Reasons why you will not be sending your children back to school in June?

[saylor]

Unless you live with an adult over 65 (2% of UK households with under 16s and over 65s according to ONS), your child has an underlying health condition, or someone in your household has an underlying health condition/is shielding, what are your reasons for not sending your child/re back until September or beyond?

I've read that poorer households are much less likely to send their children back to school than wealthier households (paper copy of Economist magazine last week before anyone asks for a link!) which will widen the achievement gap even further.

For context, I'm SAHM and DH a high earner - we are both in agreement DD will be going back the minute school reopens.

This is why

Also opening schools to all means my friend will have to remove her child from school, due to her daughter being clinically vulnerable and herself being extremely clinically vulnerable. Currently her daughter can go to school every few weeks, as they have almost no key worker children in, and can separate them eg key worker kids and children who are vulnerable, but once schools open they wont be able to do so, therefore her daughter will have to miss out as unlike most families she wont be able to form social bubbles with another family due to being so vulnerable

Normally and naturally parents are quick in most circumstances to put their child's best interest before everything else. What's so weird about this debate is that lockdown ending soon is powerfully in the interests and children and young people but parents seem in many cases unwilling to realise that.

If this virus had the same effect on people over 70 that it has on people under 10, we would barely have heard anything about it. It's remarkably selective in its age-profile! So the debate is about balancing the rights of different age groups in the population to life and liberty. If it was in everyone's interest for schools to remain closed, they would. In fact, it's powerfully in the interest of, say, an overweight diabetic 75 year old man for them to stay closed for good. At the same time, it's powerfully in the interest of the average six year old child to go to school. Of course, children don't have a vote and can't make up their own minds, so we need to act on their behalf and put them first.

Regardless of the "would you do it" argument, many primary schools simply will not be able to accommodate more children until SD is lifted.

They already have the maximum numbers they can safely allow in classrooms due to teaching key worker children/vulnerable children/those with EHCP. This requires a large teaching workforce, plus whatever work is being set for home working students.

It's just not viable for many.

We are trying to persuade some of are low income/vulnerable families to send their children in. Unfortunately most are resistant. These are also the families that don't participate in any home learning sadly.

Bet they've learned the difference between are and our though.

I don’t think that’s true regarding low income families.

My kids go to private school and we were asked to fill out a questionnaire about if you felt it was safe and should the kids return. It was basically a 50/50 split. I was shocked tbh.

The home work the school have done is incredible tbh, there is a full day of learning with live classes ect.. but at this point my kids have just lost all interest. It’s really hard to get them to focus and one of my kids hand writing and maths has deteriorated- despite me trying to practise with her.

What worries me about low income families ( as I’ve worked in a junior school setting) are the very poor child. There is a layer of children in this country who are very vulnerable and rely on the food, warmth and comfort of the teacher and pupils. This must be incredibly hard for them

**poor children

We’ve had a survey asking who will not send their children in those three years and who needs childcare (whatever year) so I think they’re trying to get an idea of numbers

I’ve said I’m happy for my preschooler to go back to his preschool. However it’s very small, lots of outdoor play, they’re reducing numbers to only include three and four year olds AND he only does two days a week. So I really do think he’s safe.

My seven year old hasn’t been requested his attendance yet. At the moment his primary school is very very negative about reopening. It’s complete doom and gloom. For that reason alone I’d probably say no because I don’t want it fucking with his currently very good mental health.

I think if I did, and they got it and died, I'd never be able to forgive myself.

All schools should be asking parents either this week or next whether they will be sending their children in, to help with planning the classrooms etc.

I think if I did, and they got it and died, I'd never be able to forgive myself

But you could say that about absolutely anything - crossing the road, eating grapes, going on an aeroplane. If you look at the actual risk to children of dying its vsnishingly small.

"think if I did, and they got it and died, I'd never be able to forgive myself"

"But you could say that about absolutely anything - crossing the road, eating grapes, going on an aeroplane. If you look at the actual risk to children of dying its vsnishingly small."
But this is a conscious decision and the risks are higher than all the other things you've mentioned.

Does the BMA recommend that it is currently too risky to fly, eat grapes or cross the road?

www.bbc.com/news/education-52669441

@LittleFoxKit

You don’t agree that schools should open because it means your friend’s child would miss out on school, when currently, about 90% of children are missing out on school?

I’m not really sure I understand that logic.

The main reason I wouldn’t want to send him back before September is that the School doesn’t meet his needs. He’s thriving in “home school” as he’s got 1-1 support and we go at his pace instead of being taught a few years above his developmental age with limited or no support. It’s been a relief to feel I’m doing something constructive with the time that used to be sucked up by school meetings that changed nothing. I didn’t send him even though we qualified for a school place as partner is a key worker. I don’t want to waste this opportunity to have the time to help him. He would go back in September.

twitter.com/thebma/status/1261281483106508801?s=21

BMA are supporting the I'm teaching unions

DS isn't invited back in June. I'm not convinced his year (7) will be invited back in September, either.

Older DC are supposed to start college & Uni in September... I'm not convinced that will happen either.

• @britnay* the exact same reason as you .My child is yr 6 doing brilliant with the online learning .I will absolutely not as a community risk taking into work if my DC brings it home from school and shows no symptoms.

The chances of them being killed crossing the road (if walking by them self) or in a car crash are higher than the chance of them dying from covid 19 or complications from it.
However, it’s about the risk to the child versus the benefit.
My year 6 was walking home by himself and my year 7 was getting the bus home by herself because the benefits of those (increased independence and confidence) was bigger than the small chance they would be killed crossing the road on the way home.
Though I had started picking her up so she didn’t have to take bus and whenever she returns will be doing that again as in that circumstance it wasn’t worth the risk.
Depending on how the school manage the return the social, emotional and educational benefits of being in school may not outweigh the risk of bringing coronavirus home for some people, especially if their child is doing well with home learning.
I do think my year 6 should have some kind of emotional closure to primary school though. Leaving primary is a big deal for them and he wants to see his friends.
At the end of the day everyone has to make their own risk assessments.
I have a year 1 child too and possibly the year 6 will be returning this term and the year 1 next term.