The EARLIEST schools will open is 8th March!!!

[dingledongle]

I cannot believe this!

Stunned!

My kids have lost one year of school and are going to be paying for this for decades to come

I wish people would just be honest and admit that they don't like having to look after their kids.

Yes that's absolutely correct, people hate their children and should never have had them if they knew they were going to find parenting, homeschooling and working, locked down and away from their support networks during a global pandemic difficult. Irresponsible feckers. Me, I mapped out every possible scenario that could happen before my DS was born and based my decision to have children on whether I could cope with each one accordingly. Come the nuclear apocalypse, other parents will be moaning their DC are turning into malnourished cannibals whereas I'll be happily teaching mine how to hunt mutants, because I actually like my child.

What a dramatic turn of phrase for a post just because it doesn't agree with your account of this all being so hellish.

Erm, but that isn't my account. I posted positively about home schooling. You'll notice I did it without telling other parents they ought to be pulling their socks up.

@IceCreamAndCandyfloss
“ Porcupineintherough
Some children will be irreparably damaged

Yep. The ones who've lost parents for sure.
Exactly,

Most haven’t lost a years education at all as schools have provided for children throughout and parents are also responsible for their own children and outcomes.

I’d rather mine had their health and their family than be in school whilst the situation is so bad.”

Exactly this!
Most kids will bounce back from loss of “normal” or “traditional” education, I know mine will. However, the loss of a loved one is something that will haunt them for years and really impact their outcome in life.
Not ALL children have developed or will develop MH issues from lockdown. Just like not all adults who have it hard now with wfh and homeschooling kids etc, will go on and develop MH issues or suicidal thoughts. The vast majority of individuals who are more likely to develop MH issues because of lockdown usually develop MH at some stage in life when life throws shit at them anyway.
What we need is better help/support for those that are mentally more vulnerable rather than unlock the nation when daily covid deaths are almost 2000 and hospitals are struggling to cope. The nhs staff and their families have MH that needs considering too. Just imagine the emotions, fears and mental health they are feeling at this awful time. Definitely not comparable to our kids being away from school for a year or so.

@GoldenOmber

I’m genuinely asking you. I appreciate that whatever I say you’re going to see it as the latest volley in the war of words you want to have, but genuinely. I’m asking: What is it you would like to hear me say about children with additional needs? What lack of understanding do you think I’ve conveyed? Why?

I don't want to hear you say anything. I was just fascinated by where you keep moaning about other peoples lack of empathy or awareness when you are displaying exactly the same behaviours yourself with seemingly no awareness of that.

Is anyone else feeling really fed up that the government doesn't seem to have a clue what it's like to homeschool children whilst trying to balance all the other things we have in our life - like paid jobs, toddlers, and everything else???

Let's face it - most of them probably have very little direct experience of what it's like to be the main carer for their children, let alone try to work being a teacher as well as an employee into the mix...

This is why the Women's Equality Party is launching a campaign to homeschool the government, so they can truly see what the policies they have put in place look like in real life!!

We're asking everyone who cares about this to take a photo/make a short video of how you'd teach the government to be better for women. Share it on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #homeschooled at 3pm on Saturday 30th Jan.

We want to show that there are better ideas to meet the needs of women and families e.g. legal right to furlough for parents, nursery bailouts, SEISS for freelancers etc.

Join us on Saturday and make mums' voices heard!
More info: www.womensequality.org.uk/home_schooled_action

And in the meantime - hang in there!!

@MintyMabel

All the parents I know are worried about the impact the social isolation is having first and foremost Kids are more connected from their own homes than they’ve ever been. In DD’s class (P7) in a school with a very mixed socio economic area, every single child has a phone and hers is constantly pinging in message groups. Her whole class meets online twice a day.

They are not supposed to spend every waking hour with their families.

Again, what about the kids for whom this is their life way before Covid and will be long after? Did you worry about them?

Love the fact that you think a phone pinging umpteen times a day is social interaction. It just isn't, running in the playground, playing football, plaiting each other's hair, having sleepovers, eating lunch together, going to the park etc etc is what I would call social interaction.

From a personal point of view I could not give one shiny shite about fucking zoom. I want to meet my friends for a coffee, go to the cinema, go to the pub. Proper face to face interaction but at least, as an adult I can meet a friend for a walk. Children who are too young to go out on their own can't even do that in England. (Not sure about all the devolved nations but pretty sure Scotland lets you meet with a friend plus children)

Erm, but that isn't my account. I posted positively about home schooling. You'll notice I did it without telling other parents they ought to be pulling their socks up.

Apologies I thought you were someone else. However I still think you're using ridiculously emotive language. Just feels very much like tone policing and misrepresentation of an inoffensive and informative post.

I was just fascinated by where you keep moaning about other peoples lack of empathy or awareness when you are displaying exactly the same behaviours yourself with seemingly no awareness of that.

I’m not following you. Are you annoyed that I talked about lack of empathy generally, rather than responding to you as an individual and saying I empathised with your individual situation?

@GoldenOmber

I was just fascinated by where you keep moaning about other peoples lack of empathy or awareness when you are displaying exactly the same behaviours yourself with seemingly no awareness of that.

I’m not following you. Are you annoyed that I talked about lack of empathy generally, rather than responding to you as an individual and saying I empathised with your individual situation?

I'm not annoyed. I'm genuinely not sure what other explanation I can give. I've said it a few times now. I'm sorry you're confused. When I feel that way, I go back and re-read the thread to get the gist, rather than keep asking people to repeat themselves. Might that be an idea for you?

@NaughtipussMaximus

When I read posts like this I honestly despair. They are YOUR children! It’s your job to do your best by them. If learning was so poor from March to September then you needed to step up. Even if you are working full time you have weekends, days off and holidays. You could have had them doing a few hours work every day you weren’t working, right through the summer holidays.

I did..and so did a lot of parents. They didn’t just whinge about all the lost learning, they did something about it. My children were working 6 months to a year ahead when this all started, they are now 1.5-2 years ahead. Did that just happen? No! It was dedication to their learning over the holidays and every day I could spare. It was working to get them on board with it as well. Anyone can buy appropriate workbooks for their children, use oak academy etc. If children are behind academically then maybe some parents should have stepped up more.

What the actual fuck is wrong with you? I’ve seen some smug, privileged, oblivious, unempathetic, twatty posts on mumsnet, but this has to be one of the worst.

No, some parents can’t teach their children, because they’re not well educated or very bright. Some parents are struggling to pay the bills, working 3 jobs on their own. Some parents are struggling massively with their mental health or have physical disabilities/illnesses. Some children have diagnosed or undiagnosed SEN. It’s really not the case that anyone can buy textbooks and get stuck in to educate their children to the standard of a trained teacher, while simultaneously working full time.

Actually, your post is so so clueless that I think you’re probably a childless goady fucker with too much time on your hands.

Actually I have 2 primary aged children and a husband who is a teacher so out working every day. I also have a parent who was suspected of having stage 4 cancer at Xmas (luckily was ‘just about still stage 3’ so trust me, my mental health hasn’t been great. I now homeschool 2 young children every day and work on my own business as well as take my dad to chemo every day. However, as hard as it is I force myself to keep plugging away at the homeschool, no matter how hard it is because I don’t want my children disadvantaged by this shitty situation.

(Not sure about all the devolved nations but pretty sure Scotland lets you meet with a friend plus children)

Yes - under-12s are exempt from social distancing in Scotland and don’t count towards overall numbers when two households can meet outside.

I've said it a few times now. I'm sorry you're confused.

You’ve said a few times now that it’s ironic I want other people to be more empathetic. I am guessing from this that you feel I personally should be more empathetic.

I’m still, really, not following you on what it is I’ve said or not said that you feel shows a lack of empathy with you, or with SEN children, or whoever it is you think I’m failing to empathise with. It is clearly very very obvious to you, though?

Well it's mostly that you're lamenting that others aren't aware that others might be different situations to them and should post sympathetically to those poor souls and yet when some posters describe their own and others very challenging situations you ignore them completely and don't acknowledge them at all. And nor should you if you've nothing worth saying but your banging on about meanies who lack social awareness and sympathy and post accordingly just amused me a bit.

Now shall we stop derailing the thread? It's not good form really is it?

We live in Scotland and I don't think our kids will go back til after easter

and yet when some posters describe their own and others very challenging situations you ignore them completely and don't acknowledge them at all

Ah. So you do think I lack empathy because I didn’t acknowledge your situation, personally?

Sorry if you feel neglected. If it helps, I didn’t personally address anyone else’s situations either.

@GoldenOmber

Now shall we stop derailing the thread? It's not good form really is it?

It needs to happen. It seems pretty clear to me that schools are the major spreader. We've had 3 lockdowns counting this one.

First one: absolutely everything shut. Cases dropped.

Second one: most things shut, no large gatherings but we had dentists, takeaways etc open and schools open. Cases continued to rise alarmingly quickly.

Third one: most things shut, no large gatherings, takeaways open, dentists etc open but schools shut. Cases dropping.

To me that says schools are the major players here. Thing is, there is no practical way to make them covid safe.

Primary age aren't so bad I'm finding. Its secondary that are the biggest ball ache. Like fuck do they study independently.

Get them to read some books and write a book report or a story and check their spelling and grammar. Do some maths worksheets, maybe check out the documentary and geographic channels for some interesting things about history or space. At one point I resorted to getting him to write a how to guide to minecraft. And I counted that as a win.

And yes I have attempted to engage a 7 year old in a documentary and I realise its easier said than done (I had it on in the same room and he watched the explosions) but we'll just have to do what we can and accept that education is going to look a bit different and be somewhat patchy this year. They'll catch up. They have 13 years in formal education. They've missed less than 1 so far.

Kids will catch up! You can't replace a lost loved one though. This isn't forever. Remember that

@Chimeraforce

Mercy booth. Spot on. Drinking is middle class obesity is for chavs. Not my opinions..... Seems to be on here though.

Many in the UK are overweight - middle class female wine drinkers especially - the whole ‘class’ thing pisses me right off - society is such a mish-mash of all sorts these days.

I'm not stunned, and I say this as someone with two school age kids.
Always thought it would be more realistically Easter holidays, so this is an earlier estimate than thought if goes ahead.

@stuckinagut

I'm surprised the PM bothered with a press conference. The Unions have been dictating school closures and come 8th March, they will do what they want, not what the PM says.

You have a very misguided notion of the power that unions have.

The British curriculum is unrealistic and outdated anyway. I’m hoping for a complete overhaul of the curriculum as opposed to a desperate scrabble to get students caught up. It’s the perfect opportunity.

@RedToothBrush
"DS just didn't get it at all."

It's no different if he was taught at school by a teacher. At least with oak academy video's, he can watch it again and again until he gets it, or you get it and be able to explain it to your ds. At least you are native English speaker(I assume), unlike me, who had to do exactly the same over the years, helping my ds in my second language. I do find it odd that so many English parents having hard time helping their own children when they need help.

[quote Xerochrysum]@RedToothBrush
"DS just didn't get it at all."

It's no different if he was taught at school by a teacher. At least with oak academy video's, he can watch it again and again until he gets it, or you get it and be able to explain it to your ds. At least you are native English speaker(I assume), unlike me, who had to do exactly the same over the years, helping my ds in my second language. I do find it odd that so many English parents having hard time helping their own children when they need help.[/quote]
It seems to be an acceptable thing in the UK, it seems cultural. ‘Oh I can’t help my child with maths, I’m hopeless at it’. ‘School is for doing work, not home’.

I have made sure that we have done academic work at home throughout every holiday and at weekends since my children were tiny. An hour a day is nothing. I’ve had to learn Spanish alongside my child as I didn’t do that at school. My children are used to learning at home so pandemic home school hasn’t been such a shock. It just think it’s such a shame when parents outsource all academic learning to school as just a little bit regularly at home can really boost a child.

I have Indian and Chinese friends who do not have English as a first language. Some of them read up on GCSE chemistry for example late into the night so that they can help their child the next day because in their culture education is so important. Whereas many in the uk would ridicule and scoff at dedication like that.

I would rather them be missing school to be for a really good reason. It has to be worth it. Rushing back and infections rising will make it all for nothing.

I have both primary and secondary children and work too. It's hard but make it worth it