Why only primary school going back?

[Mummypig2020]

Just that really, why do they only want to get primary school back?

Seemed weird to me, surely year 11 and 13 should be priority.

I very much doubt that Early years children and year 1 will be asked to socially distance. Not just because it’s impossible but also because it would affect their emotional and social development negatively.
And this.

Year R and 1 are the most vulnerable atm. And getting them back to normal is very important.

This hasn’t been decided lightly, there will be scores of experts behind the scenes having made this decision.

I can understand R and Yr 1. It's impossible to work from home around such young children. My son and my mental health is on the floor.

I will watch and wait, though if the rates continue to fall and I'm happy with the set up, I'll be sending him back to school.

I don’t have a primary aged or secondary aged child btw. I can just see why it’s going ahead this way.

The teachers and unions are keen to get children back to school and in fact most schools have never shut. All the unions are asking for is that it has to be safe and schools are given the resources (for example cleaning products, soap, etc) to keep everyone safe.

Also because educational and social inequalities are amplified the younger the child

This. The youngest children are also statically more at risk from abuse. Yes, childcare etc is nice to have, and it's very hard to teach this age group on line, but I think that many of the MN posters sitting in nice houses with engaged parents, often one on furlough or at home are forgetful or ignorant of what is going on in a sadly large number of other homes, from neglect (real neglect, not just 4 hours of Peppa Pig), to outright abuse.

Most of my DCs will be home, but I'm.glad that some of the youngest at risk will now hopefully be seen outside their family.

Year R and 1 will be because of phonics and reading. Many are not ready to read at that age anyway, they will learn quicker at a bit older as they do in many other European countries.

Special schools?
Some parents and children are having a nightmare at the moment.

Year 10 and 12 are able to study from home. It's not ideal but none of this is. There's no point parents being worried about their exams, children have enough pressure put on them anyway. All year 10 and 12 pupils are in the same boat, the grades given will take than into consideration. No one knows what the best thing is to do, we just have to try this and see what happens. Its scary though!

The thing is though - the vast, vast majority of reception and Y1 children will have siblings who will not be old enough to be left at home whilst the reception/Y1 child is taken to school. Unless one parent can remain at home to take care of them, they will have to be schlepped along to drop off and pick up for the reception / Y1 children.

So drop off and pick up each day will be utter carnage with loads of older and younger siblings around anyway because they can't be left at home. Social distancing in the playground will be nigh on impossible.

And that's before you even get to the issue of social distancing for that age group in the classroom during school hours.

@Stuckforthefourthtime exactly. I can’t imagine how awful it has been for some young children. The quicker they get back to school and the protections that come with that the better.

Don’t get year 6.

The thing is though - the vast, vast majority of reception and Y1 children will have siblings who will not be old enough to be left at home whilst the reception/Y1 child is taken to school. Unless one parent can remain at home to take care of them, they will have to be schlepped along to drop off and pick up for the reception / Y1 children.

This is me & actually I find it much easier to wfh with my 5 yo but not my 3yo.

I understand the childcare thing but honestly, a reception child is not as impacted as someone in year 12, about to apply to universities where they haven't sat the lessons/exams needed to predict A Levels properly.

If certain primary years are going back then certain secondary years should too IMO.

Reception and Year 1 ARE THE WORST CHOICES to go back. Oh, unless you're a parent wfh who has been moaning about having them home.

Years 5 and 6 should have been the primary priority, if they're determined to go ahead with a partial reopening. And Years 10 and 12.

FFS.

We're all screwed.

Many countries don't even start schooling for Reception and Year 1 aged children; they start at age 7. And they do just fine, better even, than ours.

The (state) sixth forms around here finish for the year the first week of July so that doesn't give much time if Johnson wants them to have some face to face teaching.

And good luck to all those teachers chasing 4 year olds round the playground as they run around like lunatics trying to wrestle each other.

You cannot leave a 12-13-year-old home alone for months. Absolutely. I am sending my 13 year old back as the school has offered a space. I think I would be less worried about a 11 and 13 year old together than an only child (as long as they got along somewhat).

We’re not screwed ffs. Stop being dramatic and think for a second of the children whose parents beat them, don’t feed them, don’t interact with them, abuse them. It’s not a huge majority, but sometimes welfare comes before education.

People need to calm down. It’s a pandemic, no one has ever lived through this before.

whenwillthisbeover
Seemed weird to me, surely year 11 and 13 should be priority.

Exams have been cancelled, there is nothing for year 11&13 to do in school.

THERE WONT BE ANY SOCIAL DISTANCING IN EARLY YEARS AND RECEPTION.

It’s impossible and will impact on the children. It’s not hard to grasp.

Yep should have been Yr5 maybe Yr6 but less important and Yr10 and Yr12. Crap decision sending the little ones in.

@QuixoticQuokka

I don't think Reception and year 1 should be going back until September, except for keyworker and vulnerable children as they can learn through play easily enough at home. That way years 2 to 6 can have more space, and they are also old enough to understand physical distancing

I agree with you.