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Original poster

Taking kids out of school to avoid isolation?

58 replies

LKC8191 · 01/07/2021 14:24

Our two DDs have had 3 periods of 10 days isolating due to close contact at primary school over the past year. We’ve just started one right now and the previous two were near the end of winter term and spring term.
They also have a trip away with their grandparents booked in the summer- it starts just 4 days after the end of term and will be third time lucky if they actually go because it has been cancelled and rearranged twice from last year.
I will be absolutely gutted if they have to isolate for 10 days near the end of summer term and it f**cks up their chance of going away again.
So, I’m seriously considering not sending them to school for the last week of term. Keep them at home and safe from the threat of bubble breaks.
What are people’s thoughts? We never normally take them out of school for holidays etc- they have pretty much 100% attendance records.

OP posts:
Three0fivepointfour · 01/07/2021 18:55

Have you worked out the date they’d have come into contact with a random infected person for you to legitimately isolate them yourself, therefore no fines and still get an online education, but they come out just in time for the holidays? I have...

Original poster
LKC8191 · 01/07/2021 19:53

Yep! Just been doing the maths on this. Tell the school that we’ve been told to isolate because of a close contact.

OP posts:
Original poster
LKC8191 · 01/07/2021 19:54

@Echobelly It’s primary and I think they’re only talking about tests instead of isolations for Secondary school.

OP posts:
Original poster
LKC8191 · 01/07/2021 19:56

@BoaCunstrictor Yes, we would definitely isolate if told to do so. So it would be taking them out to avoid the whole thing.

OP posts:
Echobelly · 01/07/2021 20:32

It would be pretty impossible to get DS (9) to do lateral flow every day, it must be said. We've only had to test him with twice (PCR) and it's been traumatic both times!

Waxonwaxoff0 · 01/07/2021 20:42

@TheDuchessOfBeddington

A bubble of 70 is fucking ridiculous.

I would be testing but not necessarily isolating.

Yep. I've already decided if DS's bubble pops we won't be isolating if it means missing a holiday. We'll just do daily tests and go anyway.
Three0fivepointfour · 01/07/2021 20:43

Sad isn’t it? The kids do need school and the social aspect is important but weighing up another week off school against something lovely and important...
I imagine a lot of schools may be quite empty the last week of term.

MarshaBradyo · 01/07/2021 20:46

Our class won’t change much as it didn’t at Christmas

chaosrabbitland · 01/07/2021 21:07

im doing it for a week on the 11 july as iv got a week off booked and it would be nice for us to spend some time together and do a few bits as its now the second year in a row that we havent been able to go and stay in a holiday and camping resort like we nornally do , i know we could in theory go ,but all the prices have been hiked throught the roof and i refuse to get ripped off , id never normally do this but dd is now on her 24th day of missing school because they keep sending them home to isolate as someone in the bubble / form has tested positive . she no sooner got back after the first one then 2 days later i had to get her as they were sending them all home again to isolate as someone else had it , im beyond fed up with it now . i just cant see after 2 years of disrupted /missed education one week will now make any difference at all . i cant even take this shit seriously anymore , she dosent isolate for the ten days and i dont as i have to work , we just carry on like normal . and i dont test , we have gone all through last year of this pandemic ,but the minute they introduced these unreliable lateral flow tests suddenly everybody and his brother is madly shoving swabs down thier throats and up their nose every other day , it would be laughable if it wasnt so sad and its this to blame for the schools sending all these kids home every other week

Timeturnerplease · 01/07/2021 21:35

I’m a teacher due to move house the day after term ends, then a new baby due a couple of weeks later.

If I could, I’d isolate for the last week too. I’d never normally support this kind of thing because, contrary to popular belief, we will be teaching ‘proper’ lessons right up until the last day. However, with PHE closing whole bubbles all over the country, planning anything for the first week of the holidays is looking riskier by the day.

Three0fivepointfour · 01/07/2021 21:43

Oh timeturner, I feel for you. I realise it’s a luxury in some ways to be even able to think about it. Hats off to you all.

Redwinestillfine · 05/07/2021 20:53

What's acceptable to say to school in this scenario? We have never had so much as a day off. Would just saying you're not sending them in to avoid isolating for holiday not work?

BarbarianMum · 05/07/2021 20:56

@Redwinestillfine the easiest thing to do is to tell the school they have to self isolate. No questions asked.

OP I'm not usually one for this, esp as theyve already missed so much but I'd do it like a shot in these circumstances.

ChocolateRiver · 05/07/2021 21:04

Take them out! I wish I could! I’m secondary and dh is primary plus we have a 5 and an 8 year old so risk of one of us isolating is incredibly high. We’re due to go to Devon on the 17th and I honestly can’t see us making it. But we need the break and we desperately want to go. If I could take the kids out and work from home I definitely would. We’re in the NW and numbers are rising rapidly. Ds is going back to school tomorrow after 10 days isolation. My school had nearly a third of all pupils and loads of staff isolating in the last 2 weeks. Go for it. There is more to life than school, but please don’t ask school to provide work. We’re just too busy to start doing that.

Redwinestillfine · 05/07/2021 21:06

Would school really fine in this situation? I hate the idea of not being straight with them but have 1 isolating now and 4 out of 6 years have classes out.

Redwinestillfine · 05/07/2021 21:06

7🙈

EveryFlightBeginsWithAFall · 05/07/2021 21:08

Mine are supposed to be going to their dad's in Ireland next Tuesday. I'm anxious about bubbles bursting

BoaCunstrictor · 05/07/2021 21:49

@Redwinestillfine

Would school really fine in this situation? I hate the idea of not being straight with them but have 1 isolating now and 4 out of 6 years have classes out.
Highly unlikely, but just say they've got the shits.
Lupinhere37 · 05/07/2021 23:04

I just told my school straight. We had day upon day of “drum roll please…this is today’s COVID infection rate per year group”.
So I decided that they wanted us to keep the kids off. When I emailed in today saying we were staying off, head of year and form teacher said they thought it was a sensible decision! Lots of other parents had done the same today too.

SuperCaliFragalistic · 06/07/2021 06:08

I presume none of you were on here desperate for schools to reopen back in March? I seem to remember that DC "missing their education" and the "impact on their mental health" from further isolation was top of the agenda back then. Funny how it all changes when a holiday is at stake.

Redwinestillfine · 06/07/2021 06:49

Why would any education be missed? If you're straight with the school they can just do the online learning. Most people considering this aren't going away in the school holidays and in most cases have never done this bey. It's desperation after a really shitty year.

tiredteacher100 · 06/07/2021 06:56

@Redwinestillfine

Why would any education be missed? If you're straight with the school they can just do the online learning. Most people considering this aren't going away in the school holidays and in most cases have never done this bey. It's desperation after a really shitty year.
Online learning doesn't exist for parents choosing to take children out of school. It's a lot of extra work to set up remote learning for children at home and certainly in our school is only available to children who are officially needing to self isolate.
pocketcalculatoroperator · 06/07/2021 07:10

I would wait for today's education announcement. It's possible they'll scrap contact isolation from the 19th. Interesting to see what they do with primary - I think there'll be too much resistance to testing instead of isolation at this age, but I can't believe they'll carry on with isolation in primary and not secondary, there'd be an uproar.

FindingMeno · 06/07/2021 07:20

Absolutely yes.
Some children, my own included, are getting to the end of their tethers with self- isolation.
A break is far more important than struggling on to the end of the school year with crossed fingers.

FindingMeno · 06/07/2021 07:22

I don't get people who are worried about their education over a few more days off.
Their education has been well and truly fucked over the past year or so, and we need to concern ourselves with happiness first and foremost imo.