How the hell are parents meant to work?

[worzelsnurzel123]

With this latest blow from schools and yet further delays, I predict employers will cease to be “ fair” and they will run out of the patience BJ vaguely muttered about hoping they’d have. So what are the options?

1. Resign from jobs? This could have massive impact on income, likely to affect women and the future of women’s’ rights and progress in the workplace, creation of mental health issues and socio economic problems
2. Will some parents be pushed in to feeling the have no choice but to leave kids home alone? Esp those who are borderline age group eg 8-12. Not ideal at all. Clearly this will impact on MH, safety, parental work performance.
3. Leave kids with grandparents who are likely to be over 70 in many cases, shielding or vulnerable. Risks of passing the virus on would lead to guilt , worry on both sides.
4. Wait for everything to fuck up work wise, scrabble for child care here there and everywhere, lose employers good will due to time off needed and eventually get dismissed for poor attendance, breach of conduct and or poor performance

This is a disgrace. An absolute disgrace

@Theluggage15

Peonypower you forgot Japan!

Of course the 2 m rule is nonsense, that’s why barely any countries are using it, even Spain announced today that they are reducing it. If it was so important then every country would be using it.

You saying it's nonsense doesn't make it true.

Even at 1.5 the classes would have to be smaller. Address the issue. How can schools open up to all pupils when there isn't enough room and there aren't enough teachers.

I hope you are not thinking that teachers should forget social distancing and just take the risk. That would be unfair not to say ridiculous.

So if the government has scrapped the need for schools in England to open to all pupils before the summer holidays due to the fact the schools simply don't have the space/staff to accomodate all the children with the social distancing and bubbles, does that mean that the expectation is that schools will open as normal in September or are we just going to go through this whole debacle again in September of not having enough space, staff etc etc. I just don't see how differently the schools could approach re-opening other than for all children to return on mass.

I still want to know what all the other sectors have done to get round the problem of working during CV other than WFH. What magical formulas have other sectors used to ensure that all their workers are in and everything is fine ..

It's important to compare schools to similar sectors such as adult training etc.

My DH's sector (adult vocational training provider - think first aid, SIA, CSCS) have had to FULLY close down as it's impossible to provide training to SMALL groups of adults in big rooms and remain socially distanced and reduce risk. We still don't know when they will be able to open as it's a logistical nightmare having groups of adults congregate in one room all day, or worse if they have one group in the morning and one in the afternoon. And that's with having a training room large enough for 2m distancing by reducing numbers they accept on courses. Likewise the trainers cant visit employers at the moment and conduct training on premises as that causes a large risk of spreading Covid without being aware/asymptomatic/prior to symptoms and could cause up to 5 businesses to close (of they provide training to one business per day) from just one trainer. (And times that by the number of trainers who could provide on site training).

So no not all other sectors are able to get on with it, and sectors most like schools in structure and risk are actually remaining closed and not able to operate currently.

And let's not forget this company provides training on health and safety and risk assessments... if they could SAFELY open they would.

I came on here to shed some light as to whether I should resign, wait to be fired or cry myself to sleep again. There is also the question of summer holiday.

I don't family to help with childcare but if i did, i'd bring my parents in to live with me.

Crikey is it really only 8% of the working population this affects?
About half of UK families have 2 working parents so 8% of the working population sounds low (doubly hard for single parents)
www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/familiesandthelabourmarketengland/2019

The 2m rule is not necessary. There are countries with normal schooling and/or 1m rules (per WHO). There are NHS workers who have continued working so most teachers aside from the shielded can and should. Shielded staff can continue home learning provisions. The govt can bloody well pump some funding into education too seeing the billions they are extending to large international companies to save (or not save) a few hundred jobs. IT WILL BE FINE. If you don't think it'd be fine, don't send your child to school. If you teach and think you'll die, quit from teaching - but don't deprive all our children of an education.

Unbelievable, a couple of weeks ago everyone was up in arms because it was disgusting that they were even considering opening them because it definitely would be unsafe ?

Now it’s disgusting they are not opening.

As far as I can see they are letting individual schools decide depending on how they are able to cope ?

I’ve been told today as a key worker to try and keep my secondary child home, that they aren’t doing lessons and it’s in her and their staff’s best interest for her to be at home.

I work in a primary school. So I’m supposed to leave my dc indefinitely to go and teach other people’s children.

It’s a shambles.

And yes I am frequently not keeping to the 2 metre rule, would be impossible to do my job otherwise.

@LegoPeople

If the 2m distance is not needed and everyone is abiding the rules why are we still getting a lot of new cases every day ?

And the R is not dropping ( even though deaths are)

Damned if you do , damned if you don’t ,

So are the unions going to actually come up with any workable solutions between now and September?
Or just continue to screech that it won’t work/can’t work/ not doing it?

What happens in September? When we’re just about to veer towards winter flu season?

I have not rtft and so simmilar points to my own have probably been shared
But i am part of the senior leadership team of a big corporate company
The exec team have already stated that come school holiday time why would we give flexibility...there should have been something in place surely...yes holiday clubs which may not be running or grandparents who can no longer have the child (!!!???)

After our initial furlough period ends soon the initial steer is those with childcare issues should take parental (unpaid) leave or holiday...

Yes i know that alot of families this wont just affect the woman.I am lucky me and Dh can share the time off and make it work but i employ alot of young mums who work PT to make ends meet or single mums or just basically people who need to be paid...
No idea how this will work

The 2m rule is necessary

Pretending it isn't helps no one

Then how is is that other countries are able to social distance at a lesser distance to our own. The virus operates in exactly the same way in those countries as it does here.

Why aren't the media picking up on this massive issue? All they talked about on news this morning was what nice things you could do to occupy kids for the rest of the summer. Hello? When exactly do I bake cakes and go for two hour walks when I'm working full time l!

One mp asked the question in the House of Commons and the education secretary said they would have a priority list of returning pupils

Not one journalist asked at the press conference today

I've submitted my question for the PM news conference twice and it's not been picked

Why are working parents being ignored!

The WHO specified 1m.

@Spacepocket

So are the unions going to actually come up with any workable solutions between now and September? Or just continue to screech that it won’t work/can’t work/ not doing it?

What happens in September? When we’re just about to veer towards winter flu season?

I'm sure they'll try once the government stops messing around with the guidelines. Hard to plan when they change 40 times in a week.

But carry on blaming them for the government's stupidity rather than place the blame where it belongs.

September? Currently the planning is for part time.

Who didn't have a lockdown? S Korea?

South Korea did have a lockdown. The government acted quickly and effectively to contain the virus but schools were widely closed and some that had just reopened had to shut down again at the end of May when there was a spike. The South Korean government also did an audit of which pupils did not have technology for remote learning and started a lending scheme. The government there already contributes to the cost of internet for low-income families so they have technological access.

The reason schools here are in such a shitty position compared to others is partly due to the fact we are trying to reopen while the infection rate is higher than other countries that reopened so have to take more precautions. The other issues specific to UK schools are our high class sizes compared to other similar countries, a decade-long lack of spending on new school building infrastructure and generally cutting funding to the bone so there is nothing in the pot to spend on emergency planning.

Not one journalist asked at the press conference today

This. How could that have happened? I was so shocked

I haven't RTFT, but I do wonder if this is an effect of lack of women and lack of representation. (Think Invisible Women)

Do you think it is simply that the people (mainly men) are the ones making the policies and policies surrounding children are just not on their radar, because it childcare and responsibly for children predominantly falls to women. Single parents are more likely to be women than men, so men in power never (I would think) understand the impact policies have on women who are single parents.

Some good points made down thread... others I think are

Childcare options/ grants for parents
Employment protection eg you can't be forced to resign or selected for redundancy because you are caring for children or have been furloughed because of childcare
Outdoor schooling/ childcare clubs summer
Use of other buildings for mini schooling? Libraries etc

Where is the government? They say they are "Working towards opening schools " that's just not enough and expecting schools to decide when they will open is just not good enough either

If people really believe that teachers are fussing and that children aren't spreaders of the virus, then what's the problem with asking grandparents to look after them?
Or is it that people don't want to "risk" grandparents' health, but couldn't care less about that of teachers?

Because the majority of teachers aren't over the age 60, the age group who we know without a doubt are at a much greater risk if they were to catch it and any teachers younger than this who are too vulnerable to work would have recieved a shielding letter and so shouldn't be working on the school premises anyway.

Oh Peony.

You're wrong. I would like to stay and tell you how and why but I have kids to educate. I'm hoping someone else will though. Your facts are utterly up the left. Also, though 'tis highly inconvenient, we're not remotely like Sweden and again, your facts are a bit cooked. S Korea you're totally wrong and clearly don't understand the role of test and trace. But I'm done with talking.

Wow sorry to hear that.

CountessFrog Tue 09-Jun-20 17:38:18
Wellll I’m NHS so I’ve gone off sick because the stress of watching my children decline has just finished me off.I was going to consider taking up keyworker places until school told me they’d be unable to be educated with their year group if the year returned. Oh and after they intimated it was irresponsible of me to take up a place for them if I could ‘technically’ WFH. So I can have six months full pay and six months half. Stressed to the eyeballs by it all. Colleague also now gone off with same stress, friend who is a GP taken indefinite leave to look after three small kids. Her husband is a consultant, he’s at breaking point. I hope the people making these decisions not to open schools don’t expect to be treated by healthcare professionals adversely impacted. There was a 4 month wait for my service prior to lockdown.

Sad that your school haven't been helpful with childcare since you are NHS. I get the impression that schools just don't want to open - it's not safe doesn't apply to anyone else just schools.

When GP's and NHS workers including consultants go off sick since no schools and wraparound childcare it is really worrying.
Indeed let's hope those who are being unhelpful with reopening don't get ill...!

Wow really - sums up the response from the education part of society
If people really believe that teachers are fussing and that children aren't spreaders of the virus, then what's the problem with asking grandparents to look after them? Or is it that people don't want to "risk" grandparents' health, but couldn't care less about that of teachers?

Most teachers are NOT under 60!

Interesting that you suggest grandparents - many of whom are over 60 should take up the slack for teachers - most of whom are not under 60! Wow. Heard a lot of reasons why schools cannot do X Y or Z and your latest suggestion is use the grandparents. If you are a teacher then shame on you.

Meant most teachers are NOT OVER 60 as lots of grandparents are!

People talk about random teenagers. There are young people 18-25 who probably need work and income right now. Advertise and interview. Get references and DBS check if you wish.
When you send a child to summer school there are probably random teenagers helping out and 18-25s there who you don't know. If you arrange it with a bubble of friends you could hire 2-3 to ensure there"s always someone on shift.
It's a massive hit to your income to pay this, but many people have lost their jobs and freelancers are on universal credit. This is hopefully temporary for you until September.

@Spacepocket

So are the unions going to actually come up with any workable solutions between now and September? Or just continue to screech that it won’t work/can’t work/ not doing it?

What happens in September? When we’re just about to veer towards winter flu season?

Unions have come up with workable solutions.

Government aren't listening. They don't actually want schools to go back as has been explained upthread.

Not down to unions

Not down to teachers.

It's down to the government.

Unions have come up with workable solutions

What are these? This is a genuine question not a snippy one! I'm clinging to the hope that someone can come up with a workable solution that the government could actually take on board.