I AM NOT SENDING MY DC TO SCHOOL!!! But...

[HT96]

Ill take them to a park full of kids! 🤦🏻‍♀️

People are so backwards its a joke, group chat last week how no one is risking sending DC to school till September then same group chat meeting up at the park!

The parks in our area full of people today! Even though they still have tape round...

I dont know how they will manage with classrooms but there will be none of the usual continuous provision in reception etc

@whatnow23 your dd didn't know the original setting last September yet presumably she adapted and accepted it

One final thing that is annoying me is people saying it wont be an environment conducive to learning. Smaller class sizes? Desk with no distractions? It's not what I want for my 5 year old, of course I want him to learn through play and be with his best friends, but then putting the tv on so I can do a work call is not helping him either. Half a term of school is a sixth of the year. I wont be second guessing whether it will be too much for him. I will just explain what's happening and why.

@Pumpkinpie1

**Well considering private schools like Eaton aren’t going back until at least sept & are doing 9nline lessons what do their parents know that we don’t ?

Boris came from Eaton and he doesn’t seem to be able to use basic common sense to protect the nation or reduce the spread of the virus! Just because Eaton made a decision to not reopen their school doesn’t mean it’s entirely the right decision. Also it’s a boarding school so the risk of infection is possibly higher and I can imagine that boarding schools may find it difficult to manage the virus. Lest we forget that the calibre of parents who send their kids to Eaton probably can work from home and are not living on the breadline so little need for Eaton to reopen. Soo many reasons !

Also, a large number of boarding school pupils are international students who would have to come from abroad

Cherry

Boarding schools are back in September if possible.
Otherwise it will be January. They are all hoping for September and it seems more likely now.
But we are preparing to have to support for a term.

@Marleymoo42

One final thing that is annoying me is people saying it wont be an environment conducive to learning. Smaller class sizes? Desk with no distractions? It's not what I want for my 5 year old, of course I want him to learn through play and be with his best friends, but then putting the tv on so I can do a work call is not helping him either. Half a term of school is a sixth of the year. I wont be second guessing whether it will be too much for him. I will just explain what's happening and why.

That's why it depends on your personal circumstances. I'm a SAHM and previously was an early years teacher. I know that my 4yo is better off home with me than in an environment where he can't have normal resources or interaction and has to stay at a desk. He wouldn't manage it, other children perhaps would but I don't make the decisions for them.

Of course personal circumstances are different but I think some are making people fearful of the new school environment. For many children it will be a better situation than what they're currently experiencing. If the gap between vulnerable children and expecting progress was big before, it's going to be enormous by September. It's not helpful to paint a bleak picture of what the new normal is.

I don't believe this is the new normal.
As people have said, once all year groups are back something will have to change. Schools don't have the capacity for that many small groups.

I think the lack of free play and close contact is much more problematic for reception and year 1 which is what makes the government's decision to send the very youngest back first to be extremely silly

Maybe they are the Guinea pigs. Maybe they want to send those years back in to see what happens to the R Rate. If it rockets then they'll have an almighty problem on their hands. The fact that in Sept the flu season will be just around the corner, makes for very worrying times ahead

daisydukes7576
hahaha! You are the one who used the word "snowflakes".

What kind of parent are you if your children are damaged because they spend a couple of months at home, and they are deprived of education?

If you want to send your children at school, no one is stopping you. It says a lot that you are so angry about those who make different choices, does it make you doubt yourself or something?

once all year groups are back something will have to change. Schools don't have the capacity for that many small groups.
of course not. September will have to be very near "normal".

It won't take long before it's clear that removing all the other aspects of schools is ridiculous.

I would be the first one to applaud classes reducing to 15 children maximum, with their own trained teacher, but that's completely unrealistic.

I’m another one who isn’t sending the kids back because of the current school environment rather than the virus. And for those of you who are asking what’s going to be different in September? Well you tell me but something must be. The school is currently using every single classroom and still can’t meet the demand for all the reception, year 1 and year 6 children who are due back. Are they going to magic up double or triple the number of staff and classrooms by then?! No. They won’t be back like this in September, there will be changes. We will sit it out and do the home learning that is still being sent home and see what September brings.

Maybe they are the Guinea pigs. Maybe they want to send those years back in to see what happens to the R Rate. If it rockets then they'll have an almighty problem on their hands. The fact that in Sept the flu season will be just around the corner, makes for very worrying times ahead

The government knows full well that reception and Yr 1 children wont social distance therefore by sending them in first and then slowly opening it up to the older year groups it provides a more realistic picture of the impact school has on the R rate. Sending in older children first who are all capable of conforming to social distancing proves nothing as we already know social distancing works in reducing the infection rate. The goverment knows schools can't double the size of their premises and have the funds to employ twice as many staff to accomodate class sizes of 15 indefinately nor do they think it reasonable or practical to expect parents to have to give up their jobs to accomodate part time schooling/different year groups in on different days/alternative weeks etc etc. Statistics show that the youngest children are very very unlikely to become seriously unwell so if sending them back proved disastorous to the R rate it wont be as catastrophic as all the older children getting unwell. Yes, they are the guinea pigs sadly but it is the only way we can determine if schools can start operating as normal come September. And I say this is a parent of a reception child.

@pennylane83

This makes a lot of sense. Will you be sending yours back?

September will have to be near"normal"
Why will it have to be? What if the guidelines are still the same then? Only rec yr1 and yr6 back (with key workers and vulnerable) with the same guidelines? Why shouldn't it "have to be" all years back now? No one can answer why It will be different in September than June other than it will have to be. Theres a low possibility of a cure/vaccine in place by then, but than that what else is going to be different especially when everyone is so certain there will be a 2nd peak which if there is will inevitably make social distancing/safety guidelines currently set go on for even longer

@BrutusMcDogface I will. I have explained how it will be different and that they wont be able to do x,y and z but my child is still desperate to go back and see friends. They are quite adaptable luckily so will probably find it all a bit of a novelty (not having to wear school uniform, picnic in the classroom, using the outdoor space, not having the older children knocking them over on the playground). It also helps that the school are being positive in their approach to how and what they will teach so I know they will have the childrens best interests at heart whilst still maintaining the safety for everyone. If they become too upset after trying it or I feel it has become unsafe I will take them out again but after reading all the science information, what other countries have done and everyones differing opinions we have made what we feel is the right decision and lets face it, we can't remain in this homeschooling limbo forever.

Why will it have to be? What if the guidelines are still the same then? Only rec yr1 and yr6 back (with key workers and vulnerable) with the same guidelines? Why shouldn't it "have to be" all years back now? No one can answer why It will be different in September than June other than it will have to be.

Because the government can't afford to extend the furlough scheme beyond October (and August to October payments is reliant on the employer contributing to the cost therefore you will be expected to work some hours). If schooling becomes part time, different year groups in on alternative weeks, staggered start end times for each yr group on a longterm basis then a huge number of parents (especially those with children in more than one year group) will have no option but to quit their jobs to accomadate the school timetable and the government can't afford the increased unemployment/benefits bill anymore than it can the furlough payments.

We don't know what will happen in September.

Don't assume everyone will be back in School. No one knows.

@ProsperTheBear

It says a lot that you are so angry about those who make different choices, does it make you doubt yourself or something?

Not at all my children are not at an age where it affects them.

It makes me angry because of how soft society is these days.

@pennylane83 people are having to make those choices now! Not many will continue to be furloughed for that long unless in the hospitality industry for example, most businesses are asking staff to return now 1, due to the needs of the business 2, they will soon have to contribute to furlough payments 3, not all businesses can realistically furlough all staff with children as the business wont survive.
So based on your view of furlough theory it wont necessarily be any "safer" in September but more people will need the childcare school provides.

Well considering private schools like Eaton...

Boris came from Eaton and he doesn’t seem to be able to use basic common sense...

I bet he can spell it though. I went to a tough comprehensive and left at 16, and I can

I really don’t know why it bothers so many people what strangers decide for their kids. We don’t HAVE to send reception, year 1 or year 6 in June and if I want to homeschool them and go the park in the day then I will. Some people seem very angry about this

@daisydukes7576

Well you've never been a mum to a small child in a pandemic. So it's easy for you to rant we are all soft. Don't even get me started on the generation of children should be seen and not heard. The parents who believe you shouldn't hold a sleeping baby. The old fashioned parents who never listened to there kids views or let them have a down day because dealing with kids emotional needs is dealt with by telling them to get a grip and stop complaining.

I had a mum who never took my feelings into consideration. She never understood or cared. If I felt poorly it was paracetamol and get on with it. Never any warmth. Yes to an extent you don't want to wrap your kids in bubble wrap and make them think they are the most precious jewels on the planet. But if you want a happy confident child then you need to meet all their needs. Being concerned about reception aged kids dealing with change like this, does not make us snowflakes. It does not make our kids a generation of wimps. They are 4-5 years old. They were at nursery last year. Asking them to understand all this is a big ask. How do you explain to them why you can't touch your friends hand or touch the same toys or books? Do we actually want our kids to learn this and then be too scared in a year's time to mix and touch other kids I case they get some horrible germs. Do we really want to let them see school in such a different light that they may loose that love for school? What's the point in doing this to our kids when they could just have a summer at home with parents and siblings. Hopefully meeting other households over the coming weeks? Places are starting to reopen now. So days out and stuff will be able to start.

Your attitude is just like one of my sister's. The kids should get on with it and stuff their feelings. Yes they might cope. But think what crazy stuff you are putting into a sensitive child's head. I do not want my child scared to touch and mix because some poor teacher has had to tell her off for going to close to another kid.

If you think one size fits all then you clearly do not understand children or their mental health.

To the people saying that Eton and the other public schools etc aren’t going back until September, that is principally because they are secondary schools and therefore don’t have pupils that fall into the cohorts specified by the government for return.

They are also full boarding and have pupils from all around the country and overseas. The overseas boarders would have to do quarantine on their return, and even the UK-based pupils wouldn’t be able to come back as boarders, as guidelines currently treat a boarding school as one ‘household’. If one child gets C-19 the whole lot have to isolate. Could be for a long time if they get it in turn.

If you lived in the States, would you be happy booking a flight for your child to come back to school in England, not knowing what the situation with quarantine, school openings, flight bookings would be?

Some boarding preps, with more local children, are getting around the one household issue by letting pupils in the relevant years come back as day pupils, but that’ll only help those who are near enough to travel in each day.