If you've only just decided to send your R, Y1 or Y6 dc back, why now?

[IdratherbeinCornwall]

I sent my dc back to school the first week that they opened up. There were only a small handful of dc.

This week which will be the third week, there are loads more back.

Were people just waiting to see how it all went?

Maybe some just started back at work this week? Retail for example.

Our school gave the option to defer the decision for a couple of weeks. He hates school anyway and their offering was basically sitting all day on a laptop which I didn't think would do him or his feelings about school any favours at all especially after all this time off. So I have gone for the latter date so he doesn't have too much of that but gets to dip his foot back into school life again before the hols.

It’s the same at our school which has now had to massively rejig things to accommodate. I suspect a mix of more workplaces back; waiting to see; and a sense we are not all in it together anymore if the vast majority of your child’s year are back in and are quite happy. When my Y5 goes back on Monday the entire class will be back. When my YR went back a few weeks ago only 40% of the class was back, it’s now almost 100%. I think most people feel it’s the end of lockdown now really and want to crack on.

Your year 5 goes back Monday?

@bubbleup

Your year 5 goes back Monday?

Yes - full time from Monday.

My Y3 however aside from a day or two will not be back until September.

Y6 going back next week because they are opening a y6 bubble. There didn't see much point before then. She could work at home and chat to her friends on zoom or go to school to sit alone, doing the same work she could do at home, with someone who wasn't her teacher. There was a y5/6 bubble of 15 kids to accommodate the 68 yr5/6 kids. We decided to leave the space for someone who needed it.

I'm not in this camp but I seem to remember the SAGE scientists saying at the start of June that in two weeks' time the risk would have halved. Perhaps that's made an impact on some parents.

Because surprise, no children have been horribly traumatised as widely & fanatically proclaimed on the Internet. In fact, most kid’s haven’t batted an eyelid & have had a lovely few weeks so far..

Amongst the people I know, the reasons all centre around that. Hearing other people’s kids have enjoyed school. Being envious of those able to work now their kids are back. Being envious of the few hours break from the monotony of entertaining a young child with nowhere to go or none to see..
Tied in with ‘it’s safer now’ 🙄, Billy misses his friends & I wanted to see what it was like before sending mine back.

My DD’s nursery is significantly busier this week. I wasn’t surprised. This was my exact prediction. Once people realised children are actually a lot more resilient & adaptable than given credit for, the numbers would start to increase.

And in fairness, we’ve not seen an increase in infections or deaths at all so far. So I imagine that plays a part as well.