Would / will you send kids back to nursery / school?

maman

My reading of the problems that Academies are having with insurance is the view that their insurers are taking of government policy. They have to take out their own private policies because they're not covered by the LA. So the insurers aren't happy to cover potentially putting children and the adults that work with them at risk in large 'bubbles' with little or no social distancing.
ETA - I just checked the quote I'd read today about the insurance issues. It's from the HMC (Headmasters Conference) which is the professional association for independent schools not academies. Many apologies. Hopefully the Department of Education will cover academies. 

Spendless

maman said:

My reading of the problems that Academies are having with insurance is the view that their insurers are taking of government policy. They have to take out their own private policies because they're not covered by the LA. So the insurers aren't happy to cover potentially putting children and the adults that work with them at risk in large 'bubbles' with little or no social distancing.
ETA - I just checked the quote I'd read today about the insurance issues. It's from the HMC (Headmasters Conference) which is the professional association for independent schools not academies. Many apologies. Hopefully the Department of Education will cover academies. 

I don't know why indpendant schools would be a problem. They typically have fewer pupils anyway and plenty of facilities to spread themselves out over. 

Kim_kim

maman said:

I made a point of saying, 'some people'....Many parents will genuinely believe that their children are safer staying at home, out riding their bikes, playing in the park rather than being at school. Gavin Williamson doesn't agree which is why we have government policy to bring children compulsorily back to school with little or no social distancing in an enclosed room all day. 

My daughter takes my grandchildren to the park. For walks in the country.  It is safer than school, of course it is, it’s the family unit and it’s in the open air.
I'm not suggesting children shouldn’t go to school or that it’s unsafe, but parks and the country are safer than in a building with a mixture of households. 

thorsoak

May I ask - how many parents who are worried about their children returning to school in September are preparing to go on holiday during this summer?   And how many are now going "out out"?   

Spendless

thorsoak said:

May I ask - how many parents who are worried about their children returning to school in September are preparing to go on holiday during this summer?   And how many are now going "out out"?   

Mine is 17 as I answered earlier so a lot of things don't apply, but I would dearly love to be able to go away this year. I don't think it would happen though.We should have been in Spain right now.  On holiday, I would  have far more 'control' over my child than in school. I would expect to be doing 'stuff' as a family/household unit. The swimming pools are currently closed. Beaches you can choose whether to visit or not. I went to one last month, it wasn't packed and social distancing was in place. Me and husband did a mini pub crawl today in a nearby town and ate out, hand sanitising all over the place, track and trace, spaced out tables, you remain seated. Again it was not packed. If you visit an attraction eg zoo/theme park you have to pre book and again kee to social distancing.Plus most of these things happen outside where we're told transmission is low. In a school they may have been able to seat kids apart, though in a large school that's cramped for space I'm wondering how, the kids will travel to school together. The staggered times thing is nonsense since bus companies won't run several times (if it's a dedicated school service) so the kids will walk together or get a lift together. They'll hang around together, you won't keep little kids or teenagers apart from their mates. 

onwards&upwards

thorsoak said:

May I ask - how many parents who are worried about their children returning to school in September are preparing to go on holiday during this summer?   And how many are now going "out out"?   

Why ask that?  So that you can call them hypocrites?  Is that really helpful? 

A family holiday with the household unit, and outdoor activities are very very different to a class of 30 indoors in one room!  Why deny that?  

I agree that kids need to get back to school, but its natural for parents to worry about their kids, keeping them safe and well is the main part of their job and the biggest anxiety inducer going!

thorsoak

onwards&upwards said:

thorsoak said:

May I ask - how many parents who are worried about their children returning to school in September are preparing to go on holiday during this summer?   And how many are now going "out out"?   

Why ask that?  So that you can call them hypocrites?  Is that really helpful? 

A family holiday with the household unit, and outdoor activities are very very different to a class of 30 indoors in one room!  Why deny that?  

I agree that kids need to get back to school, but its natural for parents to worry about their kids, keeping them safe and well is the main part of their job and the biggest anxiety inducer going!

Why on earth would I do that?   That was not my intention!    I know that around here, some of the young people (aged 14-17)  have been socialising down on our local beaches and are going back to school/college now.  And there are a couple of families who are going on holiday as soon as possible, and as has been said, can supervise their (younger) children, but at the same time have concerns about one or two of the children going back to school because of slight health  problems - but the parents wish them to have as "normal" a childhood as is possible in these different times.    

Resurrect

So we visited the nursery yesterday.
 

My daughter loved it. You could see how much it had been missed. 

But despite a couple of changes, it seems pretty much business as it was pre-lockdown. 

I think I will send her in August as I now expect another spike / lockdown will be forthcoming. 

Resurrect

What are your thoughts now?

Mine is the same (that they should go). 

Spendless

maman said:

I can't understand the reasoning behind today's announcement. The social distancing measures for schools and colleges and nurseries are the least for any public setting. So we need to be safe at work, in the shops, in the pub or restaurant but in schools it doesn't matter. Children have been infected in Leicester. What are the priorities? What's the peculiar science that's guiding this? 🤔

@maman. Prophetic words. As much as the Government seems to like to blame hospitality and private dwellings for the spread of infection. There's no denying that the increases have come about since educational establishments all opened up all at once in the Autumn. I completely understand that for the Nurseries, Primary schools and maybe even the younger end of Secondary schools that presented an issue with some working parents. The older end could have certainly been looked at though. I've got a son at Uni. I lost count of the times I looked for guidance in the summer  about returning students. I was looking at see what was being proposed before we signed up to a year's rental agreement. I found nothing. They could have staggered the students in, had them take covid tests beforehand, required them to self isolate for 2 weeks before going in, put the courses they could on-line for the first term. Even SAGE saying we told the Government to put Uni courses online. They gave that advice on Monday 21st September, which for my son's and my Nephew's (and possibly many other) Universities was the start of Fresher's week. Too late telling them when they've already gone back!