So when are we going back to school?

[RaraRachael]

I was under the impression that NS had announced that all schools in Scotland would start back on August 11th. I have had surveys from my local authority asking when we would like the week's holiday in lieu and if we want 1 or 2 in-service days before we start back in August.

Last night a colleague posted a piece showing all the start dates from the different authorities - some were 10th August, !1th, 12th up to the 18th and 19th.

I am totally confused

@Mistressiggi, here is what we got last Fri (P6); I just looked it up.
The 20 secs quiz could be fun (name 5 animals, 5 things you have in the fridge, etc).
The burger king thing is the burger king menu and you have to work out how much a family of 4 is paying for buying this, that and the other (we have already done Pizza Hut, Franky and Benny and some other brand)
Also there is an optional scarecrow competition which is exactly what it sounds like. Build a scarecrow and send us a picture.
For some reason no emotion work and no RE.

@sassanach any more details? People are wary of clicking on random links with no explanation about content or who posted it.

If it wasn’t so possible, I’d be laughing @SockYarn
I think you’re spot on.

Its a letter that working parents can use to send to managers, HRs etc, outlining their situation as working parents having to home school.

Making employers aware of the issues that it will cause to their staff, asking for support and understanding, highlighting the parents rights etc.

I thought it was really well written and covered all the points excellently.

Its a proper link, nothing to worry about, no virus or anything.

Here's the document again: tinyurl.com/ya8m79hn

and I'll see if the twitter link works: twitter.com/NadiavonBenzon/status/1268483571922145280

West Lothian primary school pupils will be in 2 days per week from 12/8. Either Monday / Wednesday or Tuesday / Thursday

Secondary schools also 2 days but details still to be finalised

@Arkadia I'm getting similar to that which I think is enough - I supplement with bitesize and reading - but mine is p3! I wouldn't be very impressed for p6. I think the work will change when they can see them some days, and issue home work that is related to that. Fingers crossed anyway.

Thing is a lot of employers are already aware of the issues people in are having. Doesn't change the fact that they need staff at specific times etc. Also how many people can afford to drop hours if they cannot work their normal hours.

Thing is Sassanach many HR people and employers will already be aware of this, not least of which as many will have kids themselves and be facing the same problems. Ultimately employers can be asked to be as flexible as possible but if they genuinely can’t run their business then they can’t be forced into it.

Employers are often parents too. They know exactly what the issues are, unless they've been under a rock since March.

But there's going to come a point where they can't keep people on the payroll forever but not working. Plenty of other people who have lost their jobs to take their place.

Its all very well asking employers to be flexible but it means any working parent who has school aged children is forced to make a choice between prioritizing their work or their children's education, either for young kids by spending time with them delivering home learning or for older kids sitting with the children working through problems together. And the disjointed nature of the suggestions will mean both children and adults find it hard to get a weekly rhythm which is so important to a smooth running family life

@pinkcarpet totally agree. People are going to be so stuck for childcare options that they will start to use grandparents which makes the whole thing entirely nonsensicle

All our directors are either men or women (not many women) and I think they all have adult children

We do have parents amongst the HRBPs but they have been saying we've to discuss covid 19 issues with our individual managers and that is where the issue is going to be. different managers with different attitudes.

There is a standard FAQ for the main issues but anything to do with hours of work, annual leave or things like that are left to team leaders.

China have just had their biggest number of daily deaths since April and the R number is back up and now at the tipping point in all regions of England.
It really is a delicate balance.

I asked our HR and got the same line about it being my manager’s discretion.

My manager’s suggestion was to work round the kids waking hours. Given the youngest is up at about 545am every morning and bed time is 8pm I’m wondering when she expects me to sleep and eat... tell you what for the peanuts they pay me it’s not worth it in the slightest.

The R number is somewhat deceptive when cases are low though as a very few cases then lead to a raised R but it doesn't mean there's a big threat. Small local outbreaks inflate the r. For example, 2 baseline cases, 2 new cases = R1

And the Beijing one is also small, land people were tested and found to have the virus but no symptoms.

@MumofHunter typo in your post, China had its highest number of daily cases, not deaths

All were centred around one market and were asymptomatic. R number increase is inevitable when numbers of cases are very low. 1 case going to 4 cases cause an r number jump, but isn’t really significant unless those 4 go on to be 16.

Exactly. 1 case in the whole of East Lothian last week. That person infects her husband and 4 kids and all of a sudden the R rate in East Lothian is 5. Panic panic!

But it's fine because they all isolated at home and didn't infect anyone. It's the absolute numbers of cases which are more important.

Yes the JS school thing is keeping me up tonight. Am really worrying about the fact their education will be part time?! Surely by August they should be able to just go back. JS said the blended model was there to reassure parents it's safe but are people still really thinking this way? We've given up so many freedoms already and now a whole year at least of our children's education. Without a vote or anything, just decided for them! Completely undemocratic and disproportionate. Surely we should be allowed a say on assessing the risk. They need to be with other children and have a formal education. I'm furious and appalled at the SNP today. Our numbers are so so low, the benefits far outweigh the risk now.

@iquitelikenormalityafterall there's a patent Q&A on tomorrow night with John Swinney and you can register questions here www.npfs.org.uk/2020/06/10/parent-qa-with-deputy-first-minister-john-swinney/

Not only are our numbers very low, we aren't being told how many are community acquired. If most are from hospitals and care homes (whilst recognising there are those who work there) it seems even more ludicrous.

How many parents actually know what is happening? I haven't seen any questions or uproar on my facebook or social media.

Its got me wondering how many parents are actually paying attention to the news (none, judging by the way people are behaving!)

Our school haven't sent their timetable through yet though.

nextslideplease I suspect that most parents are waiting and seeing what happens in August as if there is the infection rate continues to drop there will be an outcry then.

@nextslideplease
Plenty of parents are paying attention. Haven’t you heard of the Usforthem campaign group, which incidentally has a separate Scottish branch? They’re all over twitter as well as Simon Dolan taking up the cause .

I think getting the media to pick up on the alternative viewpoint - that not aiming for 100% attendance is unnecessary - will be key. I think a lot of parents are under the impression that the virus is around every corner ready to pounce because that is the message that's getting through (not least from the First Minister's briefings), and don't realise just how low the infection rates are. A lot of parents also seem to genuinely think their children are risk from this in a way that is completely out of proportion with reality. The questions to John Swinney yesterday were more along the lines of 'what if parents don't feel safe sending children back?' than 'infection rates are essentially zero in many areas and predicted to fall further over the next two months - why aren't we aiming for 100% attendance like other European countries?'. We need more of the latter questions to be asked so that more parents are aware that this isn't necessarily the ONLY available option.