Masks at school drop off....

[QueenofmyPrinces]

My son is in Year 2 and during school drop-off there is a 1 way system and staggered starting times to allow for 2m spacing. There are usually about 3 members of staff manning the gate to make sure the correct distance is kept between parents.

However, my son was sent home tonight with a letter from the teacher to say that all parents are now required to wear masks at pick up and drop offs.

I don’t know how I feel about it....ok, it’s no hardship at all, but it feels like now it’s yet another thing we are being instructed to do. Day by day it feels like we are losing more of ourselves.

I know that sounds dramatic and in the middle of a pandemic it sounds ridiculous....but it’s just never ending isn’t it.

Our children are all mixing with each other every day, with no social distancing, yet we have to wear a mask to follow a one way system that keeps parents 2m apart anyway that takes only about a minute to enter the school grounds, drop the child off and leave the grounds.

It feels like there’s no end in sight and between this and the Rule of 6 it feels like we are slowly having our rights taken away from us.

I know I sound silly.....but I’m just fed up.

I have been following the rules from the start but this just feels like the straw that broke the camel’s back for me.

I wonder how long it will be until teachers are wearing masks in school and then our children will be too....

Like I said, I just feel a bit down about it all.

badlydrawnbear

I don't think anyone would mind if you dropped your mask down for the couple of seconds it takes to kiss your child goodbye. Most of our parents do, and then pull them back up. Easy enough to do - and so long as your only touching the outer hem or elastics its not really an issue - there's also the option of sanitiser gel before/after too.

PHE sent a request to HTs last night requesting that parents wore masks in playgrounds.

Sent after schools had closed, so most had little chance to warn parents of this change. Added to this schools are now subject to spot checks from HSE to check on their COVID-19 preparedness.

knowing that the teachers won’t question who they are simply because they can’t be expected to recognise and know 100+ parents

Most class teachers only really need to recognise the faces of the parents of the children they teach, and maybe the odd grandparent. At my school it is generally the same parents who pick up every time. With the youngest children there is often a TA per class too to help.

Teaching staff very likely can recognise the parents within a few days of starting with a new class. We are used to parents coming to pick up/drop off wearing all manner of hats, scarfs, head and face coverings, etc so tbh wearing a mask/covering for Covid reasons isn't proving to be an issue.

Please be assured if we aren't sure who the adult is we DO check. We NEVER send a child home unless we are sure it is the correct adult!

Sent after schools had closed, so most had little chance to warn parents of this change. Added to this schools are now subject to spot checks from HSE to check on their COVID-19 preparedness.

Directly opposite the schools gates there is a fenced in children’s playground area which consists of a few swings, a few climbing frames, a few slides and little bouncy toys for toddlers to play on. It was chained off during the peak of lock down but re-opened about a month ago.

There is a sign on the entrance gate that says: “No more than 12 people in here at any one time” but it is completely ignored. Before it before school or after school there’s probably about 50 children in there, across all year groups, plus their siblings, and there are also a number of parents in there too supervising the younger ones.

I know the school can’t control what goes on outside of their grounds, but I doubt it would look good if an inspection took place and they saw how many children, across many year groups, playing so close together, sharing all equipment and no social distancing in place at all.

I know a lot of parents have complained to the school because it defeats the whole purpose of classroom bubbles but the school must feel frustrated because it’s completely out of their hands.

I get you OP.
We have to wear them too. We have a one way system, staggered pick ups and drop offs and I have managed not to get within 2m of anyone else on the school run for 4 weeks (since their term started). We have had 3 cases in our small town in the past 2 months. Yet now we have to wear masks.

The teachers are wearing visors at my children’s primary.

I kiss my daugher before we get near the school...then I put my mask on yo walk near the school. Its only for 5 mins.

Well, here in Australia in Victoria, we have to wear masks all the time. It helps stop the spread.

Yeah that might be the next thing in the UK. But they can bugger off as far as I am concerned. I will wear masks indoors as required but not chance am I wearing one walking down the road alone. They will have to catch me if they want to take me down.

We had the same message today from school. Also left me feeling rubbish. I hate wearing masks and I'm not sure it'll do much when the kids mix all day (I don't buy this nonsense that they don't spread it). I wore one but I do worry some of these behaviours are becoming normalised. It's not healthy not to be able to see people's faces - I'm sure there's more risk from a random stranger picking up kids whilst masked up than there is from the virus. Also, it's sad how divisive it's all becoming; parents giving the headteacher abuse at the gates, other parents wading in to defend them, arguments in class group chat. It just feels incredibly sad that this is where we are at. I don't see an end to it all.

On my days off I drop my daughter at her primary school. They have staggered starts, staff are wearing masks as are parents. Social distancing lines have been drawn. I feel much safer doing this than I do when teaching at the secondary school I work at where there are no requirements for pupils or staff to wear masks. Guess which of the 2 schools has had coronavirus cases already.Please wear a mask if possible.

It just feels incredibly sad that this is where we are at. I don't see an end to it all.

Exactly, if it’s like this after 3 weeks back and before winter even hits, I dread to think what direction things are heading in.

I hated it at pick-up.....I want to see people’s faces and expressions and smiles..... not just hordes of bodies with fabric across their face.

I think I just find it hard because I know this will be it now for the next 6 months - nothing is going to change.

It’s a horrible thought.

Our school also sent letters home last night to advise that parents must now wear masks for drop off and pick up. Already a one way system in place and staggered drop offs but the letter advised that further measures will likely be needed next week (area being monitored by the government). I can’t see what else they can do without limiting the number of children in school.

Wasn’t very well adhered to this morning, maybe half of parents wearing masks but this afternoon a teacher was on the gate questioning every parent without one!

As expected our school has said masks on collection/drop off even though we don’t go on the school grounds as they’ve fenced the whole school off so it’s like a prison. Everyone is texting each other saying it’s ridiculous, some people are writing in saying they refuse to comply. I’m going to wait and see what happens later.

Fun covid days.

It’s 5 minutes with a mask on? I really don’t see why it is a hardship if you’re no exempt 🤷‍♀️

We've had to send our letters regarding class group chars/WhatsApp's as we were getting parents upset over stuff some people were whinging about happening at school, and then trying to name and Sharpe children who's parents have tested positive etc.

We've sent strong messages out to remind everyone they are unofficial, nothing to do with school, and that there are proper channels for complains or raising concerns. We have also called a couple of parents we found out were responsible for some of the start of the hounding posts and pulled them up on their behaviour. Head teacher was so cross over a couple of issues in behalf of another family.

Luckily the vast majority of our parents are lovely and the compliance for rules and guidelines is really high. Last week very few people didn't have a mask for example.

I think they're mainly starting to realise that we are actually trying to help keep school open for their children, whilst still trying to protect the children, the staff and the parents, some of whom are vulnerable.

Absolutely no fucking way.

I've taken up wearing a visor in shops because my time to begin hyperventilating on a thin face rag has now gone down to 45 seconds. Even then I begin to get the need for deep breaths that at least can be satisfied rather than triggering hyperventilating.

No fucking way am I covering up my face outdoors where there is no scientific justification. The spacing and being outdoors if far more effective than a layer or two or three of fabric.

It's an empty performance of safety and it is not consequence free. It is a child protection issue. It is an impairment to communiction and yet another layer of lonliness and social disconnection.

How many more layers of bullshit must we endure???

@Dreamcatchme

It’s 5 minutes with a mask on? I really don’t see why it is a hardship if you’re no exempt 🤷‍♀️

It’s interesting isn’t it. Because for you it’s five minutes. For me it’s around half an hour due to staggered starts and children in different year groups.

Is it a hardship? I’m not sure. It’s outside and not on school land, so it pisses me off as to me it’s tantamount to the head demanding I wear a mask in my own back garden. But do I want schools to remain open? Yes. Do I want to support the school? Yes. So will I wear one? Probably, but I’ll be wearing a scowl under it and rip the fucking thing off my face as soon as I dare.

All lot of our parents (probably around 90%) have taken it upon themselves to wear a mask. The way our school is positioned (narrow windy road, with a narrow footpath) it is impossible to social distance from parents, including those from other bubbles, on the way to each designated drop off point.

School didn’t ask parents, but did thank us for doing so.

It wasn’t pre-planned or discussed in parents facebook or WhatsApp it just happened. A large amount of our parents work in the NHS, in DS’s class of 27 we have 5 GPs, 1 community nurse, 2 Dentists and 1 consultant, so are probably more used to wearing them / more conscious of the risks / possibly working with Covid patients.

It hasn’t made any difference, the kids don’t mind and has the adds benefits of meaning I don’t have to put makeup on