So who will be returning their children to school in June?

[Bigfishylittlefishy]

Just that really. Parents of reception, year 1 and year 6, IF schools return on the 1st of June, will you send your child in?

My son is in reception and I would be willing to send him in.

But do you think their developmental needs will be met if the distancing measures employed look like those in France, seen above?

But we are NOT doing that here, so it's irrelevant.

The reception children will be able to behave normally within their group of 15.

I'm not sure that will be the case once the union's have negotiated, hopefully you are correct.

Gladly would if asked. But thats always been the problem in education. The people who actually teach and understand children are very rarely consulted.
And it isn't just me. All of my EYFS colleagues have exactly the same view. Including SLT.

I tend to think the union's only care about the teachers. Not about the children. They're gonna have a job on framing this about their concern for the children.

I understand the frustration that you aren't being listened to.

As a parent of two I feel that reception has been a key year for my dc because they're learning the very foundations. I'm not a teacher though so I respect the opinions of experienced teachers.

I just hope that teachers will act in the best interests of the children and not what will be most awkward for them.

@CleanUpWoman it is the correct age. It’s developmental, there’s no catching up, surely as an EYFS practitioner you understand that?

I think you may have misunderstood me there. I think the social distancing will be implemented to protect teachers. I think the measures will seem reasonable but I also think they will negate the benefits of children returning to school.

No I understood what you meant and wasnt having a go.

I know social distancing is what the union's want for the teachers but you're right it won't help kids at all which is why I said they would have a job on framing it that way.

Yes yes and thrice yes. I don’t think they should have been shut in the first place though.

Of course there is! The EYFS would simply have to be rolled over into the first term of year 1.
With respect, "theres no catching up" is simply not true. Children in the EYFS make staggering amounts of progress in comparison to other year groups, because they're built for it. They take in information and run with it. They're incredible.

clean up woman
4 year olds aren't expected to social distance. If you are thinking that they are meant to and that is the policy, then obviously that's crazy. That is not the plan though.

If you have 15 4 year olds in on week 1 that play together every day and have Mrs Smith as their teacher every day, they have effectively become a new "household". Meanwhile there's another group of 15 in on week 2 with Mr Jones teaching them. Group 1 and 2 don't mix. Freddy in Mrs Smith's groups tests positive for covid. All of Mrs Smith's group, and Mrs Smith, then self isolate for 14 days (this is the track and trace bit). But Mr Jones' group can keep coming in as no one in their group has had any contact with anyone in Mrs Smith's group.

Now if your 2 groups are year 6, you can reduce transmission risk even further by recommending some self isolation. But with 4 year olds it's cruel, pointless, and not that effective anyway since Freddie doesn't spend his day sitting next to Maisie but runs from activity to activity all day and spends a chunk of his day playing outside. In year 6 there is more point as the kids sit more statically and if Josie has covid and sits beside Henry all day he has a higher chance of being infected (we know it's about 15 mins of close contact inside, esp in poor ventilation).

I realise it's logistically complex and almost certainly means part time schooling for most, and TA led groups for some. I'd happily send my primary age DC to a consistent group of 10 one week in 3, actually in preference to every day in a group of 30 right now.

This thing about groups limiting social distancing by forming bubbles rather neglects the fact that most children in primary schools have siblings who will be in other bubbles. If the bubbles are all interconnected, they're no longer bubbles, they're a network.

Still better than an entire school being connected though isnt it?

If the bubbles are all interconnected, they're no longer bubbles, they're a network

Less a bubble, more a domino.

If the bubbles are all interconnected, they're no longer bubbles, they're a network

The class is a bubble.
Every kids house hold is a separate bubble.
Siblings class is another bubble.
Parents work place is another bubble.
And all the bubbles are linked.

Reminds me of a game i had as a kid with cogs and wheels and little counters that passed from one to another to another as you span them.

Well clearly some people know better than the scientists.

TrustTheGeneGenie Can you please stop being such a whiny and shut your mouth. Stop going through the thread looking for reasons to tell other people what to do. Take a look at yourself please!😁

I wonder how it will work with those children that need 1 to 1 support from a TA. Staffing wise, numbers wise. It's a minefield

I wouldn’t- impossible to socially distance.

All three of my kids would mix bubbles . They also mix with other kids in bubbles on the school bus.

Less a bubble, more a domino.

That's a perfect description.

All my colleagues are wondering how the blooming heck the ‘staggered drop off and pick up times’ are going to work. Do we have all children from class X dropped off at 8.45, all from class Y dropped at 9 and all from class Z dropped at 9.15? And likewise for pick ups? If so, it will be hard on the poor parents who have children in more than one class.
So instead do we allocate parents to different drop-off and pick-up slots? But even that will cause issues, as no doubt parents will complain that it’s unfair and they want an earlier/later slot. And it will be a nightmare for the teachers who will have pupils coming and going in dribs and drabs.

All three of my kids would mix bubbles . They also mix with other kids in bubbles on the school bus.

Why would they be mixing on bubbles on the bus? Are these primary school children you are talking about?

But remember for some children/households there aren't multiple 'bubbles' which is why is difficult to generalise and why families should be trusted to make the right decisions which work for them. And they should be able to do this without judgement and vitriol.

If my child were to return to school there would be the school bubble and our house bubble - there are no siblings, workplaces or public transport. That makes it very, very low risk. However, I understand that isn't the case for everyone.

Class sizes will be reduced to under 15 and we are looking at 10 while the local school is thinking 7 and 8. Secondary is under 12.

So I expect that group to start and finish at the same time and remain in that group. You might therefore only have one year in school depending on the year size and school situation. Some schools are looking at part time provision, each year doing 3( 2) days rotation, only some years returning. There is no set hours the school day must be and hence what schools are considering varies wildly. Not all schools are even considering having the same years in school. If you have staff off, they have their own child care problems you might just take Reception class? Staff need to be thinking about questions that need consideration like additional cleaning in the day.