To dread homeschooling

[Johan23]

I’m in Scotland where the schools don’t go back to the 11th, and for a week it will be remote learning (I imagine it will be longer). In the last lockdown my son was still at nursery, so we didn’t have to homeschool.

It was still a freaking nightmare working from home as he wanted our attention all of the time.

Our work is going through a ridiculously busy period, and we are all expected to just “get on with it”. But, I am totally stressing as I really can’t bear to go through all this juggling again.

@BustopherPonsonbyJones I haven’t been at all angry in my posts. Thanks so much for pointing about my typo.

@Pomegranatespompom
It wasn’t meant to be a dig, it just alters the meaning so it is best to check. Most of us are typing on phones and fighting autocorrect.

Anyway, I am delighted you’re not angry as there’s really no point. It’s going to be a dreadful term for all of us.

@BustopherPonsonbyJones I didn’t send my DC to school, even though I could as we are both KW, solely to protect teachers and others. It’s wrong for posters to say people don’t care, it would have been far easier to send them tbh.
I was disappointed with the school provision, hopefully there will be improvement in January.
Best of luck.

If only they'd had the same number of column inches on how schools needed to be made safer in order to remain open...

It's not as though they didn't have enough threads from MN to lift.

@christinarossetti19
Completely agree. So many posts explaining how schools could have been made safer - not just safer for teachers but for pupils, their families and from there, the wider community. What a shame those in power listened to the wrong voices.

@BustopherPonsonbyJones you understand, surely, that some of those people 'pushing' for key worker status might also just be trying to keep their families fed and housed?

As a single parent, not a key worker, I understood at the beginning that I had to try to scramble to make it work. But after a while, I felt completely forgotten. Not everyone is with a nice employer who makes furlough wages up to 100% (and I was lucky to at least start on a decent wage, for those closer to minimum wage, 80% of normal is not enough to stay above the poverty line).

For others, where schools had the rule that both parents had to be key workers - that could mean difficult choices, for example in a family where one person was a nurse and the other was an accountant (better paid, able to work from home), the choice was either losing well over half of the family income and risking their job if a parent had to take unpaid leave or furlough to care for younger children while the nurse kept working, or otherwise the nurse giving up, so they could have less risk and less stress and the family could keep paying bills.

Again, maybe it has to happen, but we've got to be more empathetic and trust that others are not all just either lazy or trying to scam their way into special treatment, whether that is teachers who are struggling to maintain their high standards of teaching through a pandemic or parents who are trying to do the best for their families.

Thing is we are where we are, and just as we as parents need to move on from our previous experiences which is what I'm trying to do, - and actually by asking questions rather than repeating what happened I've actually got some hugely useful tips.

It's not up to me to tell people what they can discuss, but at this point I feel it's probably not hugely helpful for teachers to keep talking about what might have been and if only.

@tigerbear. Well, thank fuck I’ve name changed then . I’m an oldie (obligatory quote around penis beaker/ nice ham/ tiny Korean lady/ mexican house theif) but name change regularly

And I must say that this was never a thread to slag off schools and teachers (or even the government).

It must be particularly shit to be a head teacher at this time

😀@Johan23 i found it a bit unnerving seeing our posts on there tbh. I know it’s a public forum and all, but still...

@tigerbear. It’s happened to me before under a different username! Unfortunately it was a bit identifying, and I had to request it was removed

Totally agree @tigerbear. I understand our comments are in the public domain but it's made me feel uncomfortable. I'd hardly describe myself as a 'furious parent' and my comment on this thread certainly doesn't criticise schools or the government for whatever decisions must be made in the circumstances.

I was merely sympathising with @Johan23 and setting out how hard I've found homeschooling and working.

Clearly that’s how people will come across to the Daily Mail - maybe that was the purpose of the thread - get some good quotes

@christinarossetti19

If only they'd had the same number of column inches on how schools needed to be made safer in order to remain open...

It's not as though they didn't have enough threads from MN to lift.

That doesn’t fit in with the agenda

@Johan23 oh god, really? I’d not be happy with that either, if it was identifying.
@RaggieDolls me too. I began reading the article, and was then like, WTF, I’ve just read my own comment!
I’m certainly not a furious parent either, and don’t blame teachers for any of this in the slightest.
Their jobs sound terribly stressful at the best of times, never mind throughout the pandemic.

I promise I’m not a journo for the daily fail. I’d be mortified to write for them.

@OverTheRubicon
This is the kind of ‘key worker’ comment to which I was responding:

SkySports
‘I have lost all respect for teachers this last year. From the rubbish home schooling attempt in March (weekly email) to a few months back to school for children properly in Sept to this. The school pressurised us not to use KW provision in March since they were short staffed (why exactly since only a handful of kids in) and many of us didn't use it - juggled working hours etc but now I won't and will take that KW space and give them something to do.’

Lovely ending to a empathetic message, hey? There were plenty of posts like that too. Well, send ‘em in but don’t be shocked when they aren’t in for long. Genuine key workers with no other options should be supported but I will ABSOLUTELY challenge the kind of nonsense written above.

@BustopherPonsonbyJones but it does sound like that poster could have qualified to use a KW place but tried to do the right thing by choosing not to, but in the end she was exhausted and annoyed. Sure it's not the most empathetic but pitching in on opposite sides of a divide, while absolutely the new fashion in politics, never really changes anyone's mind, if anything it makes them more committed.

@OverTheRubicon
Okay, the incredibly rude and insulting poster, who is stressed and tired seven months after the first lockdown, is entitled to take key worker places but will, however, find the school closes pdq if too many children remain in school and will have to home educate anyway. If she needs it, she must take it. If she is trying to punishing teachers, shame on her and she will reap what she sows. That attitude stinks though and I will continue to challenge anyone who thinks punishing other key workers (dreadful phrase) is acceptable, regardless of how anxious they are about home learning.

Any of us working and keeping some money flowing into the economy are "key workers" as far as I'm concerned, not just prescribed professions

It's unfair to say middle class parents will not lose out, there are loads of dual working parents and single parent households who simply cant deal with juggling school closures and jobs under pressure especially in this economic climate. To those who think businesses will care, to an extent they might try to for reputational sake but they ultimately have a bottom line to worry about. They will not hesitate to cut their biggest cost - labour. Work is work because you are paid for your mental presence. You can't realistically home educate, engage my kids and work at same time, no matter how great remote schooling provisions are. If your mental capacity struggles your work performance and family life suffer with adverse effect on children's learning and wellbeing.

get your children out if there are spaces elsewhere, regardless of OFSTEd ratings.

I'd be surprised if a school with a worse OFSTED rating at the best of times is going to suddenly start doing a stellar job of the online learning!

Pressure on places means that most parents have no choice. And most parents cannot afford private schools!

It's unfair to say middle class parents will not lose out, there are loads of dual working parents and single parent households who simply cant deal with juggling school closures and jobs under pressure especially in this economic climate

I totally agree with you. Work needs full attention, home school needs full attention, younger children need entertaining and kept out the way for other things to happen.
That's 3 jobs, 3 into 1 doesn't go, simple!

We tried working opposite shifts, DH working in the day time, me working in the evening. During the day I struggled to keep school child focused and LO entertained at the same time. Trying to work in the evenings after an already hard day was tough. DH was the same trying to get them both dinner and wanting his attention. We were both on our knees by the end of 5 weeks I was furloughed.

However big companies, are being put under pressure to hand furlough money back. In response they've said no more furlough. So I'm absolutely dreading 2021.

@Kokeshi123
I don’t think we are going to agree but here goes!

I would do some research. Ask your current school what they intend to provide as government guidelines have changed. Get them to put it into writing. Then ask parents at other schools (even the unpopular or failing, unsubscribed schools) what online provision was provided during the first lockdown. Check what the school plans to offer in the future and get it in writing. If online provision is the thing that matters most to you (and they have places), ignore the ratings and give it a go if it matches what you want. Accept this may inconvenience you as you might need to travel a lot further (for places and/or to find a school that suits) and other aspects of the school might be less to your taste. Accept that you may not get approving looks when you name your child’s school. It doesn’t matter.

So I think there ARE always choices but if, on balance, you decide you are sticking with your current school, work with them to improve the situation rather than complaining on Mumsnet (although I find doing so very therapeutic so I can’t talk). I am afraid online learning is coming everyone’s way at some point in the next couple of months so choose wisely. I wish you the best of luck as I know it is very stressful.

Ofsted ratings often bear very little resemblance to the actual quality of care and education on offer. Never write off a school based on what Ofsted say (in many cases, in very out of date reports).