Our (primary) head says kids can only have place (London Borough with schools shut) if there are two keyworker parents not one.

[AdmiralButterfly]

Is this legal? I thought school or council had to find school place if one parent a keyworker. A doctor friend explained this to me in lockdown one that if they didn’t have school place the other parent would be doing it 24 hours a day as the doctor parent needs to sleep after their shift not take over childcare.

Personally I think we're beyond key worker definitions now. Everyone who works needs to keep their job, and all jobs are needed to keep the economy going. There was abuse of the scheme last time, so I'm not surprised there is a new restriction of 2 key worker parents. It should be based more on who can wfh and who can't. And yes it is near impossible to wfh and teach a KS1 child and care for a toddler. I did it for 3 months last time and it was utter hell. Started work at 6am and finished at midnight, 7 days a week, for 3 months, in order to fit schooling and childcare in. These are sacrifices we need to make during a global pandemic.

@Feministicon I've seen lots of people who don't seem to get this, both on MN and offline - last lockdown as well, I had so many people wanting to send their kid in even if they were on maternity leave or their partner was unemployed. I know most people do though, it's such a shit situation and they totally have my sympathy regardless.

@ByersRd

In some schools on military bases, near hospitals schools had 400+ children if they didn't apply the two parent guide. How on earth would they staff that in small bubbles and where? Think beyond yourself.

That’s why it varies 🤷‍♀️

@MessAllOver of course but then what can we do? Say that anyone who can't do their job can send their child in - how could schools possibly verify or regulate that? Or staff it? May as well keep schools open at that point.

@ByersRd

It doesn't say in that guidance that it has to be 2 key worker parents

Guidance...not law.

Schools don't all have the facility to offer places when it is just one KW child. Guidance was always 'stay at home if you can'. We relied on parents wanting to keep their children safe and also in parents wanting to support the greater cause, not selfishly taking up places when they were at home or able to be flexible.
Schools only have so much space, under social distancing this capped the number of children in school. Parents who take place they don't need are denying others.

Yes I know all that. I was just answering the poster who said that she had seen that the guidance says it has to be 2 keyworker parents, it doesn't say anything about it.

It's up the the individual schools as to what they can accommodate.

[quote year5teacher]@Feministicon I've seen lots of people who don't seem to get this, both on MN and offline - last lockdown as well, I had so many people wanting to send their kid in even if they were on maternity leave or their partner was unemployed. I know most people do though, it's such a shit situation and they totally have my sympathy regardless.[/quote]
Some people are very selfish, I agree.

@Scottishgirl85. The question is whether it is possible to provide safe care for young children. Exhausted parents on conference calls ignoring young children is unsafe.

If work is "key", parents need childcare.

My next door neighbor works nights and her 3 very young, very boisterous children are in the house all day with their dad. This was true before Covid as well. They soundproofed and she uses ear plugs and white noise just like every other shift worker.

they have to be strict on this! no point otherwise

Same here with our school
At the moment we’re still on for next week but I’m really worried about if/when they close.
I’m a keyworker, DH not but he is on video calls constantly and in first lockdown kids were left to their own devices, not too much of an issue for elder two but terrible for the 5yo bordering on unsafe 😞
Feel embarrassed to say to the school I can’t get my DH to take time off and step up. Although it is hard for him - he works for a small group and is the only that does what he does, it’s very pressured

But there’s also the issue of not wanting to expose them and teachers to increased risk

@Diddlysquatty

But there’s also the issue of not wanting to expose them and teachers to increased risk

Lots of us are teachers/school staff.

This happened last time, with the assumption the non key worker could wfh or take time off for childcare, as those who are not key workers would have to do

I'm in school one week out of three AND delivering online lessons. We've put our 4 tiny rural schools together so no idea who'll be in my class. Interesting times!

Some "key worker" parents really stretched it last time and it wound us up , especially when we carried on providing childcare (unpaid) on a rota throughout the summer - I hasten to say it was voluntary but we felt it was a real need locally. I'd never ever begrudge it for the vulnerable children or genuine key workers, or key workers on a few much needed days off but there were just one or two who pushed it.

It's one key worker in our school.

It's even worse than that. At a London primary school I know not only do both parents have to be working but if the spouse of the critical worker is working from home then they are not eligible.

I think this sounds sensible. The non-key worker parent has to carry the load, just like single parents do or parents in families of non-key workers where one parent cannot work from home. Neither Dh or I are key workers but only I can work from home (Dh self employed and can’t wfh or take Dh to work with him due to it being unsafe). I had to suffer on through with a full time job (actually in clinical research but not front line so not really a ‘key worker’) and 5 months with dc at home. It was absolute hell. But those places should be available to those who need them most.

This was the case for our school during the first lockdown.

Luckily DH and I are both keyworkers. I can't imagine how difficult it is for parents to be expected to work with schools shut! I don't see how they can see WFH as being available for childcare. It's just not feasible.

Ours was only one key worker patent during the last lockdown and now two for this closure. I assume to keep the number of teachers required to still work to as low a number as possible.

There has to be limits to keep everyone safe, otherwise schools might as well be open.
Taking a place you don't need, takes it away from someone else. We need to look after each other.
Furlough does apply for childcare reasons. Yes, a financial hit of 20% but worth it to reduce stress levels and keep your children safe.

@dingoesatemybaby

This was the case for our school during the first lockdown.

Luckily DH and I are both keyworkers. I can't imagine how difficult it is for parents to be expected to work with schools shut! I don't see how they can see WFH as being available for childcare. It's just not feasible.

I totally agree that non key workers were simply tossed to the wolves. If it turns out I’m not needed at school (still yet to hear anything as staff or as a parent from the senior school) I will give my sons key worker space up, anything else would be conniving and lazy.

This was the rule in our school in lockdown 1

That said, I know someone who last lockdown asked to be furloughed due to childcare. They are an NHS clinician, working in palliative care, probably would have been very needed. But they claimed their partner who wfh normally and has a very low-key just sitting on a computer all day sort of job couldn’t cope without another full time parent at home managing dc and meals and homeschooling. Apparently it was just too hard to work with school age dc in the house. So my friend had to leave her clinical role to facilitate it.

I assume to keep the number of teachers required to still work to as low a number as possible

It maybe that school staff are already ill and not available, given COVID rates.

My sons primary has only had one case since they went back.

@mindutopia

That said, I know someone who last lockdown asked to be furloughed due to childcare. They are an NHS clinician, working in palliative care, probably would have been very needed. But they claimed their partner who wfh normally and has a very low-key just sitting on a computer all day sort of job couldn’t cope without another full time parent at home managing dc and meals and homeschooling. Apparently it was just too hard to work with school age dc in the house. So my friend had to leave her clinical role to facilitate it.

The thing is though, some people will be in situations where the 'low key just sitting on a computer' job brings in much more money to the household than the 'key worker' job, and it would be more devastating if that income was lost.

This is certainly the case for my DH, who 'sits a computer all day' but earns 3 times what I do as a key worker. We would rely on him keeping that income.