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.

My y6 DS will be there... Appears to be limited risk locally atm and he is more then ready to return. Mentally its getting challenging for him and generally he is very resilient

Absolutely yes

Mine will go back as soon as they can. Children are an incredibly safe demographic, and don’t even seem to transmit it that much

They are in more danger crossing the road to get there

Yes. Youngest is 4 and at nursery, and will definitely benefit from going back. As a household we have no risk factors so for us, my risk assessment is that he (and we) will be no less safe than in February or March.

Elder son is in year 3 and is not doing well. I am hoping he will get back for at least a few weeks before the summer, because I’m so worried about him if he doesn’t - his mental health has definitely taken a beating.

Yes, I will. SEN child with EHCP and missed a lot of school already and has no social contact otherwise with anyone.

I'm under no illusion that schools as we once knew them have gone. Any volume of time that offered is fine by me.

My grandson will be going back, my son and daughter in law have already decided.

My children are in years 2 and 4, and are currently in school, so will continue to go so I can work.

Have parents and carers read what the guidance as to what will now happen in nurseries?

I'm genuinely wondering as I'm so sad. It won't be what we left behind - not at all and it's going to be something very different than they are used to:

No toys with intricate parts.

No soft toys.

No soft furnishings.

Remove unnecessary items from classrooms and other learning environments and store them elsewhere.

Outdoor equipment should not be used unless the setting is able to ensure that it is appropriately cleaned between groups of children and young people using it, and that multiple groups do not use it simultaneously.

@Appuskidu thank you

I will! In a heartbeat. Most people in this country really don’t understand risk. More statistics at school!!

I'm wondering what happens if settings decide to boycott the guidance as that's my initial thought although I won't because I don't want to potentially put anyone at risk.

If it comes down to choice and I'm able to keep her off, I'll keep her off. She's in year 2 and isn't missing it at all as yet.

No, I won’t. Parents are crap at keeping poorly kids off school at the best of times never mind when it’s an illness that can be brought home to vulnerable people to kill them. I don’t trust the other parents to do that especially when they have jobs at risk etc.

My son is in year 3, but with an EHCP. I won't send him back until his peer group returns. He already feels different and this would only be exacerbated.

I'm not concerned about the transmission risk as none of us is especially vulnerable. However, I'm not sure his needs would be better met in a school environment with staff in masks (he has hearing loss), inconsistent rooms, teachers and peers and a lack of familiar peers and routine. We are doing okay at home, are following the Yr3 curriculum and spending lots of time outdoors, even if he's reluctant to pick up a pencil!

Have parents and carers read what the guidance as to what will now happen in nurseries?

Yes. And I hate it, but this is the world in which we’re currently living. It is still in the best interests of my four year old to be there.

In time I am hoping this will be relaxed, either through a lower R0, through effective therapeutics or through an improved evidence base on the role of children in transmission. If it turns out that children are extremely low risk when it comes to transmission as well as at low risk themselves it would be transformative. (It is a very big ‘if’.)

Until then children are taking large hit to keep others safe. It is appropriate, at this point in time, but it is also important to recognise the impact on them. It’s downplayed way too much.

Can I please ask Yr 6 parents on here, exactly what sort of transition rites of passage are you expecting to see in schools this year?

I don’t think we can realistically expect much more than information about high school, how to read a timetable, talking through worries etc. And a leavers hoodie if we’re lucky.

I am genuinely torn. DH is slightly higher risk and a number of the parents in my DS's class are frontline NHS workers. Plus DS has SEND and requires 1:2:1 for some lessons, I have absolutely no idea how that would work with social distancing....

@JassyRadlett I agree we can't downplay the impact on young children - they are, in my opinion, some of those who are really really suffering in terms of routines being changed and emotional and social stability being disrupted but I can't help but feel so sorry for my EYFS pupils who will be coming back to school expecting to see the highly stimulating environment they are used to and instead, finding half of the items have been removed.

I can't help but feel so sorry for my EYFS pupils who will be coming back to school expecting to see the highly stimulating environment they are used to and instead, finding half of the items have been removed.

I agree. It’s awful and not what they (or you) deserve. But the one thing, more than any other, that makes nursery so beneficial for my son (and for his big brother) is the people, and in particular his amazing teachers.

Our nursery put away all the soft toys pre lockdown and anything they couldn't steam clean. It didn't seem to phase Ds. He just saw it as ooh different toys.

Our nursery staff seem keen to have the kids back and that reassures me. All of the staff are young and healthy though and so probably aren't worried about losing their lives!!

My "kids" are a 6 foot 18 year old and a 17 year old fully developed young woman. The "kids" I teach are 16 - 25.

All the reassuring statistics about how kids are less vulnerable, less able to spread etc really don't apply.

Teaching 15 adult sized people in a small lab with no PPE scares the shit out of me. They can't even take responsibility for bringing a pen, pencil and calculator of their own. Yet somehow it will all be fine and none of us will be at increased risk.

They are immature and actively push boundaries. They are teenagers and also very sexually active. Snogging at break times etc. Crowding into the smoking shelters. Traveling in on packed college buses. God help us.

Well the stats for under 25s are equally reassuring so you shouldn’t be terrified.
I feel like statistics should form a greater part of the maths curriculum!

Hopefully the unions will be supporting staff so they can work safely, and that'll have a knock on effect regarding how safe the children are

No what the unions are doing is pandering to their members, who irrationally seem terrified of going back to work, and hoping to score a political point against Boris

One head teacher on Sky news today was literally physically shivering at the thought of it. Complaining that she can't use her large school's "large halls" to teach lessons but never explaining why. Just that she "can't"

They've found an excuse for an attack on government, getting bolshy but still complaining as if they're the only ones at risk in work. Militants everywhere will seize the opportunity

Other workers, such as retail, just got on with it. They recognised their key worker role, but teachers aren't doing that for some reason.

I wouldn't be surprised if teachers refuse to go back to work

I agree. Teachers on mn come across terribly! So glad my dc’s teachers aren’t like this at all, I’ve been so impressed by remote learning provision and messaging about return. None of this hiding behind unions.