So it looks like we're being prepared for children not to go back until after Easter

[choosingcrumble]

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/children-face-months-at-home-as-schools-stay-shut-until-easter-wp5ltpm82?fbclid=IwAR1l0gRSzuJLIv508reRmBEojbYfoGOsWwe3_pBFmKpA4EbI1IgC5dKC2uE

I suspected it wouldn't be until then, let's just hope that it doesn't stretch into the summer.

@Staffdontblowitnow I said this the other day. I am really worried about the amount of screen time some children are being subjected to all in the name of education.

There is a well known academy chain who demands children are online ALL day. They have to be logged on during breaks and lunch too. This is the expectation at a primary school. It's awful.

I worry there will be a lot of negative side affects linked to excessive time spent on screens in the near future.

@justanotherneighinparadise but surely the virus in its many mutations is here to stay?

So we accept that the less vulnerable may get it, get sick, pass it on etc. It's not great but surely we can't pause life? Or do you believe until every adult in the UK has had it we should maintain some sort of lockdown?

Not trying to be rude but interested.

Just like the flu mutates every year I am told and they tweak the vaccine.

I expect it will not be all school years at once. There do seem to be a lot of things being said by the government this week designed to prepare for restrictions not ending on February 22nd though.

@lorieandrews

"Whatever the answer. We need to eradicate as much stress at home as possible. That’s what I feel. Because happy children will have happy homes and will feel confident to learn than those who have got stressed parents who feel suicidal that their kids will become so far behind. That won’t Instil any good learning techniques at all. Sending hugs to you all"

This 100%

Don't take literally the baking or getting out suggestions. It's just ideas but do whatever it is you need to do to limit the stress. 6yr olds absolutely will not be kept in during break and lunch because you didn't force them to sit miserably for 6 hours on teams.

[quote TiersBeforeBedtime]@catgirl1976

people are dying

People were dying long before Covid, and of far worse things.

They are still dying of worse things.

Nobody is immortal. Which is why it's so important that we don't just 'exist' during the relatively short time that we all spend being alive.

Life can be full of joy and colour and fun and friends and family. It can also be dreary and boring and repetitive. It can be unspeakably miserable.

But it is life. What we have now is 'being alive'. And I for one don't want to spend my life 'being alive', in order then to die, either of Covid or anything else.[/quote]
I completely agree. Not to sound ungrateful but if I knew I had to live like this for the rest of my life I wouldn’t want it, they could just end it now. We just exist, we eat and sleep and go for our daily walk, then repeat, and as long as we don’t have covid that’s all that matters to anyone.

[quote Macaroni46]@GrumblyMumblyisnotJumbly who provides the remote learning if teachers are delivering lessons both morning and afternoon?
It sounds like a good plan. [/quote]
@Macaroni46 I think there has to be a serious discussion about suspending some or all of the curriculum again if the vast majority of primary school children can't return for months (it's very different to the prospect of 6weeks) especially for children who were already out of school Mar-Sept. I'm not blaming the teachers at all, they are doing the best they can in challenging circumstances. But can parents be expected to support children home school a whole curriculum plus work at the same time?

If the children were split into 2 cohorts that could attend for part of the day (as in the Conneticut example above) then the teachers could concentrate on English and Maths during those hours (as that is what we are being told as working parents to do on homeschooling days)

[quote BertNErnie]@Staffdontblowitnow I said this the other day. I am really worried about the amount of screen time some children are being subjected to all in the name of education.

There is a well known academy chain who demands children are online ALL day. They have to be logged on during breaks and lunch too. This is the expectation at a primary school. It's awful.

I worry there will be a lot of negative side affects linked to excessive time spent on screens in the near future.[/quote]
That does sound bad. Why at lunch? Even secondary age gets good breaks here

@DBML

What a shame you don’t like baking with your children Kokeshi123. I bet your children enjoy it though.

What about other things? A board game? Painting? Cutting and pasting? Or are you adverse to all of those things too?

As for the summer holidays, as I’m not paid to work that time, I won’t be going in.

I have a vacation booked...I might not be able to take it, but I might! Either way, I can tell you what I won’t be doing in the summer holiday in my unpaid time and that’s teaching :)

Urgh = "what a shame..."

This is such passive aggressive bullshit that is just designed to make parents feel guilty. This kind of crappy simpering comment is what we receive from one of my children's teachers when she says it's "a shame" we haven't completed all 12 tasks set each day for our 6 year old, when I have other children to homeschool and a sodding full time job as well.

Try being more empathetic for god's sake.

The full thread is still completely convinced it's all in our best interests.

I really don’t think the full thread is. I think most people are pretty fed up and want a bit more clarity about the metrics being used to decide whether or not schools can start to be opened.

@Sparkles715

Someone asked up thread about who should be turfed out of key worker provision to make way for all children attending part time.... many many of them! My school has children in full time who have a part time working parent. We’ve had to refuse entry to children with one key worker and one SAHP much to the outrage of the families who said they were ENTITLED because one parent is a key worker. I’m sure some schools ended up letting these children attend. Our NHS medical staff are only sending their children in when they are on shift. Our university support staff are sending their children in full time when they only work 3 days a week for example. Refusing entry to kw children apart from when BOTH parents are actually working would make space in my school to allow ALL children some physical school time in small groups. It’s outrageous that some children are in full time with only part time working parent and other children are not in at all! Someone else mentioned school transport and logistical issues. My school has no taxis or buses so this wouldn’t be an issue. Schools should be allowed to organise themselves for the benefit of their own school community the best that they can.

I think this makes sense. Surely the number of kids who truly need full KW access to school for the functioning of society are those who were in school in the first lockdown? If every primary child had access to school 1.5-2 days a week I'm sure all those "extra" KWs we seem to have acquired would be able to muddle through like the rest of us, it would be massively beneficial for kids stuck at home and would be fairer.

It's one thing to be told this is just something we and our kids need to suck up for the "greater good" of society when we're all being asked to do it.

I'm appalled at this and think schools should absolutely be reopened to all pupils after half-term once the most vulnerable are vaccinated.

However if this is going to be another lengthy closure then it's time for more radical changes to support children and parents in the home. The diversion of funding per pupil to the home to enable a parent not to work or go part-time, for tech, books, other resources and associated costs. Will there be a plan for summer schools or some state funding for extra curricular activities for socialisation once they reopen. Increased funding for central education hubs such as the BBC and Oak Academy.

In the meantime suspend the curriculum and any idea of kitchen table exams. Will they all repeat a year? When the email comes through on March 1st telling us which secondary my Year 6dd has been allocated a place at, will she be starting there in September or not? Some sort of plan for support funding for the future for this generation of school kids needs to be put in place and I don't mean catch up with arbitrary curriculum targets. More like mental health support, social opportunities, extra curricular activities, practical skills, arts and sport opportunities, all of that. Funding for exams to be retaken in the years to come instead of having to be paid for privately.

Children need certainty, not it'll be at least Easter now, maybe May, then maybe you can go every second Monday.... De ja vus with last summer. My 11 year olds mental health started to crumble as the months went on, she just needs to know some sort of timetable for finishing at one school and potentially starting another this year now.

@Macaroni46 I think there has to be a serious discussion about suspending some or all of the curriculum again if the vast majority of primary school children can't return for months (it's very different to the prospect of 6weeks) especially for children who were already out of school Mar-Sept.

This is the last thing wanted here. The difference between last time is key for dc. We need the pace of learning for good mh.

I know everyone is in a different position.

@snowballer 12 tasks a day . God I wouldn’t be able to resist a snarky comment back, something along the lines of

“I agree it’s such a shame, it was an incredibly difficult decision whether to help with homeschool or whether to do my own work which keeps a roof over our heads and food on the table”. I ummed and aahed for hours, is food really essential? Could we prioritise the homeschool and find a foodbank (given the loss of my income)? How essential is a roof and paying the heating bill so we don’t get hypothermia? Could we do the homeschool in 2 degree temperatures with snow on the ground as we wouldn’t have funds to pay British Gas? But like you say, such a shame. isn’t it”

Ok so I wouldn’t really send this. But I definitely have less patience for idiotic thoughtless comments from teachers who appear to have no idea what we’re dealing with

(Caveat - not all teachers, just ones like this one).

Carlisle completely agree that more needs to be done to support people at home.

Agree too about the uncertainty causing damage. I understand why we can't be given a definitive date of return but this nonsense re cancel exams, oh no hold on, we'll do tests, oh no wait....and so on is hugely damaging. Totally unacceptable

[quote WhatAMessWeAreIn]@justanotherneighinparadise but surely the virus in its many mutations is here to stay?

So we accept that the less vulnerable may get it, get sick, pass it on etc. It's not great but surely we can't pause life? Or do you believe until every adult in the UK has had it we should maintain some sort of lockdown?

Not trying to be rude but interested.

Just like the flu mutates every year I am told and they tweak the vaccine.[/quote]
But at the moment it’s moving at phenomenal speed due to it being a highly transmissible novel virus.

The reason it has mutated in countries with a high level of the community affected is because every time it moves from one person to the next it mutates ever so slightly. This can lead to variants and my worry is if we leave it unchecked we could have a very nasty disease on our hands which kills at a much higher rate.

@Ihatemyseleffordoingthis

"Children aren’t locked up indoors though are they? We go out daily for walks and still use the garden for other exercise, trampoline etc. It’s parents responsibility to make sure their children are getting out each day."

Gosh you are oblivious to other people's challenges, aren't you?

You're in your own little world aren't you?

When shall I fit in going out everyday, please tell me? Ds has live lessons 8.40-3.30 with an hour lunch and half hour break. During lunch dd has a live chat and I am trying to prepare lunch. We then finish around 3 and I go straight into my own work until tea time and then it's bedtime. We go out Fridays and once over the weekend at the moment. I am also working one to one and a half days over the weekend too. want to go out more, it makes me feel so much better but I can't fit it in. Ds has a massive tantrum at the mention of a walk and right now I am too exhausted to fight him.

Please think what others might be struggling with before making your comment. Same storm, different boat and all that.

Yes on curriculum, our school is still setting RE and PE. Both of these would be much less stressful if they provided a list of ‘ideas for physical activity’ and ‘optional RE for anyone who still gives a hoot about the made up gods which have killed way more people through wars than Cv19 ever will’ sorry can you tell I’m edgy about setting RE for ks1?! 😁

[quote Lemons1571]@snowballer 12 tasks a day . God I wouldn’t be able to resist a snarky comment back, something along the lines of

“I agree it’s such a shame, it was an incredibly difficult decision whether to help with homeschool or whether to do my own work which keeps a roof over our heads and food on the table”. I ummed and aahed for hours, is food really essential? Could we prioritise the homeschool and find a foodbank (given the loss of my income)? How essential is a roof and paying the heating bill so we don’t get hypothermia? Could we do the homeschool in 2 degree temperatures with snow on the ground as we wouldn’t have funds to pay British Gas? But like you say, such a shame. isn’t it”

Ok so I wouldn’t really send this. But I definitely have less patience for idiotic thoughtless comments from teachers who appear to have no idea what we’re dealing with

(Caveat - not all teachers, just ones like this one).[/quote]
Ha - exactly! It's 12 tasks of varying length. Some take 5 minutes to complete, but still require printing, setting up, explaining (because said teacher only sets work and doesn't do any teaching), completing, photographing and then uploading to google classroom. It's so labour intensive that it all adds up, whether they take 5 minutes or 45 minutes each.

I'm at the end of my tether with the teachers (not all - I know most teachers are doing a fantastic job) who not only simply cannot understand why so many parents do not have the whole day to sit with their child, but who also actively take the time to shame them for it.

@MarshaBradyo I have absolutely no idea. Most teachers are telling their pupils to stay logged on and go for a break etc but I can't help but worry about any parent or carer who makes their child sit there waiting for the teacher to begin the next lesson.

It's bloody ridiculous.

I read here a long time ago that if the government gets kids going in half time so classes are smaller/ better social distanced - parents would see how much better they learn in small classes and then demand that in the future.

One consideration I would like if it is after Easter is bringing the Easter holiday forward to the fortnight before Easter then they go back after Easter Monday. It would take pressure off working parents who are definitely getting the raw deal out of all of this.

There was talk of the initial 2 week lockdown being taken off the summer hols.
I definitely think having the lockdown as part of the Easter hols would be a good idea as it’s the wfh and juggling home schooling that people are struggling with.
It would also mean 2 weeks that they get a proper education when they go back.
I don’t know how easy it would be to swap the dates of the Easter holiday though!

I'm at the end of my tether with the teachers (not all - I know most teachers are doing a fantastic job) who not only simply cannot understand why so many parents do not have the whole day to sit with their child, but who also actively take the time to shame them for it.

As a teacher I find parents either complain there’s too much work or there’s not enough, you really can’t win - so the idea that many teachers are going with is to set a lot and then the child do what they can.

LickEmbySmiling age 5, year 1.

We start at 9.30 and finish at 3.30. And we still don’t manage to get through it all.

I have to be there sitting with her explaining it and making sure it gets done, or she immediately gets up and sacks it off.

We have literacy, maths and phonics every day and then extra maths and science and humanities and music, art and PE - the full curriculum.

That doesn’t include reading, btw! That’s extra in the evenings and weekends.

We have a 30-45 min break for lunch and a couple of 15 minute breaks and that’s it. School seem to be aiming to achieve a full days learning at home. I gather the government is putting pressure on schools for this.

Then I have to work and see clients. Self-employed, but not going for years and years before lockdown, and so not eligible for any government help. None.

So I’m killing myself daily, burning out and permanently exhausted and on the edge of losing the plot. So shoot me if I don’t also get her outside every single day on top of all that.

@toocold54

I'm at the end of my tether with the teachers (not all - I know most teachers are doing a fantastic job) who not only simply cannot understand why so many parents do not have the whole day to sit with their child, but who also actively take the time to shame them for it.

As a teacher I find parents either complain there’s too much work or there’s not enough, you really can’t win - so the idea that many teachers are going with is to set a lot and then the child do what they can.

Yes I totally get this and that's fine - my other children are getting that very sensible approach. It's just one of the teachers who is saying "it's such a shame" he's not completing everything.

What a shame you don’t like baking with your children Kokeshi123. I bet your children enjoy it though

That is really patronising. Crafting with your kids isn't a sign of a good parent.

Children aren’t locked up indoors though are they? We go out daily for walks and still use the garden for other exercise, trampoline etc. It’s parents responsibility to make sure their children are getting out each day

oh a TRAMPOLINE!

The sheer sanctimony of some of the women who post on this website is unreal. Some of the posters here have as little self-awareness as Trump! I didn't think it possible.

Who knew that baking and trampolining were the solution to everything.