School drop offs and distancing

[twentiethcentury]

I just can't see the mums I know social distancing at drop Offs and pick ups when schools go back. They all love hanging about and chatting. We will all be shoved together on the roadside which is surely nearer one another than spaced out in the playground. Even with staggered drop offs I can't see it working. Just me..?

[labyrinthloafer]

@IceCreamAndCandyfloss

I think drop off chat is the least of worries. Most seem to be socialising now together with no distance on the basis that the kids will all be together in September. Many have been continuing as normal re kids paying out etc from March with no SD.

Yes this is a real problem, parents/adults are not distancing enough.

[HotPenguin]

I'm still waiting to hear final details of my school's drop off plans but it may take me 30 minutes to do both kids. Yes it's shit but we just have to get on with it. Get yourself a decent coat and an umbrella as there's going to be an awful lot of hanging round outside in the rain this winter, not just at schools but at shops, Dr surgeries etc.

[IceCreamAndCandyfloss]

I think drop off chat is the least of worries. Most seem to be socialising now together with no distance on the basis that the kids will all be together in September. Many have been continuing as normal re kids paying out etc from March with no SD.

[CallmeAngelina]

@Chocolateoo

I don't know the answer really but it's not going to work around parents getting to work. It's not going to work around siblings with different time slots. It's not going to work if you take your younger child to nursery after the drop off.

They are making it take longer to drop off as you are queing.

They are making it more complicated because we are not allowed to support our child and take them into the playground.

They seriously think parents will not walk back together? They expect kids to see their friends on the way and not want to walk with them?

They are making it way more complex than it needs to be. Just let parents in the playground with staggered times. Tell the parents not to mingle. Simple.

When we picked the school I confirmed we could use the back entrance as otherwise we would have gone to a nearer one as the front entrance is quite abit further. They said we could. But now because of all this we are having to do exactly what we didn't want to be doing. I can just see it. The day it's raining. Or my son's fed up in his pushchair and he can't walk because we are in a rush to get right round the other side. Also there used to be a teninjte window from 8.40-8.50 so parents arrived at both entrances in that ten minutes. Our slot is now 9.55. we also are picking her up 15 minutes earlier. So she's going to be at school 30 minutes less a day now....

And they say teachers are whingers!
Sorry, but just listen to yourself! This is a fucking pandemic and your main concern is a 5 minute extra walk with a pushchair?
Come on!

[mosquitofeast]

@Illusionordelusion

I have to drop off one child at 8.30, one at 8.45, and one at 9.00.

Same again at the end of the day (staggered from 2.30 - 3.00).

That means I will be hanging around the gates, and cold. Doesn’t make sense from an infection control perspective in my opinion.

How old are your children? Why can't at least one or two of them drop off themselves?

[mosquitofeast]

@OverTheRainbow88

The kids won’t socially distance inside anyway so parents doing so is almost pointless

This is a very ignorant point of view. Where some considered risks are being taken it is absolutely vital that this is balanced out by strict adherence to rules

[Chocolateoo]

I don't know the answer really but it's not going to work around parents getting to work. It's not going to work around siblings with different time slots. It's not going to work if you take your younger child to nursery after the drop off.

They are making it take longer to drop off as you are queing.

They are making it more complicated because we are not allowed to support our child and take them into the playground.

They seriously think parents will not walk back together? They expect kids to see their friends on the way and not want to walk with them?

They are making it way more complex than it needs to be. Just let parents in the playground with staggered times. Tell the parents not to mingle. Simple.

When we picked the school I confirmed we could use the back entrance as otherwise we would have gone to a nearer one as the front entrance is quite abit further. They said we could. But now because of all this we are having to do exactly what we didn't want to be doing. I can just see it. The day it's raining. Or my son's fed up in his pushchair and he can't walk because we are in a rush to get right round the other side. Also there used to be a teninjte window from 8.40-8.50 so parents arrived at both entrances in that ten minutes. Our slot is now 9.55. we also are picking her up 15 minutes earlier. So she's going to be at school 30 minutes less a day now....

[Drivingdownthe101]

Our school managed the social distancing between parents really well. We were told arrive exactly at our allocated time so no queueing or waiting. One way system in, dropped the children into the playground where they queued 2m apart in their allocated line, and left out of the other gate. No hanging around, no chatting, no congregating.

[QueenofmyPrinces]

We will all be shoved together on the roadside which is surely nearer one another than spaced out in the playground.

That was how it was at my son’s school before they broke up.

We were all told that we couldn’t collect the children from the playground as they didn’t want parents congregating - so instead we we had to all stand close together on a narrow pathway whilst we waited for the gates to open.

There was a one way system but the entrance was the same as the exit so people were still pushing past each other.

I appreciate schools are doing their best but it’s not able to achieve the social distancing that the government seem to think is possible.

[QueenofmyPrinces]

My son was in Year 1 pre-summer holidays so he had the 6 weeks in school before they broke up.

Social distancing between parents was impossible. There was a one way system but it still involved many, many parents all jostling past each other to drop off and pick off.

I appreciate the pick up/drop off times are going to be staggered, but it doesn’t stop the 100+ parents of each year group all being close to each other.

[Drivingdownthe101]

Bearing in mind as well that the earliest drop off was 8.45 which is what time school started pre Covid anyway, so no teachers were asked to start teaching/supervising any earlier than normal.

[monkeytennis97]

@twentiethcentury

I just can't see the mums I know social distancing at drop Offs and pick ups when schools go back. They all love hanging about and chatting. We will all be shoved together on the roadside which is surely nearer one another than spaced out in the playground. Even with staggered drop offs I can't see it working. Just me..?

Another reason schools won't be safe...

[Drivingdownthe101]

If the teachers welcome children half an hour early they will then have to supervise them. Within a week the whole class will want to be in half an early probably resulting in the teacher having to get in even earlier to prepare stuff

Ours did it in June/July. The children who went in earlier helped to get the classrooms set up. They decided this was a better way of doing it than having people waiting around school if they have more than one child. The plans for September are the same.
We didn’t have any queues though, we had a ‘hug and go’ area and then the children lined up in their designated spot on the playground. All worked very smoothly.

[Hyggefun]

@StaffAssociationRepresentative I'm a teacher myself, so well aware staff will use the time before school to prep. The fact is though that I'm not asking to drop them at 7.30am. I'm asking to drop them both 5 minutes later than I would have done normally. I really don't think it's a big ask and staff at my own school are being much more flexible (i.e. the head is finding the money to pay TAs and even if she couldn't she'd supervise the kids herself). The school guidance says schools should be providing wraparound care as usual - we've heard nothing which makes it impossible to plan and that's before the possibility that the government will change everything anyway.

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

@Hyggefun

I've got one going in at 8.50 and another at 9.15. School claim that they couldn't possibly take both at 8.50 as TA's aren't paid until 9am. I find the whole thing slightly absurd as they won't let us stay on site and we'll all be congregating on a narrow pavement outside the school. 25 minutes stood in the cold and rain is going to be miserable. Not to mention the fact my work is based around the fact I can drop them both off at 8.45. I really don't know why teachers couldn't be a bit more flexible in terms of welcoming kids into their classroom potentially half an hour early. They are starting later and finishing earlier (30 mins for lunch). To be honest I'd rather keep them at home.

Staff will be preparing resources etc in readiness for the day.

If the teachers welcome children half an hour early they will then have to supervise them. Within a week the whole class will want to be in half an early probably resulting in the teacher having to get in even earlier to prepare stuff.

[Keepdistance]

Mine are 8.40 and 9.15 i think. So can see why youngest cant go in earlier as would likely be in with maybe the breakfast club kids.
Tbh i wouldnt mind too mipuch but i do not want to do 2 queues of 120. They ought to have split the year groups up. As they are most likely to talk to each other. And dropping 60 kid into 1 location at the exact same time is a bit silly.
I gusss its to avoid having to be in 2 queues at once.
Im more likely to talk to someone in a q with them than in the playground. Plus q tend to get closer together. And also kids tend to not come out in a particular order. Basically it's a bit rubbish our school expanded in the last 10y and the site isnr really big enough. 840 people (plus younger siblings) a 2m q between the 420 would be 840m long that would be round the block. Well actually with 2 entrances it would be joining itself up like the snake game!

[Drivingdownthe101]

It seems to be a missed oppertunity that siblings can't be dropped together and collected together, they could make it lst drop off if it is an issue

This is what our school is doing (and did from June). If you have more than one child at the school, you drop them all off and pick them all up at the earliest allotted time. Worked well.

[EachDubh]

It seems to be a missed oppertunity that siblings can't be dropped together and collected together, they could make it lst drop off if it is an issue.

However to keep schools open we need to do our bit qs parents, no gatheringbaround gates or blocking pavements, thats creates hazards and the school then need to find other ways to manage things and it still wont be gathering in playgrounds.

Most teachers are being flexible, you may not see it but covering breaks or cleaning in upaid time, clss cover for an extra 10 mins a day (our aschool). Taking on extra work etc.

Please please social distance though, we have teachers coming back who have only just stopped shielding and i imagine seeing half your classes parents having a non sd chat will not help stress levels or virus spread.

At the end of day we want the same thing schools to open, stay open and have few cases to disrupt them.

[Dontlickthetrolley]

@Intricate56 I have exactly the same time and issues, this was the first year I thought I would actually be in the office before 9am! We are 3 miles from the school so drive but on a very long driveway to the school from the main road so probably won't have time to get back to it anyway.

[Drivingdownthe101]

Everyone managed it fine at our school when the kids went back in June.

[Sirzy]

In those cases it also needs schools to be sensible!

[Intricate56]

@Sirzy

The problem is it’s relying on parents being sensible and a small amount of them just won’t be able to.

If parents stick to the drop and go methods put in place it needn’t be an issue

But what about parents with two drop off times? As I said in my post above, I have 20 minutes between my drop off times, during which I'm not allowed to be on the premises, nor do they want us waiting on the pavement outside. I'd love to be able to just drop and go, it'd mean I'd have a chance of getting to work on time!

[BKCRMP]

We have our dots to stand on whilst waiting!

[Sirzy]

The problem is it’s relying on parents being sensible and a small amount of them just won’t be able to.

If parents stick to the drop and go methods put in place it needn’t be an issue

[Hyggefun]

I've got one going in at 8.50 and another at 9.15. School claim that they couldn't possibly take both at 8.50 as TA's aren't paid until 9am. I find the whole thing slightly absurd as they won't let us stay on site and we'll all be congregating on a narrow pavement outside the school. 25 minutes stood in the cold and rain is going to be miserable. Not to mention the fact my work is based around the fact I can drop them both off at 8.45. I really don't know why teachers couldn't be a bit more flexible in terms of welcoming kids into their classroom potentially half an hour early. They are starting later and finishing earlier (30 mins for lunch). To be honest I'd rather keep them at home.