Sorry depressing thread. Are the Government deliberately drip feeding us on schools? So sick of it.

[purplerain2020]

I think I read somewhere that there is a schools review on 11th August. A while ago we were promised summers schools, not that I believed but they never happened. They promised laptops for those that needed it, only a few get it.

We've been promised that schools will fully open in September. I believe they will open and they won't back down on this. But, I think they are fully aware that within a few weeks, schools will be closing left right and centre and working Mums are going to be scrabbling around looking for someone to look after their children while they work and praying for the goodwill of their employers. The Government will have done what they promised, got everyone back in September, after all, they didn't say how long it would be for did they? Surely they must be getting advise by the Scientists of what is likely to happen with the procedures or lack of them for schools in September?

I keep hearing Mumsnet poster say but how can we work? How can we pay our bills? How will we keep a roof over our heads if the schools don't open full time? I am beginning to realise that it may well be the case that indeed, we won't be able to work and we won't be able to pay our bills and there is nothing we can do about it. It will be down to us to step up and educate our children when schools are shut because the government has been underfunding our schools for years. I work part-time from home, 25 hours a week, even that is looking rocky at the moment. DH's job is ok but I feel like he is hanging on by the skin of his teeth. So sick of our lives being turned upside down.

I'm in my early 40s, I was a child in the 80's and my family was hit hard by the recession. I've got a sick feeling in my stomach that the future is going to repeat itself.

Summer schools as in state secondary offering additional schooling? Is this for all pupils?

If so it's not happening in my bit of Hertfordshire. If it was I'd want to know about it.

@sunseekin
I feel like when you post, you are my tribe. I could agree more with your comments about my whole perception of this country changing.

Just as a side point. It’s not working mums. The working women’s problem issue narrative is really starting to irritate me. It’s working parents. If we in our own homes allow it to be the women’s problem it will forever be the woman’s problem.
For the record my DH has shouldered most of the childcare burden on the days I work despite the fact that he earns 5 times as much me as his work is more flexible and he thinks my NHs job I more important than his.
It is not always be the woman’s problem. It is the family’s to deal with

We can all agree that both parents ‘should’ be in an ideal world responsible for child care. But Nutella your own situation is not what ‘everyone else’ can or should do. You are thinking based mainly out of your own experience here.

Your husband (not everyone has one of those) earns well (not everyone) and he doesn’t have a job that requires him to work out of your home (not everyone). His job/employer is flexible (not everyone). He is decent about doing his bit when he can (also, not everyone). He thinks your job is more important than his (not everyone).

It’s not fair to talk about other working women ‘allowing’ their very hard and unavoidable struggles with childcare and work to become a reputational problem for all women.

That’s not accurate that they are ‘allowing’ this situation. As much as I worry about the effects on women’s employability, while schools and childcare are shut, for employers to penalise and discriminate against them would be illegal. Its not a question of trying to protect reputations. Rather than focus on blaming women for the struggles that they face, it seems better to focus on making sure all available parents help out via putting employers and the way that jobs are worked under pressure to be as flexible as possible. Demanding that the government issues clear guidance to employers about all of that. And so on. That they recognise that parents have a particular set of needs while all other childcare options are closed.

This is not the fault of women, and it’s just not a language problem either. It wouldn’t be fair to women to say it’s a ‘parents’ problem. Women are having to shoulder much more of the burden, repeated studies have said so.

Let’s put the pressure on the government and then on employers.

School staff who similarly don't want to work with children should resign

I would be careful what you wish for. I am aware of several resignations amongst the many teachers I know. Probably because we are over 50. That’s huge experience just walking away from our classrooms.

I also don’t understand why you think teachers have no right to want to be as safe as possible whilst at work because some of us are vulnerable ourselves and live with vulnerable people - elderly parents or younger people with cancer and other conditions like type 1 etc.

Finally all those saying we should just accept the situation, how many of you will be working in a room with up to 150 people (or more) a week with little or no ventilation, no break, an expectation you clean between classes (a full room clean in 3 minutes flat), without your usual ‘tools of the trade’ (textbooks, whiteboards etc) with people who’s parents won’t keep them off even when symptomatic or who will cough on you for fun?

itsgettingweird really good ideas, particularly utilising libraries which have IT equipment and staff who can help with queries.

I agree it’s not a one size fits all and imaginative solutions should be used to ensure every child gets a good education whilst keeping infection transmission low. It’s important to do everything we can to keep schools open even if it’s not in the way we are used to. The government’s attitude of opening them more or less as normal (everyone in all the time and no masks) in September seems very risky to me.

@Notonthestairs

Summer schools as in state secondary offering additional schooling? Is this for all pupils?

If so it's not happening in my bit of Hertfordshire. If it was I'd want to know about it.

yes. This is widespread. Typically at one or two HUB schools in a district. Did you ask at your school before the summer holidays?

There are no summer schools around here-I love in one LEA and teach in another.

@sunseekin Thanks for saying that. I feel the same about not wanting to contact the school. In fact, for me, it’s giving me enormous anxiety just thinking about it.

I just want my children back to normality, and learning and seeing their friends like normal. I love our school and I respect the staff. But because I also respect the figures and see the massive bubbles as risky, it means that any decision to keep them off longer becomes an adversarial one, when I’d much rather have a good relationship with the school, not be listed as “difficult” or as breaking rules, or causing them any extra hassle by not sending them in.

It’s an impossible situation. I sincerely hope that the updated advice allows more flexibility. I’m not demanding extra online lessons, I’m happy to try to home-school to keep them up to date. It’s just having that extra time to avoid a huge spike because I think that will be more detrimental than another few weeks of home schooling (for those who can) until vaccines arrive or test and trace is actually working.

School staff who similarly don't want to work with children should resign

thousands have. Given that we didn't have enough teachers to put one in front of every class in SEPTEMBER I would have expected parents and politicians to have been a bit more careful with the ones we have left.

Since we had to merge classes and teach year 11 in a class of a hundred in the canteen, we have lost hundreds of staff to covid, and thousands to resignations due to the conditions we are expected to work in.

We don't have enough teachers in the country to keep all schools open at all times, even if covid disappeared completely today.

Of course, this is not an unusual situation, except it is normally relieved to some extent with the use of casual and unqualified supply staff. But many schools and LAs are banning such staff from school premises now.

Schools or year groups will be closing because of lack of teachers, so I hope you remember, when this happens to you, that this is what you supported

[quote purplerain2020]@sunseekin
I feel like when you post, you are my tribe. I could agree more with your comments about my whole perception of this country changing.[/quote]
I feel the same! There are others like us too - like @labyrinthloather Things will get better! X

No I didn't ask about summer schools. I did have a very helpful chat with eldest child's form tutor at the end of term to go over a few concerns and no mention was made of summer schools.

My youngest has an EHCP and would I imagine qualify for additional support. I spoke with SENCo and County lead in mid July and again no mention of summer schools.

I'm afraid what you think as National is in fact local.

OFFS. It's a pandemic which is sweeping around the world causing untold chaos to people and economies.

Governments around the world are trying to second guess an unknown quantity. They can't be proactive on everything, and just have to react to many situations as they occur.

If schools need closing because of major outbreaks, they will have to close. I'm sure pubs will be closing unless they can operate outdoors soon. Lots of outbreaks linked to them.

We are all desperate for normality but until there is an effective vaccine, we won't get it.

[quote duffeldaisy]@sunseekin Thanks for saying that. I feel the same about not wanting to contact the school. In fact, for me, it’s giving me enormous anxiety just thinking about it.

I just want my children back to normality, and learning and seeing their friends like normal. I love our school and I respect the staff. But because I also respect the figures and see the massive bubbles as risky, it means that any decision to keep them off longer becomes an adversarial one, when I’d much rather have a good relationship with the school, not be listed as “difficult” or as breaking rules, or causing them any extra hassle by not sending them in.

It’s an impossible situation. I sincerely hope that the updated advice allows more flexibility. I’m not demanding extra online lessons, I’m happy to try to home-school to keep them up to date. It’s just having that extra time to avoid a huge spike because I think that will be more detrimental than another few weeks of home schooling (for those who can) until vaccines arrive or test and trace is actually working.[/quote]
Couldn’t agree more, I’m sure that there are a lot of us thinking the same though. And I feel a lot more confident from chatting to people on here. I’ll be taking the route of least resistance probably in September if the government doesn’t sort itself out and stop trying to silence what is at least a very significant minority (but I suspect more than that).

@duffeldaisy like you, I try and avoid confrontation day to day and go along with most things but this is definitely one of those times that I’m prepared to go against the grain even if it is just me at my school (can’t see this being the case).

@duffeldaisy
I’d much rather have a good relationship with the school, not be listed as “difficult”
Same here...unfortunately after fighting for years for the right support for ds, I already am seen as a "difficult" parent, with a strained relationship with school. It makes our position, with a shielded (until now) child, extremely difficult.

@mosquitofeast
yes. This is widespread. Typically at one or two HUB schools in a district.
This has not been offered in the area we are in, nor neighbouring area.

It's become increasingly obvious that some parents don't care a fig for the safety of teachers. They are quite happy to sacrifice their health just to get their DCs back in school. Selfish beyond belief.

Most reasonable parents want their DC's teachers to be safe.

Re the summer schools - the funding for catch up won't materialise for schools until September, so it's not funded for LA schools yet. The summer schools that are currently running are funded differently, let's not use this as an opportunity to criticise schools again.

@puzzledpiece

OFFS. It's a pandemic which is sweeping around the world causing untold chaos to people and economies.

Governments around the world are trying to second guess an unknown quantity. They can't be proactive on everything, and just have to react to many situations as they occur.

If schools need closing because of major outbreaks, they will have to close. I'm sure pubs will be closing unless they can operate outdoors soon. Lots of outbreaks linked to them.

We are all desperate for normality but until there is an effective vaccine, we won't get it.

This No matter how much people 'want normality' (and who doesn't?!) IT CAN'T HAPPEN. Schools should be the most safe places in society during a pandemic but this government have issued weak guidelines which mean that staff and students (and therefore the wider community) have NO PROTECTION. The only 'protection' is bullshit words like bubbles.

@ListeningQuietly

THe Government are not deliberately doing anything.

They are running around like headless chickens
punting ideas to the tabloids
sticking their fingers in their ears shouting la la la
and actively avoiding listening to anybody with any real expertise

its an omnishambles clusterfuck
that will change from one day to the next

Well the government are deliberately doing nothing. If they don’t know the plan fair enough however I already had an email from my school weeks ago saying schools WILL fully reopen. The government should be honest at least! Us parents have child care arrangements to make as well as maintaining our own jobs too

@FlySheMust

It's become increasingly obvious that some parents don't care a fig for the safety of teachers. They are quite happy to sacrifice their health just to get their DCs back in school. Selfish beyond belief.

Most reasonable parents want their DC's teachers to be safe.

Hahahahaha what a load! I think you find most parents are having to go back to work or continue working through out. Kids not being at school is a nightmare. Maybe if the government hadn’t of blown up the COVID-19 and made out like everybody who gets it ends up on ICU. It’s all well and good teachers saying this but you get paid!!

We will be in a poor state if parents are having to give up their jobs due to having no childcare and are unable to may there mortgage.......

I'm afraid what you think as National is in fact local.

well, I don't know about the whole country, but I do know of summer schools in at least 3 areas ( London, Yorkshire, Devon)

But of course no school or area or teachers are OBLIGED to spend their summer holidays doing this, it would just depend if there are premises and staff available.

I certainly turned down the request to work in the summer!

@puzzledpiece

OFFS. It's a pandemic which is sweeping around the world causing untold chaos to people and economies.

Governments around the world are trying to second guess an unknown quantity. They can't be proactive on everything, and just have to react to many situations as they occur.

If schools need closing because of major outbreaks, they will have to close. I'm sure pubs will be closing unless they can operate outdoors soon. Lots of outbreaks linked to them.

We are all desperate for normality but until there is an effective vaccine, we won't get it.

This! people just need to be more realistic

It’s all well and good teachers saying this but you get paid!!

teachers are not paid to die.

Maybe you should retrain as a teacher yourself?

Why have a go at parents who will be keeping their children home?

Surely it is obvious that the more children stay away, the safer schools will be and the longer schools will be open for

If you want your child in school, you'd better be praying other parents don't.

I’m resigning. I’m 57. Been teaching 25 years. Outstanding results. Set up an A level which is consistently one of the best performers in the school. Every student in this A level gets into their first choice uni. It’s quite an unusual A level.

All this will disappear when l go. Well it might not, but it will probably be affected.