75% of my school are in

[ReginaPhalangee]

That's it in a nutshell. Three quarters of my school are classed as keyworker or vulnerable. Might as well chuck the other 50 in and be done with it.

Lockdown 1... 12 children.

No PPE and we've got to double our workload for the ones needing remote learning whilst we are teaching our classes. And then making phone calls to check on them.

It's the same for every school in my area.

This is making my blood boil at the moment. Our small primary school has 70% children in some days, and no less than 62% on any other week day. All the parents have suddenly become keyworkers, apparently!!!! I know the majority of them are working from home but 'I'm entitled to a place so why shouldn't I use it?'. Boris has said only one parent needs to be a keyworker and schools 'must' accommodate keyworker parents. The LEA won't back the schools to insist both parents must be keyworkers unless the schools can prove they don't have sufficient staff to take all the children. In theory I could have my children at school. My husband is a keyworker, I'm a SAHM so don't need to have the children at school...but I'm entitled to it. I saw one 'keyworker mum' out jogging yesterday while the over stretched and stressed teachers were teaching 'little Jonny'. The school has pleaded with parents to reconsider the need to bring their children into school but very few parents have been shamed into keeping them off. In my sons class of 30 there's 21 children in (and that's only the ones that I'm aware of). I can count 4 children in that class that I would genuinely say need a place for their child, parents that are both keyworkers and both HAVE to leave the house to work. It's an absolute disgrace and is doing absolutely nothing to stop the spread of Covid, the schools may as well be fully open and take back the few children that are actually remote learning!

We are at about 30% in our primary. One difference is that the school is offering the same learning in school as they are offering at home. Previously, the school only offered childcare.

I supervised the kids who still came to our school during lockdown here. I felt sorry for them. It's nothing like being in school properly, the days are long, the smaller children found it difficult to cope. Sitting by themselves or with a sibling in a room where they were expected to just complete worksheets and online programming all day. Staff were highly stressed, as were the children. It is far from ideal, not some lovely little group getting small group instruction and forging ahead.

Kids who came in all through lockdown fared no better, academically or emotionally, than the kids who didn't.

I broke many social distance rules with the little ones who were in, b/c it was too cruel to keep away from them when upset and needing help, but I was not supposed to be providing tuition or comfort.

Teachers should not have to teach online and live, and supervising TA's should not have large groups and unsafe work conditions.

Kids who came in all through lockdown fared no better, academically or emotionally, than the kids who didn't.

How the hell do you know?

Plenty of kids at home were stuck in front of screens for the guts of the working day. It doesn’t take much to trump that.

@feministicon I am surprised the support staff are being left alone. In my school, we were told the children had to be supervised by a teacher and there would be a member of support staff to assist.

@christinarossetti19 my husband works in university admissions. He is a key worker because without him and the small team be works in, there would be no one to process university applications and no one would be going to university !

It’s all irrelevant anyway, with 800 cases a day in London hospitals. We are weeks away from a collapsed NHS when the main drivers of infections are still open almost fully. They will be shut totally then for months.

What a mess.

@Bramblespoint

Interestingly the guidance just published states that "children of critical workers should be kept at home if possible"

Well that's helpful, ok, home alone it is then for all the doctors and nurses kids

My children were both at school in the last lockdown due to me being a keyworker I wfh but it's impossible to get any work done. As I am having to sit with them and answer questions and this time round I decided not to send them in. I am still a keyworker, however my daughter has anger issues and regularly gets into a state of anger where she is throwing items at me or trying to hurt me. Today I decided to ask for places for my children in the school because I feel that if I don't then the next few months will be hell and everyone's mental health will suffer. I feel so guilty for doing this because of the risk of catching the virus but for our family this is the right thing to do. If the school turn round and say there is no space then we will have to deal with it.

Whittystitties it's not saying that, it's saying keep them gone if you can. I take that to mean if you are working from home (so not a doctor or nurse) then keep them home!!

Keep them home if you can damn autocorrect

@breadwidow

Whittystitties it's not saying that, it's saying keep them gone if you can. I take that to mean if you are working from home (so not a doctor or nurse) then keep them home!!

Some jobs cannot be done at home with kids present, and that's a fact

I can't believe people are going for the unions! Over a thousand people reported dead yesterday, hospitals have higher numbers of patients than in March and we're right at the beginning. If schools and everything else doesn't shut down we won't have a functional health service, which puts everyone in danger.

Do people not remember the spring when ambulances didn't come out unless you're lips were blue and people were dying at home?

If this doesn't work we're going to have our lives restricted for longer, more people will die, more people will be very ill.

Unions wanted to protect their members, that is their purpose. Unions didn't organise this half baked lockdown. Unions didn't write the keyworker list. Unions didn't fail to deliver laptops or secure broadband. Unions didn't keep our borders open, they didn't fail to enforce quarantine or force schools to stay open as they watched local infection rates rise. This is squarely on the government.

@PlumsAreNotTheOnlyFruit

We should vaccinate the teachers and then the schools should just go back.

But the problem with that is that the virus could still spread merrily among the children, who all live with parents and see grandparents and neighbours and aunties and childminders... It wouldn't stop the spread

[quote Frozenintime]@christinarossetti19 my husband works in university admissions. He is a key worker because without him and the small team be works in, there would be no one to process university applications and no one would be going to university ![/quote]
It's not about being a key worker - my point was that some universities like other sectors from what people are saying are finding way to make all of their staff fit the 'critical worker' category and using this to leverage staff to go on site or stipulate that they cannot do childcare while working so they should access critical worker school places.

Which isn't really in the spirit of reducing viral transmission, which is the point of shifting as much schooling as possible online.

@wonderstuff

I can't believe people are going for the unions! Over a thousand people reported dead yesterday, hospitals have higher numbers of patients than in March and we're right at the beginning. If schools and everything else doesn't shut down we won't have a functional health service, which puts everyone in danger.

Do people not remember the spring when ambulances didn't come out unless you're lips were blue and people were dying at home?

If this doesn't work we're going to have our lives restricted for longer, more people will die, more people will be very ill.

Unions wanted to protect their members, that is their purpose. Unions didn't organise this half baked lockdown. Unions didn't write the keyworker list. Unions didn't fail to deliver laptops or secure broadband. Unions didn't keep our borders open, they didn't fail to enforce quarantine or force schools to stay open as they watched local infection rates rise. This is squarely on the government.

100%

It's interesting because when you ask people who are criticising the unions which parts of their statements they disagree with, no-one can ever identify them.

It's almost like they haven't read the statements, hear the word 'union' and go into some frenzied rage. Which is inevitable when there are so many workers who aren't protected by a union, people have no idea what they actually do.

I get that a lot of people are taking advantage of sending kids to school but I can definitely see why the number of kids in school have increased this time compared to last time. Last time my DH was furloughed for 12 weeks. I’m only part time working two days a week (10-6) WFH but I’m upstairs in the spare bedroom talking to customers so unable to home school on those days. My DH is not furloughed this time and it’s not an option so he’s out of the house 7-5.
Last time my DH done the home schooling on days I worked and they I picked it up on the days I was off. Then once he went back to work, all of the home schooling was done on my days off, it was stressful but manageable.
This time there is so much more work being set to do each day by the teachers. We have struggled to get all work complete within the day this week, never mind cramming it all in to 3 days. I’m classed as a key working (not that I want to be!)
So could potentially put my 2 children in school on the days I work. I’d rather have them at home with me as it’s safer so have decided that we will have to treat Saturdays and Sunday’s as school days and the kids can have their days off on the days I’m working. It’s just a shame for them as they are unable to use the WiFi on any of their devices when I’m working as my computer and system cannot cope with it. Feel like it’s going to be a very long 6 weeks!

I'm so infuriated at the government for this half-baked 'lockdown' - what on earth is the point in closing schools if they're actually at least half full??

I bumped into someone I know this week. I assumed her kids were at home like mine. No - she'd rung school to beg them to go in because 'she couldn't face it' after last year's homeschooling. She doesn't work and is, like me, a SAHM. Her partner is apparently a critical worker (he's not a HCP or anything even approaching that, and TBH I think my mouth fell a little open when she told me). She is a SAHM but using school as childcare. For no other reason, as far as I can see, than she'd decided she couldn't hack it and one of her children was sad about not seeing friends.

With this sort of attitude we'll be stuck in fucking lockdown all year.

My school are really strict - both parents must be working key workers to have a child in school. It’s bad leadership from your head teacher.

“ I'm so infuriated at the government for this half-baked 'lockdown' - what on earth is the point in closing schools if they're actually at least half full??”

The whole situation has thrown the exam year students under the bus. Their opportunity for qualification has been shafted, and the amount of kids still filling primaries makes me think for what? The gcse and alevel students might has well have just been allowed to carry on attending.

My DD's primary school is being really strict on places this time around.
Neither parent can be WFH, if you're part time then the place is only part time, all other avenues must be exhausted and they want a letter from your employer confirming you have to physically go into work.
I know I am in the same boat as thousands of others but I really don't know how I am going to manage my own work whilst supporting DD. Last lockdown I ended up with anxiety and insomnia, nearly lost the plot and ended up signed off work for four weeks.
Home schooling is bloody hard enough without trying to keep on top of your own workload, it's so overwhelming.

@BlackWaveComing

I supervised the kids who still came to our school during lockdown here. I felt sorry for them. It's nothing like being in school properly, the days are long, the smaller children found it difficult to cope. Sitting by themselves or with a sibling in a room where they were expected to just complete worksheets and online programming all day. Staff were highly stressed, as were the children. It is far from ideal, not some lovely little group getting small group instruction and forging ahead.

Kids who came in all through lockdown fared no better, academically or emotionally, than the kids who didn't.

I broke many social distance rules with the little ones who were in, b/c it was too cruel to keep away from them when upset and needing help, but I was not supposed to be providing tuition or comfort.

Teachers should not have to teach online and live, and supervising TA's should not have large groups and unsafe work conditions.

That's a real shame, my 9yo is really enjoying being back.

I’m an out of home critical worker by any definition so my children are eligible for a place. My husband works from home and not a key worker. First lockdown, we kept them at home and dh did majority home schooling but at that point, the work demands placed on him were less as his industry had shut down and also the schooling demands were less.
This time, dh is working constantly at home (and is in fear of redundancy so needs to show full focus and commitment) and both kids have full and different educational timetables which require them to be online or engaged with pretty much constantly throughout the day.
Therefore we’ve taken the places and sent them in. And yes, the uptake locally is clearly well up on lockdown 1.

@TheKeatingFive

Kids who came in all through lockdown fared no better, academically or emotionally, than the kids who didn't.

How the hell do you know?

Plenty of kids at home were stuck in front of screens for the guts of the working day. It doesn’t take much to trump that.

There was no appreciable difference in outcomes, as tracked by the school, between the two cohorts, measured post lock-down. (Not in the UK).

Hth.

There was no appreciable difference in outcomes, as tracked by the school, between the two cohorts, measured post lock-down. (Not in the UK).

Ah, ‘tracked by the school’. Convincing.

And if you’re not in the U.K. how’s that relevant to a U.K. situation?