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.

@studychick81 - I'm quoting another poster @blue25 who seems unaware that secondary school children have 5 hours of attendance to mediocre video lessons per day, most primary aged kids have working parents and millions have no access at all to outdoor space, let alone a trampoline.

My bit is the "Gosh you're completely oblivious" comment.

fwiw my working pattern is now pretty much yours - 20 hours over the weekend and 3-5 and 7-10 in the week. 3 kids at home, all different schools. It's a nightmare.

@Daisysflowers really don’t think there was no need for that comment was there?
Yes there was, people have lost all sense of perspective.
I am homeschooling five children ages 5-9 , four with SEN also a year 11 who tbf is on live lessons so doesn’t need much support.
I am also shielding my children due to their health conditions. They haven’t been in any indoor venue at all since March.
They are not however devastated and they are dealing with more than the average child.
My year 11 along with the rest of her cohort has to deal with the uncertainty of GCSE results . She too is not devastated. Using such emotive , dramatic language relating to school closures is unnecessary.

[quote MarshaBradyo]**@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.[/quote]
I'm just printing out the things set for my DC by primary school for tomorrow (I have time to get it ready today and support them working on it but DC wouldn't want to work on the weekend) The school expectation (from DfE) is that my DC completes 5 hours learning a day. The school provision is one hour live teams teaching per day with merged classes at home so a larger group than a usual class size) so that's 4 hrs per day that falls to me to organise / oversee of that DCs learning. I have another DC at secondary who has more discrete classes / tasks and can generally organise themselves (but needs some support / tech help) I also have to work.
6 weeks I can handle another 4months of this & I will be letting my DC down & my work down.How are people supposed to be TAs for their children across the full curriculum while they have paid work commitments and some with multiple children and other caring responsibilities?

[quote Ihatemyseleffordoingthis]**@studychick81* - I'm quoting another poster @blue25* who seems unaware that secondary school children have 5 hours of attendance to mediocre video lessons per day, most primary aged kids have working parents and millions have no access at all to outdoor space, let alone a trampoline.

My bit is the "Gosh you're completely oblivious" comment.

fwiw my working pattern is now pretty much yours - 20 hours over the weekend and 3-5 and 7-10 in the week. 3 kids at home, all different schools. It's a nightmare.[/quote]
I know, sorry my reply was at the original person who quoted and you replied to.

I am actually eligible for a KW place and although I am against using them unnecessarily, I can't go on like this. The household is miserable as DH and I are stressed and we end up shouting. DS s mental health is deteriorating. We have got a counsellor for him. I feel like a total failure. If I put them in for two days I could get all my work done then and wouldn't be in this rubbish situation.

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

This would mean sacking teachers. No online learning whatsoever and maybe a couple of teachers in each school retained to do keyworker and vulnerable children stuff. Even less children would be able to go into school than are going in now.

The rest would join the ranks of the unemployed and all schools would need to under-go a fair recruitment process once schools were ready to reopen. Would be interesting, that's for sure. Teachers who know the school up the road has a great head and their friend also works there and there had been mumurs about getting rid of some of the older, expensive staff...great opportunity to move into a new position without too much trouble. Even staff who have been dedicated for many years to one particular school may try their hand elsewhere. May well improve some schools but I suspect for the majority it would be the opposite. The cost of recruitment doesn't bear thinking about.

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

There is logic to telling children to stay logged on. It's to avoid children shutting their laptops and parents having to spend 20 minutes getting them all set up again after the child has been to the loo and had a sandwich. I teach mainly secondary but I know I often ask them to open up more than one file to work on/look at and we might have a text book open online and then a whiteboard website and a game website all at the same time. Far easier to come back to it all then have to find it all again.

@Dustyboots

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.

Not surprising though is it? 15 in a class versus 30 in a class will make a significant difference

To add some real perspective as some continue to stress out about daily lives multi tasking wfh and their own childcare parental responsibilities - others don’t have the luxury as either dead or can’t breathe with post Covid syndrome including organ failure etc.

Yes it’s a pain to home school and work from home at the same time. I hate it but I prefer it to being in hospital or putting others lives at risk. In a pandemic with world record recorded per capita daily excess fatalities I don’t think about myself so much but what if that was me or someone I know as selfish short term moaning types don’t seem to understand what a pandemic is and why schools are mostly closed in the first place.

We at least have a few vaccines as others globally have none and yet people moan not knowing their relative privilege as others suffer lives and livelihoods lost. We made this mess as it’s only called a Kent variant because it mutated so much and so rapidly here. You never will find a Taiwan or New Zealand variant as these economies now live normal post pandemic lives because they acted hard and fast and did not have as many deliberate or inadvertent Covidiots.

I hate this quasi lockdown, wfh and home schooling and all other necessary responsibilities but I choose this type of short to medium term living to not living as with vaccination one day we can finally beat this and live post pandemic life free of masks etc etc! Short to medium term pain for long term gain! Simple science but not easy to do but worth it in the end. It’s the only way as sure send in all the children create more mutating virus and then what?

[quote Strokethefurrywall]@YardleyX - from 13 March 2020 through 30 June 2020, we were on the strictest lock down here in the Cayman Islands. We could only leave our homes for an hour a day for exercise between 7am-7pm, and could only go to supermarkets on surname letter days (surname is R so could go Tues/Thurs/Sat) where we would queue for 90 mins before getting in. Monitored distancing once inside the markets etc which would take another 90 mins. There was no online shopping either at the start as we have 3 supermarket chains who weren't set up for that technologically.

Borders were closed, beaches were closed, strata pools/gyms, you couldn't drive to exercise, you could only go within the vicinity of your property, dogs could only be walked outside your immediate home (or around a strata complex), no fishing, no driving for any reason other than to the store and only one person from each family. Those who needed assistance with grocery shopping had to find someone to do it for them. Schools were closed from 13 March and reopened in September. Homeschooling and WFH were all we did.

Those who broke curfew were warned for prosecution and all key workers had to carry a government issued letter confirming who they were and what their role was.

From July last year we've lived life as normal because we managed to contain our community spread which, if left unchecked, would have ravaged our island. 60,000 residents and 3 hospitals with 15 ventilators each. Our lockdown was brutal but absolutely necessary. We were all in the same boat and there was no "I'm alright Jack" mentality.

Of course this is far easier to manage on a small island with no way to leave, but this is an example of how a strict lockdown can and has resulted in living freely. When the UK was all about eating out to help out in summer last year, we were locked away.

Unfortunately the UK took a "wait and see" approach to the entire pandemic which has resulted in the clusterfuck you're all facing now. [/quote]
You're lucky to live where you live. Take a recent news article here- 400 people attended a wedding at a covid testing centre that was a school where the headmaster died of covid. What chance have we got

I'd like to stop holding kw provision over the need to cater for all. I'm a teacher. I'm in work with half a class worth of kids as it is. I'd prefer to see all of my kids for a week at a time with half of them in school and half learning at home. KW parents would be able to work for half of the time as would all other working parents and the children would be far better off academically and socially with a rota - which is being mentioned by the papers this weekend.

We (Wales) opened on a rota in July. But the fact that we needed to cater for kw kids meant they had to choose between pure babysitting in the hall with TAs OR time one day a week with their teacher. This time round we have far too many KW kids to stick them all in the hall and we aren't required to keep them 2m apart which limited our number to 9 in even the biggest classrooms.

I can fit 15 in at 1m, one to a desk and keep a distance myself. I'd feel safer than 'all in, all at once, all the time' which was what Sept was.

Drakeford is already alluding to the fact that we can't reopen to all at once in all years in all classes. But sometimes they wholesale decide certain years go back, so some teachers still end up unsafe whereas others didn't have year groups back at all.

@toocold54 @snowballer

Some teachers are not parents some are. Those who are not parents might struggle to comprehend all the issues that others have.

I have colleagues who are bypassing primary science lessons or whatever and teaching their own children at KS3 level just because it fits with what they are delivering. Safe to say that the primary school is not happy with that.

• 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.*

Excellent post Carlisle. These questions need to be asked. This current situation is NOT good enough.

Not surprising though is it? 15 in a class versus 30 in a class will make a significant difference

It’s at all surprising. I just wonder whether that is the reason our government is refusing to make schools safer| blend learning/ part time school?

@Totallydefeated no wonder you are stressed. Please just tell the school you will not be doing this anymore. Any reasonable school or teacher would understand. Same with @snowballer tell the teacher no.

@Daisysflowers

Devastating for all children.

Not all. Some prefer being at home. Some have additional needs and being out of school is pure relief.

To add some real perspective as some continue to stress out about daily lives multi tasking wfh and their own childcare parental responsibilities - others don’t have the luxury as either dead or can’t breathe with post Covid syndrome including organ failure etc.

As someone who works in MH, can I tell you categorically that you can say that til you are blue in the face but it is not going to help someone who is struggling feel better. In fact it is likely to make them feel worse. I think people who say it are unlikely to be very emotionally intelligent tbh.

Think about it - with any other struggle in life, would you think that being told "well, at least you're not in hospital or dead" is a helpful and empathetic response? Or would you think the person saying it tone deaf at best and wilfully cruel at worst?

I work a lot with women who have perinatal mental health problems and they often get told by friends and relatives (and sometimes, I'm sad to say, HCP): "well, at least your baby is healthy".

Can categorically tell you it does not help.

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

Don't forget puddle suits!

@DrMadelineMaxwell

I'd like to stop holding kw provision over the need to cater for all. I'm a teacher. I'm in work with half a class worth of kids as it is. I'd prefer to see all of my kids for a week at a time with half of them in school and half learning at home. KW parents would be able to work for half of the time as would all other working parents and the children would be far better off academically and socially with a rota - which is being mentioned by the papers this weekend.

We (Wales) opened on a rota in July. But the fact that we needed to cater for kw kids meant they had to choose between pure babysitting in the hall with TAs OR time one day a week with their teacher. This time round we have far too many KW kids to stick them all in the hall and we aren't required to keep them 2m apart which limited our number to 9 in even the biggest classrooms.

I can fit 15 in at 1m, one to a desk and keep a distance myself. I'd feel safer than 'all in, all at once, all the time' which was what Sept was.

Drakeford is already alluding to the fact that we can't reopen to all at once in all years in all classes. But sometimes they wholesale decide certain years go back, so some teachers still end up unsafe whereas others didn't have year groups back at all.

I was wondering about the certain year groups thing in primary.

Last time, when they opened up to YR/Y1 in June-we had every teacher in a classroom with 12 to a class. There is no way we could do this for all who wanted a place, plus all the KW/vulnerable children we have in now, plus provide remote learning.

I wonder about a rota for after Easter-half the class in for a week at a time.

There would then need to be a separate plan for for the KW children (where both parents are KW) for the alternative week. Offsite?

@ChimaeraEgg

To add some real perspective as some continue to stress out about daily lives multi tasking wfh and their own childcare parental responsibilities - others don’t have the luxury as either dead or can’t breathe with post Covid syndrome including organ failure etc.

As someone who works in MH, can I tell you categorically that you can say that til you are blue in the face but it is not going to help someone who is struggling feel better. In fact it is likely to make them feel worse. I think people who say it are unlikely to be very emotionally intelligent tbh.

Think about it - with any other struggle in life, would you think that being told "well, at least you're not in hospital or dead" is a helpful and empathetic response? Or would you think the person saying it tone deaf at best and wilfully cruel at worst?

I work a lot with women who have perinatal mental health problems and they often get told by friends and relatives (and sometimes, I'm sad to say, HCP): "well, at least your baby is healthy".

Can categorically tell you it does not help.

Thank you this is so true! I also agree that people saying this have little emotional intelligence and severe lack of empathy for anyone in rl...it's the well I'm alright jack attitude.

It seems to be the common theme on mnet though...

ResIpsaLoquiturInterAlia

To add some real perspective as some continue to stress out about daily lives multi tasking wfh and their own childcare parental responsibilities - others don’t have the luxury as either dead or can’t breathe with post Covid syndrome including organ failure etc

Yes it’s a pain to home school and work from home at the same time. I hate it but I prefer it to being in hospital or putting others lives at risk. In a pandemic with world record recorded per capita daily excess fatalities I don’t think about myself so much but what if that was me or someone I know as selfish short term moaning types don’t seem to understand what a pandemic is and

Really?! You really think those of us who are struggling with this utter nightmare don’t realise the background?

It’s not just ‘a pain’ for some of us who are juggling work and homeschool. It’s an utter,, fucking hideous nightmare that’s costing us our physical and mental health, the repercussions of which will last for years of not a nightmare. And that’s before we look at the financial costs.

We don’t need holier than thou sanctimonious twaddle like you’re posting. We need real solutions from the government.

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)

This is the only plan I can see working.

Teachers- what do you think? Are there any other options?

How do we put pressure on the government to produce an actual plan rather than string us along for months with no strategy or end goal?

This is just a rubbish time from for everyone. I’m SLT in a primary school and responsible for safeguarding so I know how hard it is for our children and families. It’s harder than it was last time, more families are struggling. I hear some awful stories that keep me up at night.

I also know how hard it is for staff as well, sometimes for the same reasons. Personally I am really struggling with my disabled toddler and missing the support my family give us with this. We had an outbreak of the new variant before Christmas and we are all grieving a TA who passed away. Others are still too unwell to return to work a month later. We all know that remote learning is a poor substitute for the real thing.

I wish someone had a magic wand to make schools safe for everyone.

@MyDcAreMarvel its not a competition to who is doing doing well in this and who isn’t, everyones personal situation is different and some are worse off then others. We are in a very tough position ourselves and have found the past year very hard, like so many others.

I stand by what I said and my use of the word ‘devastating’ for children, as far as I’m concerned it is.

We will have to agree to disagree on this.

While I appreciate you don't find it helps with the women you work with Chimaera it does help a lot of people. Perspective is important. I agree you can't just say snap out of it you aren't dead but trying to think of things to be grateful for can help. Timing is important so yes, not in the midst of 4 kids yelling that the printer isn't working but in the calm. My friend has bi-polar and it definitely helps him. It has it's place if used sensitively. My friends uses it regularly as a therapist too.

It has it's place if used sensitively.

So not the way you used it then.

My friends uses it regularly as a therapist too.

If your friend is telling people they should be grateful they aren't dead or disabled from covid then they should not be a therapist.

My friends uses it regularly as a therapist too.

What sort of therapy does your friend provide @Sweetnessandbite?