School requested my child attend school fulltime even though I'm part time

[Goldendeliciousness]

Title says it all really. I have one child who is school age. I am a key worker who works Monday-Wednesday. The school have asked that all children of key workers attend five days a week. So my child could go in on days I am not working.

I could say no, and I probably will. But my point is, should they be doing this? I was under the impression that school attendance was to enable parents to work, but by offering childcare on days that parents aren't working this is going to put children together for longer and increase risk of transmission?

For example, if a child in my sons class displays symptoms on Saturday my son would have been exposed on Thursday and Friday and is far more likely to contract the disease. If he had been at home with me then he would be less likely, and therefore less transmission between people.

Unfortunately when children return they will all be at a disadvantage because many of the group are behind.

How are teachers going to be able to teach such a mixed group effectively?

Mrswombat I have asked them, they say this is for planning purposes for school meals and lesson plans.
I don't agree with this reason. We are being asked to stay home. Parents have been told schools are not safe for children. We should reduce contact with each other to save lives. Schools are open for key workers so they can work and keep essential services running, I am not working on a Thursday or Friday so why should I send my child in to mix with the pupils and teachers?

Of course I can simply not send him on those days, and I may well do this. However I am concerned that what the school is asking of children conflicts with government advice.

I believe they take this approach so that if one child tests positive they can send home the whole bubble rather then have to remain open for those that weren’t exposed within 48hrs.

ours is the same, i do work FT but can work from home part of the week, i told them this and they asked that all children attend FT- it's for staffing etc.

How are teachers going to be able to teach such a mixed group effectively?
My DC’s primary school spent the entire month of September resettling children and repeating the homeschool work. They didn’t touch any new material until October to ensure they all started from the same place.

Really? It puts my child at an advantage even though as a child of a frontline nhs shift worker she is actually at greater risk of having a dead parent? Think you need to refine your understanding of advantage.
Schools need to plan for maximum safety, meaning they can't have children popping up on random days. My DH's school had less than 10 children in some days during the last lockdown, and more than 50 on others. If you're trying to have the minimum safe levels of staff in how can you plan for that?
Just be glad your child has a keyworker place, I have NHS colleagues who don't, because they're not frontline, yet are still vital to a smooth running service.

Same here. My daughter has a keyworker place at school and I was told it was a full time place, even though I could have her home on my non working day

Actually we haven't been told schools aren't safe.

Schools and the staff have enough going on without catering to every ones whims
Use them full time. Or don't. Simple.

People wanted them shut.
We closed them

Now you're moaning because they aren't tailoring to your specific need? Farsical.

It’s school - it isn’t childcare. If their offer doesn’t suit you then make other arrangements for childcare that are convenient. You are being ridiculously demanding and unreasonable.

Isla I should have written at an advantage academically. Of course a child who attends school five days a week is going to be at an academic advantage over one who has not attended school in weeks or months.
I am sorry you have colleagues that can't access their key workers spaces but I don't think I should "just be glad" that my child is expected to attend school five days a week when that conflicts with the government message. I want to do what I can to save lives, protect the nhs and part of that is keeping my child at home on the days I am at home and not working so that I can reduce the spread of this virus, and not place my family or anyone else's at unnecessary risk.

Just frustrated ** tailoring to my every need. Yes it's really unreasonable my request that my child should only be in school for childcare on the days that I am at work. How dare I want to keep others safe by reducing mixing of households and following the government message.

Bonkers.

Of course it is childcare, they have stayed open to allow key workers to work. They aren't offering their services to families where there is not a key worker (unless there's a vulnerable child).

It didn't take long for the Mumsnet army to come out

I imagine it’s easier to actually teach them something that way instead of half the ‘keyworker class’ being off on different days.
Parents harping on about their kids education being ruined then moan and expect teachers to juggle what that can teach the children they can in person around every parents schedule???

It is childcare yes.

I'm choosing to pay through the nose to keep my children home. As I could access the school provisions, but it's not inkeeping with what should be occuring (full time attendance also fyi, both myself and DH are full time workers so actually....)

But you are asking they bend to you and what you need, and also what all the other hundreds of parents require too I presume?

Protect the NHS the other ways and either take up your space or don't. But pay attention to what people who understand the system are saying FFS.

Also, your child is likely wrong on the provision they're receiving. They aren't in class like they would normally be.

Same at my kids school, I work 2 days one week and 3 the next but they have to attend full time. We don’t have another option, I need to be in the office at office hours for appointments on my work days. The kids go to their usual classroom and teacher and work alongside the same timetable sent home including the teams sessions. My son was the only on in his class yesterday but there were two more today.

If I choose not to send my child to school then the service I work for will not be able to function. This is an essential service that requires face to face meetings throughout the day, albeit virtually at present. If this service doesn't run a lot of people will suffer as a consequence. I want to work, I want to do my bit but part of that is also wanting to follow government guidelines and do it in the safest way possible.

It seems like the whole motivation for closing schools has been lost if the outcome means that so many are at school. We are finding it to be a bit of a battle for the teacher's attention as he has to teach so many in person that he naturally hasn't got time to provide as much time for those online.

Am very concerned about gd who has just started Reception. One parent will have to take unpaid leave to homeschool as in last lockdown it was very stressful to juggle almost FT work and this was before gd started Reception and really needed to be learning phonics etc. I was under the impression that school was for keyworkers where there was no available parent and that it was effectively ‘childcare’ . If a considerable number are actually being taught in a class, as others have said those at home will be very disadvantaged and how on earth will they catch up when school as we know actually restarts? Teaching phonics etc to a reluctant learner is a specialised job.

Our school are offering parttime but you have to attend on the same days each week, also they're not teaching, they're sat in a room with a teacher who will help them but not teach them.

Same here, I requested a part time keyworker place. They've come back with an offer of full time place, its all or nothing. They must have their reasons for doing it that way.

Our school are doing the same. DH and I work shifts as key workers but me only two days a week. DD age 6 will have to go all 5.

I think it’s to offer consistency in the bubbles and also for their learning. I can imagine if children chop and change between online & in school each week it’s just more admin for the staff to keep on top of.

Our school is doing this on the basis that they will be providing a normal teaching provision alongside a timetable for those in school. On top of this there's the requirement to plan and offer remote learning and question time and feedback for children at home. Teachers will have extra duties and it's going to be too hard to interchange both options.

Ours is for staffing purposes. Especially if/when bubbles burst and certain groups are then sent home. Its all well and good you saying "I'm using the same 3 days every week" but there are plenty of shift workers who will say "I need Tuesday this week, next week its Wednesday and Friday, don't know after that yet" etc and it gets very complicated to manage staffing numbers, school dinner orders, ensuring cover for part time attendees if their school bubble bursts while they're not in school.
Logistically its not as simple as everyone seems to think. Much easier to say all in, or not at all. Schools were told to open and given such a quick u-turn that they're trying to cope as best they can. Cut them some slack.

freezedriedromance, that makes sense. Thank you for the explanation.