Todays u-turn from DfE, key workers working from home should NOT send kids to school

[Esmerelda01]

In case you've not seen.

Could cause a lot of people issues on Monday

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jan/09/school-guidance-for-children-of-key-workers-changes-again?CMP=twt_a-education_b-gdnedu

@minipie if the GP(parent) had a headset on the child would only hear one side of the conversation and as I said earlier if they are old to understand what's being said they are old enough to understand dont interrupt Mum/Dad when on a work call

[quote 3littlewords]@NaughtipussMaximus my Y1 dc has full day timetable too but its far from constant work for the full 6 hours and as I said earlier no 6yo (or any older child for that matter) would be doing school work for a full 6 hours of the day in normal times[/quote]
Well, that’s great. My child’s timetable is full for the six hours. And even if it were full for three hours only, it would still be incompatible with my critical job and DH’s.

And it’s not like I can pop my 6 yo with SEN in a box when he’s not being homeschooled and I’m working, is it? Honest to God, some of you have had a complete empathy bypass.

well that's great. My child's timetable is for the full 6 hours

Not even high school children do full 6 hours constant learning so you are talking shit. Many adults don't do 6 hours constant work without a break involved somewhere let alone a 6yo with SEN. If you are going to come up with excuses at least make them plausible

It’s not an excuse. It’s what’s in the timetable we’ve been sent! I don’t need to lie on here ffs, no-one knows who I am!

But hey. If you think you know what’s in the emails school have sent us, then you carry on thinking what you like. Odd though I find you.

There really are some weirdos on here tonight.

@NaughtipussMaximus

It’s not an excuse. It’s what’s in the timetable we’ve been sent! I don’t need to lie on here ffs, no-one knows who I am!

But hey. If you think you know what’s in the emails school have sent us, then you carry on thinking what you like. Odd though I find you.

I've no doubt you have had a full time table I've had one the same 9-3, what I am questioning is your belief that its going to be constant work during that whole time, rather than scheduled short tasks throughout the day, after all they are only 6. If your school are expecting everyone to complete every single task at the specified times then you should take it up with the school that it's completely unreasonable to do so for many many different reasons. What I find odd is that you think your circumstances are a one off or unique to millions of other parents across the country, but if you want to believe your family are special and under no threat of getting of passing on a highly infectious virus then crack on with your head in the clouds. ITS NOT ABOUT WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU ITS ABOUT WHAT IS BEST FOR EVERYONE AS A WHOLE, IF THERES A PARENT AT HOME THEN THE CHILD NEEDS TO BE TOO. END OF!

I agree the schools are not going to take parents to court because school work is not completed or they didn’t log in at a certain time.

We are in a pandemic for Christ sake.

ITS NOT ABOUT WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU ITS ABOUT WHAT IS BEST FOR EVERYONE AS A WHOLE, IF THERES A PARENT AT HOME THEN THE CHILD NEEDS TO BE TOO. END OF!

Does this apply do Sen kids as well?

@Morph2lcfc

ITS NOT ABOUT WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU ITS ABOUT WHAT IS BEST FOR EVERYONE AS A WHOLE, IF THERES A PARENT AT HOME THEN THE CHILD NEEDS TO BE TOO. END OF!

Does this apply do Sen kids as well?

At normal times id say no but we're not in normal times are we? So for now whilst cases are so high and spreading rapidly then yes, maybe not indefinitely but certainly at the moment whilst the situation is as bad as it is. I'm the last person who wants any child to be stuck at home, its fucking hard on everyone, but at the moment its essential for all concerned do you not think? I have a child with ADHD so I know exactly how hard it is.

The government sets out the rules that are for the benefit of society. We don’t need to individually trade off the needs of our family and the society - we just need to operate within the rules. The rules say families with one key worker can send their children to school. Everyone else needs to jump down from their soap box.

@alwaysraining123

The government sets out the rules that are for the benefit of society. We don’t need to individually trade off the needs of our family and the society - we just need to operate within the rules. The rules say families with one key worker can send their children to school. Everyone else needs to jump down from their soap box.

I agree with this.

I do agree that parents where one is a key worker and one SAHP are maybe ineligible but who are we to judge, these children may have unseen additional needs and even friends of these parents may not be aware of this. I do think the majority of families are being sensible but as usual it’s those who are taking the mick who are focused on the most.

Our school has capped numbers at 30%, i understand that numbers of 80% etc in some schools are unsustainable but I’m also aware that in some areas demand will be higher.

Agree everyone needs to stop the judging. There's been a huge lack of compassion on here today. Each family's circumstances are different and no anonymous person on a forum can know all the details of a stranger's home and work life. It's clear no one is making decisions lightly and everyone is trying to find the least worst options.

I deal with safeguarding in my job but it’s not all day long, it is scheduled meetings and I wear a headset/shut away if I am at home but my DC are older

I can’t be at home anymore as I am at clinic most of the time. Working in the NHS I hear a lot of my colleagues talking about their children’s school places and it is only 1 person who is taking the piss so a minority not a majority. She genuinely argued with the school about why they needed a place, and is because her (furloughed) husband is so unreliable and useless. I only know of 1 other person who spends hours moaning about it, and she’s an admin and just doesn’t seem to like doing school work with her kids. Everyone else I know is genuine or just making do.

But the piss takers do ruin it for everyone else as it’s put everyone in a position where they are having to heavily justify why they need it! Schools are having to vet you! Trust me, most people know in the service industry that most people are out for themselves or what they can get. I have volunteers at clinic clearly only bothering to help because they want a vaccine, I have people who never bother to talk to me contacting me pretending to be nice and there is a depressing loss of humility still lurking around

@alwaysraining123

The government sets out the rules that are for the benefit of society. We don’t need to individually trade off the needs of our family and the society - we just need to operate within the rules. The rules say families with one key worker can send their children to school. Everyone else needs to jump down from their soap box.

Just because they are operating within the rules doesn't make it right. I think we should judge because in this situation they are putting others at risk, they are potentially helping the spread and prolonging lockdown and schools being shut. Things they affect everyone else. So sorry, yes I will judge.

The government's same rules claimed that schools were safe and would remain open to all pupils last Monday. Then suddenly at 8 o'clock that evening, they became sufficiently unsafe that children could no longer attend. Apart from the large numbers that could in fact still attend safely.
Forgive me if I think the rules are a load of made-up bollocks.

By all means have an opinion but do not expect everyone to agree with you and conform. I suspect nobody’s view is fully informed and without influence of their personal situation. It’s simple - people operating within the currently set out rules are free to make the best choices for them/their family. Btw I am not arguing as a key worker or a family of a key worker just a rationale person who believes people are entitled to make their own mind up.

I think that many people just not get the firm (albeit) statistical risk between contacts, hospitalisations and, ultimately, deaths.

Sending one’s child unnecessarily to school is similar to drunken driving if a bit over the limit. Most of the time, you will be fine. You might have made your own ‘risk assessment’: ‘I handle my alcohol well’, ‘I am not going far’, ‘I will drive slowly’, ‘the roads are very quiet now’ etc etc. However, every driver over the limit on the road statistically increases the risk of driving deaths and hospitalisations for others.

Strangely, there is little sympathy for drunken driving on here, regardless of the excuse, whether the journey is absolutely necessary for work or education.

Extra contact which is not absolutely necessary is just the same. Your child may not get sick, they may not knowingly infect anyone else but, for every extra contact there is a small chance of extra infection abs each infection has a statistical chance of leading to a hospitalisation.

You have to really weigh carefully whether that extra risk is balanced by the good done to society of doing your job in peace, from home. People are remarkably confident that their jobs are vitally important, but I think there is a little arrogance in some of the posts on here (similar to some drunken drivers in important jobs). If we managed the first lockdown with far fewer pupils in schools, we need to replicate at least that for the next few weeks or many many unnecessary deaths will inevitably occur.

Gosh what a sad world we live in where sending kids into school is compared to drunk driving.

I have three kids. The older two are absolutely fine at home, and do not need my support to access their learning. The little one is in school. DH works in medical research, I am an English teacher. I have mainly Year 10 this year. The text I am teaching is not appropriate for an infant school child to listen to.

I didn't send him last time as I had mainly Year 11, and their exams were cancelled. I had very little to do other than sort CAGs and the older kids dealt with him for those days.

I really think it has to be a case by case basis. Rates are below average here. If I were in London I might keep him at home and he wouldn't get an education for a few weeks/months?

Over,

Pandemics are tough!

And, in terms of risk assessment, they are the same.

But this stage should last weeks, not months or years.

@mynameisnotmichaelcaine

I have three kids. The older two are absolutely fine at home, and do not need my support to access their learning. The little one is in school. DH works in medical research, I am an English teacher. I have mainly Year 10 this year. The text I am teaching is not appropriate for an infant school child to listen to.

I didn't send him last time as I had mainly Year 11, and their exams were cancelled. I had very little to do other than sort CAGs and the older kids dealt with him for those days.

I really think it has to be a case by case basis. Rates are below average here. If I were in London I might keep him at home and he wouldn't get an education for a few weeks/months?

That’s what most people will be facing weather your London or up North it makes no difference! Weeks/months without school.

I'm not in London or up North. Also, yes I know. I have three kids and I'm a teacher, I'm aware of what's happening. I can provide a fairly decent online education for all the kids I teach though, if my youngest isn't in the house, so that's what I'm choosing to do. I acknowledge that I'm lucky to have that choice.

@tinierclanger

"Employers need to cut their employees some slack"

You see, I would say THIS is the critical point. And not just about flexibility of hours. Employers should, where possible, be accepting lower productivity from staff WFH with kids at home.

The problem with this is that many customers / clients etc don't want people to have lower productivity or flexible working outside of the hours they expect to be able to contact people.

There have been loads of threads about how poor customer service has been throughout the pandemic. Unfortunately, for those of us who are customer / client-facing, those people still have very high expectations of us and our ability to do our work.

All of society needs to be understanding, as well as employers.

There's some very odd people on this thread. No one is breaking the rules, you can spout your "spirit of lockdown" shite til the cows come home, if the kids are in school, someone has said yes to them attending, so bank to fcuk off with your sanctimonious opinions, we don't all live to be martyrs.