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.

I wonder if some of these schools which are performing better should be sharing what they're obviously doing right

I wouldn't say a school with many cases is essentially doing anything wrong. Im in the NW lots of school closures near by, DS secondary has had 3 known cases only close contacts sent home, younger DC primary has had 1 bubble closure (typically my ds class🙄). I put it more down to luck than anything else. The only difference i can see between my DC schools and the surrounding schools is that they are much smaller in terms of numbers of pupils. Primary only has 1 class per year, still with around 30 per class mind, and secondary has around 750 pupils which is fairly small for a secondary school. They are still obviously restrained by actual school space though like any other school.
If my DC do get sent home to isolate im not going to think that the schools have done anything wrong

I guess my school must be a failure then as we are having to close to all years next week due to us being 20 teachers down.

@motherrunner

I guess my school must be a failure then as we are having to close to all years next week due to us being 20 teachers down.

Parents don't really think this, its nothing more than the result of bad circumstances

Parents don't really think this, its nothing more than the result of bad circumstances

That’s really nice to hear hope you saw this motherrunner it’s all just down to luck and circumstance.

@starrynight19

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

Lucky you

I agree.

Just trying to balance OP's assertion that 'Schools are on their knees', which is a fairly grandiose statement given that there are numerous examples on this thread (and many others) that many schools are coping well.

My dd is in year 11, so preparing for GCSEs. School is also very good for her mental health, so I won't be taking her out unilaterally. However, I'm very concerned by the spread of the virus in schools, and about the risks to teachers, other school staff and vulnerable parents (including myself), and I feel that more needs to be done at a national level to address this. I would be happy with a rota system and blended learning, personally. It isn't ideal, but the current situation clearly isn't working either.