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Original poster

Is anyone delaying the return to school in January?

36 replies

BlackLambAndGreyFalcoln · 06/12/2020 21:08

I've seen a lot of posts about people saying that they are taking dc out of school a week early to isolate for 2 weeks before seeing family at Christmas. On the flip side is anyone planning to delay the return to school in January because of the Christmas indoor household mixing?

Personally, we are not mixing households indoors at Christmas. The virus isn't going to take Christmas off and it seems to spreads more in indoor settings where people know each other well and are lax about social distancing. However as this has been legally allowed I recognise that other households may choose to mix indoors at Christmas.

However it seems absolute madness to me that this Christmas bubble period ends on 27 December and one week later on 4 January we are expected to send our DC back to school where there is no social distancing and poor ventilation with classmates who may have mixed households indoors just a week ago and therefore may have been more exposed to Covid. Am I missing something here?

DH is technically ECV and it seems that the safest thing to do would be to keep DD out of school for the extra week in January. However, she absolutely loves school and definitely struggled in lockdown. She had 3 years 100% attendance prior to lockdown so this definitely isn't something I'd consider lightly, but it just seems safer to me.

Anyone else thinking likewise?

OP posts:
Cantspeakpublic · 06/12/2020 21:12

Yes leaving a week early and returning a week late. It’s all madness and I don’t want a bar of it!

3littlewords · 06/12/2020 21:15

Same as you we are staying home over Christmas so the DC will be in school as normal. Youngest dc still see GP as they do the child care when we work so I don't feel they're missing time with them. Eldest is in high school so his communication with GP is via facetime or briefly at the doorstep when we hand the Youngest over

RedskyAtnight · 06/12/2020 21:16

Not mixing over Christmas. I understand the rationale of self isolating before/after Christmas but think it's more important for children to be in school.

Christmasnightmare · 06/12/2020 21:17

Yes, considering staying off after the hols but not sure how long for- I’m interested in hearing what other people are doing.

Christmasnightmare · 06/12/2020 21:18

Just to add, we aren’t mixing over Christmas, but worried the secondary school will be rife the following week.

Theotherrudolph · 06/12/2020 21:18

No, they’ll be at school every single day they are allowed to be, but then we don’t have anyone ECV to consider.

I actually don’t think rates will be higher in school children in January anyway (rates in older people are a different story). My kids might mix with one other household, once, over that period but will probably only spend the holidays with us or at socially distanced outdoor events. They are in contact with far far more people in school term time. I don’t think we’re unique in that although I recognise some families will mix more.

CantStandMeow · 06/12/2020 21:20

Nope, the DC will be in until the last day of term and back on the first. (Assuming no need to self isolate) Same as everyone else I know.

Cantspeakpublic · 06/12/2020 21:22

with the kids are better in school line. I do agree in principle but when there will be a spike due to other not following the rules as much or the government giving silly rules like this xmas mixing i feel my choice to stay safe is taken from me.
Will just return the kids a little later which they will be fine with.

Cantspeakpublic · 06/12/2020 21:23

I must add it’s easy for me as I work from home so it’s no hassle to be home too

Original poster
BlackLambAndGreyFalcoln · 06/12/2020 21:30

@Cantspeakpublic

with the kids are better in school line. I do agree in principle but when there will be a spike due to other not following the rules as much or the government giving silly rules like this xmas mixing i feel my choice to stay safe is taken from me. Will just return the kids a little later which they will be fine with.
Have to say that I think I agree with this. When we were in the first lockdown DD wasn't in the right year group to be able to return until September. I would have bitten my righthand off for her to have the opportunity to go back to school, so I never thought I'd voluntarily be keeping her off because I do absolutely agree in principle that children are far far better off in school, but like cantspeakpublic I feel like my choice has been taken from me.
OP posts:
Tierful · 06/12/2020 21:30

I wonder what happens in primary if a child isn’t in on the days that there’s a positive case child in and then the whole class plus teacher then have to isolate for two weeks - would the school have a duty to slot the uncontaminated child into another class??

3littlewords · 06/12/2020 21:30

@Cantspeakpublic I must admit I'm worried about there being higher transmission due to the amout of household mixing in the area but I'm keeping both fingers crossed , touching wood and hoping for the best. Keeping them off for longer than the original holidays isn't an option for us. I think everyone needs to make their own decisions based on personal circumstances with things like this, theres no right or wrong decision other than whats best for you at the time.

3littlewords · 06/12/2020 21:32

@Tierful

I wonder what happens in primary if a child isn’t in on the days that there’s a positive case child in and then the whole class plus teacher then have to isolate for two weeks - would the school have a duty to slot the uncontaminated child into another class??
No if the whole class is home then they all need to learn remotely, only difference being that the child wouldn't have to isolate in the home if they haven't been in contact with the positive case
PastMyBestBeforeDate · 06/12/2020 21:36

Yes I am thinking of keeping both of them home for an extra week. I am on the shielding list and we aren't seeing people over Xmas. Both dc have 100% attendance this term so far. I suspect a lot will be SI that first week back.

Titsywoo · 06/12/2020 21:45

No I have a year 11 and this year has been hard enough without missing more school. She is sitting mocks this week and has more in Feb - she needs as much teacher time as she can get.

Decemberblues1 · 06/12/2020 21:58

@Tierful

I wonder what happens in primary if a child isn’t in on the days that there’s a positive case child in and then the whole class plus teacher then have to isolate for two weeks - would the school have a duty to slot the uncontaminated child into another class??
My daughter's class recently had to isolate due to a member of teaching staff catching covid. One of her classmates had been isolating the previous week, which meant she hadn't been in contact with the affected member of staff. She was allowed to come back to school and work with a different year group while the rest of the class were in isolation.
Shodan · 06/12/2020 22:03

No.

DS2's school (large secondary) hasn't had any cases thus far. There is no reason to keep him off school.

Racoonworld · 06/12/2020 22:29

I’m in favour of allowing us to see family at Christmas and keeping schools open but it does seem a bit stupid allowing mixing straight after schools break up. A more sensible thing should have been hi keep your dc at home an extra week either side of the holidays if you want to mix at Christmas, and if you keep just to your household for Christmas dc can be in school the full time.

Hapixmas · 06/12/2020 22:37

The problem is, it will take a few weeks for cases to spike in schools (if there is many cases) so you'd have to keep your child off for a while wouldn't you?

Due to how long testing can take, if you want the effect, I'd keep them off at least 2 weeks. The kids may not be showing their symptoms fully in the first week (especially as we know so many won't stick to just the 5 days) and if you send your child in on the Monday of the 2nd week back, that could essentially be worse than first week back because any child incubating the virus may have tested on that weekend and not had results back so all year groups may go in on that Monday having sat by asymptomatic students.

RedskyAtnight · 07/12/2020 09:05

A more sensible thing should have been hi keep your dc at home an extra week either side of the holidays if you want to mix at Christmas, and if you keep just to your household for Christmas dc can be in school the full time.

That's not practical though. How would it be policed? Primary school parents who need to work will just ignore it and send their children to school anyway. Secondary school children will end up treating it like a jolly (i.e. mixing with friends anyway and not staying at home). Would the teachers be expected to set remote work (i.e. extra effort for them)?

3littlewords · 07/12/2020 09:12

Personally I'm not happy to isolate my DC for 4 weeks ( 2 either side) just for 1 day with extended family, because ideally that's what you are supposed to do not just keep them out of school. Especially teenagers if they are going to socialise with the friends before and after Christmas then they may aswell be in school, if any parent who believes their teenagers social distance from their friends is very deluded

NuttyinNotts · 07/12/2020 09:51

Our daughter is going back a week later to try and protect my ECV husband. We have negotiated an approved absence for this.

VanityWitch · 07/12/2020 11:32

If we had anyone vulnerable in our immediate family, we would do this without hesitation. As it is, I don't think we will delay return to school, but tbh, who knows? It may even be that they decide to close schools shortly after Christmas if things do go tits up.

We have one guest coming at Christmas. Ideally we wouldn't be mixing at all, but she lives alone and wouldn't have anywhere else to go. We are about as risky as each other; we have young dcs at school and childcare. She is a HCP.

Stellaris22 · 07/12/2020 11:34

Not planning to as DD is still in primary. We aren't mixing over Christmas, just myself, DH and DD.

Only worry for me is other families in DD bubble at school mixing, so hoping we won't end up needing to isolate because of others.

Zem74 · 07/12/2020 11:40

I would consider this as both me and OH are ECV, that being said I also worry that if I took them out for 2 weeks abs one of their bubbles went down in that time, the 2 weeks I planned could turn into 4 weeks if the class had to isolate. Add that to almost 3 weeks off for Xmas holidays and it could end up being 7 weeks at home!
So I don’t know whether to just take the chance!