Should I send my child to school after Christmas- Key worker

[pisspants]

We got the message from school yesterday regarding the staggered return of children to school. My son is a summer born year 7 child and school have said they will be off that first week after the Christmas holidays learning online.
I'm a key worker and work from home and am a single parent and work full time. My work is very busy and requires a high level of focus and accuracy and I often have to make phone calls to the public.
The first lockdown I kept my son home until June when the year 6s were able to return.
My son struggles to work independently and needs a lot of assistance from me to do the online work school were setting before. I finished work at 530 then cooked dinner then made a start with his school work after dinner. After a whole day of being left to his own devices and effectively ignored by me he really struggled to do the work and we quickly stopped doing the school work.The prospect of going through that again really stresses me out.
School have said the first week of January will be online but key workerchildren can attend though from the wording they are obviously trying to discourage it.
I have a few days off over Christmas but will be working several days over the actual holidays with the kids home and safe to say the kids will be spending a lot of time knocking about at home this holidays.
I am nervous that the one week home learning may be extended and that if it is then extended I wouldn't be able to get a key worker place. I also worry that the school will judge me as I work from home.
I just wanted opinions really. I definitely cant work as well with him home.
Another factor is my DD is in year 10 and works really well independently and worked very hard during lockdown. So she would be home. My son would also be very annoyed that he has to go in and she doesnt have to.

I think you should ask for guidance from the school. If he cannot concentrate studying alone, this needs to be addressed.

Same situation here but we have the option of selecting the days we send them in. We've been told they will be doing the same lessons as from home via video/laptop in school.

Also still deciding what to do.

@Didiusfalco

Your a key worker who works from home? I think that’s stretching the definition.

My SIL is a social worker working from home at the minute. I would class that as a key worker.

Send him in.
Schools are much more prepared for this lockdown so the work/supervision in school will be more appropriate this time round.

And you can focus on your work. If that means one more family/client is better supported through this financial crisis that benefits us all as a country.

Thank you for the work you do.

Ibthink there’s a misconception that only key workers working outside the home need to concentrate and work.

I’ve been wfh from March and I’ve been on Microsoft teams calls that are distressing, confidential and with patients. I don’t want my children overhearing any of it, and neither would my patients.

I sometimes think key workers ‘working from home’ have had a really hard time in these last few months, expected to work and expected to look after kids. Like you, OP, I kept my kids home first time around at the suggestion of the headteacher, who couldn’t have been clearer that she didn’t want them in.

Nobody in our house ever caught covid, nobody in their school ever caught covid. I however nearly had a breakdown trying to work and educate.

I think you should take up the KW place.

I'd send him

My kids went to school under keyworker definition a few days a week.

They were not just babysat. It wasn't full lessons with their normal teacher, but it was someone, maybe a TA, there to ask questions if you were stuck, and some group activities.

All my kids were still behind after 6 months of not much teaching, but they had at least done some and had some proper engagement during the days while their parents worked full time.

Send your kid if they are eligible for a place.

It depends what arrangements your school is making. Schools will have significantly fewer students attending initially, so in terms of infection transmission should be safer than previously (although an increase in infection circulation will affect this too). In my school we’ll be teaching our normal timetables in our normal classrooms, via Google Classroom and Google Meet, so KW children will physically attend those lessons. It will be a bit weird but they’ll be getting proper teaching and supervision.

As for your daughter, she’s older and has demonstrated that she can work independently. Different children need different things.

If you keep him at home I would recommend rejigging your timings as starting his school work after dinner clearly didn’t work. So for example

8-9.15 go through work with him, plan out what he has to do that morning, whether lessons need to be accessed etc

12.30-1.30 go through morning activities with him, help check etc

3.30-4 - catch up in what has been done, agree if he is finished for the day.

6.30-7 look at what is required for next day, print any papers needed etc

Then catch up on any work you have missed later. Yes it is tough going and relentless for you but better than him doing nothing.

I’ve already contacted my daughter’s school to say she will need a KW place - she stayed home during the March lockdown but it wasn’t great for her emotional well-being. She’s also SEND so I’m confident she’ll get a place and be well taken care of.

I don’t think there’s a misconception. A lot of people have important jobs that it is hard to concentrate on while homeschooling. I still don’t think anyone who is sat at home should use their key worker status to send their kid to school. I know they can, it’s just my opinion that they shouldn’t. I think it’s far more important that vulnerable children are in.

To be honest, I’d keep him home if it was at all possible, to keep as long a possible time away from others who have been mixing over
Christmas, but that is my main worry-not missing a few bits of a few lessons for a week in year 7.

I’d be inclined to have him at home and just make sure I checked on him for 2 minutes every hour or two. I’d encourage him to talk to class mates as well and discuss work online-all good skills.

Why can’t he access the work set? Is it too hard for him? Are there any SEN? Have you spoken to the form tutor?

‘Sat at home.’

Read that back and listen to the connotation. You might as well have written ‘sat on their arse.’

@Didiusfalco

I don’t think there’s a misconception. A lot of people have important jobs that it is hard to concentrate on while homeschooling. I still don’t think anyone who is sat at home should use their key worker status to send their kid to school. I know they can, it’s just my opinion that they shouldn’t. I think it’s far more important that vulnerable children are in.

Exactly! I’m so sick of the key workers thing, it made sense during the first lockdown as they were the only ones allowed to get out to work so would need childcare whereas the rest of us could WFH and homeschool at the same time (or be furloughed if WFH not possible). Now everybody that can’t WFH is allowed to get out to work so the key worker distinction is pointless. I guess it makes them feel important lol.

Also, as key worker and WFH, well you don’t need childcare more than any WFH parent 🙄

Yeah, cause the key workers themselves are the ones who coined the term and made the rules just so they could feel important. 🙄

We got worksheets every day, only about 3 of them and it added up to about an hour's work, two if you add in distractions and breaks.

How much work is there to actually do? Just wondering if it's possible for your work to be done later in the day, get the school work done early and then start your work at 1030? Microwave meals for the kids dinners so you can quickly get back to your desk and work until 6/630 and be free for their bedtime?

It's obviously going to be hard work and it's not ideal, just trying to think of potential workarounds if you don't want to send him to school.

"A lot of people have important jobs that it is hard to concentrate on while homeschooling."

It is not just about concentration. It is also about it being inappropriate to have a child around conversations that may take place in some roles.

Personally, I think that yabu. Many roles similar to yours could be deemed key worker, including mine. But really aren't in the manner really anticipated imo.

I worked throughout lockdown home educating my KS1 child, who need support for everything. Often starting very early in the day.

Tbh I'd prefer to be in your position, whereas yet again they want to throw primary to the wolves because of parents childcare!

Better to keep your child safe I'd say, rather than your life easier!
. If you know what he's supposed to do and you look in advance surely you can make sure he actually does it.

If necessary, remove his access to distractions.

Although it was babysitting in the last lockdown, this was only because the national curriculum was suspended. Now it’s not, remote education needs to have continuity of education. So, depending on how the school does it, they’ll either have key worker children in their normal classrooms (with their teacher teaching some in the room and some at home via Teams or Meet) or, if they’re doing it non-live, the key worker children doing the same as the children at home, perhaps in a room together supervised. I’d not worry about sending him in; we’re expecting LOTS of Year 7 as this lot seem especially “little”

I’m shocked at those saying during last lockdown they just babysat key workers kids, letting them watch films and play on iPads... that’s terrible.

I would send your DS in, he’ll have social contact with other kids his age, you can work and not feel guilty, he will be learning and supervised.

Very mixed responses here! I know it is not just "key workers" who work from home and my hats go off to everyone who has had to combine work with looking after kids and it is as I know how hard it is which is why I am considering sending him this time as obviously I may have the change to use the facility. It is so hard to know what right thing to do is and I don't expect teachers to babysit because I cant be bothered or anything like that it is more that I know he won't do as much at home and it has a negative effect on my ability to work.
He is at same school as he was in in year 6 due to the school system here and what they set last time was difficult for him to to do independently as involved various different websites, editing PDFs (as our printer is broken) so couldn't print out and various other bits. He doesn't have special needs but is quite needy partly due to us being a one parent household and him not having his dad around probably. He also struggles with maths and gets disheartened if he cannot do it and kicks off so I try to sit with him to help him and keep him focused and positive so is not ideal for him to do independently. I don't know what their plans would be this time round or if it would be better this time.
My work hours are very fixed and workload is allocated and piece based so I cannot work hours very flexibly as I also need to cover the phones regularly so I cannot take chunks out of the day to supervise his work so taking hours out of the day to do that is not viable. Neither is doing school work before I start at 830am either really by time got up and ready etc.
I appreciate all the comments on here still trying to get my head around what the right things is to do taking into account his needs, my needs, work needs and school concerns - aargh!

@OverTheRainbow88

I’m shocked at those saying during last lockdown they just babysat key workers kids, letting them watch films and play on iPads... that’s terrible.

I would send your DS in, he’ll have social contact with other kids his age, you can work and not feel guilty, he will be learning and supervised.

But it was only intended as childcare last time. Can you imagine the uproar if they’d continued to teach only some children to read/write etc?

But it was only intended as childcare last time. Can you imagine the uproar if they’d continued to teach only some children to read/write etc?

I don’t know any only childcare which would allow that.

We carried on teaching and sent what we were doing home to those who couldn’t come in. We didn’t teach anything ‘new’ ( except to exam classes at home) but defo did not watch films etc

As a key worker I don’t need child care. Ok teach your own children then and I’ll keep mine at home.

@Sleepyblueocean

"A lot of people have important jobs that it is hard to concentrate on while homeschooling."

It is not just about concentration. It is also about it being inappropriate to have a child around conversations that may take place in some roles.

I agree. As a social worker I have to have really quite confidential phone calls all the time. Most wouldn't be a appropriate for small ears to hear, especially if they involved families that they know in the community.

I know everyone is in the same boat but the difference is that key workers keep the infrastructure and government services working, that's why they need to be able to be able to work unhindered.

My teams waiting list for assessments have people who have been waiting 6 months already for assessments and services, if all the social workers on my team were having to look after children whilst working from home so it's 'fair' for non key workers we would be even further behind and vulnerable people would be even more at risk.