A thread for boarding school parents 2020

[TheWomanTheyCallJayne]

Have we got such a thread?
I did look but couldn’t see one.
If we haven’t wouldn’t anyone like to join me in this thread to support each other during these strange times. Getting a child off to boarding school is hard enough anyway for so many reasons but it’s decidedly more difficult at this time.
How are you all doing?

@petitdonkey
Thank you for your lovely post.
thats very interesting about your dd 'wanting'to 'do' stuff with you when she comes home. it'd be lovely to think this would be the case here. but like you say, it depends on the child.
I wish there were people in my RLwho were a tad more supportive.
however it's been invaluable to have found this thread. so thanks to EVERYONEfor your thoughts.

Morning all - we are picking DS up tonight for Christmas and I can't wait!

Not sure what will happen with the new DofE guidance about non-exam school years not going back to school for face-to-face teaching until later in January. Has anyone heard from their schools about it yet?

Not heard anything but school had already decided to defer the start of term to 11th Jan, to accommodate the overseas boarders. Crossing fingers that won't change as DS1 in GCSE year!

I was wondering this too @Sparticle and how it will affect year 7 and 8 in stand alone prep schools.

We've had an email from school saying that boarding houses will be open from the 4th (which was the original plan anyway as term starts on the 5th) and DS would be taught online with whoever is at school then. If we don't return him until the 10th, we wouldn't get a reduction in fees.

DH is keen to send him back but I'm wondering if I'd rather have him home with us for longer...!

Our school has pushed return back until the 11th but I work at a prep school snd we are going back as planned on the 5th.

Just got next terms invoice which is always a lovely Christmas present

Yes us too! 🤑

Email to say as DC is in an exam year (13) she will return along with other exam pupils, Juniors and international boarders on 4th as planned. Uk boarders and day pupils out of those years not to return straight away with remote teaching and international boarders in non exam years to learn remotely from their houses. Our usually very calm head has really been p'ed off - a very irritated tone when referring to DfE

Our school is doing the same pattern as above. And our Headmaster's statement had exactly the same tone!

Our school is in Tier 4. I can’t believe that boarding schools will open as normal next term after the announcement yesterday. We haven’t heard from the school but I can’t believe they’ll have the boys back at the start of term.

@Bvop - I thought that too. Our school is in Kent so not only tier four but prepping itself for major travel disruption in January!!!

@Takeittotheboss - school in Somerset by any chance? Head is usually as urbane as they come - makes Rees MOgg look like an over excited parrot but was really really p'd off in his last email....

No not Somerset, but our Headmasters are obviously from the same school of manners!😁

I'm waiting anxiously for info from our Head. We are abroad, and flights from the UK have been drastically reduced with only residents now allowed in.

I'm worried if I send my boys back to school as planned they'll be stuck and miserable but my eldest is in Y11. 😒

Given the circumstances I don’t really want to send the dc back to school. Things spread like wildfire in boarding houses, and if he tests positive I have to collect him, which means 2 hours in a car - virtually guaranteeing I’ll get it too. I hope the school stays online until this new variant has settled down.

Only just found this thread. Would have been useful to have found it earlier, as this is DD's first term boarding. Never considered it before, but she needed a certain type/size of school and the nearest suitable schools were only feasible as weekly boarding.

DD's school currently saying boarders in as usual from evening of the 5th and they can self isolate if needed, plus remote learn from boarding house if their year group is online learning.

DD only weekly boarding so I don't want to send her in if her class are being taught remotely but will if/when lessons are in person.

I guess they all need more direction from the government to make final decisions on when children go back.

Looking forward to hearing what your schools are doing given today's announcements....

1. When are they going back - and which years?

1. What sort of testing are they doing?

I’m looking forward to finding out too: I think most independent schools will take a bit of time as most terms don’t start until later anyway.

And what does it mean for years 7 and 8 at prep schools? Are they classified as senior?

Heard from a friend with a DD in Y8 at a co-Ed prep that year 8 are an “exam year”, ie that before today’s announcement they’d expected to be able to go back face to face on the first day of term, whenever that was.

Means that for their prep, Y7 is the only year not in until the 18th....

Government guidance is clear. Year 7 and 8 in "middle schools" are to be treated as "secondary aged pupils" so schools have to follow the secondary guidance and can't teach those pupils face to face unless they are key worker children or vulnerable eg with an EHCP.
Year 11 and 13 have specifically been deemed the "exam years". School can not redefine year 8 (or any other year) to be an exam year eg even if year 12 are sitting AS exams they don't go back to school earlier.
Clubs/tuition centres running extra curricular can't take children face to face until their year group returns (and pretty much can't run in tier 4 other than for specific reasons) so an independent schools isn't going to be allowed to have year 8 kids in. Doesn't mean they won't try, of course but insurance would be tricky, I imagine.

For boarders things are slightly different. The guidance says

Residential providers and boarding schools
Boarding schools with secondary-age pupils should provide for a staggered start back to on-site provision to allow for testing.

However, in some cases, the children will already have returned to their boarding houses before the start of term, in particular where they have been returning from overseas. Where the children are already in their boarding houses, the school should provide remote education to them in their boarding houses, as if they were still at home, while arranging for testing.

I understand that this means that boarding schools can take children in earlier than the stated start dates (childcare is allowed of course) but that any education provided has to be remote unless the child is a key worker child or classed as vulnerable.

It is so strange. We had been told ours were going back on Monday night, 2 'exam years', (they had interpreted exam years as entire upperschool so years 10 to 13) and a year 7. I don't know what it will be now. I was supposed to go abroad with husband (supposed to live abroad with him but it hasn't worked out that way this year as too unpredicatable). He will go. I will stay. Will enjoy the peace for the first week to be honest. Our reasonably sized family town house seems tiny tonight due to everyone in it. can't sleep and husband snoring and no spare beds to disappear to. Am googling big houses in the country.....

To my surprise ours is taking keyworker children from the start of term, but otherwise just the Y11 and Y13.

Just reread the contingency framework

Where the contingency framework is implemented, secondary schools should only allow vulnerable children, children of critical workers, pupils in years 11 and 13 and other pupils due to take external exams this academic year, to attend.

So prep schools might be able to get away with bringing in year 8 children for CE/Scholarship exam prep????