Is anyone not sending their secondary school child back initially?

[lastkisstoo]

I've decided to keep my 15 year old home, probably until the October hols to see what happens.

We are in Scotland. What just happened in the pubs in Aberdeen is exactly what I see happening in schools. Mostly young adults, enclosed space, no social distancing.

My child has asthma, and while not on the list for sheltering I still feel is vulnerable enough that I don't want to see him being used as a guinea pig while the government assess just how big the uptick in cases will be on schools re-opening.

@Morfin

I think I'm leaning towards keeping at home. My thoughts are if it all goes to shit we will see mass school closures by October, if we don't get these closures then I will Reevaluate. It's taken less than a month for the social distancing restrictions to be lifted to result is a spike. So if all go back in September by October if there is going to be a spike we will have seen it.

What spike?

Same here. Reasoning much much more will be known even by October Half Term. Kids have loved homeschooling so we’ll continue, they see friends all the time but don’t need to be stuck in poorly ventilated classroom. School will be chaotic anyway with staff absence. I’ll continually review decision. Have tutor set up for small % I can’t manage well enough. It’s a temporary decision until we see how things pan out. Personally don’t see the rush when kids are happy.

When I was at school several kids on my class travelled with their parents who worked in fairgrounds for half the year. So they were only in school the half the year they lived near us.
They weren’t forced to deregister

A girl in dcs class is allowed to go to visit family abroad for two months. She isn’t forced to deregister.

Ditto dc’s friend who has to take many weeks off frequently because of a condition.

Schools obviously need to make welfare checks if they haven’t heard from the parents and have no idea what’s going on.

But if the parents work with them and it’s known that the children are safe and well and bring educated. And the school is aware of health concerns... I really don’t think there’s think there’s going to be the mass forced deregistering that some seem to expect (and sadistically hope fit for inexplicable reasons).

My dc will go but if people decide not to, well it’s up to each person. As long as homeschool is going well, which I imagine it is on here, then fine.

Obviously each parent has to make their own decision but educationally this is an important year for your dc. Please remember that schools are doing everything they can to minimise risks for everyone plus any pupil or staff member is free to wear a mask.

It’s a difficult decision & not made easier when people make nasty judgements.
I have a son going into year 13 who has T1 diabetes. Any illness he gets is magnified (24hr bugs last at least a week). He has to take the train to school which is another worry. I am planning for him to return in September & will watch what happens. My eldest had COVID-19 just before lockdown & he has asthma, a terrifying thing to watch him struggling for breath. The effects lasted about 6 weeks. He is fine now thankfully.
I work in a primary school & the guidance fr social distancing & bubbles is trumped by the fact that all previous teaching activities must return to normal. So staff & children will be crossing bubbles.
There’s no easy answer but all concerns are valid enough for discussion as the op has asked. No need for nastiness.

@ScotsGranny2

Obviously each parent has to make their own decision but educationally this is an important year for your dc. Please remember that schools are doing everything they can to minimise risks for everyone plus any pupil or staff member is free to wear a mask.

They are not free to wear a mask in school!

It’s of course your choice.

However all my NHS staff with Mild to moderate asthma worked throughout.

Only in severe asthma did we pay them to be at home though returned to work this week since shielding is done.

Severe asthma as in regularly hospitalised with attacks

@Friendsoftheearth

Unless a child is very vulnerable, I should think the mental health benefits of return to school far outweigh any risk from covid for the majority of families.

The schools have a duty of care to ensure each child is safe and well, and they will be very keen to see all of their children back in September. I would expect that any missing children will be quickly followed up with a visit, and possibly social services involvement, because all agencies will need to be sure that every child is accounted for. This is not to 'check up' on parents but simply to be sure that all children are safe. It is a very important and essential safety net.

With all due respect @Friendsoftheearth, if a child or teacher in a high school with no masks and crammed in together has Covid then others will breathe in the virus and catch it. It has been proven in similar settings again and again. Yes the school has a duty of care but with the best will in the world they cannot and will not prevent that from happening.

My kids are going back. Even if we have another lockdown I think schools should stay open. Kids get it, but they don’t get particularly sick And they are more likely to be killed by lightning that Covid.

However, once they are back I will probably go back to full distancing/staying the garden when it come to grandparents. I will also start wearing a mask when I am caring for my dad. The risk isn’t to the kids, it is to the frail and elderly they may come into contact with.

But Covid is here, a vaccine could be a couple of years away. Let’s protect the most vulnerable and let the virus slowly work it’s way through the healthy.

And it would seem that people with asthma aren’t impacted any worse than others. It is the elderly, obese, diabetes, heart issues.

In Scotland you can do an assessment online to gauge your covid risk. I am obese, over 40 and asthmatic and I still scored green in my risk rating!,

@labyrinthloafer

Our children in the meantime need to learn resilience

Yes, the new buzzword resilience. Yet you think they can't handle blended learning - so you are the one who thinks they are not resilient. Mine can cope with change for good reasons.

What I see are a lot of adults so unable to cope with any change they want schools to reopen in the face of scientific fact.

I couldn't agree with this more.

In England you would be fined and/ or risk losing your child's place at school if absence is not backed up by medical evidence of due to a local closure.

My daughter is 15 and will go to school because she has her GCSEs. It will be hard enough for those taking GCSEs as it is. She has been going one day a week for a few weeks before the holidays anyway.

@Oaktree55

Same here. Reasoning much much more will be known even by October Half Term. Kids have loved homeschooling so we’ll continue, they see friends all the time but don’t need to be stuck in poorly ventilated classroom. School will be chaotic anyway with staff absence. I’ll continually review decision. Have tutor set up for small % I can’t manage well enough. It’s a temporary decision until we see how things pan out. Personally don’t see the rush when kids are happy.

My thoughts too @Oaktree55. I have a maths tutor arranged, and am waiting to hear back from a couple of English tutors. The rest I can manage myself for a few weeks.

"When I was at school several kids on my class travelled with their parents who worked in fairgrounds for half the year. So they were only in school the half the year they lived near us.They weren’t forced to deregister"

Nobody gets forced to deregister, ever. It's a made up mumsnet thing....silly people saying things like "I hope you are going to deregister and homeschool" if you say you are considering delaying sending your children into a no social distancing, no mask wearing jam packed in like sardines school. Why on earth would you deregister when this is a temporary thing.

Nobody gets forced to deregister, ever. It's a made up mumsnet thing....silly people saying things like "I hope you are going to deregister and homeschool" if you say you are considering delaying sending your children into a no social distancing, no mask wearing jam packed in like sardines school. Why on earth would you deregister when this is a temporary thing.

To avoid being fined? Government stated compulsory. Not sure if schools will make exceptions.

"07Sibsmum

In England you would be fined and/ or risk losing your child's place at school if absence is not backed up by medical evidence of due to a local closure."

No. They might get fined, but they dont risk losing their place. Remember local authorities have a duty to provide you a place. If a child has a place it's a really really really long process before you get anywhere near losing a place. I know children who didnt go to school for a whole year, they didnt lose their place.

"It’s of course your choice.

However all my NHS staff with Mild to moderate asthma worked throughout."

Yes, but you know (as I do as I have friends who work in hospital environments) that, once the PPE was sorted out, they have extremely good systems in place to prevent any cross-contamination, with green and red zones, and protective clothing and so on in each.

In a normal, state school - especially a secondary school - there is nothing like the same kind of physical building to allow that proper distancing, and with no protective clothing and with small toilet blocks and no money for extra washing facilities, then it's just not the same working environment.

@Diplidally

When I was at school several kids on my class travelled with their parents who worked in fairgrounds for half the year. So they were only in school the half the year they lived near us. They weren’t forced to deregister

A girl in dcs class is allowed to go to visit family abroad for two months. She isn’t forced to deregister.

Ditto dc’s friend who has to take many weeks off frequently because of a condition.

Schools obviously need to make welfare checks if they haven’t heard from the parents and have no idea what’s going on.

But if the parents work with them and it’s known that the children are safe and well and bring educated. And the school is aware of health concerns... I really don’t think there’s think there’s going to be the mass forced deregistering that some seem to expect (and sadistically hope fit for inexplicable reasons).

Travellers are exempt

confirmed health conditions are completely different.

Children kept off unauthorised are likely to lose their school place.

I would honestly go down the line of telling the school you are self isolating

"If a child has a place it's a really really really long process before you get anywhere near losing a place. I know children who didnt go to school for a whole year, they didnt lose their place."

This is a relief to know. It seems insane that wanting to home-school for a short period of time can mean losing a place when the child is otherwise settled and happy.

"Children kept off unauthorised are likely to lose their school place."

No they arent. Schools and Councils work with the parents for a very very long time. Very unlikely they will lose their school place, especially if they are off for a temporary period.

@lastkisstoo I’ve got kids early secondary age, my youngest I’m following topics I’ve gleaned from siblings old school books. Eldest I’ve found details of what’s covered in detail from her friends older sibling. There is so much on line (and school text books for subjects can be purchased second hand on line for about £1 each so I’ve got all of those). I think we’ve ended up covering in more depth than they would have done at school! Yes maths tutor is a necessity really it’s all taught so differently nowadays 👵🏻! We’ve started already and covered a lot, doing some in evenings or weekends, spread out. I think we’d struggle trying to replicate Mon-Fri school hours and with the flexibility home schooling allows they aren’t tired.

@Orchidsindoors

"When I was at school several kids on my class travelled with their parents who worked in fairgrounds for half the year. So they were only in school the half the year they lived near us.They weren’t forced to deregister"

Nobody gets forced to deregister, ever. It's a made up mumsnet thing....silly people saying things like "I hope you are going to deregister and homeschool" if you say you are considering delaying sending your children into a no social distancing, no mask wearing jam packed in like sardines school. Why on earth would you deregister when this is a temporary thing.

Because children can and will be removed from the school roll, and parents need to be aware of that and tread carefully. I'm not saying don't do it, I am just saying be careful

Yes quite. I think there's a lot of misunderstanding. There may be fines but there's a long process involved after that.

Keeping mine off, will re-evaluate come October. Although judging by the last 4 weeks since the ease of restrictions, I’m already half prepared for it to be a no in October. Their choice BTW. They are old enough to research and make informed decisions, and one of them has been on the shielding list