Keeping children off school

[Dogsauce]

Apparently a lot of the year 6 kids in my school are upset because this is likely to be the last day for them, with many already out. Last couple of terms they normally do a lot of fun stuff, trips and camping etc, so missing out on that, as well as having to say goodbye to friends - we’re one of those schools with no clear choice of secondary to go to & quite a few will be off to private places, so many won’t see each other again. Kind of melancholy. Staff are talking about trying to arrange some kind of get together like a big picnic once this is all over, assuming they don’t all get to come back for a bit in June.

 

[Dogsauce]

There will also be the issue of kids out wandering the streets bored, many won’t want to stay stuck inside and parents may not have control over them, some might even have had it or think they’ve had it and find it hard to justify remaining in isolation, how even could this be controlled? Do we keep everyone in or start electronically tagging people who are immune so they can start going back out?

Imagine all your friends have had it and are outside having a kick about and being stuck in not able to join in. Going to be big pressure on young people, and I don’t think there will be the resources to enforce some kind of lockdown.

 

[wiskey]

Apparently a lot of the year 6 kids in my school are upset because this is likely to be the last day for them, with many already out. Last couple of terms they normally do a lot of fun stuff, trips and camping etc, so missing out on that, as well as having to say goodbye to friends - we’re one of those schools with no clear choice of secondary to go to & quite a few will be off to private places, so many won’t see each other again. Kind of melancholy. Staff are talking about trying to arrange some kind of get together like a big picnic once this is all over, assuming they don’t all get to come back for a bit in June.

My y6 is really upset it's just fizzled out

 

[maomao]

There are already gangs of feral teenagers roaming town. How do you make a fifteen year old stay in the house? Should round them up for socially useful work.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

There are already gangs of feral teenagers roaming town. How do you make a fifteen year old stay in the house? Should round them up for socially useful work.

They should all go out picking vegetables to make up for the lack of migrant workers.

 

[maomao]

They should all go out picking vegetables to make up for the lack of migrant workers.

They'd just end up hiding in the fields rolling joints and snogging each other.

 

[Dogsauce]

List of ‘key workers’ here, which is pretty broad tbh.

[Withdrawn] Children of critical workers and vulnerable children who can access schools or educational settings

www.gov.uk

Some mixed messages as to whether one or both parents need to be key workers, someone who works with my sister at another primary has been told they can’t bring their kids in because their husband isn’t a key worker, but that seems to conflict with what it says on the list above. Also advice is to keep kids at home if at all possible.

Our school has been told to expect about 10% of pupils, plan on running it a bit like a holiday club, but Monday will be treated as a normal working day to start with while we figure out what the fuck is going on. Treating it a bit like the end of term today, having a good clear out. I wouldn’t normally go in on a Friday afternoon but will be back in today as all the bins will need sorting out etc.

 

[Thora]

List of ‘key workers’ here, which is pretty broad tbh.

[Withdrawn] Children of critical workers and vulnerable children who can access schools or educational settings

www.gov.uk

Some mixed messages as to whether one or both parents need to be key workers, someone who works with my sister at another primary has been told they can’t bring their kids in because their husband isn’t a key worker, but that seems to conflict with what it says on the list above. Also advice is to keep kids at home if at all possible.

Our school has been told to expect about 10% of pupils, plan on running it a bit like a holiday club, but Monday will be treated as a normal working day to start with while we figure out what the fuck is going on. Treating it a bit like the end of term today, having a good clear out. I wouldn’t normally go in on a Friday afternoon but will be back in today as all the bins will need sorting out etc.

Children should only come in if they have a keyworker parent and it isn't possible for them to stay at home. So 10 year olds with one keyworker parent and one who can wfh should probably stay at home.

 

[Hollis]

This morning had been spent organising the soup kitchen for Monday.

 

[not-bono-ever]

My kids are devastated to be leaving school so early, they love it. My 15 yo has said there is lots of gangy stuff looming and thinks this is going to a horrendous violent time for lots of kids now on the streets. It’s anecdotal obvs but her year are expecting a bloody summer. I hope they are wrong

 

[Thora]

I'm feeling really conflicted again about whether it is better for my kids to be in school or at home

 

[maomao]

Just dropped the boy at nursery for the first time in six months. He was very jolly on the way then utterly stunned and wouldn't look at me when we got there. Finally get both of them out of the house and I have to go to bloody school. My wife is a very happy woman this morning. She hasnt had a day to herself in six months.

 

[Red Cat]

Mine are off again. The little one had a cold and the big one has what is probably the same cold but has a cough. Can't get a test, NHS workers can only get for themselves and not family members now due to capacity. I already wfh three times a week anyway, I've got used to doing my work remotely even though i hate it, but it's crap the children being off again when they've only just gone back, and it's probably just a cold. Fucking hell.

 

[wiskey]

2/5 of us came down with a cough over the weekend and I spoke to work who said that they would send a paramedic round to do tests if necessary. I didn't take them up on it because copious amounts of snot followed. Now the W's are in two schools I feel it's more out of my hands, there's been a confirmed case in y9 at wervs school but it hasn't affected his bubble.

I still feel like it's better that they go in but we've been set up with all the logins for if they can't.

 

[Plumdaff]

Our school keeps reminding us that "everything is always also on Teams" which is ever more ominous.

 

[Thora]

Lack of accessible tests and the Govt. confusing messaging about "unnecessary tests" and "people with with cold symptoms not needing tests" means even more people are just going to chance it and hope for the best with sending in ill kids. I really feel for people who are vulnerable or have vulnerable children/family members. The idea that schools are in any way covid secure is laughable now.

I'm on a facebook group for early years managers/owners, and even there so many people are posting that they are continuing to work or expect staff to work with coughs, but it's ok because its a chesty cough or they also have cold symptoms, or they're not coughing so much they can't breathe.

 

[Thora]

I think I'm finding it particularly stressful because I could keep them home and we did home school pretty successfully last term. It was just stressful and hard work for me.

 

[wiskey]

I was pretty surprised to read what the definition of a 'new persistent cough' was the other day ...

"Coughing a lot for more than an hour or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24hrs"

... the covid cases I've seen have been constantly coughing, this seems like a very loose definition (from the Zoe study).

 

[Thora]

I guess with less than half even having a cough, and many people having a mild or intermittent cough, the definition is supposed to catch all coughs bar one-off swallowed something the wrong way/coughing because it’s dusty.