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

And I completely agree that it's insulting that shops and no doubt bars and restaurants will be open before schools.

For the person who said that schools are the most dangerous place to work-what utter nonsense.

I think people working in hospitals and care homes knowingly around the infection day in day out would have something to say about it. What do these people do? Manage the risk as best they can as we all do and will have to do.

I think Sweden got that bit right and tried to limit impact on education.

I wonder what the real resistance is to schools going back. At this stage I don't think it's much to do with COVID at all.

Pass a temporary employment law to prevent employers being able to dismiss staff for working from home where the job allows.

That's still not fair for everyone, as some will be working from home with young children meaning they aren't fully doing their job as it's impossible unless you never sleep, and others are doing more to compensate. Tolerable whilst in the midst of everything, not really fair now the government should be supporting childcare providers and schools to reopen. The answer is for the government to actually come up with something rather than leaving the burden on employers.

so school staff are all expected back doing their thing. Lots of us travel by public transport - I take the train

But other workers don’t go back because they travel on public transport

Not sure how that logic works

Oh dear lord. Really?

So you, as a keyworker, go on the train. The train is at say half capacity right now? Maybe less. You are pretty safe on the train.

You then decide to send every man and his dog back to the office in one go.

Your train is now very full. You are unable to social distance. You are less safe.

People wfh benefits you because you HAVE to use the train. You don't have a choice. They don't need to.

Equally if less people are in offices coming into contact with hundreds of people the children at your school are less likely to bring the virus with them.

Does that explain it?

Am getting up at 5 and going to bed at midnight to fit in WFH FT and home educating
Am exhausted

If schools are all back in then everyone needs to be back in. Otherwise it is mixed messages

FFS the only reason I’m working from home is because I need to care for my children, because there’s no school provision for them. I’ve had to rearrange my working life to be at home, and the relief of kids going back to school meaning I could actually do my job, isn’t happening. My kids will be in school for 5 hours a day 2 days a week which after drop off etc means I’ll have just over 4 hours a day to give to my job so 8 hours of a 17.5 contract. After 5 months of them accepting a patchwork of hours from me because no school provision.

I’d happily be back to work, the reason I can’t is because schools are closed, the reason I still won’t be able to do that in August is because my kids will get just 40% of their education in school.

As it stands I’m having to consider resigning from a very hard won career because I can’t keep juggling everything and feeling like I’m doing none of it well.

Seriously, it’s not a hardship to go back to work stop using it as some kind of stick “well if I have to go to work, so do all of you...”

I am really worried about this. Even though nurseries can open, mine hasn’t so I have no childcare at the moment. I’m hoping it might open in the next month or so for my youngest. No-where locally is taking new babies who weren’t already on roll. My eldest is due to go to school in September so if we have part time on and off or faffing, it will be really difficult. She desperately needs social interaction but the only nursery place I could find for her locally was on my day off. She will at least get a chance to play with children but this does nothing for work. I’ve taken a gamble and booked her into summer club but who knows if they’ll be allowed to open. It’s a mess and will result in so many people being forced out of the workplace if it isn’t sorted soon.

so school staff are all expected back doing their thing. Lots of us travel by public transport - I take the train

But other workers don’t go back because they travel on public transport

Except for the huge swathes of the population whose job isn't possible to do at home and have no choice but to get on public transport to go to work and have been doing throughout all of this. Plus all those companies who are now demanding that their employers return to the office because WFH isn't sustaninable or conducive to the business. This is the reason why the govenment has introduced the use of facecoverings on public transport. Your not a special case.

It's tough times for sure. But schools have to be opened safely. It's only a few more weeks. We've come this far. Who normally looks after your children in school holidays?

Many many people are thinking about reducing hours or resigning because of this. It's just too hard

And employers don't know what to do and are in difficult situation. They know they can't be unreasonable or discriminate but ultimately they need productive employees! Even if their employees can work from home they are inevitably less productive when they also have to look after young kids

If in fact they are as productive that will be coming at a cost as they will be working all night at the expense of their own mental health or just chucking their kids in front of screens ( which I am) at the expense of their kids mental health..

The government has a responsibility to do something here. They have made the decision to shut schools without putting any alternatives in place

For the person who said that schools are the most dangerous place to work-what utter nonsense

It was said with sarcasim as in the unions are making the school environment out to be such a dangerous place for teachers to return to and will no doubt contine with that argument when social distancing rules are relaxed.

@maddy68

It's tough times for sure. But schools have to be opened safely. It's only a few more weeks. We've come this far. Who normally looks after your children in school holidays?

A few more weeks till what?

For me it's nursery and I'm lucky they've opened but for many it's grandparents and holiday clubs which they now can't use!

@Pootle40

The solution is kids go back to school. End of. Anything else is utter nonsense. If I hear anymore about it not being 'safe' I may lose the will to live. There is no floating black mist out there.

This, a thousand million times over.

@maddy68 for many people the usual holiday clubs are not running and grandparnts are sheilding

Who normally looks after your children in school holidays?

My kids go to a local authority holiday club, which has already confirmed it won’t be running. My DD spends 2 weeks at gymnastics camp, which isn’t running, my DS spends time with his grandad, who is over 70.

It’s not just as simple as “who usually looks after them, none of those options are available. By the time schools go back here it’ll have been 5 months. 5 months of no school and no childcare provision, and still no effective provision when they do go back. No ones complaining about a few weeks of missing childcare.

If anyone considers that anything recent isn't down to government, then you are very naive.
You are puppets and respond when your strings are pulled.
They want you to riot, they encourage it, they want schools closed, they do.
They want to create the biggest divide our society has ever known both socially and racially, they are doing and you all fall for it.
The only thing you can do is be responsible for your own lives, don't look to governments, look to your own families.

@Devlesko

If anyone considers that anything recent isn't down to government, then you are very naive. You are puppets and respond when your strings are pulled. They want you to riot, they encourage it, they want schools closed, they do. They want to create the biggest divide our society has ever known both socially and racially, they are doing and you all fall for it. The only thing you can do is be responsible for your own lives, don't look to governments, look to your own families.

What the actual fuck does that mean?

Look to our own families for what? I mean I love dp and Ds but neither of them run the country unfortunately.

I wonder what the real resistance is to schools going back. At this stage I don't think it's much to do with COVID at all

Its highlighted how wholly underfunded our state school system is with unworkably large class sizes, lack of teachers/assistants and old inadequate buildings compared to our european counterparts and so is being used as leverage to get the government to stump up more cash to fund education

@user1487194234

Am getting up at 5 and going to bed at midnight to fit in WFH FT and home educating Am exhausted

This is absolutely disgraceful. Nobody should be doing two full-time jobs (which is what you are doing) on five hours' sleep.

Why is nobody listening?

Maddy
Holiday clubs (not opening)
Grandparents ( not allowed)
Annual leave ( cancelled/already used/restricted for many people)

As for the 'we've come so far' and 'its only a few more weeks' ....that displays a lack of empathy and understanding.

I'm at breaking point. I'm constantly stressed and exhausted. The thought of this continuing until September makes me weep, genuinely weep.

But schools have to be opened safely. It's only a few more weeks. We've come this far.

It's absolutely not just "a few more weeks", unfortunately. The two schools our DC attend have both already indicated they will not be open FT in September: children will go in for limited days. What on earth are we meant to do? Three DC and DP and I both work FT.

So this horror continues. I share the fury of many posters on this thread. I am on my knees with it all, and irate that our children are being neglected like this.

It is obvious that those in charge have decided that homeschooling has been added to the list of duties under 'wife work'

Me too SueEllen.

Shit isn't it motherofpearl?

I can't even begin to process what we'll do if schools aren't back in September.

Scottish mumsnetters, what can we do? Form a group and protest at Holyrood? Reply from my MSP was a totally unhelpful fob off