Petition No prosecution for parents that remove child from school during a pandemic.

[herecomesthsun]

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300399

This has over 92,000 signatures. There has been a response in April, however at 100,000 signatures it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

Prosecution was of course not applicable during lockdown.

If you feel "not more about schools", or you don't agree, then of course you wouldn't need to sign up. I think however it would be a very good thing to have a parliamentary debate about this, the number of threads would suggest a lot of general interest!

@LordOftheRingz

Thanks OP for posting this, because if there is a second wave and schools stay open during it and fine people, there will be many parents who will benefit from this.

For those screaming to de-register, home education is not a punishment for those who don't fit your criteria of what concerned parents should do, home ed is a valid system in itself and requires much thought and consideration.

I agree that home schooling is a valid system, so if parents consider it to be the better option, why not commit to it and deregister? It's totally within any parent's right to withdraw their child from the system and choose to homeschool, at any time. It is not, however, within the parent's right to continue to make the school responsible for their child's learning while at the same time refusing to actually send their child to school.

I agree OP.

Thankfully I live in a country that doesn’t automatically punish parents for withdrawing children from school occasionally to go on holidays, family days out etc.

The UK education system is a joke.

@OpheliasCrayon

Oh my goodness me not another bloody thread

If you don't want your kids in school deregister them

You've always been allowed to

However it is not reasonable in the slightest to keep your places open whilst you fanny about in your own sweet time deciding what to do, when there are other people who would like your place.

Keep them in, take them out but if you think you deserve special treatment for this one virus amongst the many many many that could harm your kids, you're delusional.

Is there no way mumsnet can create an area for these inane thread?

I know so boring now

I signed it, thanks OP!

@Underhisi

"and also I would suggest in discussion that a limited timeframe would be reasonable (maybe 2 or3 months rather than 5 years)"

What is going to be different in 2 or 3 months? People were saying that in June.

Yes, but in June people still had a small amount of faith that Boris's bungling government would actually have been able to sort out their response over the summer months, and get cases down to a level that was actually manageable. Instead, they decided to open pubs and encourage people to go on holiday - with predictable results. I believe that education is VITAL for all children, but at the moment, I can't see how this can happen in a safe way. The government need to own their shitshow and finally sort this nightmarish situation out, instead of bungling everything and putting more vulnerable people at risk.

@herecomesthsun I've seen your other threads and know that you were previously shielding. I hope that you (and others in your position) are able to negotiate a solution with your schools without losing places. However, I strongly disagree that this option should be available to all families. The vast majority of children should be in school learning and socialising with their peers unless families decide to deregister. The unintended consequences of parental choice for all could be tragic for many children.

[quote IncidentsandAccidents]@herecomesthsun I've seen your other threads and know that you were previously shielding. I hope that you (and others in your position) are able to negotiate a solution with your schools without losing places. However, I strongly disagree that this option should be available to all families. The vast majority of children should be in school learning and socialising with their peers unless families decide to deregister. The unintended consequences of parental choice for all could be tragic for many children.[/quote]
Unfortunately the unintended consequences of taking covid home could be tragic for many children too.

We are in extraordinary times, and I think we need a nuanced compassionate response.

I have so many friends with very different perspectives, and different family situations, but all good parents trying to help their kids navigate this mess.

@latticechaos I agree. Families with extremely clinically vulnerable children and household members should be allowed to make their own choices without the stress of deregistration or fines. Other children should be in school.

[quote IncidentsandAccidents]@latticechaos I agree. Families with extremely clinically vulnerable children and household members should be allowed to make their own choices without the stress of deregistration or fines. Other children should be in school.[/quote]
'other children should be in school' is just too simplistic for these times imo.

It's a sound bite which fucks up real families at a time when stress is highest. It's not support, it's bullying.

People who support their children not attending can just have a cough anyway.

I think a lot of people need to MYOB about other families and focus on their own kids.

I’ve signed too. Thanks for the link op.

@latticechaos I was really shocked by your reply. I am not a bully. I fully support the rights of extremely clinically vulnerable families to make their own choices. I also feel that most children will be best nurtured and supported at school, especially the significant minority who are vulnerable in many ways (many of whom won't have been officially identified but are quietly and compassionately monitored by teachers). Please consider your language when writing online.

[quote IncidentsandAccidents]@latticechaos I was really shocked by your reply. I am not a bully. I fully support the rights of extremely clinically vulnerable families to make their own choices. I also feel that most children will be best nurtured and supported at school, especially the significant minority who are vulnerable in many ways (many of whom won't have been officially identified but are quietly and compassionately monitored by teachers). Please consider your language when writing online.[/quote]
I didn't mean YOU were a bully () but the policy is intended to bully.

Were you aware the Welsh government have gone the other way. For compassionate reasons, to support families and maintain positive school-home relationship.

Also to limit number deregistering which would be a negative outcome in families where all they want is to see whether cases rise.

But people who don't know about other families do need to MYOB and leave it to professionals.

Also, parents know their own children better than you do, and some will most definitely be better continuing at home.

I do get cross because caring but simplistic one size responses actually make it harder for parents to support their kids through tough times like this.

This is a more recent petition which may also be of interest for those that signed the above.
www.change.org/p/don-t-punish-parents-let-us-decide-when-it-s-safe-to-take-our-kids-back-to-school