No longer a national priority to keep schools open

[noelgiraffe]

The government has surreptitiously dropped its priority to keep schools open.

It has replaced it with a priority to “keep education open”.

Remote learning is now a viable alternative to keeping schools open (as opposed to last Monday when it was a matter for the high court).

In the DfE media blog, tweeted earlier today regarding the delayed start to term in January they say:

“ Is this an extension of the Christmas holiday?

No, this isn’t an extension of the holiday and we haven’t asked that the start of term is delayed.

All students will return to education from the first day of term. Secondary school and college students should learn remotely for one week except those in exam years, vulnerable young people and the children of critical workers. It remains our national priority to keep education open and we are not closing education for any period other than during the set holiday periods.”

Interesting development.

Well my child wouldn’t get educated if schools shut because we have jobs that we have to do to keep a roof over our heads and pay taxes, you know to keep the NHS going, for example? How fantastic for stay at home mums not contributing anything in taxes and get to home educate. What a load of absolute bollocks. Working parents have been shafted.

Why the hate at sahm? They're not costing you anything.

Do you work 24hrs a day 7 days a week or could you perhaps put aside an hour or two each evening to help your kids with their home learning? Or a day at the weekend?

I don’t hate SAHMs I am merely pointing out the irony of the situation. No I don’t have an hour in the evening after I’ve finished work. And I doubt a couple of hours at the weekend will make up for all the education he misses. Why should people in my situation suffer - explain that to me? Why are we so fixated on making it an unfair playing field? What about children with no internet access or laptop? Not that we have a spare laptop either but thanks to the fact I work we can afford one. What about children whose parents can’t? In the real world, I know barely anyone who wants schools to shut because they care about children and the wider impact on families. On mumsnet, a site which is supposed to prioritise children, no one wants their children educating by a qualified teacher.

The people I know who want schools closed all work. In the hospitality sector.

@tappitytaptap We want schools to be safe and open.

On a parenting site, it would be great if we could work together on that.

We may need to go on line for a bit, as the government have not given schools time or resources to plan for testing. (Though schools would still be open for some children and the qualified teachers would still be teaching).

We really should follow WHO guidelines for schools.

But we could have schools open and safer and that is our best hope.

Also, I don't think your views of wanting schools open and children educated are in the minority on MN at all.

Why should you suffer?

I think it's because of this international crisis that we're all having to deal with changes and issues. Not a personal vendetta against working parents.

Again why the sahm bashing? You really haven't clarified.

You said if schools close your children won't be educated full stop - I pointed out that you do have evenings and weekends and you say no you don't and why should you. Again I point you back to the international crisis.

And all this 'no one wants their child educated by a qualified teacher' crap - say what? There is literally so much disagreement I can't imagine how you came up with the fantasy of a unified position.

Then there's the 'because i work' jibe at parents who don't work whilst simultaneously trying to use the token poor children as leverage.

None of it adds up.

@tappitytaptap

I don’t hate SAHMs I am merely pointing out the irony of the situation. No I don’t have an hour in the evening after I’ve finished work. And I doubt a couple of hours at the weekend will make up for all the education he misses. Why should people in my situation suffer - explain that to me? Why are we so fixated on making it an unfair playing field? What about children with no internet access or laptop? Not that we have a spare laptop either but thanks to the fact I work we can afford one. What about children whose parents can’t? In the real world, I know barely anyone who wants schools to shut because they care about children and the wider impact on families. On mumsnet, a site which is supposed to prioritise children, no one wants their children educating by a qualified teacher.

Children of parents who can't afford the Internet or a laptop ought to have one provided.

Nobody wants schools to shut but at some point we have to acknowledge that a) the current system in schools isn't working and b) that keeping schools open as is presents an unacceptable risk to society.

Did you child have to self isolate last term? How did that impact on them/you?

There are lots of options between full closure and full opening - I think we should be looking at a rota system in tier 4, for example.

@TheHoneyBadger

Bit off topic but fancy telling a generation of kids that if they can't attend school their long term futures are ruined?

What a depressing notion. It's more like they are terrified of anyone thinking outside of the box and changing any of their values or approaches because the whole house of cards might come tumbling down or without schools hiding every social, health and economic problem within its fences people might see the utter state society and its institutions are in.

People are all heart broken that abused children are stuck at home instead of going fuck me we have kids who we know are being abused being left living with their abusers as the norm now? Or we have kids who might starve if they don't go to school because their parents don't or can't feed them? Or we have households so on the brink of poverty and workers with so few rights that a few days of one earner having to take time off to look after their children could break them?

I think it shows how much of a wound there is if the idea of taking the plaster of schools off exposes such devastation.

Thanks for speaking so much sense. This also struck me:

It's an international pandemic in a society with a sky high cost of living but stagnated wages and households dependent on two full time incomes

A lot of people seem very happy with endless house price inflation, which the young will also be paying for. If housing wasn’t so crazily expensive and we didn’t so often need two incomes to service the debt, schools as daycare wouldn't be an issue.

@Piggyinblankets

The people I know who want schools closed all work. In the hospitality sector.

Piggy do they have dc? How old are they

How old are the dc that is

No. That's the whole point. They feel thrown to the wolves

I am merely pointing out that I always felt by working and paying taxes I was contributing to society. But now, because that is incompatible with home schooling children (ah yes, because I should have known there would be a pandemic and it would result in no proper schooling) I’m being made to face the choice of not educating my child properly. You think that people that work don’t have to do shopping, cleaning, god forbid maybe have some family time or exercise at the weekends? No?

I personally would probably rope in parents to help who already help us with childcare. But many people cannot do this.

Why should people in my situation suffer - explain that to me?

EVERYONE is suffering. There is an epidemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of people. Does that explain it? Or you knew that but it shouldn't effect people you? And your idea of suffering is having to theoretically spend the evening or weekend supporting your kids home learning. You get that that's a pretty privileged version of 'suffering' right?

@Piggyinblankets

No. That's the whole point. They feel thrown to the wolves

I’m sure are they furloughed?

There will also be parents working in hospitality relying on schools open to work

Do you have a job HoneyBadger? Pray tell me how I fit it around home education, I’d love to know.

I would imagine people in hospitality would like schools to be open, no? No work from home option there.

Of course there are. But the whole point is that perspective always makes us think that our situation is the same as everyone's.

Nope tippety. I am not saying this is my view but many of them want schools totally closed to properly bring infection rates down. They feel that keeping them open is keeping infection rates at a high level and allowing governments to demonise their sector and blame the spread on pubs. We have seen it here on MN.

Lots of those businesses will not survive.

I do work - I'm a teacher. I've spent parts of this term as a lone parent teaching in school whilst my son's year group has been shut because of staff shortages and then coming home and supporting my son's home learning. I'm a lone parent. It's been interesting. What's your point?

Did the international crisis end because you don't want to have to support your kids learning in your out of work hours? I didn't want to either but on went the hundreds of people selfishly dying every day making me have to deal with fucking remote maths with my own child. All for the sake of keeping alive some old people who don't deserve to live anyway according to some on this thread.

And fuck me you're right - I pay taxes too! How dare they inconvenience me

Hopefully the government will crack down on those who are not pay tax - avoiders and evaders. COVID is costing a fortune and tax loopholes need to be shut ASAP.

All public sectors workers pay tax even teachers!

The uk is an expensive place to live

Lots in the hospitality sector are losing or will be losing their jobs - restaurants/cafes/pubs/cinemas/events. Some may have children but I reckon a lot don’t.

Obviously Mnetters fall into the ‘having children’ category but there is a sizeable amount of the population who really don’t give a shiny shit about schools.

@tappitytaptap

Do you have a job HoneyBadger? Pray tell me how I fit it around home education, I’d love to know.

Teachers are often parents too.

I teach full time and taught live to timetable from the moment we went into Lockdown in March. I couldn’t take up the keyworker place as my children’s school didn’t offer wraparound so couldn’t get them to school or collect them as I had to teach. I ‘home schooled’ my children before my working day began and at the weekends, all whilst running a home, planning lessons and marking work. We are all suffering but what’s the alternative?

(Oh and I our homeschool is quote marks as I think the term home school is disingenuous to actual home schoolers. What we as parents did, was disseminate materials created by a teacher)

I have lots of respect for teachers- those at my sons school have been fantastic. And they do a MUCH better job than me of teaching my child. Hence my concern he will get behind - a combo of me not being a teacher and us unable to devote a lot of time to it. I imagine a lot of teachers will have the exact same problem. Are they all OK with their children falling behind? Maybe they are.

Obviously Mnetters fall into the ‘having children’ category but there is a sizeable amount of the population who really don’t give a shiny shit about schools.

Of course but furlough now to April has been a way to help these sectors specifically. 2 million iirc are still furloughed going in a year.