Are dc safe at school or are you considering taking them out to teach at home?

[SistemaAddict]

I'm in Greater Manchester and my area is now in the red zone. I'm extremely clinically vulnerable and was shielding from March to August but was told to continue being extremely careful regarding social distancing, hand washing etc.
I have 3dc and am a single/lone parent with no one to help out. One dc at primary school with no social distancing anywhere, a two-way one-way way system that means queuing for around 30 minutes at drop off and pick up mixing with all year groups. The other two dc are in bubbles of around 360 each but their school has taken better measures as far as possible.
Ds at primary managed 3 days before falling ill and passing it to me resulting in 2 courses of steroids and antibiotics as I got a secondary infection 10 days into the virus. We couldn't get tests in the first 5 days.
We are now at the end of the 14 day isolation period. I am still unwell, ds still coughing, sneezing and has a mild fever. Both dds ok but mild fevers. Nothing I would keep them off for normally.
Now that we are in the red zone I am seriously thinking of taking them out of school and using online resources to keep them up to date with their education. I'd rather them be in school but with the local rates and the fact ds and I got ill so quickly after going back and the testing situation I'm thinking we are safer at home.
Is anyone else in a similar position? Have school been supportive?

Last time round i removed all 3 of my children from diffrent schools and told all schools why.
Not sure what was my tipping point collected eldest year 9 from her senior school as she was ill on the Friday.
The news the deaths the risk was too great so Monday i called each school and said no they not coming in its not safe.
Then tue i think boris announced school closure but they dident officially break up to the Friday

Im disappointed with the teaching unions to be honest right now.
School are sending stroppy emails about attendance and to send them in if they have a cold ir sore throat get the WHO and other countries and imperial college london say symptoms kids different to the main 3 so sending them in with sore throa and sneezing seems really irresponsible considering they not sociallly distancing or wearing masks.
Eldest says they not social distancing at her senior school and they all hugging.
Really worries me.
13 schools in area sent bubbles home and its near impossible get tests.
We are low covid area must feel worse Midlands or up north.
Eldest said theres people in school awaiting test results?
What if they test postive.
My year 6 says as the weeks go everyone's bit more complacent.
Eldest has ashma and travels to school on public bus with kids other year group bubbles and other schools.
Very little social distancing in the playground including the parents.

Surly if so many parents took kids out they wouldn't have the man power fine them all.
Not sure what my sign is just yet.
None if my 3 schools have cases yet but 3 of mine had sore throat and colds.
Child 1 missed 3 days and child 2 1 day.
Bit appalled juniors talking about attendance awards.

Senior school said attendance 87% last week so the heads not happy.

I wish we could have held them back a year done blended learning over winter but still be open for vunerable and keyworkers.
Then jan or easter redesign the academic year so they then move into a new academic year then instead of September.

Thanks for this. Thinking of it in this way has really helped.

That was in reply to eeeyore

No, I don't feel ds is safe...and we are doing everything we can to work towards him being able to be safe at home, whilst maintaining a good relationship with the school, not getting fined and not having to deregister.

@Swatsup

Your title asks if your kids are safe at school, I would say yes they are. This could be about for years so how long would you keep them off school/ isolating for?

Well - yes. But the worry is to be blunt their mother contracting the virus and becoming seriously ill.

I don’t know op. I’d have a couple of weeks out I think, then review.

If you take your children out I think they can
make you deregister. My sister's husband is classed as very vulnerable and she tried to get support of the school and not deregister her kids haven't been back since march. She had a zoom chat with the head and explained everything. But the head of the primary school still made her deregister, her girls are being home schooled now. The thing is, this is not going away anytime soon the way I see it is why not deregister and you can homeschool how you like? In a few months or year however long you could register them again
when things settle and the virus may be under more control. I doubt lots of people will be wanting to register their kids for new schools, so they be a good chance of space back in their school. Do people not want to deregister because you want your kids to be still taught by the schools online? I can see it both ways but teachers can't do both.

You are not alone. Attendance in my LA ( and not a high risk area) was 78%.

I don't know what to do for the best to be honest. At the moment mine are at school. They are year 10 and year 11, I am worried that if I pull the year 11 out he will not get a CAG if exams are cancelled again, I know that many home schooled students faced that problem this year. But, we live with my parents. So it seems like a choice between GCSES and potentially infecting elderly grandparents. Great.

@Beebityboo just popping in to say well done on your amazing weight-loss, especially in lockdown!

Thanks @KylieKoKo. Definitely stalled in the last month so need to get back in to it and still have a BMI that puts me at higher risk, unfortunately .

I echo that and meant to say earlier, sorry. Weight loss is really hard but more so if you're disabled I bet.

I have gained and lost weight in lockdown and was going to use the school hike to shift some more but sadly we've been in isolation and steroids make me hungry I've resisted the kitkat stash though as that's for Christmas. Covid has made me more motivated to shift the extra pounds for sure. It's tough though when you're stressed and food is comforting.

for all those who need a virtual pick me up. And there's no calories in the virtual stuff

Bercows, kitkats you say... for Christmas....
They wouldn't last until October here.
I saw ASDA (online) have the roses etc tubs on sale for 2 for £7. I'd usually think about getting some when I see them but I fear they may just vanish in to my tummy

I've just replaced my comfort eating with long, dramatic episodes of shower crying to be honest [oops]. Find it quite cathartic.

@Shitfuckoh the Christmas stash is sacred. Nothing is to be touched until the middle of december. I enjoy building the Christmas stash each year. I don't go mad, just our favourites like quality street, heroes, after eights, Lindt truffles, and ferrero rocher and a toblerone in their stockings. They eat it all over Christmas and January.

@Beebityboo I've messaged you.

@Bikinib0tt0m
Do people not want to deregister because you want your kids to be still taught by the schools online?

In our case it's because, deregisteting would jeopardise all the support in ds's EHCP, his place is specialist provision, and transition support.

I need your willpower Bercows.
I can put the stuff out of the DCs reach but it's me that will get at them

I'm just waiting for those Treelets (cheeselets) things to come in to the stores!

Whitty and Vallance to give public briefing on Covid tomorrow www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/chris-whitty-sir-patrick-vallance-18967633

Hmmm. I wonder. Please bring back an option to shield and give us choices to protect ourselves and families.

@Shitfuckoh the Christmas stash 🎄😁 It's residing in my bed drawer. I've been collecting it for a few weeks. I have a refillable advent calendar so the chocolate bite things go in there for the 3dc. Everything is on offer at the moment and that's when I tend to get them. I love the Christmas stash.

Think I'm deregistering my eldest tomorrow . The current situation we are in just isn't going to work and she'd be better off at home until next September. I'm so sad about it but it isn't safe.

@Beebityboo how are you doing? You've been in my thoughts. I've emailed school today asking what they can do to further protect dc and therefore me and stated my wish to home school until things settle. I've not heard back yet. At least my concerns are documented and I'm trying to find ways to manage this while making sure they get their education.

Hi Bercows. Sent an email this morning and not heard back yet. I asked to be given some more time too. If the head doesn't agree to it we're pulling my eldest out until next year. Hope the DC's are feeling better!

@Bercows @Beebityboo we deregistered before term started as are vulnerable. The sense of relief is immense.

It really is doable. There's loads of resources online and lots of home ed groups to ask questions and get support.

Our headteachers hands were tied so we had no choice. DC likes it.

I hope you both get some peace. Oh, we're in greater Manchester.

I'm in the same boat. I'm struggling to make a decision.
I'm ECV. With several further vulnerable family members.

My Dd, (only child) is in her final two years of high school, such a critical time for exams. For many reasons, I know it would break my daughters heart and spirit to take her out, as well as the damage to her vital years in education and beyond.

I'm going to have to come to a decision pretty soon, as we're in a high risk area with increasing cases every day. OH not on same page as me just yet.

I don't want to have to deregister her, and home schooling is not an option. Ideally we should be allowed back into online support through shielding months, and then back in when cases down in spring.

I think we should encourage everyone to write to their MP's, the PM, the heads of education, to ask them get something real in place for vulnerable students, students who have an extremely vulnerable immediate family member, vulnerable teachers and TA's.

Surely there are enough vulnerable teachers and TA's to have them be the ones to teach the online classes, with video calls and real back and forth support for anyone who is struggling with the work. I hope the people in power see sense and get something done before so many more lives are lost needlessly, and many more ruined with the personal cost to all these consequences.

We are also deregistering. Ds had come home within the first week with a cold which has made him and me extremely ill. That’s before Covid really kicks off too.

I’m vulnerable and really don’t see the situation improving, it looks to be getting worse. We are in the worst area in the country for Covid. It’s sad we have to make this choice. What kind of government does this to our children?