OP, I really feel for you looking after a little one and working from home, and think it must be incredibly stressful. My son is 13 so whilst I did work from home and he did his home education, he didn't really need much input from me, he was really good at getting on with it and I know I had it easy in that way.
I do feel really worried about him going back to school though, especially as I am clinically vulnerable.
These are the things I think should happen, in addition to the existing guidelines:
-temperature checks every day at registration
-threat of fines removed, and parents allowed to keep their children at home full or part-time if they want to and as their circumstances allow (this will reduce risks to all children by lowering numbers, there should be welfare checks on those not attending at all). This all or nothing choice of send them in full time, or completely de-register and home educate is extremely unhelpful.
- bubbles to either be tested or isolated for 2 weeks when there is one case identified in a bubble (not 2 in a bubble as per current guidelines)*
-clinically vulnerable students to be notified when there is one case in a school
Primary schools and secondary schools to be differentiated and treated differently according to the risks and needs of the children. In secondaries, the setting and bubbles are much bigger, there is evidence that teenagers spread the virus more than primary children, and also secondary children (generally) don't need the level of supervision that primary children need, so it doesn't have such an impact on working parents if schooling is not full time. So for secondaries:
- secondary schools to permit/encourage masks for staff and pupils
- secondary schools to look at blended learning models, I think part-time would be a good compromise for secondary age children (apart from those that are vulnerable who should still be offered full time places), meaning that secondary children can social distance more effectively whilst we assess the risks
I would also like to see (but know this is cost dependent) additional cleaning in all schools. And I have seen weekly saliva testing suggested as a possible solution in schools www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53437555 . If they could do that, it would make me feel a whole lot better.
I really truly do not believe that the current model proposed by the government is safe, I feel very worried about it. And also I think that with the current models as they are, we will have regular outbreaks meaning that classes or whole schools will regularly be sent to self isolate anyway. I think if there are better measures in place for management, we will have a better chance of some consistency and continuity for the children.
Massive thanks to all the teachers and school staff, I know a lot of them are really worried too.
*"If schools have two or more confirmed cases within 14 days, or an overall rise in sickness absence where coronavirus (COVID-19) is suspected, they may have an outbreak, and must continue to work with their local health protection team who will be able to advise if additional action is required. In some cases, health protection teams may recommend that a larger number of other pupils self-isolate at home as a precautionary measure – perhaps the whole site or year group" www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools