Key workers

[Whywhywhy1]

Are we still non the wiser as to what a key worker is definitively? Also do both parents have to be key workers for children to be allowed into school or just one? I don’t understand what this has not been addressed?

@DoubleAction

Yes, care for your students by trying to keep the school open as long as possible. This may go on for months. What happens if a significant proportion of the staff fall sick at once?

This I why business is working A teams and B teams. For continuity.

The head's not telling everyone to be in for fun. We have 100% vulnerable students and a 30% (ish) staff absence rate. We need everyone in, at least until we establish how many students will turn up.

Most staff who get ill will only be off for 14 days, which hopefully, we can manage, especially once the current batch of self isolators have done their 14 days

Well now teachers and education staff, nhs staff, social care staff and supermarket workers are considered key to our country.

I wonder if once this is over they'll actually fund them properly and stop zero hours contracts?

@DoubleAction

Again, what happens if 60% of you in school go down at once? Have you got a contingency? Also, we are now working through the holidays. Are you running normal lessons? How will that work without holiday breaks for staff?

If you burn out staff then the school will have no fall back.

No we're not running normal lessons. A short day of "activities". I dont think we will be asked to work Easter. We're not supporting key workers. Contingency is to cancel the least vulnerable of our vulnerable, short term if we have to and try and safeguard them via telephone (self isolators can do that) They've all been risk rated.

We did look at safeguarding more by phone as plan A but know that after a few days families will stop answering (and run out of phone credit)

We have some way vulnerable students who are also immunocompromised so self isolating. They won’t be in.

We are expecting (we think) about 3/4 of the students to be in if their parents want to send them. We have some staff weld isolating...some who have been advised to by medical staff and some who have someone unwell in the family. Everyone else is turning up and planning for next week.

Our school kitchen has closed as they cannot get food supplies in.

We are offering a voucher for two weeks of packed lunches (around £25) for families on FSM, these will be sent home to families who have pupils isolating. This will continue every two weeks.

We are planning some fun events for those coming in and we’ve been told the focus at the moment is on care and not education.

We are being asked to work over Easter! It was skipped into the speech yesterday that schools will remain open over Easter.

Yes I know schools are Haggish. I was responding to PP asking about our contingency plan. We are a PRU. Our parents aren't key workers. We are not planning to open at Easter unless we are directed to. The Easter opening is about key workers so why would we?

@Waffles80 That page has been taken down already!!!

What the hell is going on?
I read the list (on the school's week site) literally ten minutes ago, and DH and I have both apparently become Key Workers!
He is in financial services and I am school support staff, but essential to provision.

Hmm, ok, sorry, the page is working again. Maybe it was their servers overloading?

I would have assumed prus would be opening too? Not sure though tbh.

I thought the lost would have to be much longer than people were expected. There's a lot more to the vital infrastructure than NHS and food.

So back to the drawing board for schools again today? This must mean their student numbers will be much higher than they'd planned for? Why did schools not just wait before putting out info to parents?

I would think a few parents who qualify who have alternate arrangements probably won't send into school anyway if there is a stay at home parent for example , be surprised if even half the pupils go in and secondary even less as higher years older enough to be at home ( obviously children with special needs etc will be very different )

I agrre with Easily ,think a lot of chidren of key workers and those with ECHP plans will not be in .

Son in inner London school ,mainstream primary with autistic unit ,said that out of 600 ,200 absent on Monday ,500 absent yesterday .

My head says we'll have 50% in next week - nearly all those on the list have asked for places

Over a quarter of my school have requested to come in! Some of them really don't need the childcare and really aren't essential workers! It's a joke! People are so selfish! I'm prepared to put my health at risk to support NHS workers and carers, but not so that families can avoid financial loss! My life is worth more than money! No-one will die though because they take unpaid leave or lose money in their business!

There was something the unions said about how schools will only be able to run at 20% capacity to be safe, social distancing wise.

Our head said the 20% was just advised - not enforceable

I'm unbelievably shocked at the number of parents today who are taking a space "because we are entitled".

I'm talking families where dad works supermarket night shift and mum is sahp. But they have been told can attend.

Marvellous! So dad goes out and contacts others through necessity. Child have contact with all that and bring it to school. Why? Because we can.

Are education staff just collateral damage?

Don't get me wrong - there are many many families who need this. Emphasis on NEED.

Yet elsewhere a teacher had their child turned away from another school as they said their child wasn't on the list of pupils they were accepting. That teacher may need to now take unpaid leave for months.

My school is arranging a crèche at our hub so we can bring our own children with us instead of sending them off somewhere random.

We asked about that but because we are special the risks are too high. Understandable as level of violence can occur - and more likely whilst things aren't as usual.

There will be quite a few on Monday. But as the week goes on and the lockdowns begin then people will become frightened and the numbers will tail off.

This is the calm before the storm. Look at Italy.

I've been sent a survey by my dc's school to ask if I am a key worker - the box I would need to tick includes HCP and teachers.
BUT I would only need the childcare if I am asked to come in by my own school. If so, I would expect it not to be every day just on a rota. But there is no way for me to express this on the box. So if I tick that I need school places, it increases the amount of pupils they need to cater for, which increases the chances of needing me in!