Single parent with no way to get my son to school

[wobblywinelover]

I've had a PCR test today and awaiting results... BUT if it comes back positive i'm not sure what i'm going to do about getting my son to school if his PCR comes back negative (he currently has no symptoms). I'm triple jabbed and he had his first vaccine a couple of weeks ago. I normally have to drive him 15 minutes to school, there's no way he can get there on his own unless I send him in a taxi (which are few and far between in the area I live in). No one else to take him. He's in year 10 and i'm concerned about him missing yet more school work. What have other people done in this situation? I know worst case scenario i'm going to have to keep him off but this is not ideal obviously. Thanks.

[quote Cherrytart23]@Keladrythesaviour So what do the children do if parents don't drive?[/quote]
I don't know anyone here who doesn't drive. It just isn't practical unless you never venture past the village boundary! I'm guessing there must be some kind of transport put on for kids based on what people have said above about it being a requirement, but I'm not sure it's something you can tap into last minute. I have no idea.
I just find it funny that people assume it's as easy as hopping on a bus anywhere in the UK.

[quote Cherrytart23]@Keladrythesaviour So what do the children do if parents don't drive?[/quote]
No-one would live where I do if they couldn’t drive. There is no public transport, no shop, no takeaways delivered, taxis are very difficult to get.
School children get buses from age 5 in some the villages, but you couldn’t possibly exist here without at least one car per household. It just doesn’t happen. Older people move to town when they can’t manage any more.

@Sebastianthecoo

Four miles into that drive includes 3 blind bends, a T junction, another 4 blind bends - all on a 60 mph road with no pavements. If he survives that walk/cycle then he can catch the bus from the nearest bus stop. Right outside his school.So no mine couldn’t get to school on his own, poor thing missing out on his ‘independence’.

Why have you put 'independence' in inverted commas?

He is missing out on any independence at all.

Are you saying your teenage child literally can't go out or go anywhere unless you, or another adult, drive him?

Otherwise he's just trapped at home?

I can't imagine putting a teenager/ young adult in that situation

I kept mine off. If there’s no one to take him there’s no other option.

[quote BudgeSquare]@Sebastianthecoo

Four miles into that drive includes 3 blind bends, a T junction, another 4 blind bends - all on a 60 mph road with no pavements. If he survives that walk/cycle then he can catch the bus from the nearest bus stop. Right outside his school.So no mine couldn’t get to school on his own, poor thing missing out on his ‘independence’.

Why have you put 'independence' in inverted commas?

He is missing out on any independence at all.

Are you saying your teenage child literally can't go out or go anywhere unless you, or another adult, drive him?

Otherwise he's just trapped at home?

I can't imagine putting a teenager/ young adult in that situation[/quote]
There are plenty of ways teenagers can experience being independent without getting public transport from their house. Mine were given lifts to nearest towns and would then get bus or train to a bigger town. Get taxis on their own. They could go on walks or cycles from the house across fields, tracks etc. They could go and stay with friends. They also learnt to drive as soon as they are old enough, so were not 'trapped at home' as young adults.

@Watapalava

Don’t know about others but no school here provides school work or remote learning anymore given there is no contact isolation

Isolation for covid is sickness so schools don’t have to provide home learning similar to how they didn’t when people were off with flu or sickness

As far as I can see here, remote teaching stopped when isolation stopped

That's unusual, given that so many children are positive when asymptomatic or have very minor symptoms, yet 10 days at home. It's not at all the same as flu when there can be 10 kids in the class all missing a week of school while effectively healthy.

Does your son have any mates whose parents could potentially put him up for a few nights mid-week? Then you’d only need to organise a couple of taxi rides at start and end of the week. Might need to find a family that have already all had covid, mind!

What's the walking distance? Can you poke around on maps and see if there's an off-road route? Even if it's rather long, it might be doable considering it's two weeks.

The rules in the UK make no sense to me. Assuming OP is positive, she isn't allowed to leave the house but it's perfectly ok for someone who lives with her to go to school - as long as she doesn't take him? Utter madness.

Keep your son home until you get a negative test. For goodness sake, don't send him to school if you test positive.

@BudgeSquare I put ‘independence’ in inverted commas as another poster kept mentioning it as if getting oneself to school was the benchmark for independence and it’s clear you think similarly.

Yes my DC are trapped at home unless I drive them anywhere. Except they are not, they are surrounded by acres of woodland and farmland, den building, vegetable growing, animal tending and fresh air. They go with friends after school for a walk, to hang out or whatever and I pick them up when they are ready. They all attend extra curricular activities which I drive them too, or drop them off at the bus stop next to school and they catch the bus there. They also catch the bus into town to go to the cinema/swimming/out for lunch.

I hope that clears up any concerns about them being trapped.

I was in the same situation as you, genuinely had nobody to take my kids to school. I called the covid information line, 119, and asked this question - they confirmed I was allowed to take them to school, they specified it was school, not extra curricular clubs etc as this was not permitted - but school - 100%. I called 3 times as wanted to make sure and on all occasions was told the same. Maybe give them a call and ask.

Good luck.

Drive him to school, stay in the car, obviously!

[quote Sebastianthecoo]@BudgeSquare I put ‘independence’ in inverted commas as another poster kept mentioning it as if getting oneself to school was the benchmark for independence and it’s clear you think similarly.

Yes my DC are trapped at home unless I drive them anywhere. Except they are not, they are surrounded by acres of woodland and farmland, den building, vegetable growing, animal tending and fresh air. They go with friends after school for a walk, to hang out or whatever and I pick them up when they are ready. They all attend extra curricular activities which I drive them too, or drop them off at the bus stop next to school and they catch the bus there. They also catch the bus into town to go to the cinema/swimming/out for lunch.

I hope that clears up any concerns about them being trapped.[/quote]
Ooh, not even 6:30 and already a candidate for smuggest post of the day!

This happened to me couple of weeks back. I drove my 10 year old to school. 20 miles round trip. Nhs test and trace called me everyday to check I was isolated, said I needed to drive him in. They accepted I had no choice as a lone parent. You can't force him to mss school. Come one. Lockdown was detrimental enough.

@safariboot

What's the walking distance? Can you poke around on maps and see if there's an off-road route? Even if it's rather long, it might be doable considering it's two weeks.

This would be absolutely fine when it is light in the evenings but it would be dark before the DS got home and off road would be not a good idea

I'm failing to see why you can't drive him to school and wait in the car (unless you become very ill and can't drive, or you're trying to isolate from him altogether)

Sometimes, common sense prevails.

@wobblywinelover

I'll ring the school and explain I think, but looks like i'll have to keep him off. It's not safe for him to cycle and the school isn't on a bus route. I would have thought of that already if that was an option. Some pretty obtuse posters on here but thanks for the helpful posts.

Why isn't it safe for him to cycle to school?

Drive abd drop him to school.

You can't psss it on in a car.

@BungleandGeorge My DS goes to a state grammar, eight miles from where we live. There is no private charter school transport from where we live and no public bus service. Our catchment school is seven miles in the opposite direction. He would get paid for transport to that school but if you put another school ahead of it when you apply for a school place, you do not get free school transport. So we drive him to and from school, no other choice. Oh and there’s not a single child in his year that lives near us and could offer a lift. It’s a super selective so the children come from a huge area including many from London 40 + miles away, although they do have the benefit of decent public transport!

My widower friend was in your position a few weeks ago. He was allowed to drive his kids to school and drop them off. Agreed with school who had a teacher waiting for them (younger kids).

@Hotelhelp

I kept mine off. If there’s no one to take him there’s no other option.

Making your child miss even more school because you're so concerned about about a million-plus to one chance of you being involved in an incident that may possibly involve you passing on Covid (an infection about half the country has had) when driving to school.... but being happy enough to send him to school where he mixes with dozens when the chances of him having got Covid from you asymptomatically is probably 50:50, is one of the most nonsensical and absurd pieces of risk assessment I've ever seen.

Call the school and ask, schools are having to deal with this so may have a policy be that collecting your child or dropping off work.

@TheGirlCat I expect it isn't safe to cycle as the journey would involve cycling along windy roads with the national speed limit. There is no way I would let my teens cycle along some of the roads around my area, with cars and trucks doing up to 60 mph around bends, in good light never mind in the dark. Virtually nobody cycles on them as they are just too dangerous.

In answer to the OP, I would drive your DS and know plenty of parents who have done that.

@hellcatspangle

I'm failing to see why you can't drive him to school and wait in the car (unless you become very ill and can't drive, or you're trying to isolate from him altogether)

Sometimes, common sense prevails.

You'd have thought so, but I'm constantly astounded by the number of posts from people who seem to be programmed to zealously follow all rules to the letter and be incapable of considering even the most minor deviation from them.

Robotically following rules like this is a dictator's dream and potentially dangerous in some situations if it means you are incapable of doing the obvious zero-risk, zero-harm common sense thing that would have a significant benefit to you and your children simply because of a 'rule'.

I too would drive him to school. I work in a school and we have children being driven in by parents who are isolating! We have staff on the gates who can make sure younger children get to where they need to be, and also get in the right car going home!