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Original poster

Will you send your DC to school if they're open for keyworkers only?

389 replies

BlowDryRat · 20/12/2021 09:31

Hopefully this won't happen but if it does (probably with hours' notice like last Jan Angry)...

DH and I both qualified as keyworkers (medical supplies) for all the previous lockdowns. We could WFH though so kept the DC at home so they weren't taking up spaces really needed by others and to minimise the risk to the school staff. The DC got on with it but both struggled socially and DD in particular fell very behind academically.

Now that everyone who wants a vaccine has had at least 2, if there's another partial school closure I'll be prioritising my DC and sending them in.

What are you planning to do?

OP posts:
MondeoFan · 20/12/2021 13:38

Yes and I'm a keyworker

Comedycook · 20/12/2021 13:40

[quote Covidworries]@comedycook

Under 12 yr olds havent been vacicnated, most secondary have only been able to have 1 vacc so far.
Where are their protection and mitigation[/quote]
As a parent of a under 12, I have absolutely no concerns about covid.

containsnuts · 20/12/2021 13:41

If the situation is so serious that they have to close schools again, and the health service is struggling to that extent then I'd keep them at home. Why? To limit the risk of infection or accident that might need medical attention tjat won't be available. I don't think they'll close schools though but suspect they may stagger the return after new year.

Kokeshi123 · 20/12/2021 13:42

cantkeepawayforever, this is an honest question but what if it turns out that there isn't much that can be done to stop omicron spreading? It looks infectious as fuck and is spreading in schools in Democrat-voting metros in the United States (where everyone is masked up to the hilt and they have millions of insane rules, like making kids sit outside in the freezing cold to have lunch in silence).

MarshaBradyo · 20/12/2021 13:43

[quote Covidworries]@comedycook

Under 12 yr olds havent been vacicnated, most secondary have only been able to have 1 vacc so far.
Where are their protection and mitigation[/quote]
Dc have had Covid and this doesn’t concern me

More negatives from long periods of exclusion

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 20/12/2021 13:43

I'm triple vaxxed. Still got it did you die?

Jabbawasarollingstone · 20/12/2021 13:44

I would hope against everything that schools will not close again, because DD felt very isolated despite Zoom, WhatsApp etc. It didn't do her mood any good at all. Having said that, as she is unvaccinated, I'd prefer to keep her home. She's 15 (Y10) so she has a big say in how she feels about it too.

MarshaBradyo · 20/12/2021 13:45

Not sure any of us will avoid getting omicron at some point. Still, vaccinated etc

BunsyGirl · 20/12/2021 13:45

Yes, my DS8 will be attending school. It’s a private school and they were very relaxed about who could attend in lockdown two. There were children there who had SAHMs. I’m a public sector lawyer and will not be putting myself under extreme stress trying to work and supervise an eight year old’s homeschooling.

BustopherPonsonbyJones · 20/12/2021 13:47

@timanddaisy

I think this is all kinds of wrong.

The focus shouldn't be about schools closing / keyworker places. It should be about how do we keep schools open but increase safety for the staff, children and families using them. Surely??!

Am a primary teacher. I absolutely DO NOT EVER want a return to online learning. It was horrific as an educator and a parent to 2 school-aged DC.

Whoever said it would also be pointless as most children would be in anyway was correct.

Just ignoring the fact that schools are hotbeds of infection has led to this shitshow. Absolutely NOTHING has changed since the first lockdown to mitigate it and protect staff or children. Nothing.

The focus should be increasing funding for ventilation, resources and better buildings. A long term solution instead of quick fixes that don't work and piss everyone off.

And I speak as a teacher who caught it at school last week just in time for Christmas...Sad

Agreed but two years in, nothing has been done to make schools safer. It’s only at the crisis points when people are worried about school closures that it is even contemplated. Start doing so now so we can truly ‘learn to live with it’ and stop with the Us for Them rhetoric which has proved so damaging and led to so many issues.
Explosivefarts · 20/12/2021 13:50

Well for them to do this they will need to bring back furlough for those of us who are not keyworkers but work outside the home .

Original poster
BlowDryRat · 20/12/2021 13:55

DS's school (secondary) is doing a staggered return so that they can LFT all the kids.

OP posts:
timanddaisy · 20/12/2021 13:55

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

I'm triple vaxxed. Still got it did you die?
Really???? What an unsympathetic, nasty and unnecessary response.

I didn't die the last time I had it this time last year either. When I was unvaccinated.

This time I'm ill but hopefully I won't die this year either.

However, if I pass it on to either of my highly vulnerable parents, yes, I believe that one or both might die. Despite their vaccinations, they are both still incredibly vulnerable. So no Christmas for us.

Disgusting response

HTH.

Comedycook · 20/12/2021 13:57

So @timanddaisy what's the solution? No school until we reach zero covid?

Blubells · 20/12/2021 13:58

Why just key worker children?

What about working parents? They'd have to stay home and look after their children instead of being able to work?

They might as well keep schools open...!

Blubells · 20/12/2021 14:00

It’s a private school and they were very relaxed about who could attend in lockdown two. There were children there who had SAHMs.

I wish all schools offered that!

BustopherPonsonbyJones · 20/12/2021 14:02

@RobinPenguins
Yep, vaccines and boosters are great (shame school staff weren’t considered priority back in March) and have allowed me to do my job without having a nervous break down.

The vaccines don’t prevent people catching Covid. Some of my colleagues (double and triple vaccinated) have caught it (more than once in some instances) and have been off for months. Two ended up in hospital. The impact on their health (even though they didn’t die - talk about setting the bar low) has been huge.

I can see how those working in offices and ‘at home’ feel pretty safe, especially if most people they working with are also vaccinated. Not every profession is so lucky. If you really value education and not just childcare, you would be fighting to make things safer and not just to get your child into school for what will be another disrupted, chaotic term.

AchillesLastStand · 20/12/2021 14:03

What about parents who are registered disabled and really, really struggle with homeschooling due to hidden disabilities and have zero support networks in place. Would I have to submit care plans and proof of disability letters from the government and other confidential medical information to the school? I would if it meant my 7 year old SEN son could attend school.

Surely schools should be looking at the individual circumstances of families? I know this would take time but make the allocation of places fairer.

For the record I don’t think the government should be thinking of closing schools to any pupils.

Kokeshi123 · 20/12/2021 14:05

I still want to hear from someone who works in a school: what if we do do all the mitigation stuff and it makes piss-all difference?

Just repeating but: in Democratic-voting bits of America, they are doing all the masks and everything else, and COVID is still spreading and schools are already starting to close.

timanddaisy · 20/12/2021 14:11

@Comedycook

So *@timanddaisy* what's the solution? No school until we reach zero covid?
I think you missed the part where I said that I absolutely don't want schools to close and go to remote learning ever again.

I want schools to stay open and all children to be in them. But I want schools to be made safer so that we don't have to have these conversations in the first place.

Pawprintpaper · 20/12/2021 14:19

@BlowDryRat

DS's school (secondary) is doing a staggered return so that they can LFT all the kids.
Even this is difficult for us as the live zoom lessons (dotted throughout the day) require an adult to be present with the laptop in a communal part of the house for safeguarding reasons… neither of us wfh so not sure if that means ds can’t participate.
Kokeshi123 · 20/12/2021 14:20

Repeating, but what if omicron continues to spread in spite of mitigations?

Will schools take the attitude of "Well, we've all done our best, will just have to crack on now" or push for closures? And if so, what will the metrics be for reopening?

I'm just wary because, being somewhat more involved with the US side of thing, I've watched schools in blue states like California demand more and more mitigations (including some pretty insane stuff that looks miserable for the kids), and now that we're moving into winter, COVID is spreading anyway regardless, and the schools are closing.

salemcat · 20/12/2021 14:22

Can't work from home as both key workers ( nurse ), so yes, DC will go as a keyword child.

fourdayholiday · 20/12/2021 14:27

No school age children but am a key worker according to the definition.

I would if I was assured that steps to keep social distancing and things such as separate entrances were in place. If I had school age children that is.

Svara · 20/12/2021 14:41

As a parent of a under 12, I have absolutely no concerns about covid.
As the parent of an unjabbed teen, I have absolutely no concerns about Covid, for either of us.