Is anyone going from quite chilled about schools reopening to being nervous/frightened?

[Nosebogey]

My ds has been at school throughout lockdown in a small bubble. It took a lot for me to send him because I was scared but his mh was suffering badly so I put that first even though I found it very hard. He was in a bubble of around ten kids and the bubbles were kept really separated (apart from drop off and pick up which was a bit close for comfort).

Now though, I’m starting to get very frightened about September. Our school is doing what they can with having class bubbles and one way systems (including an exit route that is also been designated an entrance for some children so not such a one way system) but I’m still scared.

Pubs round here are packed. These adults will go home and be around their children. Their children will be crammed into classrooms with other children. Parks are absolutely chock full of families atm all playing together etc. So adults are mixing and children are mixing outside of school but magically social distancing inside school will stop infection? Parents send sick kids in all the time. Why would they suddenly stop doing that for coronavirus symptoms? Won’t they just decide “it’s just a cold” and send them in anyway?

I don’t know. I just feel like the closer September comes, the more scared I get. Is anyone feeling the same?

Yes, I feel exactly the same way. My eldest son (year 6) went back for the last 3 weeks in a bubble of 15 children as I was starting to worry about his mental health stuck at home. When he goes back in September he will be starting secondary in a year group bubble of 200+ children. We live in a tourist town which is jam packed all of a sudden and huge numbers of the parents work in pubs and restaurants. I feel an outbreak is very likely. He may be fit and healthy but some of our family aren't.

I feel more chilled having seen the plan for our schools returning, but I'm in the US, not the UK, and the plan is very detailed and involves realistic plans to enable distancing, masks, and very careful management of students. It also has a backup plan for when (not if) they have to close temporarily.

Our schools are initially only allowing in half the students at one time, as they cannot work out how to allow all to come back while effectively distancing.

My state has also reopened a bit more carefully than the UK, and we haven't had any spikes in cases since then, so I'm hopeful people aren't transmitting Covid outside of school.

If I was in the UK I'd be very worried.

I'm not chilled out about it but not nervous or frightening either. I accept them going to school especially the eldest in high school comes with some risk, but allowing myself to get frightened by it is not going to do me any favours.

I'm scared about my son but not because of Covid.
Scared because he's not been anywhere for nearly 5 months, he's lost his confidence, developed some MH problems, is gaming all the time from boredem, all his sports activities are closed, he's fallen even further behind with school work as he would not work out of the structure of the school environment. He was already struggling with school work and emotional regulation. It's all been pushed further back now and he's really going to find Y10 tough

DS is going into year 10 and I'm just nervous that they won't open, or will close again. I hope they just have essential classes to lower the risk of closure. He needs to be back, part time would be fine, as long as they open and stay open.

Dd did the last 6 weeks of term in a bubble of 9 yr7/8. Next term they have been put into maths set bubbles, god knows how many.
I'm happy for dd to go back. At the minute everything is hearsay and until that first day we dont know for sure how it will be.
Ask me again after the first week.

Yes I'm feeling scared I work in a school and I will be one of only 2 members of staff or the only one that comes into contact with the all the children, come september I'll be in my third trimester, aparently that's safe there is new research that says children spread the virus just as effectively as adults they just dont suffer as much with it or are asymptomatic

I'm a parent who has been shielding. I think that vulnerable children teachers and family members are being lined up to cop it. Chilled, no. I am not nervous either. I would like the Government to do some responsible planning for once. We don't need a repeat of the care homes fiasco but involving vulnerable children.

My kids won’t be seeing any relatives once term starts

We will hopefully be going to Scotland for Xmas but will be quarantine for 10 days beforehand

But tbh I will be amazed if they have a term uninterrupted with all this...

I'm pretty happy at the arrangements at DDs school. It's a relatively new build primary, all classrooms open up onto the playground. Parents aren't allowed near the choke points. Staggered drop offs etc. Children mostly in class bubbles, but some socialisation outside across the year groups. But the children will have contacts outside of school- and all the classes are linked by siblings.

I sort of felt the full time full class sizes plan a bit unrealistic when it was announced. I still feel that way. I think the plan was made with the economy in mind not children oe infection control. But I do think all children need to have the opportunity to attend school (if their parents wish) not just a select few.

I think primaries, especially ones that are a) small and b) rural will be safer than secondaries, especially a) the bigger and b) the more urban they are.

No to be honest I feel very excited at the prospect of mine going back.

Yes me. I’m not happy as we are spent g the 6 weeks social distancing and being safe however I see Facebook posts from the class where people are on beaches and in pubs etc. Fine for them as I know it’s allowed however social distancing will go out the window sept so I’m cross we are forced to scrap doing what we think is right for the community.
My son is also confused as he can’t understand why people are jammed into parks etc and then how it can be safe at school. I don’t know how to explain it to him when I agree. He’s 9

Social media is an eye opener to the behaviour of my children's classmates families. No fucking way unless there is a plan for small bubbles and social distancing.

Not so much frightened as angry that we've all bothered to spend all these months locked down when it now seems as if it was totally pointless

Yes concerned, as we have only just paused from shielding

And I expect we might be advised back indoors more readily than the general population

I wouldn't say I'm scared but I think I will be extra cautious about making sure they have hand sanitizers, cleaning things when they come home and watching for any symptoms but my ds is due to do GCSEs this year so I feel he needs to go back and be there full time. I'm hoping this year goes ahead properly

As others have said, I’m not scared about him going back, I’m scared that the school won’t reopen when they say they will. Our children need an education.

I'm terrified of school opening because my family is all very vulnerable. On the other hand, I'm really worried what 6 months of isolation is doing to my poor child. There doesn't seem to be a good solution to all this.

I’m totally convinced that having pubs and schools open at the same time this winter is the perfect recipe for a national catastrophe.

But each to their own...

I sent mine back before summer but have been moving more and more towards at the insanity of older teens in FT with no distancing.

I am very undecided what to do, about 70% likelihood I won't send them straightaway.

The lack of planning is genuinely scary, and bubbles are absolute drivel. Might as well believe a fairy will watch over them.

Not in the slightest.

I caught Covid in May. I am now off work (after returning) with what has been diagnosed at post-Covid viral illness.

I am a nurse.

My DD going to school is very minimal risk to me or my family. My entire household has been swabbed 5 times in total (due to my own health). She has been negative & symptom free throughout.

There’s a huge amount of Covid panic out there. But the wrong people are panicking.

Nope I'm fine with it.

I’ve got a little bit of concern. But masses more concern about how badly all our mental health will suffer if they don’t go back tbh. The kids are desperately bored and lonely and I just cannot keep being their parent, educator and entire friendship circle whilst also holding down my full time job. I just can’t.

I'm more scared by the prospect of my children not going back, and I say this as somebody who works at a school!