Lockdown (And Beyond) Hatchlings

[Loralei]

I think definitely Y5 if they're thinking of SATs. There's such a massive variety of ability in Reception and Y1 that I reckon they'd be least affected by the break, and Y6s don't seem to do much learning after SATs.

That's impressive work regarding the bubbles. Ours have stuck to 8 children per bubble.

[Cerise]

My COVID protection box!

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[Rosa]

That looks a good set up, Cerise! It sounds like your boys' school have thought things through really well, Luce.

[smalex]

I just had a house party catch up with my friends from Ws school and apparently the reception class WhatsApp has radically changed its tune and there is suddenly much higher demand for places and they're up in arms because they can't get in (the bubbles are set and will be reassessed in mid june). My friends exact words were 'they treated us like fucking lepers and now all of a sudden it's different '. It is fascinating. I mean, maybe everyone does feel like the situation has become markedly safer than it was 3 weeks ago, but I honestly struggle to see that.

[Loralei]

A lot of it is normalisation. I have been very wary of not doing the above (and hopefully haven't treated anyone like lepers ) but when I see J's friends going back, including the children of people whose judgement I trust, it does feel a lot less scary. I have been going over this in my mind, especially whether it means I'm happy for other people's children to be the guinea pigs and not my precious angels, but really we're all scrabbling around basing our decisions on instinct due to flawed/inadequate/incomplete/inconsistent data, so are likely to be influenced by others. Again, I'm going to make the early baby days analogy.

It's ridiculous to be up in arms about lack of places though Aside from anything else, mid June is only a week (and a weekend) away! It's one of the reasons I turned down the place for J; it seemed a bit rich when I'd been saying no thanks (although I think I'll accept next time). I honestly think the school should have re-canvassed the parents again after publishing their plans and RA, and offered places first to the Yeses, the the Maybes and then the Nos. People who were keen from the off have their reasons and should be given first refusal, IMO.

[Loralei]

Also, my friends whose children have gone back haven't been insisting it's fine (like the government have) but more that it seems an acceptable risk if you're not mixing with older people or those who are shielding. I think that's swayed me more than those (ie in authority) who insist it's completely safe. I think my children are going to have to stop their (socially distanced) visits to MIL if they go back though, which means P is likely to remain a hard No on school return.

[Luce]

I think a lot of is also the need vs risk balance. The risk may not have gone down but I think the need rises exponentially each day. The greater the need, the more risk we'll accept - to a certain point.

I think of it a bit like using hospital resources - if I'm a bit sick, I'm not going to waste the time of doctors and nurses when they're under so much pressure and the Government is woefully under-protecting them. But if I get really sick then I'd use the hospital, despite all that.

I think there has been a lot in the judgement of other people I trust. I was always going to send mine back knowing it was an 'acceptable risk' but I felt a weight off my shoulders once the nurse/doctor parents decided to send theirs back, despite having previously not even used keyworker places.

[smalex]

I think that's what I meant a while ago when I said it will become more socially acceptable...people will see other people doing it and the outrage will wane a bit and then there will be a tipping point where it suddenly feels much more ok to want to send them and to say you want to send them. I find it so so interesting. I think there are some 'strong' personalities in that group by all accounts too so it probably actually only takes one or two people changing their minds to tip the balance. Particularly against the background of all restrictions loosening, people being much less adherent to the rules, and baseline figures falling

[Loralei]

IMG-20200604-WA0010.jpg

[smalex]

Well, quite. By the time you've had a VEday party, been to the beach, met up with several groups of friends in the park, preemptively booked your hair appointment for july, been told to go back to work, etc etc, rightly or wrongly it probably doesn't seem so frightening anymore.
It's just so interesting how fears are built up and eroded in really small amounts of time, how the perception shifts almost silently.

[maya]

My Reception age child has gone back - when the school initially asked for numbers we seemed to be in the minority but they’ve ended up with 75% of children in her year returning.

[Cerise]

School was ok yesterday. It was bloody freezing because I kept the doors open all day. The children are adjusting to the routine of cleaning desks and hand washing. My group were actually really good at it and I only had to hand out one reminder about distance.

They’re already bored of the work though. At this stage in the year, there would usually be many different things going on and instead they’re at their desks doing holding activities rather than practising their production or doing the group activities they could normally do.

[viggy]

Am I right in thinking in England the kids are returning to school, but they're not allowed to be inside their friends' house to play? No wonder people aren't following social distancing rules, they make no sense.

[smalex]

Yes. You could go to a park or someone's garden but shouldn't be in the house. I think schools are really trying to maintain and separate the bubbles within school which perhaps is the difference (to the extent apparently one child wants to move from the KW bubble to the reception bubble and is being told to SI for 14days). But yeah, I think the general air of different rules which seem to contradict each other has probably been a big factor in the change in attitudes towards school.

[smalex]

That said, I guess its unrealistic/unnecessary for rules to match exactly. There is a level of necessity to getting kids back to school in a way there isn't in entertaining large groups of people within your home?

[Cerise]

Am I right in thinking in England the kids are returning to school, but they're not allowed to be inside their friends' house to play? No wonder people aren't following social distancing rules, they make no sense.

Yes but, with the older children (Yr6), they are honestly being good about distancing in school whereas when I’ve seen pairs in parks there has been no distancing. They could go to a friend’s garden and stay outside but should still distance.

It’s so heavily managed in school in way it wouldn’t be on a play date. Hourly cleaning, no sharing of stuff, different zones for different bubbles at playtime, etc.

[viggy]

I'll admit I'm seeing this through my single parent lens, but I wasn't thinking about large gatherings. I mean not being able to drop my kid off at her friend's house while I go for a smear test, or have a difficult conversation with someone, or go for a run.

The science seems to indicate that indoors way is riskier than outdoors, extended time indoors (like a school day) is significantly worse than a short time , and contact with multiple households is riskier than one or two.

Lord knows I understand the need for the normality of school (BM is currently struggling with me 'not loving her' because I have to work while she's there and she's desperately lonely), but I'd be much more comfortable with a non-socially distanced playdate (preferably outdoors, obviously) than I would be sending her to school right now.

[emma_p]

I think schools have been spending a lot more time outdoors, especially since the weather has been so good.

I’d be ok with having a play date with a (symptom free) child so their parent could do things they needed to. I’d probably take them to the park or for a walk to avoid the kids wanting to play inside with toys though.

I just had confirmation that George can go back to school on Wednesday. I’m so relieved this is the last day of homeschool.

[Luce]

That said, I guess its unrealistic/unnecessary for rules to match exactly. There is a level of necessity to getting kids back to school in a way there isn't in entertaining large groups of people within your home?

Exactly. There is clearly a different level of need between playing in someone's house and then education*

I'm pleased for you, emmap. F starts Monday, Theo on Wednesday so on that day I'll have the whole house to myself. To do nothing of course, I can't do what I normally do when they're at school which is work/gym/socialise. I think I'll have to clean the bathrooms for fun. But not complaints from me. I might finally be able to find the head-space to read!

*I'll use that umbrella term for the whole social institution of school.

[smalex]

I see what you mean, vigs. I think its really complicated to balance the relative danger of various situations vs their relative potential benefits, and obvs in England we've got a government who seem to show no interest in trying to balance those things, or be clear about the rules, which adds further confusion and means everyone is making their own judgements often to suit their concerns and/or their needs.
I think a lot of people are having people inside the house now (just one, in all the examples I know of) either as contact for children or in situations like you describe.

That's good Emma. I am envious of you both having the choice, even if I'd still be conflicted. To do a days work in peace seems like the ultimate indulgence at the moment. The impossible dream. My sister says if she gets both hers back into nursery she'd offer to have W for a day a week. I don't know what I think about that really but just the idea of it seems fantastical. September seems ever so far away right now, it feels interminable