I will have no choice but to send my daughter into school a couple of days a week after Easter but feel terrible about this.

I'm not a keyworker nor in a school but DH is about to start a job as a keyworker. DD is under 2 and usually goes to a local private nursery. Her nursery initially stayed open this week for children of keyworkers and have now closed saying the numbers were too low to be viable. Cue us in a mad panic and now we have to take her to the on-site nursery at DH's new employer temporarily from next week. We can't even visit due to CV and unsure about settling in periods yet. He will just be dropping her off next week otherwise outside a building he can't enter, where she has never been before, with strangers. I'm gutted for her but I can't work and look after her as she is too young and my work are threatening us all with DP if we don't meet targets or if we take too much unpaid leave. I also have a friend who is a keyworker and her husband is also a keyworker, her daughter is also under 2 and goes to a different private nursery who are also closing at the end of this week. She has no other childcare and so far can't source any and her work have threatened them with DP if they take unpaid leave for childcare reasons. The lack of nursery provision here is going to stop a lot of keyworkers from being able to work.

@Babymamamama I think a lot of us understand your point of view on this. It would be very traumatic to be questioned in front of others.

I agree the teachers could have phrased their questions better. They might've started on the defensive anticipating abuse from non key workers. I know some was dished out.

There was also a lot of confusion on both sides in those early days. There were news articles about teachers telling the news they'd turned away 'non key workers' who'd argued they were key workers. The teachers then gave examples of the profession of these non key workers and on the popular list were pet shop staff who are of course key workers.

Tensions were very high and the official advice very vague.

I hope you didn't feel judged. I found your experience of the situation as valuable to understand what society is going through as the teacher's experiences, and everyone else who has contributed.

It is a very confusing and tense time.

My trust has 3 local academies which pooled. We have been open every day with staff on a rota. I'm not sure of the total pupils usually in the other 2 schools but I would say from mine only approx 2% turned up. We are trying to keep them 2m apart yes, and the older ones understand why although harder for the EYFS to understand.

In my school , if you are a key worker of course you have a place unless your partner is at home.

Out of almost 800 kids at my sons primary school there was a maximum of 11 there on any day last week, my two sons included.

My kids are having a wonderful time at school - loads of football, gardening, baking, playing outside in the enormous playground. It breaks the week up nicely for them (mon-wed at home with me, thur and fri at home)

Sorry, thurs and fri at school

DH and I are keyworkers but not frontline. Both fortunate enough to be able to work from home. We've been self isolating for the best part of 3 weeks. We've been working from home with 2 year old who usually is at nursery. Not ideal but we're muddling on through. Keeping our toddler busy and occupied whilst both trying to work. It's not ideal - BUT there's a global pandemic happening - so we're just getting on with it.

We have between 7-20, each day varies.
We are keeping children 2M apart as well as we can and usually have 3-4 in a room.
They are doing some educational work but also art/craft, cooking and play.
We spend a lot of time outside so they have a huge space to run around/do PE for exercise/eat/read etc etc!
We also have email set up for the rest of the school children that are at home so they can have contact from us a lot.
Staff are also deep cleaning!
It’s a very strange atmosphere, hard to see empty classrooms and it be so quiet.
I can’t wait for it all to go back to normal for them.

We are paired with another school. We have about 25 pupils which we split into 2 groups. I'm on a rota so have only been in twice so far. We are based at the other school so it's strange not knowing where things are. The groups are completely mixed age with siblings together so it's very different to usual and quite hard to manage things that will engage the different ages.

I've tried to do some basic literacy/maths skills but mainly we do creative and outdoors stuff. The children were enjoying it last week but I wonder if they will soon get bored, especially as we will be continuing to open over what would usually be the holidays.

Thanks for that insight @ToCaden Your work environment also sounds stressful, like my neighbour in a dwp contact centre which might sound safe from the outside but they have to share desks and equipment on rota with others (who dont all follow the handwashing rules ) have no proper cleaning facilities and non-stop calls from the public who are understandably stressed but taking it out on the call handlers.

I think those of you working in the benefits system at this time also deserve a clap.