No space at school

[PinkDiamond1]

This is outing so have NC.

Our school is a large primary 3 form per year.

They've offered alternate weeks starting from the 8th June for year groups.

We were undecided on sending our DC back.

However we got an email yesterday saying they were at full capacity for key worker and Nursery R, Y1 and Y6 and can't accept anymore children!

Is this allowed?

Feel like OP was looking for a reason to be offended and complain to someone that she couldn't change her mind which is utterly unfair 🙄

The whole thing is a joke. The school I work at is reopening, but for nursery, key worker children, vulnerable children and SEN only. They have no more classrooms or space to do anything else. They have been told not to do alternate weeks.

As I am going back into work, my children now need key worker positions. So that is 2 more on their school list and so on.

The guidance from DoE are ridiculous and in no way align with Early Years best practice. Whoever drafted them clearly never met a child.

It has nothing to do with the thread though which is about physical space in schools...
If you wanted to blame the DfE, you would have said so.
Frankly,as a parent, I don't want my children staring at a screen for 5 hours.

LadyGAgain

Then aim your disgust where it belongs with the government.

The government that gave very little notice and fuck all guidance to the schools.

The government that stopped the curriculum and gave no information out on what even the minimum requirement is.

The same government that announced when schools are going back without discussing that date with anyone. Even (allegedly) his own adversary and cabinet.

The same government that has changed the guidance on schools 46 fucking times and have only just released how secondary schools should be going back.

LadyG I think the educational needs of a teenager are slightly different to a 4 year old. I "home schooled" mine for 4 years each, I say home schooled but actually I let them play have fun and learn what they wanted. At 4 mine were quite happy to switch the computer on and find their favourite educational programmes. When I enrolled the first one in school the Head was horrified, explained about all the catching up, how the SEN teacher would work with the individually. I nodded. So the first one went in for their assessment for the special needs and the report was they were fine, no issues.

One term is nothing other than an inconvenience if you need childcare.

It's not about education. Infant kids are going to suffer without "education" for a few months. It's about contact. Contact between a student and their teacher. The 2 are very different.

Our school is offering alternate weeks.

So a child will get 15 days of education very possibly only 12 there is talk of them closing on Friday to clean.

This will not be national curriculum.

Oak Acadamy doesn't follow the same curriculum as my children. My eldest is in top sets and the work for their year group is too easy and doesn't go into advanced depth.

My nephew and niece are getting a lot more support via their private school.

My friend said the HT said the teachers didn't want people looking into their homes hence not offering zoom.

My school is a large 4 form entry, with a nursery attached. With bubbles of 10, and keyworker children, we do not have space for y6. It is what it is. Not the schools fault, government have consistently moved the goalposts even at this late stage.

I'm surprised a HT would phrase it like that. Privacy is a definite concern. You can look at my home I wouldn't care but you're quite likely to see my dc at some point as I don't have an office and I would care about that. What I really don't want is to look into your dc's bedrooms and hope they are dressed and hope I don't get turned into a porn gif. And I do not want to have to worry even more about the students who could not engage - who don't have laptops with enough memory or WiFi with enough speed for a live lesson. Sounds like your head gave you the very short hand version of why live teaching has problems.
No one can seriously be surprised that things are different in a private school? If they aren't offering a superior provision (as perceived by parents) than the state schools, why would anyone pay them just now?

I've seen how the private schools have adapted. Children attending 4-5 hours of lessons via google classrooms every day

@LadyGAgain

Having being educated under a private school, I can confirm that most offer pupils laptops/iPads included in the fees, therefore all children have access to a form of technology.

I would love to provide the children at my school with google classrooms/zoom lessons etc, but can I ask how you would suggest I do this when I neither have the funding to provide the laptops, their families don't have the money and I can guarantee over 50% of the pupils would break the laptop?

Thanks

@pinkdiamond1

I feel your frustration, but bear in mind that schools are in an impossible situation, these are unprecedented times (this means this situation has never occurred before and therefore there can be no definitive action plan to pull immediately into place).

Guidance has been choppy from Government, IMO, and schools have to work thru changing and confusing/conflicting guidance from both Government and their local authority.

Undoubtedly they may not be able to cater for every child in a way to keep them safe at this time. This is just how it is right now.

So, yes, of course you can change your mind but they may not be able to accommodate you after they have put final measures in place. Tryst me, this will be as disappointing and frustrating to them as it is you.

The whole situation is tricky to navigate but I'm sure things will ease up as time goes on.

LadyG why is contact so important? Don't children have contact with adults? Vulnerable children should be in school, children with at least one caring parent have contact with an adult.

For the under 5s not going back they will be like many many children all over the world, at home with a care giver.

There is guidance for how many can be in a bubble and for social distancing. That has to be followed no matter what. Staffing and space affect the number of bubbles.

The guidelines have priorities so we were told the list was:

Key worker children
Kids with EHCP (although for some they need to shield/it wouldn't be good for them to return to school conducted this way)
Reception
Year one
Year six

We filled in the survey as if only half of reception returned for instance it frees up another bubble. We were told if we said no then it was very unlikely we'd get a space if we changed our minds. The space filled up before they hit year six. They can't magic more space or staff. Safety is the priority. In some local areas here local councils are refusing to reopen schools past key worker kids at all.

It's already a logistical nightmare as they need to stagger break lunch and drop off/pick ups to keep bubbles separate. I can't even imagine the stress right now.

PinkDiamond1
My friend said the HT said the teachers didn't want people looking into their homes hence not offering zoom.

There was a thread on here all about what people saw in other people's home though zoom and other live lessons.

But safeguarding pfff fuck it.

Zoom lessons and similar sound great in theory.

But then you have the family with no internet access.

The family with one computer between them which Mum needs to use to do her work.

The family with 3 siblings all in different classes without space or technology for them to all be on zoom at the same time.

And that’s before getting to the families which really would benefit from the extra support because they are so chaotic.

Schools are doing the best they can in tough situations. Like the rest of us they are making it up as they go. They are getting the information from the government at the same time as the rest of us but are expected by some parents to have all the answers

How the school operates and which children they invite back and their capacity is up to the school.

The purpose is to get children back into education safely.

My Y6 is not returning. School only have space for key worker children in y6. We are both key workers but I don't see that going to school to sit apart from a few of her friends, with a teacher who isn't hers. She has lived that school and I see no benefit in sending her somewhere alien for 6 weeks.

Dh's school has desk space for 17 children.

I really feel for teachers. 41 pieces of (Contradictory) guidance in a week, trying to manage key worker kids and providing education for the rest of the class. It's been a nightmare and I think they have done an incredible job.

She has lived that school and I see no benefit in sending her somewhere alien for 6 weeks. If it even lasts six weeks, the way things are and what scientists are saying I can see us being back in lockdown before that and then the kids have had 1st lockdown and adjusting, back into a very different school and adjust, 2nd lockdown and adjust all over again.

And people still claim they are thinking of the children's mental health.

Yes, of course it is allowed.

My eldest is in top sets and the work for their year group is too easy and doesn't go into advanced depth.

Have you looked at the lessons for the years above your DS on Oak National Academy?

@Tearingmyhairout0110 I agree. I do think some schools are taking the guidelines to extremes.

There's no need for a child to be on a tablet for 5 hours a day at school. If that's really what the school are offering then that shows a complete lack of imagination.

There's a clear difference between schools being extreme and others which are making the best of a grim situation. A school can still be a warm, nurturing place even in this environment. There can still be a good variety of resources and and input made. There is zero need for 5 hours of tablets or clinic bare cold rooms.

My eldest is in top sets and the work for their year group is too easy and doesn't go into advanced depth.
OP you seem very het up about all this. We are in the middle of a pandemic for goodness sake! What do you think is going to happen if your DC doesn't do greater depth work for a few months? Or if the school doesn't follow the NC for the time being (in the guidelines it states this doesn't have to happen)? I actually see this as a positive and am looking forward to providing a more child friendly relaxed curriculum for my reception and year 1 children at my school.
If it mattered so much, why on earth didn't you say yes in the first instance?

Let's bare in mind we cant always assume that one year group can be split into 2 (even if one form entry and ignoring social distancing to have 15 per class). My local schools average at approx 33 students per class. So that even at 15 per bubble requires 3 bubbles for class in one year group.

Also half the problem is convoluted and arbitrary guidelines which means LA and schools are trying to make the best decisions for their pupils. In some areas they may be happy to go back with very little social distancing per bubble and therefore have larger bubbles. But as of yesterday evening their are still some countries with a R0 of 1+, in which areas I imagine the LA and head teachers are either delaying the opening of schools or are implementing much much stricter distancing and guidelines as if you wanna listen to the government stages for opening up these areas dont technically meet the standards to be given the green light to reopen. But as England has taken a blanket approach it's very hard for the countries with still high levels of infection to remain closed as from what I've seen many woulsnt be understanding.

I also imagine there are some heads and LA which are much more switched onto the science and scientific guidence (which as of yesterday/this morning) states it's too early to open schools and non-essential business (4 sage advisers have agreed this and stated the government are ignoring the science) as even the government stages have not yet been met, and therefore are very likely taking a much much much more cautious approach to reopening then areas which have a very very low R0 currently.