If you didn’t send your kids to school in the summer term but are sending them now, please explain why?

[Bvop]

There was a tiny handful of dc at the primary school during lockdown one, some days just one child. Now almost half the school are there. I haven’t been able to make sense of it from the other mn threads where there are lots of people explaining why they need places. I get that people need places but don’t see why the numbers have shifted so much. This isn’t meant to be goady btw: I’m curious, and understand that people really need the provision schools offer.

I don't have a horse in this race but in the first lockdown a lot of businesses closed of their own accord, without being told to by government as they didn't have the social distancing/delivery/takeaway etc infrastructure in place yet. Now they have so you have more people going out to work than before and they need to send their children to school.
Also, people may have been naive about the effects of homeschooling/lack.of socialisation with peers full time on their children and them in the first lockdown and may not be seeking to repeat the experience this time.

Because during the first lockdown I wasn’t required to be in school. This one, I am, and therefore my children are in school.

I think it’s a combination of -

• more people considered keyworkers (by their employer and the government) = expectation that they are working as normal, whether from home or outside of the home. This is almost entirely incompatible with also caring for children (never mind supporting home school).

• people have not recovered from the monumental effort to keep afloat last time. I feel this way - I’m incredibly fortunate because my toddler is still in childcare, but if that ends I will have to take leave from work because I just cannot do both again. I’m super lucky I have the option to take leave without negative consequence - I can imagine choosing to use a kw place (which I am officially entitled to) instead.

My employer has changed the goal posts since the Summer.

Dh was on furlough. Then he got made redundant. Now he is also a key worker, working out of the home, like me.

• I’m not convinced it will be ‘short term’ and do not want to get to the point where I CANT have a space
• I’m in my third trimester
• I now have two in school, not one
• I just can’t cope with it again, I really can’t. I’m lucky we are both critical workers so can have a space so although it’s massively shit for others - I need to help my own MH & that of my family as I suffer badly with anxiety & depression & cannot let this happen again when I am due to have another child soon & the impact of PPD.

I wasn't working then, I am now as a key worker.

the first lockdown and no school place for my disabled child (low functioning autism) nearly broke us (I also WFH, have a younger child and I am a lone parent). There is no way I am putting my DC and myself through this hell again now that we have been offered a place for my DD with autism. HTH.

Because as a teacher who is teaching live lessons I couldn’t access wraparound last time but now I can, plus I’m on rota more days than I was in March ‘20.

Dentistry was closed then so I was at home with DS. I am now working so he will go to school. Only on the days I work though.
DH is working full time from home. He’s financial services so also a critical worker. I guess he could try and do the home school with DS on my work days but DS needs the social interaction as an only child. His mental health suffered last time so glad he can go in.

My husband and I are both key workers, working from home, and decided not to send them first time round. It nearly broke us. Trying to keep up with demanding full time jobs, home school the kids and have time for any kind of decent rest became an impossible juggle. I have chronic health issues which became much worse and at one point got signed off for a few weeks as my body just completely broke. I cried daily and it's the first time in our marriage we had regular arguments. Both of us failed to do anything close to our normal workload.

When this lockdown was announced we sat down to discuss it and agreed we couldn't survive that again, not without seriously jeopardising one or both of our jobs, my health, our marriage and the kids education/mental wellbeing. We had pretty much made the decision that we had to send them into school but then my husband was put on 50% furlough and my mum offered to move in (we are her support bubble) and she has been a massive help.

If either of the above changes, we will have to apply for spaces and it makes me feel awful but we honestly couldn't cope otherwise.

I think many people who didn't use spaces last time but have this time will be in similar situations to this - the experience last time was so horrendous they don't feel like they have any other choice

We are sending DD1 as DD2 is in the school nursery and therefore our risk isn't any higher. Our's are at a tiny indie though and only has 10 in a class. The other reason is that I need to work (critical worker). DH's mental health is fragile and it would mean that I would need to do the bulk of homeschooling as well as work full time. I'm not willing to risk my mental health and my child's education when the risks are small.
At the end of the day, families will have individual circumstances and make the decision that is right for them. Others have no right to judge

Because employers are no longer willing to accept people homeschooling and working at the same time.

Only my DS is going in, he did some last year, but only after I cried to the school. I absolutely asked for a place for him this time.

I was entitled to a keyworker place in lockdown 1 as a single parent but my son had had a bad winter with croup and chest infections in Nov, Feb and March (90% attendance). There was much less information and my Gp supported keeping him off school until his asthma and hay-fever was optimised. I worked from home for the NHS throughout. Lockdown 3..he has had a good winter so far..much less children at my school and I've changed keywords jobs so had to go in therefore I'm now using the keywords school places allocated.

keyworker*

In Summer term special secondary flatlet refused to take child with HCP and a SW. Did this again now but since Williamson TV statement and a lot of complaints to school Head finally acknowledges she has to admit these children. Child can go in from next Thursday and will be going in. If he got more that 2 X 45 Min sessions online provision which in reality teacher often arrives 5 mins late and leaves 7-8 mind early I would be happy to keep him at home. Even in school he won't get more than 2 1/2 - 3 hours even in Year 10.

In lockdown 1 only one of my class (all of whom have an EHCP) wanted a place, so I was on a rota only in a day or two a fortnight and setting work from home the rest of the time.

This time many more children want a place. Lots of them have behaviour that is very challenging- it would in no way be acceptable to leave it to support staff, amazing as they are- so I'm in every day.

Last time round, youngest was in nursery- when it was shut, we had no choice...as soon as it reopened in summer, she went in. So in a way, we're 'maintaining' her place as she's now Yr R.
Eldest (8) we kept off, although we were entitled to a place, as there are lots of vulnerable children in his school and we didn't want to take a place that could be used for them. Plus DH has a rare auto immune condition and there were questions to begin with about whether he needed to shield. Eventually decreed he didn't, plus in reality very few places were taken and on balance we could/should have sent him in.

DH and I are Adult SS/police staff, sometimes required out of the home. So this time we've taken the place for the eldest as well. Not least because having had the experience of having to keep diving out of rooms/throwing kids out as cheerful discussions about eg. child rape started up, it became clear it was neither feasible nor appropriate to have them home.

My office closed in March when the first lockdown happened, so we all worked at home. DH (teacher) was also at home. Once my office was made "safe" we reopened, and by then DH was live teaching at home and in school, so that's when we took up the school places.

Because now I have to deliver live lessons all day.
DH still goes out to work.

I did take it up last time but the nursery closed after just 2 weeks as not enough kids. The closest hub they could offer us was a long way (in London terms and would have meant using public transport) & had no familiar staff. DD was already badly affected by my work in the run up to lockdown so for all those reasons we decided it as a bad idea. So we struggled on at home. But as a key worker doing all covid stuff I was working 12+ hour days and weekends often just to try and keep going at work. A lot of it was very distressing stuff & DD was exposed to some horrible & v inappropriate things. DHs work were good but there is only so much flexibility. He was working all hours to try and do his job as well as watch DD as much as possible. But despite his best efforts she was badly neglected & developed a speech delay.

My work has never really slowed down & I expect it will be as busy as lockdown 1. DHs work is still WFH but he’s a KW now as well. It’s theoretical at the moment as she’s early years and the school have kept the nursery open. But I’ve already discussed it with them and they will take her if they do close. I won’t put DD through that again.

Last lockdown I was a student midwife and employed as a band 4 assistant. I sent mine on when I was on shift and kept them off when I wasn’t as I felt able to homeschool them, the pressure wasn’t any more intense than normal placement to be honest. Now I’m a qualified midwife working in London. I spend a lot of time working on the covid positive ward and it’s as chaotic and overwhelming as you may imagine. We are dealing with seriously unwell women who should be on HDU but there’s no space, with drastically reduced staffing. Yesterday I worked 14 hours straight with no break. It’s stressful like nothing I’ve ever experienced, and I’ve only been qualified a matter of weeks. I didn’t train for anything like this. I am a single parent to 4DC’s. My eldest is secondary, she is working from home, her choice. My youngest are nursery age, their preschool is fully open. My middle one is going to school under the critical worker provision, even when I am not on shift and will continue to do so unless school tells me otherwise because I may have a breakdown if she doesn’t.

There are only 8 kids in her year in out of 75 btw