Key worker kids at school while parents not working?

[Lemons1571]

Is this an issue for those of you who have kids in primary school? Our school has sent out a plea asking key worker parents not to send their kids in when they are not at work. Apparently a few very part time key worker parents were sending their child into primary full time.

Seems odd, when other kids haven’t seen the school since 20th March and there’s no place for them indefinitely (remember September is not guaranteed it’s an unknown). If you’re a key worker did you have to prove shift patterns etc?

No we just email in each week what days we want to book them in. Some key workers might only have one day off during the week and I don’t begrudge them wanting to have it to themselves.

We have sent lots of children home when it's come to light that their parents are using it as childcare so they can relax in the sunshine.

No one in our school took the piss, but if they only had one day off during the week, and on those days needed to do the shopping and stuff, then I wouldn't have begrudged them that time.

We only had one parent that did this. In general parents only used it when needed. Now both our key worker bubbles are full I think the parents police each other!

No, I offered to give them my shifts a few weeks ago when they were planning bubbles but they didn't reply. I thought it would be easier for planning if the school knew in advance when to expect DC though it would have meant I would have been unable to swap shifts and we need a lot of flexibility with shift swapping at the moment to cover the shifts. I have heard, on MN and in 'real life', of schools asking the keyworker children attend everyday. Mine go 2 days on average. DC1 told me that everyone else in her keyworker bubble goes all week, but I assume their parents are teachers or have some other not-shift based job.

@StarScream22

No we just email in each week what days we want to book them in. Some key workers might only have one day off during the week and I don’t begrudge them wanting to have it to themselves.

But what about all the other working parents who aren't keyworkers? They don't get any days off to themselves!

Sorry was ment to type that into google 🙈

Our school had to send the same message and it's a secondary school. At the beginning of lockdown people were sending kids when they had another parent at home, including on days they weren't working either so the school asked people not to do this.

Gov guidance changed on June 1st and keyworkers are now encouraged to send their children to school even if they could keep them at home.

@Saladd0dger

Sorry was ment to type that into google 🙈

Aw shit. Are you ok?

I don’t this this has happened much at our school as key worker numbers have been quite low. However I have felt some peoples claimed to be key workers is a bit spurious. Mainly everyone is using it in a good way though.

But what about all the other working parents who aren't keyworkers? They don't get any days off to themselves!

Hardly anyone is getting a break from their children. But I'm more concerned about the lack of education tbh and waiting to hear when the curriculum will be re-instated.

Our school have been encouraging key workers to send the kids in full time as it's easier to plan around that than them having flexible days. I guess what works for one school won't work for another.

@canigooutyet

But what about all the other working parents who aren't keyworkers? They don't get any days off to themselves!

Hardly anyone is getting a break from their children. But I'm more concerned about the lack of education tbh and waiting to hear when the curriculum will be re-instated.

Oh yes, so am I. I think they should just get rid of social-distancing in schools to be honest. My DC are 2 and 4 (eldest due to start school in Sep) so not been as affected as some so far as in they haven't properly started their education but it is awful how children lives' are seemingly at the bottom of the pile.

We don't seem to have key workers living around here despite lots of offices that could have opened. The most they had in secondary was 4, and primary was 2.

LEA here will be tightening up application addresses checks more because the figures don't tally with records. There's lots of businesses around here, every couple of years they and local nhs services put tighter controls, and lots of places become available.

Wonder how many parents will be caught out from using a different address across the country

@Silversun83
It is appalling. Mine should be starting year 10 in September and unless restrictions are lifted, because of the size of the school and students, realistically for many this won't happen until later towards the end of the year if not next year.

At the moment all we know is that gcse will be core subjects, and have asked to chose 2 additional subjects, the second as a back up. When we started this just before curriculum was cancelled, they had at least 15 other subjects to choose from. His older siblings left school with at least 8 gcses each.

There is one parent in my daughters keyworker group who’s been doing this. She only works two days a week - kids in keyworker school 3 or 4 days a week whilst she posts pictures of herself doing gardening all day on facebook.

Makes me cross on behalf of other parents in the same class who both work full time, juggling 2 kids and working split shifts to survive, often working till midnight to get work done. But they aren’t keyworkers so have to cope.

Massively taking the piss in my opinion

At the beginning they asked only send them in on the days you were working now they are encouraging children to come in every day. They have said they will not allow children to enter a bubble later in the week so if not in on a monday they cant come back in until the following Monday

Added to that our school have taken children back from parents who aren't key workers but are back out at work. I suppose it depends on how many key worker children they have and how many spaces they can offer.

My school has 12 Keyworker bubbles. I think we lost track of those doing shifts and only needing a couple of days a week ages ago. As it stands, some days a bubble can be full, other days it can have 5 pupils. We have had reception return but no room or staff for any of y1 or y6 unless they're already in a Keyworker bubble. I daresay plenty of them are taking the piss and this in turn has affected those children who were meant to be back a couple of weeks ago but can't

Some people also think that key workers is only nhs, police and fire services.

Just read the new update and looks like GCSE and 6th form will be getting priority in secondary. That is a relieve as massive relieve.

Key workers, vulnerable and workers are all encouraged to use the places.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

Each school decides what they can and can not do.
It depends on the circumstances.a
The definition of a vulnerable child is not set in stone.

@canigooutyet what I’ve noticed is that some people that do work in a sector covered in your link, but not in a critical role, are claiming To be a key worker.

So we had someone who worked for a broadband company saying she was a key worker. However OH knowing what her actual role was thought it was a stretch. A couple of weeks later she was furloughed so I guess her specific role wasn’t actually critical.

It’s a real pity. I would fall under one of those categories and still have work to do supporting individuals but I was able to do it from home and work around the children. However I could have been cheeky and claimed a space but I’d rather leave it to people with more important roles who actually need the childcare to do their jobs.

There is someone in my DD's class (Y2) who is a key worker that works part-time and sent their child in when she had a day off because home school was "doing her head in". So she got a day off, a break from the grind of school/work, which the rest of us have not had for 3 months. Makes me livid. I completely agree that key worker children should have places, but only when their parents are actually working. I won't be able to look this person in the eye when/if we return in person.