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Original poster

Yr2 child told to self isolate... how do I get other kids to school?

35 replies

FabulousMeOhYes · 19/03/2021 22:44

Can I still take isolating child to drop off? I know this isn’t ideal but I don’t have any other options 🤷🏻‍♀️ She’s only 7 so I certainly won’t be leaving her home alone. Moved house recently and don’t know or trust any neighbours enough to help out. Her siblings are both primary so obviously need me to get them school. Got the email this evening saying her class needs to self isolate. Help, what do I do? School office doesn’t open until 8.30 Monday morning so I can’t ask... going to spend my whole weekend worrying about this now

OP posts:
FontyMcFontface · 19/03/2021 22:48

Are you a single parent? My dc’s dad took the non isolating ones to school.

However, if your other two are too young to walk to school and you don’t have anyone to take them, you don’t have much choice but to take the isolating child in the car. Presuming you drive. Just don’t get them out of the car. It’s not really allowed but there’s not much alternative.

If you don’t drive, you might have to keep them all off.

Buttonfm · 19/03/2021 22:50

If she is self-isolating as a contact then you could potentially
-leave her in the car at drop off
-take her with you but ensure she wears a mask and stays 2m away
-if other kids are old enough, you can drop them at the gate and they go into school independently.

I do see how tricky this is, not sure if anyone else knows what you should do.

NannyR · 19/03/2021 22:58

We had this problem and schools solution was to allow parents to use the staff car park so we could drive to school and drop off and pick up siblings at the school office, without the isolating child leaving the car.

There will have been lots of parents in the same situation over the last few months, so the school will probably have a solution.

Strangekindofwoman · 19/03/2021 23:01

You have no choice but to take her in the car. What do they think you should do? leave her at home alone?

Bunnybigears · 19/03/2021 23:01

Just call the school at 8:30 on Monday it doesn't matter if they are late for 1 day. School will have a solution they must have come across this before.

Frazzled2207 · 19/03/2021 23:15

This happened to us and we arranged with another family who had same situation as us to take in turns to take/pick up the non isolating children

HSHorror · 19/03/2021 23:29

If a child is isolating really they should be kept away from the others who arent. (Because children are unlikely to get symptoms).
So if you did put them in a car, they could wear a mask. Open windows etc

TheSmallAssassin · 19/03/2021 23:43

What would you do if you were really ill and couldn't get out of bed/away from the loo? Who would take them then? Do what you would do if that happened.

Wellbythebloodyhell · 20/03/2021 06:39

@HSHorror

If a child is isolating really they should be kept away from the others who arent. (Because children are unlikely to get symptoms). So if you did put them in a car, they could wear a mask. Open windows etc
You realise those children live in the same house, maybe even share a bedroom, i doubt a mask in a car is going to make much difference .
delilabell · 20/03/2021 06:44

Our school allowed me to collect early/drop off late as I don't drive. Otherwise when it was my husbands turn he left her in the car while he scooted other one across the road quickly

OutComeTheWolves · 20/03/2021 06:47

Just coming on to echo what other posters have said. It happens all the time, just ring school on Monday and they'll have a solution.

It happened to me before Christmas. On the first day I left my youngest in the car and raced my second one in to school, then a teacher told me that they'd allocated a member of staff to walk the siblings of isolated kids to their car so none of the younger ones were left sitting in the car alone. The ones that lived relatively close, as in a street or two away) were walked home too.

VashtaNerada · 20/03/2021 06:55

Interesting how many of you drive to school! At mine that would be really unusual. Anyway, I don’t think it can be helped. I think I’d put a mask on the Y2 (more to show people you’re trying than anything else!) and then drop the others slightly down the road but where you can watch them go in so you don’t mix with other parents. If you send an email telling school that’s your plan they should pick it up and respond before you leave on Monday. Our school secretary normally starts at seven-ish.

SnuggyBuggy · 20/03/2021 07:00

Like others I'd expect the school to have a plan as you won't be the first or last in this situation.

FakeFruitShoot · 20/03/2021 07:00

Our school explicitly told us that we couldn't bring the isolating child (not symptomatic, bubble popped) in the car, and they are right, that's what the law says. Also, children are supposed to be isolating "as much as possible" from the rest of the family at home and apparently being in a car together makes them into close contacts.

I asked specifically for help and was told simply to keep all 3 of them home if I couldn't get the others to school. I was devastated as had read on here how helpful other schools had been. So just don't get your hopes up I suppose.

Mrsbrownsgargoyle · 20/03/2021 07:03

Most school admins don't start at 7 ish, lol.

ShakespearesSisters · 20/03/2021 07:05

I normally walk to school but when this happened with my youngest we drove and parked next to another mum in same situation. (We are told to park in the local diy store carpark just opposite school) One of us took the two non isolating children over to school. The other stood outside the car watching the isolating ones through the window.

Floki1 · 20/03/2021 07:07

Lots of other parents at our school were taking isolating children on the school run in masks. I contacted school and was explicitly told that isolating children had to stay at home and unfortunately if I had no way to get the siblings to school, I had to keep everyone off. It was frustrating that this was not given as guidance to everyone from the beginning. As it turned out, the bubble burst on the Friday and on the Monday afternoon my dd started with symptoms and later tested positive so I was glad we didn’t expose anyone on Monday morning.

Fucket · 20/03/2021 07:08

This happened at the village school. Isolating yr 1 kids still went on the school run and played in the park opposite the school before and after school, with other children of other year groups. Then the whole school
Practically caught Covid and most of the teachers. This was just before Xmas. All the mums were saying on FB they had to take their kids for a walk to school for exercise and their partners had to work and couldn’t look after them. Then surprise surprise the whole village practically caught Covid and because it was Xmas and families meet up (tbh they never stopped meeting up as far as I could work out from the kids mentioning play dates etc) lots of grandparents died.

It’s attitudes like this which makes all the extra work we do in schools cleaning tables, separating bubbles, enforced hand washing etc pointless.

Not that I’m a big fan of lockdowns, I do think though if you or a child has been told to isolate you bloody isolate them.

changingnames786 · 20/03/2021 07:18

DH is working abroad, I have to drive to school anyway (3 miles away) so he (isolating 7 year old) comes in the car with us, I get out the car to walk older son across the busy road (that has no crossing Angry) so leave younger DS in the car for 2 mins but he's not really out of view. Then back home. Thank goodness DS1 goes to after school club but I'm not sure how I'm supposed to manage remote working until 3pm and be out the house by 2.40 to get older DS.

Laughing at the PP who says the child should be isolating from family and wearing a mask. That is not fucking happening in my house with a 7 year old.

FakeFruitShoot · 20/03/2021 07:25

Laughing at the PP who says the child should be isolating from family and wearing a mask

Glad it's so hilarious for you. That is what the law says and our school were strict on the law. You shouldn't be taking isolating children out of the house at all for any reason. If your school turn a blind eye or facilitate you dropping off in a way that is common sense while ignoring the letter of the law then good for bloody you.

You're not the only person with a DH working away (or no OH at all!) who works from home

I asked for help and wasn't (able to be) given it.

My children all had to miss an extra 2 weeks of school on top of the 6 months they had already missed. I am hanging onto my job by a thread. So please fuck off with your LOLZ @ PP.

changingnames786 · 20/03/2021 07:28

@FakeFruitShoot there is no point putting a mask on him because we all live under the same roof, I'm not putting one on for him for appearances, you can't isolate a 7 year old from his family.

I'm not keeping my eldest son off school, he should be in school, he is going. As it happens our school has given no guidance on not being in the car, or wearing a mask in it.

DeathMetalMum · 20/03/2021 07:28

I had to drop non isolating dd off in the morning and go to work slightly late for a few days. Other days I took both in the car drop off is currently from the school car park anyway- they share a bedroom so we can hardly fully isolate at home.

I also had to finish early one day at work, to collect dd1 while dp took the same day off to look after isolating dd2 as we only have one car. Our normal childcare also collected dd1 on one of the days. It was a nightmare really.

FakeFruitShoot · 20/03/2021 07:31

@changingnames786 I know that. Some probably parked far enough away and kids who don't blab and didn't get caught. I'm just saying not every school is turning a blind eye and I can't even rail against the school as they are simply upholding the law.

Anyway, getting derailed here, I just didn't want OP thinking school would automatically be helpful and accommodating.

changingnames786 · 20/03/2021 07:37

@FakeFruitShoot sorry I didn't mean to come across bitchy when I said "laughing" it's a hugely stressful time, the last few months have been hell. I've been WFH and home schooling too. It's just wholly unrealistic to me, I'm not isolating DS from us when a) can't b) it's cruel.

In our guidance sent this week it doesn't say anything about cars. And it only says to isolate from family if he has symptoms. (We'd all be staying in the house if there were symptoms)

To me it seemed a practical solution, I can't leave him in the house on his own, I'm not having DS1 missing school because we live too far to walk, if DS2 has the virus we will get it because we all live and play together. Not because he's come in the car with us.

FuchMyLife · 20/03/2021 08:02

For goodness sake I hope parents aren't actually isolating their kids in the way described above.
Plus it makes no sense to take other kids in the household to school at their part of the household of a potentially infected child

The idea of parents literally locking a child in a room to isolate them is astounding (have actually seen a few social media posts about this) let's use our common sense here folks