Pulling children out of school...

[monkeytennis97]

In March schools started closing as parents pulled their kids out in droves and teachers and kids went off sick or isolating. Given the much higher numbers today and sadly the near 600 deaths yesterday is anyone thinking of doing this? Schools are on their knees in so many ways at the moment. I'm a secondary teacher and really think rota learning should come in now (for secondaries) to minimize numbers in schools to keep them as open as possible until Christmas. Will parents start pulling kids out again? I am only talking in respect to secondary schools.

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot

I think its overkill to send home whole years of over 100+ for 1 positive case

Are you an public health expert? Schools don't make the choice.

So why are some schools sending home whole years and some just close contacts?

My DS school has only sent home close contacts yet surrounding schools have sent home whole years? Why the difference?

My one year 10 son is currently on his third period of SI due to cases in in school.
My other year 10 is in his first period of SI due to cases at school. There are a number, but he's been lucky so far.

It's a postcode lottery. All I can suggest is a rota system.

So why are some schools sending home whole years and some just close contacts?

My one son's secondary sends whole classes home- so around 100 kids with options group. My other son's secondary only sends home those sitting by the positive case.
I'd say both schools have high number of cases, yet one son's been out of school more than in this term, the other hasn't.

@starrynight19

11/12/13 yr olds (even older teenagers) still need some sort of adult support during the day. As an adult I find wfh hard, its lonely and takes a lot of self discipline so I can't imagine how preteens are expected to find this easy and just get on with it, and tbh its not for the vast majority of pupils benefit to rota schooling as covid generally has very little effect on most children, its purely for the benefit of the wider community.

Sadly I disagree. I actually have three teenagers of my own. From my own personal experience my y11 dd has had three lots of isolation and yes is very lonely right now. In the last six weeks she has been in school for 5 days due to isolation. This ad hoc being sent home without notice is horrendous for her. If we could have some sort of organised rota it would help her immensely. As I have said before I am not advocating this for all schools but those schools who are at a crisis point.

I completely agree. I think those of us who've had this happen three times or more have a different perspective on this.

I haven't met or heard of a single parent who has pulled a child out of school.

And the schools near me, state and private, are nowhere near 'on their knees'.

And the schools near me, state and private, are nowhere near 'on their knees'.

Lucky you

My year 13 dd's college in the south east has been on a rota since September. There have been a couple of cases but only close contacts have been sent home and that seems to have worked. We're in a high covid number for our area but the rota system seems to have kept it out of college. Saying that, dds friend was off a couple of days with a high temperature and is back in now after no covid test, so her bubble might be about to burst

@Bazinga007

Nobody that I know pulled their kids out of school.

Most of my classes were at around 50% capacity in the week and a half before lockdown. So that's 100 plus kids that I taught who were pulled out. Fact.

Motherrunner I'm in Sheffield too, ds is a sixth form student, his bubble has remained open since start of term, like you they only send home anyone sat next to a positive case. Should numbers continue to climb, I can see them having to make some decisions soon, the area surrounding school's numbers have increased by a third in the last week, we live in this area & I hope for my sake due to being disabled & chronically ill that they make the decision to move to blended learning or online lessons.

@Nat6999 Think you tagged me by mistake. @palacegirl77 is Sheffield based 😊

Agree @middleager. Sometimes I think my posts are seen as hyperbolic but write I wrote is the absolute truth about my school.

Yesterday I read that schools who are closing regularly are ‘lazy’. My colleagues and I are not lazy, in face we have never worked harder. It is soul destroying when we learn of yet another positive, it’s hear breaking sending the letters home saying we can not open to a year group due to staff absences.

I started a thread linked to a news article in my area where the director of PHE said being out was ‘hazardous’. The article was dismissed as click bait and scaremongering, yet I am actually seeing the evidence in my school.

I wish there hadn’t been a blanket approach to ‘get all in’. Schools were told in Sept we would move to a tier system according to restriction measures - this has been er been mentioned again and my school is having to take action ourselves to move to a rota purely because we don’t have enough teachers to teach.

So why are some schools sending home whole years and some just close contacts?

It's not the school!!! I can't emphasis this enough!

It's in consultation with phe advice and advisors.

All bubble closures or close contacts are discussed, eg seating plans etc and advice given.

For example, 3 cases in a yr 9 I know of led to 70% of the year being a close contact so they closed the whole year.

I know of several teachers SI in a secondary school as a particular child tested positive who sits at the front, has some behaviour difficulties and staff visit the classes. Only the staff and some of the close contacts have been sent home, cover being provided. Due to the child's difficulties staff couldn't guarantee being 2 m away.

@Vargas

And the schools near me, state and private, are nowhere near 'on their knees'.

How on earth can people be so sure about what is happening in every school? I don’t even know everything that happens in the school I teach because a lot of what happens is confidential to protect privacy. The fact is no one can fully know exactly what is happening in every school - even headteachers can sometimes be out of the loop on some issues.

Yet more gaslighting.....

I really feel for teachers, one young teacher at our local high school is seriously ill with Covid. It’s very worrying how the government want teachers to keep going in these circumstances.

@ChloeDecker Absolutely. Plus the face we always put our ‘game face’ on to parents. Tuesday night at parent evening those parents would have seen ‘teacher me’, the enthusiastic, lively and optimistic self. They don’t know that at the end of each day I cry with exhaustion and take antidepressants for anxiety (first time in my life).

*fact

You misunderstood my entire post 3littlewords
I agree it is hard working from home. My own children had to largely be ignored by me whilst I taught others from home during the last lockdown.

I asked you what measures you do think should be taken to help those schools where children are being let down by the gov. It’s interesting that you didn’t answer that and instead, reinforced the fact you just want your child in school and don’t need to be concerned about others.
It’s a shame so many parents feel that way.

By the way, schools already have strict seating plans that have to be presented to PHE Ennis they are called, so it makes no difference there.

*when not Ennis sorry

@motherrunner why do we put the 'game face' on? I'm not any more tbh...

@ChloeDecker we can go round in circles asking what everyone would like to happen in schools just see the previous 5000 school threads. Parents just like teachers have had no say in how schools have re opened so I'm not getting into another I'd like x y and z to happen because its absolutely pointless and makes no bearing on actual real life. What is on offer is all we've got take it or leave it! I'm not ever going to feel guilty or be made to feel guilty for wanting my DC to attend school as much as they possibly can

we can go round in circles asking what everyone would like to happen in schools

It’s the whole point of this thread, hence the petition.

Parents and the general public definitely had some say over the free school meals debacle...

It’s interesting that this issue is not as important to many. Still, the petition in the OP hopefully might help despite the many posters who just want to ignore the issue as long as their school is alright.

Well this thread has confirmed my thoughts that as the government isn't closing the schools and the unions aren't really pushing it, that pressure is being applied to parents to "do the right thing" and pull their children out.

It won't happen again like March though, as, like a pp said, the fear of bodies piling up in the streets just isn't there now.

I work in a primary school. From the outside we have had very few cases and closures

Inside we are struggling. Many dinner staff, support staff and teachers are isolating due to having to stay at home with young children, being contacted by track and trace or due to them being poorly. We are running with skeleton staff. We have no breaks at all during the day and are running lessons with no support.

Also, parents did keep their children at home in March. In the final two weeks before lockdown we were able to cope with some staff being away by putting classes together.

South east here, my sons school has been on a rota system this week, email said back to full time next week but be aware that this could change within the next few weeks.