Sending a teenager to a primary school?

[Nochangeplease]

Just that really. Not all secondary schools offer key worker provision, I suppose because it’s not really needed. I’ve been asked to return to work ASAP and have a teenager at home that can not be left at home. Do you think it would be really unfair to them to expect them to go in to a primary school to be ‘looked after?’. I would struggle to get her to go and would worry about the effect on her mental health, and whether she would actually turn up.
Do you think it’d be worth talking to my bosses or is it a case of tough, a version of childcare is there, use it?

[Gibbonsgibbonsgibbons]

Would having an adult connected with her via FaceTime or whatever be a solution? Obviously it wouldn’t be constant supervision but neither would school.

[Nochangeplease]

It’s not her old primary, no.
I wouldn’t be able to drop her off or pick her up because of work and I’d also have a younger child to collect from a different school.

[ivfgottostaypositive]

@YgritteSnow

🤷‍♀️ then don't ask a forum of strangers for their opinion on a matter only providing the barest of information

Had OP said there are "reasons" I can't leave her alone then no one would assume it was an issue of the OP choosing not to leave her at home rather than not being able to

[Nochangeplease]

Thank you to people being understanding of the fact that she can’t be left without needing the details.

[SomeoneElseEntirelyNow]

Could you take her to work with you? Arrange for someone else to take her? Send her to your younger child's school instead?

[Nochangeplease]

Definitely can not take her to work with me. I could ask at my younger child’s school, I think that would be a better option as I’d be doing drop offs but I don’t think they would have her. They are not under the same council as her own school. Different areas.

[DBML]

As I said previously. If there’s a chance she’ll take herself off somewhere and not attend, then no, I wouldn’t force the issue. It could become difficult to manage for all.
I’m a secondary teacher stationed in a primary hub at the moment. We take secondary children (year 7 only). If one child went missing or you were expecting them to turn up and they didn’t...I don’t know who we’d send to look for her. We’d have to call yourself and then the police. We cannot facilitate home checks and providing safeguarding for truants is not functional at the current time.

From this, I’d have to suggest that your daughter could actually place herself in greater danger than just staying at home.

School is current not fun for teens and ‘helping the little ones’ is limited because of the social distancing aspect. I think you need to discuss her needs with your work.

Any chance she could come with you and do some form of work experience? Depending on setting and ability to accommodate another body of course.

[bluestarsatnightfall]

Could a neighbour or family member check in on her a few times a day?

[SomeoneElseEntirelyNow]

Is there another parent or a family member who could watch her? Otherwise i think it sounds like you'll have to take off work. If she can't be allowed to be at home by herself surely she can't be allowed to take herself to and from school.

[DBML]

Just saw you already answered my question. What a shame.

[newyearnoeu]

Op does she understand/agree with the reason for her not being left on her own? If she does can you try and arrange another option maybe not for the immediate short term but very soon there is talk that libraries/community hubs might be opening in the next few weeks so if she understood why she needs to be somewhere safe she could stay there? Of course you can't guarantee she will stay there all day but depending on how you feel about privacy you could track her phone -but you also say you can't guarantee she will stay at the school.

Depending on where you work could there be a room there she could sit? I know this is not feasible in lots of places but there are some, such as mine, it would be very doable so just thought I could suggest it if your work are so desperate to have you back in. Otherwise I suppose you'll just have to explain the situation and worse comes to worse take unpaid leave for a bit?

[newyearnoeu]

Sorry just saw yo our update about not being able to take her to work after I'd posted mine!

[Nochangeplease]

She understands why I won’t leave her. She doesn’t like it, but it’s the way it is.
What the teacher up thread said about truanting I understand. Obviously she normally goes to school alone, but that is completely different. There has been occasions where she hasn’t turned up but the school call me and we locate her very quickly.
I can’t track her
Phone as she’ll turn her data off.
There really isn’t anybody to check on her and that wouldn’t really help too much anyway tbh.
It hasn’t always been like this and I do leave her occasionally still when I’m close by and not going to be long. But the risks of leaving her alone for a whole day are too high.

[SomeoneElseEntirelyNow]

Could you tell her what PP said about the police needing to be called to locate her if she didn't turn up? Would that motivate her to comply? Could your younger child temporarily go to the other primary, so you only have to do one school run?

Is she under the care of SS or similar for whatever issue this is? Or a school safeguarding lead or similar? They should be able to help you figure something out if so. If not, perhaps getting them involved might help? Give you more options?

[JudyCoolibar]

If her secondary school is closed, where are the other vulnerable pupils from that school going? They're presumably not all going to primary schools?

[Nochangeplease]

She would promise she wouldn’t. But she would hate going and feel so hard done by that eventually she would.
Youngest has SEN support at their own school so needs to be with people that understand. She’s also been off since the beginning of lockdown so will be very hard to readjust to all the changes.
No social services but eldests safeguarding lead is aware but doesn’t really get involved. I guess one option is to see if they could write me some sort of letter to give to my employer although not sure what they’d be allowed to write. They can’t make it sound as though they are unwilling to offer her a place.

[Nochangeplease]

If her secondary school is closed, where are the other vulnerable pupils from that school going? They're presumably not all going to primary schools?

I was told the secondary school has no students attending. She would literally be the only one

[SomeoneElseEntirelyNow]

I think you're going to have to take leave then OP, unless you can get her to do as she's told or find someone to babysit. Its a shit situation, I'm sorry.

[ToothFairyNemesis]

If you dd is genuinely at risk and a Sw or hcp will conform in writing, then ask to be furloughed for childcare reasons. If you are just anxious about leaving her then I doubt either a primary school would take or that you could be furloughed.

[pooiepooie25]

Would there be any possibility of you being able to pay for someone to be in the house? Maybe an older teen , who could also be doing some school work in a different room- apologies if that is a crap idea.

[avroroad]

Our primary schools have been converted to 'learning hubs' for primary and secondary pupils. The set up is nothing like primary school. Both high school and primary teachers work within the hubs.

[DBML]

If her secondary school is closed, where are the other vulnerable pupils from that school going? They're presumably not all going to primary schools?

They don’t necessarily go anywhere. Our school has a designated team who call home to speak to our vulnerable pupils and their parents weekly or daily, depending on their need.

[JudyCoolibar]

I find it incredibly unlikely that there are no other vulnerable children who ought to be attending that secondary school. Are they seriously saying they have no children with EHC Plans, and no children whose parents are key workers?

[avroroad]

Sorry meant to add, we have as many high school kids as we do primary attending.

[JudyCoolibar]

I suggest you phone the local authority Education Department. There may well be arrangements in place for children to attend other secondary schools if they can't go to their own.