Those wanting school open - are you not worried about your DC?

[Hicksville21]

Just that really. Do you not think it’s time to keep our kids home safe until this wave passes?

No. Even though he is in a clinically vulnerable group the risks to his mental health and long term development of staying out of school (special) are greater. He is also highly unlikely to take the virus into school because he doesn't mix with others out of school and neither do we. Very small classes at school as well.

I think I would be more concerned if my dc were secondary school age and above. My two are in primary school. They have additional needs. They need to be in school for their own needs. We got barely any home learning done last time. They do have ehcps and technically could have gone in last lockdown but the school had to prioritise key worker children ( a lot of children of key workers in the school here) and those who were vulnerable! My children weren’t a priority despite that they both have learning difficulties and fell further behind than they already were 😒 and it took a long time to settle them when they did go back (I’m talking several weeks).

To be honest yes I worry but I worry more so about his mental well being long term, so I am trying to strike a balance, therefore he attends school to benefit both his well being and his education. Outside of school he plays an organised sport (outside obviously)... Apart from this he has been one of the very few children in our area who has not met up with friends, hung around the streets, slept at others homes, visited relatives etc. Yes I am aware none of the above should be done hence why he doesn't do it.

OP ive just realised I never answered your question; I’m not worried at all, and never have been.

No not really, don't particularly like them either though.

@GoldenLabbie

Many parents in this country see schools as a free child minding service. So to answer your question, no they don’t care.

This attitude is so tedious. Parents don’t see school as free childminding for gods sake. School is there for education, socialisation, so many things. We pay for it through our taxes. Children have always gone to school mon-fri 9-3 term time, they just have. Expecting parents to either not work just in case there’s a once in a lifetime pandemic or have a cheeky £800+ per child per month squirrelled away ‘just in case’ they can’t go to school is completely unrealistic. Parents (mostly women) revolve their careers and lives around school as it’s a constant that’s expected. Children have a legal obligation to this and parents are fined if they don’t attend.

So piss off with this attitude that parents see school as childcare. School is an important part of the whole families lives and is where children are while parents work.

And we aren't seeing any relatives at the moment so I'm not worried about DS passing it on to loved ones. I'm a healthy 30 year old so I'm not worried about myself either.

I'm more worried about them missing school in crucial years, I've got one in Y13 and one in Y11. My eldest found studying at home really hard (though at least it won't be as hot this time round and he's got a bit more space now). My youngest found it more mentally hard being out of school and the pressure on them has been huge.

No I am not worried. Kids are aged 5 years and 11 months.

I AM however worried about the number and frequency of these sorts of threads which get repeatedly created, each more emotive than the other, each aiming to guilt trip people more than the other, and collectively contributing to nothing constructive whatsoever.

I'm more worried about the school staff, I think they should be up there with the NHS/care staff in terms of vaccination priority

And sorry OP I’m not really worried. We are lucky to not have anyone vulnerable on the family and for the children the benefits of school hugely outweigh the risks. Completely understand the teachers worries though and family with ECV.

Nope not worried. Her school is in a village and has been amazing with their Covid safety.
More worried the damage not being at school will cause both to her mental health and her education, she only stated in September as is doing so so well. By the end of lockdown 1 she was so miserable she wouldn't get off the sofa. A 4 year old shouldn't be like that.

I imagine people are more worried about not being able to get to work, or their kids missing out on education.

Kids are v low risk. Why would people be worried about them?

The issue of kids spreading it is obviously different.

Yes I am very worried about the long term impact of missing large chunks of education, the home-schooling in the summer did not count as education and online home-schooling is overall no substitute for school. My DC is 14 so school is not "child care" for us

Nope not worried. The impact of schools closing will be far worse.

I do feel sorry for teachers who are anxious for whatever reason - especially in early years where there is no chance of distancing. If schools close I will be using key workers place which I didn’t last time around - first lockdown nearly broke me trying to work and home school.

I'm not worried about my sons in school/college, but what I am worried about are the long terms effects on their schooling and the ability to get a job.

My youngest has started his 1st year of GCSEs, and I feel he needs the structure and the stability. In any case, he would miss his mates, something he didn't have in the 1st lockdown, as he's very sociable.

When they went back in September, it could have been Christmas Day in our house, as he was so excited to get back into the classroom.

No, I'm not worried about them getting COVID - there is a much higher risk of other things that I wouldn't consider stopping them from doing. And as a member of school staff I'm not worried about myself or colleges either. It's much more worrying that my kids might have to stay at home again. They are already suffering with no social interaction. I think they've suffered enough.

[quote Waxonwaxoff0]@GoldenLabbie give over with the "free childminding" comments. God forbid people actually want to work to feed their kids![/quote]
I completely agree, ridiculous attitude. Not to mention that without working parents, there are no schools. Small matter of taxes.

I work in a school and I do worry about the impact that schools being shut has on their mental health. Some kids have tried to take their own life during this period. Some kids have no escapism from abusive homes once schools are shut. Kids spend more time on social media when they are not at school, increasing the risk of online bullying, talking to weirdos etc etc.

I have two children. I am worried about one getting it but less worried about the other one. The one I'm worried about is refusing to go back to school anyway so might be okay. Then I just need to worry about the fact they are supposed to be sitting their GCSEs and A levels next year.

No, the risk to the children is extremely tiny. We WFH and don't see relatives so we won't pass school-acquired infections on to anyone.

The bigger risk is to school staff and to us, if staff have underlying conditions or we get long COVID. The school is new and well ventilated, and I trust the senior management to manage the risks on behalf of their staff. If we get long COVID that will be very bad, but we both need to earn a wage to live and that is near-impossible with two kids at home.

No I'm not worried about my dd should she catch covid19.
I probably won't even know she's got it TBH

Nope, I’m not worried at all. They are at a minuscule risk.

If they give it to me, I become unwell and die then that’s just life. We are lucky to live in 2020 in a country with universal access to free healthcare. People have become spoilt and lost all perspective on the risks associated with living. Being human carries risks and we will all die one day, that’s for certain.

I’d be more scared of myself or children getting a cancer diagnosis, which takes far more people ‘before their time’ than Covid does. But I’m not actually scared because I don’t think about it. I’m too busy living my life!

No classes offer opportunities for social distancing!

I'm not in the UK - my children haven't been physically to school since February. Things are relatively normal here so hoping they'll go back at some point in the new year... it's been tough on them but they're coping.