Options:
- Keep forcing it and hope it will either get better or at least that child will stop expressing their unhappiness about the situation.
- Change schools to see if that makes it any better (NB you'll know whether it is that particular school or the institution in general which is the problem, and if the latter, there's no point switching)
- Coldly assess your working arrangements and support network of child's father/your parents and ILs (if relevant)/other relatives/close friends/local childminders.
With the logistics of child care in mind for your particular situation, you can then begin to explore
...for an under 5, asking them "do you want to go to school today?" and when the answer is "No", you just say "ok, then" and do something else. (people may say that children have to learn to honour their commitments. I would reply that it's a bit much to expect a 4 year odl to honour a commitment made on their behalf and against their wishes by a bunch of adults). If you are finding that the answer is "No" every single day, then school is perhaps not the best option at this time.
...for an over-5, perhaps find out about the possibility of flexi-schooling. Advantages are that the child stays on the school roll and gets some of the school input. Drawbacks are that the school usually (and of course quite justifiably) decides what the hours should be so it's not as "flexi" as it sounds at first. Also, the child has to follow the national curriculum in full even though they are only in school part time, so there is a legal onus on the parents. Also, the head teacher has the final say over whether to accept a flexi-school arrangement, and some are very resistant to the idea
...or, like I said yesterday, consider educating your child yourself until he/she is ready to go happily to school. Some people do this by following the national curriculum, some do something which looks a lot like school at home, some people do what's called "autonomous home education", which follows the child's interests. If you want advice about the HE options, come and ask in the HE thread - I don't want to hijack a perfectly good Primary Education thread with HE evangelism
And, just a thought. I read here recently someone saying that "school is really just a free form of child care and anything extra they get out of it is a bonus" (paraphrase). If you think of school that way, then it's just the same thing as thinking about a child going to nursery and crying about it every single day - you'd probably be looking for a better child care arrangement.