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.

@IceCreamAndCandyfloss

This was the case in March for many. The idea is to have as few on site as possible for it to work as little point closing if everyone claims places.

Well exactly!

@Feministicon

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

That was pre mutation of the virus.

The mutation has been around since September

It depends how wide the definition of key worker is this time too. At our school one family claimed a place because they were in "essential food production". It was luxury chocolate manufacture. Partial as I am to chocolate, it hardly seems "key" to me.

@Artesia

It depends how wide the definition of key worker is this time too. At our school one family claimed a place because they were in "essential food production". It was luxury chocolate manufacture. Partial as I am to chocolate, it hardly seems "key" to me.

Cheeky buggers 😂

I can see both sides of this. If allowing 1 KW parent keeps lower paid frontline staff at work it's worthwhile. But the problem comes from selfish parents who don't want to put themselves out at all.
Our school allowed places for dc with 1 keyworker parent and were inundated with children. 1 family had 1 parent in a (part-time, non-clinical, not frontline) NHS job and the other self employed and working part-time from home. Their dc went every single day of the March lockdown because she 'would be bored at home' while other families with 2 keyworkers juggled shifts to keep their children at home as much as possible. It's very hard for schools to police who genuinely needs to use them unless they use a 2 keyworkers only rule.

@Feministicon

The mutation has been around since September

Yes, but it has now spread far more than what it had done. Many, many teachers have been off ill with it.

It very much depends upon your area. If community transmission has been lowish, that is your reason.

We had very little cases because community transmission was fairly low until the last week when a whole class had to isolate including the teacher.

No, it’s weird we were put in tier 4 before Christmas so it’s not a low rate area. I’m not sure why they’ve come off so well, not complaining about it though.

@Feministicon our school was the same (just luck I suspect).

Anecdotally lots of parents I know who were entitled to a key worker place last time and didn't take it up (like us...) have said they will use it now. Partly because they know how difficult pulling the double shift is now (and obviously this is really difficult for everyone) but also because school expectations have increased- so whereas last year it was please do some reading and worksheets and just do what you can, now there are timetabled sessions and set work per day to be uploaded. If we don't have them logged in at set times it will count as an absence. That's a lot more difficult to manage, and you can't catch it up at weekends, especially for younger children.

I'm glad schools have been able to really improve that offer- it's not a criticism at all- but the juggle then becomes harder.

Both our schools (primary and secondary) say both parents (or the single resident parent) have to be critical workers and working outside the home to get a place. Otherwise, there would be so many kids in they might as well reopen. SAHP don't need a keyworker place nor do those who WFM or on maternity. Everyone is in the same boat and needs to suck it up. It is about reducing contacts.

[quote Hellandcoldwater]@Feministicon our school was the same (just luck I suspect).

Anecdotally lots of parents I know who were entitled to a key worker place last time and didn't take it up (like us...) have said they will use it now. Partly because they know how difficult pulling the double shift is now (and obviously this is really difficult for everyone) but also because school expectations have increased- so whereas last year it was please do some reading and worksheets and just do what you can, now there are timetabled sessions and set work per day to be uploaded. If we don't have them logged in at set times it will count as an absence. That's a lot more difficult to manage, and you can't catch it up at weekends, especially for younger children.

I'm glad schools have been able to really improve that offer- it's not a criticism at all- but the juggle then becomes harder.[/quote]
Very good point there, my DS used my phone to work from last time and that was hard enough and it really won’t cut it this time I imagine 😂

My dc school wouldn't take them last time because I am a key worker (nurse) but dh isn't. However he works full time out of the house, can't work from home and his employer was not furloughing anyone because they were busy. Since he earns twice as much as me, him quitting his job or taking unpaid leave would leave us unable to pay the mortgage.
I recall posting about it on mumsnet and some posters actually told me he should quit his job and we should take a mortgage holiday!
We didn't do that - we found a childminder instead who was willing to take the kids, and paid an absolute fortune for childcare.

I agree with it. Some people took advantage the last time. I know a landscape gardener who took up a key worker space.

How the hell do the think lone parents manage?

@Willyoujustbequiet that might not have been their fault though- it doesn't really matter how 'worthy' anyone thinks anyone else's job is- if their employer says they are a critical worker and they can't be furloughed if public sector (or the employer won't furlough them) what are they supposed to do? It's not feasible for most people to just not be paid for an indefinite period of time.

My job is from home and qualifies as keyworker but couldn’t be done with kids about even if it wasn’t as involves confidential meetings that children just couldn’t be in the room for, and that I couldn’t respond appropriately to if listening out for one of my kids killing the other. So to think anyone wfh can also look after kids properly (let alone home school) is crazy

Same in lockdown 1 here, both parents have to be keyworkers. Both my sisters were affected by this negatively and ended up doing less shifts. Was talking to dh today and his cousins kids went to school during last lockdown despite having a SAHM, was really shocked school allowed it.

Hellandcoldwater hes self employed. It mattered as some single mum friends missed out on places.

I got the impression as he got it as a man he couldn't be expected to home school but the mums could . Thats how it appeared to us anyway.

I'm going to leave it up to the school. DD got a keyworker place a few weeks into the Spring lockdown once DHs job was designated a keyworker role. I'll be working from home but I have to man a phone line which is open 9-5 and DD is an only child so will have nobody available to homeschool her and no other child to play with. I know other people will be in the same situation but with no keyworker partner and I'll be very lucky if she gets a place. They seemed very keen to give her a place last time and replied very quickly and enthusiastically but I realise things may have changed.

I think it depends on the school, and also definition of key worker depends on the school. Last time my kids school indicated that key worker provision was only for children where both parents were key workers (or one single parent) and both worked outside of the home. I'm a civil servant and was working on covid response from home during first lockdown. I got a letter to say I was a key worker to show school but with the schools definition I didn't qualify. The letter even alluded to that and I did t bother arguing the case with school as DH is self employed and simply reduced work tk cope. Bit crap money wise but he's not the main earner so we are ok. However a couple of my friends took advantage of key worker places despite working at home, one of whom has a non key worker husband. Tbh that did rather piss me off as she works part time and my single parent colleague wasn't able to get a place for her son due to fact she wasn't working out if home. By the end of the summer she was off sick with stress

Schools will vary in what they allow because

-of staffing differences (lots of young teachers in their 20s versus a high proportion of older of otherwise vulnerable staff)

-demand. If you live right near a hospital it will be harder to get a place

• attitude of the headteacher

None of these are particularly fair but it means comparing one family’s ‘not allowed a place’ with another in a different area isn’t particularly helpful. Your child not being allowed one isn’t because your cousin’s sisters’ son did.

Don’t forget that families with key workers may have other reasons too such as children without ECHPs who have special needs that the school consider need a place.

The other factor that OP mentions is if the children being at home means they can’t do their jobs. Say you work for a charity giving CBT to people with depression on behalf of the NHS, it doesn’t matter if your husband is a SAHD if you have reception age twins. It would be very hard to offer those vulnerable people proper care. No amount of supervision will stop 5 year olds from being noisy at any time in the day.

@Myshinynewname

I can see both sides of this. If allowing 1 KW parent keeps lower paid frontline staff at work it's worthwhile. But the problem comes from selfish parents who don't want to put themselves out at all. Our school allowed places for dc with 1 keyworker parent and were inundated with children. 1 family had 1 parent in a (part-time, non-clinical, not frontline) NHS job and the other self employed and working part-time from home. Their dc went every single day of the March lockdown because she 'would be bored at home' while other families with 2 keyworkers juggled shifts to keep their children at home as much as possible. It's very hard for schools to police who genuinely needs to use them unless they use a 2 keyworkers only rule.

Yes totally agree with this. Based on things I heard some people really took the piss while others moved heaven and earth to not use a place. Those people should have ask and the piss takers should have well, not taken the piss!!

@Willyoujustbequiet it was a general point, clearly I don't know anything about your gardener friend. I bet there are plenty of gardeners who work for LAs who did have to work though.

It's not the first comment I've seen in that vein on this thread- 'just sitting at a computer' could be all sorts of things. Also worth remembering that you don't know what's going on for specific kids or at home in a lot of cases. I know more than one child who went in because of their SN/MH/Parental illness- if you didn't know the family you might think they were blagging.

Ah xposted with others who said similar.