No playing outside school with other children?

[namechangenumber2]

Hi

I wondered if anyone knew if within the guidelines of schools opening with bubbles etc, does it state that children are to be told to not play after school etc with children who are not in their school bubble? Inc with children who haven't gone back to school?

Thanks

Our school sent out letters with contracts to sign to say that if you were sending your child back, then you would not allow them to socialise outside of school hours, with anyone outside of their family household. If this rule was proven to be breeched the child would be excluded from their bubble. They seem to be taking it very very seriously, and definitely not the only school, as a friend from a different city got a similar letter/"contract" from her school too.

A contract indeed. Just who do they think they are?

They might give it a punt now when schools are basically optional but there’s zero chance of being able to enforce that once schools are open and they have to take the kids. That said I’d sign a contract to shut them up and get the kids back, knowing there’s zero chance it would be enforceable.

How would they police that though?
I mean unless your singing "i had little johnny over to play with freddy" from the rooftops and paste it all over SM surely they wont know.

They can’t police it in any way, it’s completely stupid and just tokenism.

They can’t police it in any way, it’s completely stupid and just tokenism

Thats what it sounds like to me lol
Id laugh if our school tried this crap

I work in a school and we’re really drilling into the kids that they can’t play with children who aren’t in theirs bubble whilst on the playground as this is the rules we have been told to inforce. It could just be that your DS’s friend is so caught up in the school rules that he is telling your DS what he thinks is the right thing to do.

I don't know how they intend to police it, assume if other parents "dob people in"!? I decided to keep my children home, so it makes no difference to me, but most of the parents with children attending school seem to be taking it very seriously, not even walking near children from the same class on the school run as it's "not allowed".

To be honest as well I feel like all the people who are complaining that their schools are trying hard to care for their kids and ensure the distancing rules are in place would also be the first to complain if the schools weren’t looking after their kids and amending the rules.
They’re only trying to do what’s best for your children. Imagine if a child from ‘bubble A’ and your child in ‘bubble B’ interacted and shared their germs. That means all children in both bubbles would have to isolate, potentially putting up to 30 children at risk of Covid as well as their families

So if you have one child at school and one in a year group that hasn't gone back yet you wouldn't be able to take that child to meet a friend because you've signed a contract . What if you have 3 children back in school all in different bubbles ? Surely that's more of a risk than a social distanced get together with someone outside the bubblev

If anyone in the bubble has Covid-19 then they’ll have to shut that bubble for 2 weeks AND the bubble of any children who were playing with them or in close contact.

Schools are trying to protect working parents and keep as many children in school as possible.

Damn teachers, caring about children and families and trying to protect them.

Same goes for having symptoms, that can shut a bubble for 2 weeks too.

The government guidance on keyworker children in school did say that parents are expected to make every effort to keep social contact to a minimum outside of school

No of course the school can't do enforce it but the whole point of this is that we are all working together to stop the spread of the disease. If you mix up all the bubbles outside of school then all the work school have done to make it safe becomes a waste of time. Yes it's tough for kids if all their friends have gone back, but I think we need to get some perspective, this is a pandemic, and people are dying.

I think we need to get some perspective, too. Currently the number of people thought to have the Covid 19 virus is 1 in 1000. 0.001%. That's averaged over the entire population. We know that the majority of cases are now in care homes, and then below that, hospitals. So the chances of either child carrying that germ are far, far less than 1 in a thousand.

So yeah, perspective.

Morning, thanks everyone for your replies

For clarity, I wouldn't break the rules, so if his friends are correct then that's just the way it is. I'll be honest, I could understand children being asked not play out with a child in another of the school bubbles, but I don't really understand that including any child.

I'm upset for DS, who was already upset enough that he wasn't part of the going back in group, to now be told he can't even be 2M away from his friends until who knows when. Pretty rubbish for an 11 year old.

If your child hasn’t been at school since lockdown started and you followed all the advice and guidance (going to shop without them, not seeing people from other households etc) and now you follow this advice to not let children meet outside of school bubbles.....a child could have seen no one outside their household for 3 months and, if they aren’t back at school till sept, not seen another child for 6 months by September.

I understand we are all minimising what we are able to do to manage the risk from the virus, however as parents we also have to assess the risk to our child individually and make decisions based on that.

Some children might really struggle and seeing a friend from school in the garden for a little play could be a massive help for them. Others won’t be so bothered and can manage withOut this. Surely we need to make decision based on our own families circumstance.

In one school near us they are excluding them if they are socialising out of there ‘bubble’. I have no idea how they expect to police it, but that’s the plan.

Wow is that even with social distancing @pinkazing ? Seems really harsh! I can understand schools not tolerating children playing with no social distancing in place

Anyway an update..

I text the mum of the child who had messaged DS, to ask her if she knew if it was correct or had her DS had misheard - not because I want to force her DS to play with mine but more so that I know to make sure DS doesn't ask anyone if they want to go out if they're in school currently.

Sadly it seems to have been a joke . The message was sent whilst the bubble friends were out playing after school so they thought it would be funny to say that to DS. Unfortunately it's not unusual for that group to be like that - there's one particular child who usually instigates it. Anyway at least we got to the bottom of it.

Apparently school have told them to be careful when outside of school, but as long as they stick to the no more than 6 and 2M distance it's ok - which I expected to be the case

Ah that makes me feel so sad for him.
It quite hard times for kids isn’t it. Xx

My friend who is a teacher told me yesterday that the official advice is for children to only see kids in their bubble. So if, for example, they also went to a childminder for wraparound care they officially shouldn’t do that because those children are outside the bubble. But she was saying that obviously in reality that will be unworkable for huge numbers of people. And it will also be difficult for children who haven’t ended up in a bubble with their closest friends and will still want to see them.

Kids can be so mean

Currently the number of people thought to have the Covid 19 virus is 1 in 1000. 0.001%

1 in 1000 is 0.1%.... 0.001% would be 1 in 100,000.

1/100=0.01
1/1000= 0.001

Oh shit I forgot to times by 100, my mistake! Never was the best at maths.

Still, pretty damn low.

In school, the older children (that includes Y6) are being supervised when with the other children. They remain 2m apart, don't share equipment and are even asked to social distance in the playground. School has no control over what the children do outside school but the rules still do not allow kids out playing with whoever unsupervised. You are not allowed in someone else's house. You could socialise outdoors so he could meet a friend at a park with you and his parent and see each other while socially distancing. Why don't you contact the parents and see what they say?