Taking kids out of school early?

[SOmuchsparkle]

Think I'm going to keep mine out this week. We are in London & people are dropping like flies. Anyone else?

Keep them off - safer for all.

Mine are going in, one year 12 one year 2. They've missed so much this year and it's not like you can take them out and have a load of fun activities, 3 week stuck at home with shitty weather just sounds miserable. We aren't really seeing anyone over Christmas tho, my kids will prefer to see their friends than elderly relatives that don't bother with them 1 week to the next. My dm is in a bubble with dsis so she's fine, rest can video call if interested enough. Dd has also asked if she is allowed to meet her friends for walks (we are tier 3) and have said yes, absolutely.

Mine finish Thursday and will be in til the end.

Thee are so many threads on this already. I'm not considering it at all. I've not been told school is optional.

question the sanity of any parents who could have children at home, choosing to send them in

It's better for my children to be in school with their friends, rather than isolating at home. We are not seeing anyone indoors over Christmas anyway.
They are in years where missing school is important (and their school always works up to the last day).
I think it's important they go to school while school is open.
It's not particularly more dangerous in school this week, than it was any week between now and the beginning of September.

Please explain why you are questioning my sanity?

No, we won’t be going to the supermarket, or to the park. I deliberately did the Christmas shopping early and we will be having deliveries. The children won’t be attending their usual swimming lessons, or seeing any other children. We might go for walks but we are rural so won’t see anyone.

I do recognise that I am lucky to have this option, but the fewer children in school, the less likely the keyworker children and teachers are to become infected themselves.

The class teacher has told me that they will only be doing Christmas stuff this week. They won’t be missing out educationally. Sad as I am that my children will be missing out on the Christmas festivities, I’d rather they have the option to spend Christmas with their grandparents with as little worry as possible. This is quite possibly the last year one dementia suffering grandparent will be able to participate, and another with macular degeneration will be able to watch them open their presents. To those that say it’s one day and can be postponed, I agree, and would happily spend Christmas as a family of 4, but their grandparents do not agree, and I’m not prepared to leave them alone on Christmas Day with their Wiltshire farm foods ready meal if that’s not what they want.

I was going to. We would like to see my parents over Christmas. However I'm in Wales and the decision was taken out of my hands.

My DCs finished up on Friday. We will be isolating - staying at home except for walks in the woods until Christmas.

It may well be ECV MILs last Christmas ( or at the least her last where she can participate)

We told school the truth. If they don’t authorise it they don’t authorise it...

DC1 is a bit fed up but most of the special Christmas things at school have already happened or been cancelled. DC2 has just finished 2 weeks isolation after the bubble popped so is back into a home routine anyway.

I agree, and would happily spend Christmas as a family of 4, but their grandparents do not agree, and I’m not prepared to leave them alone on Christmas Day with their Wiltshire farm foods ready meal if that’s not what they want

Honestly you don't need to explain yourself. I'm.not sure why there's so much rudeness or defensiveness about this.

There are plenty of reasons for both choices neither is wrong.

Certainly round here we have one school witg yr groups in part time, one who's had multiple years off on 2 occasions due to staffing issues and bubbles popping.

Dds school has a year closed for 2 days this week and her year was closed 2 days last week.

Another had to shut the sixth form for a few days.

20 percent of dds year group are isolating.

I dont blame or judge any decision any parent is making round here.

DS hasn't been in since Thursday. Caught a cold (negative test the day after symptoms). Not sending him back until new year.

There's 6 classes currently at home at his school, due to the teachers having been in contact with a positive case (another teacher). The other local primary has shut due to a couple of teachers testing positive over the weekend.

Nope, mine will be in school until next Tuesday. DS is still playing catch up from a recent self-isolation stint and there have been very few cases at school. He doesn't want to miss any more unless he has to.

We deliberately planned to stay at home on Christmas Day so that it wouldn't be a disaster if anyone was identified as a close contact. We're hoping to see some family on other days but easily cancelled if needed.

@Iremembertheelderlykoreanlady

My DD last day was Friday. Our choice.

School itself doesn't close until Friday.

3 of 7 classes now isolating. I don't think teachers should be forced to mix this week when they could do online learning and question the sanity of any parents who could have children at home, choosing to send them in.

Key workers are obviously a different matter

Me and DH are not keyworkers, we do both have to work full time to pay the bills though, plus DD is incredibly excited about the Teams nativity they're doing at school that they've all been practicing for, the virtual visit from Santa, the classroom party, the films, the Xmas dinner, the Xmas jumper day and the playground Santa dash they're doing.

Taking her out of school so she can sit at home alone watching telly while me and her dad work from home seems insane to me.

We've planned a quiet Xmas just us to enable her to have fun with her friends at school.

I question the sanity of any parents who would choose to deprive their children of an education and the most fun week of school to enable a days worth of dinner plans with family they can see later in the year.

I question the sanity of any parents who would choose to deprive their children of an education and the most fun week of school to enable a days worth of dinner plans with family they can see later in the year.

I think a little less judgement all round might be called for. I personally don’t consider Teams nativities to be a vital educational activity, and am quite satisfied that my children will have other opportunities to take part in school Christmas activities in future years. My father, on the other hand, likely won’t understand what’s going on next Christmas, and the children’s other grandfather will have likely lost the limited sight he has left. So I’ve made my decision. In your position, I’d likely make a different decision, and I’m certainly not questioning your sanity!

Who says it’s the most fun week of school?
Both of mine missed Christmas jumper day/ Christmas dinner as they were isolating (5 out of 7 year groups were off). There’s no nativity, no Santa visit, no fair, no party, no Christmas cards, nothing.

Tuck I expect quite a lot of work goes into a nativity even if its on Teams.

Not fair on teachers or rest of kids if Mary's parents decide school ain't important last week.

You are in a very privileged position that you can all isolate. The vast majority of us are not as lucky.

If cases are high and you're able to be at home I think it's quite sensible. Especially if you're going to be mixing at Christmas. We're not mixing so mine have gone in. I think it'll be nice for the youngest to do the extra Christmas activities since there's absolutely nothing available to do in my area. Not even any outside activities and I'm not sure on the rules travelling from a tier 3 area so apart from a wander round looking at decorated houses there's not a lot out of the house we can do this year.

I'm not remotely worried about them missing a week of education though. They didn't have months off from learning during the first lockdown despite all the claims of lost education. They did lots of learning at home and my youngest benefitted from the one on one.

I question the sanity of any parents who would choose to deprive their children of an education and the most fun week of school to enable a days worth of dinner plans with family they can see later in the year.

Not everyone is in your position though are they? OP said nothing about her children left alone to watch TV and many schools aren't doing Christmas activities so won't be deprived of anything

In fact the more people who can and do make the decision to take their children out if they're able means schools will be safer for ours who are still attending in the last week.

Covidnomore if the school hasn’t built in contingency for children being absent, in the current circumstances, then I’d suggest that’s short sighted. Ours certainly did (and did the nativity last week). I can’t speak for anyone else but I also gave the school plenty of notice of my decision.

I’m not sure what your getting at with your final comment about not everyone having the choice? I said in a previous comment that I recognise we’re lucky to have the option, and also that I don’t expect everyone to make the same decision, as everyone else’s circumstances are not the same as mine. I do think parents should have been explicitly given the option of taking their children out in the final week, precisely because some people - the teachers included- will not have the choice. The fewer kids in school that last week, the safer it is for those who have no choice but to be there.

I wasn't planning to but I'm now second guessing myself. I think I will keep DS off school on Wednesday and Thursday tbh. We are spending Xmas with my Grandparent in their 90s. I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened.

The choice was taken out of my hands when DS, 14, was sent home on his sixth isolation. He's already HD Covid, caught at school.

My other 14 year old's school is rife with cases, but we are tier 3, not seeing parents and have been doing nothing anyway since both DC's entered repeated self isolations, totalling 14 weeks of confinement.

I would love the opportunity for my child in Gcse year, to be in school like his sibling. I would love this luxury. Scho is now a luxury for us, a novelty. I wouldn't waste one drop. 45 days at home this term, constant isolations and disruption. No rapid testing available for a school clearly with mass cases.

It depends so much on individual circumstances. My dc are at primary school and we're not planning to mix with anyone else indoors over the Christmas holidays. Dc will stay at school until the end of term. If I had children at secondary school and planned to mix households over Christmas, I would make a different decision.

My children will be in school until the end of term. We have not had to isolate and both schools have had no more than a handful of cases. We aren’t mixing households over Xmas as I think it’s ridiculous and far too high risk. School is more important than a big family gathering in my opinion and our circumstances. I am also going to be furious when this Xmas mixing inevitably results in my children losing more education in January.

@Northernsoullover

I was going to. We would like to see my parents over Christmas. However I'm in Wales and the decision was taken out of my hands.

I'm keeping my son at home this week and we plan to visit my mum in Wales at Christmas. What do you mean because you're in Wales the decision was taken out of your hands?

i am also going to be furious when this Xmas mixing inevitably results in my children losing more education in January

Thing is if we are "allowed" to mix then people aren't doing anything wrong are they. I have 2 kids and their education is important to me however many people don't have kids and would rather see their families than moss out fir reasons that don't even apply to them. Sure they feel the same about not being able to have a pint with their best friend after work just so kids they don't even have can go to school.

Its a bit pointless being angry and pointing fingers at eachotger realky