Life during lockdown

We are taking care of our profoundly disabled daughter (nearly 3), our exclusively breastfed baby, paying a large sum for nursery (albeit at a reduced rate) and, while I'm on maternity leave, my husband is having to work instead of getting to sleep because, as I've explained, both children need full time care. 

I have a three year old who goes to nursery and both my husband and I are working from home full-time. It's quite difficult as she's too young to homeschool  and doesn't understand why she's not going to school or allowed out.  To be honest it's been very hard on my mental health as I'm now cleaner  cook, full-time.child minder and expected to still be doing my job full time. I think the key to reopening the schools is testing as many people as possible so that life can slowly have some semblance of normality. 

If schools could recreate classroom teaching online it would both benefit the children and also the parents/guardians as many of us will have children of different age to keep safe, entertained and educated at home. The main difficulty we are experiencing is the total lack of specialist education aimed at, for example in our case, children with ASD i.e. that resource seems to have disappeared. As things currently stand, I would not wish to see schools reopening as the risks (at least currently) would seem to outweigh the benefits.

I have a child in primary school Y6, school is sending material via the online system. We manage to get one to three tasks a day done, although it is sometimes very stressful for both child and parents to get things done. I am seriously considering homeschooling for the rest of the Y6 since I am not sure that children will be safe back in school. I cannot see how they can maintain 2m distance from each other in school.

Additionally, even if they are at 2m distance in the classroom,  the school environment as a whole cannot be made safe. If there is a child with Covid in the school, the virus will spread like fire as children share the school bathrooms, the school canteen and they touch surfaces all over the school. 

A child who picks us the virus from school will bring it back in the house and if you have grandparents living at home with you, this will be the worse scenario ever. I hope they think this through. 

I have a child in a state primary school rated "outstanding" yet the home schooling support has been very weak.  Other schools are offering live video conferences but we barely have any communication other than the odd email from the head teacher.  There's been one email feedback this whole time. The assignments have been very disorganized and lean heavily on generic resources (e.g. Joe Wicks for PE,BBC bytesize) and require parents' to organize various assignment sheets, powerpoints etc.  The quality of original material is poor, for example fonts used are not supported on my computer so we can't read the sheets.   We are both working full time - and busier than ever having to cover for other people - so don't have hours per day to prep lessons and oversee her work.  I've emailed our head to ask about all this and was simply sent a link to "guidance" from the Teacher's Union advising against using videos, calls etc.  But what's best for the children?

This prolonged absence will have a profound affect on my daughter's progress.  We need to get kids back to school. Meanwhile my daughter is really missing interaction with her friends, classmates and teachers - she gets angry and confused about why she can't see them and get back to school.  She ran into a friend when we were out for exercise recently by coincidence (we live close by) but we later heard that someone had 'reported' the girls to the school for 'having a playdate' - which wasn't true - and her friend's mother who is a key worker, was threatened with the loss of her school place!  There was no attempt to investigate by the school which seems to have all the wrong priorities.   

I would like if kids being at home can receive some live interactive classes via video conferencing either though webex / zoom etc live learning is so imporatant and key specially with kids nearing year 9 going into GCSE year

Please do not open schools till we are clear ~ we do not know enough about Covid and it's effect (primary or secondary wave) on children.

We need better broadband speeds - everyone on at the same time and my speed is less than 1mgbps..... This is useless with kids trying to go online for schoolwork and parents working online! I have the highest BT package available...

As for parents complaining about their kids not getting out of bed, get a grip...how useless are you being as a parent? Don't be their friends - be a parent and discipline them, what example are you setting?? Sorry for being harsh but if needs must, throw a glass of cold water on them! 

Our school has provided fabulous material - White Rose Maths with video tutorial, story starters and science projects. We also get stories sent by chapter read by the class teacher. It is very rounded but completely dependent on technology (printer access and computer) which we don’t have enough of. Therefore the whole process is arduous, disjointed and stressful. I do think a national service of education sent through the tv would therefore be helpful. We have used bbc bitesize to assist us and that has been fabulous from an adults point of view.  It’s stressful for a child to see work being sent that they cannot easily contribute to. Either that or each child should have a school compatible I pad so work is streamlined to technology, that is  accessible to all. 

There will be a definite impact on children's education. I think the online experience shows the difference between individual teachers, for example my daughter is doing foundation science, but is being set higher science tasks. Learning online has already put my daughter who has SEN's at a disadvantage, but to be set work that is far more difficult than she has ever learnt is only impacting on her confidence and frustrations. If the school is asking for children to be following their school timetable, then teachers should make themselves available online as the timetable requires. For example, take questions via email. Out of 9 subjects, my daughter has only had marks and feedback from 3 subject teachers. 

Hello, firstly the lockdown has given me for the first time in years to take a step back and breathe. I am a nursery manager, I don't have enough time at work to keep on top of written work, so often work at home in-between cooking dinner, helping with homework and cleaning, then I start the rest of my work. I felt more stressed before the lockdown for those and many more reasons. I do still have stresses but new ones, concerns for my children's, mine, family and friends health. Im a single mother and the fear of me getting unwell with the children terrifies me. My younger son has always been very sensitive and emotional and this has hightened during this crisis. My role has changed, im still a manager keeping in contact with the parents and outside agencies and work related paperwork. Im a counsellor, an obsessive cleaner a verbal punchbag for the children's father, a now primary and secondary school teacher, a cook and a fun Mum. But saying all of that I get to spend more time with my children who considering I thought would be a nightmare have actually been pretty amazing and love the lockdown. We all miss our family so much this is hard. I haven't seen my partner in 4 weeks as we live in different households, but daily chats gives me something to look forward to. I want everyone to be safe but as much as I want to reopen, It's the fear of what will happen next once we have to go back to work, children back to school. I then can't protect them or myself from getting sick. My profession as much as I can wear gloves and aprons won't protect me, two year olds cough and sneeze on us regularly, they need help wiping their noses, there is no such thing as social distancing as they need a hug when feeling sad, wearing a mask will only worry them, they need to see our expressions. If we stay closed for too long I will worry that I won't have a job to return to. I hope Camden will continue to pay the two/three year funding to keep us running.

I'm so concerned with homeschooling. Some children will be doing a lot of work and others probably non. I would like to be told that when schools go back, if it's before the summer break they will continue to attend school throughout the summer. If they attend school throughout the summer, a week off before they start the new year in September would be good. 

if the above is not possible I feel all children should repeat this year so they are all at the correct level?
 

Im not following what schools set because it's a nightmare. It's disotganised  and I spend more time trying to work their new computer site than getting work done. We are using Twinkl and bitesize for now. I've looked at the curriculum and am trying to cover the areas I know he hasn't learnt yet. All we can do is try and not teach in a stressful way covering what we feel they should be learning at school. 
 

please please get schools back ASAP and get them to work throughout the summer holidays. 

Very briefly. There is so much more I would like to ask and say.

At this time, I am not confident that we are going to achieve the same outcome for our children' education when schools are not delivering the curriculum as it was designed to be delivered. Can we and should we expect the outcome to be the same without the classroom delivery that is part of the curriculum framework? The current school system was not designed to be delivered in the way that it is during the Nationwide quarantine. Nobody will know how far off the mark we will or won't be until it may be too late. This level of uncertainty should not be the backdrop to our children's education.  

Mayor of London, you asked: What kind of support would be helpful? What more do you think the Government should do?  What support or changes would you like to see or keep after the coronavirus crisis is over?   

Is there an educational task force focusing on the short, medium and long term issues and solutions for our children's education? I would like to see this happening now and I do not think this should happen after this crisis is over. If you are doing this already then this should be communicated so that as a nation of parents, teachers, future employers, we know what the plan is.  

Should our children repeat the school year? Should this be compulsory? Will there be any value in letting our kids have the academic year back? This may work for some and maybe not for others. School leavers next year may not be ready or may be less well prepared for the workplace or for university. Repeating the year may potentially relieve the burden of creating employment for the leavers and graduates entering the workforce in 2021 and beyond. 

We have 2 children with disabilities and multiple special needs and we struggle to meet their care needs whilst earning a living, even at normal times. Hence, being in lockdown as well as full-time shielding due to the children's medical needs (hence, not even being able to leave our home for essential exercise and regulatory therapy), causes unbearable amounts of stress to all members of the family. It negatively affects our physical and mental wellbeing, as well as our ability to continue to earn a living. 

To be asked to home school 2 children with EHCPs on top of all this, without any direct teacher input is more than unreasonable. We don't see why state schools do not offer teacher input via video conferencing, as many private schools do, and I am shocked there is no extra help for children with SEN and EHCPs. Our children usually have 1-2-1 LSA support in addition to the class teachers, TAs and therapists' input, so in total 6-8 people are daily involved in their direct care. I am not sure how my husband and I can possibly do all this alone, keep the children safe, meet their needs, and teach two different curricula at home on top of our day jobs?? Direct input from teachers, 1-2-1 LSAs and therapists via video conferencing is important for most families in lockdown, and absolutely essential to the physical and mental health of families with SEN children.

Reading the comments above, several things are apparent. 

1. Parents need to be supported by the government to in turn support their children, not only financially and academically, but also emotionally. So many parents feel horrendously guilty about what they are not providing and this will ultimately erode their confidence in parenting. You cannot be everything (parent, teacher, worker, cook, housekeeper, entertainer) at once at the best of times and especially not now. 

2. The lockdown has only exacerbated the differences between wealthier and poorer families and between children who attend private schools and those whi attend state schools. The playing field needs to be levelled as soon as possible to ensure the impact of the pandemic doesn't further entrench inequalities. 
 

3. Parenting and caring need to be valued as highly as any other job or role in society, if not higher. Those fortunate enough to have children and other humans to look after should be able to prioritise their caring responsibilities over their non-essential work in normal life. At the moment, working parents can't even do this during a pandemic. 

WFH with kids off school and nowhere to go is not a concept grounded in reality. It breaks my heart to read the comments from mums particularly who take the brunt of this conflict. Being pointed to more online resource is frankly useless when you are trying to fit 30 hours into 24 and worrying more about the potential loss of a job due to compromised performance and the impact of that on the well being of your family than the immediate learning goals of your children.  The furlough scheme completely bypasses this issue by not allowing partial job retention compensation to be applied, which would level the playing field between staff with/without caring responsibilities by shortening the work day and allow companies to reduce hours across the board instead of isolating some staff and putting additional pressure on those that keep working. The fact that caring duties have not been foregrounded as a criterion for furlough selection means that I am at breaking point trying to deliver my job from home on a 20% reduced salary to boot while child free colleagues are doing nothing for the same money. This isn't some special interest subgroup, most households require two incomes and government thinking urgently needs updating.

I'm a single mum with an 8 year old and 12 year old, both are SEN and I am WFH. My eldest did go to school, however it had to shut due to a child becoming ill, so we had 2 weeks of self isolation. School reopened after Easter but too scared to return.

Both kids have received lots of homework but can't get them to engage in much work, definitely getting too much  screen time. Trying not to worry too much about this as some learning is happening, but do worry about them failing behind.

It's hard when work colleagues with kids or older kids or childless seem to get lots done, but I'm struggling juggling home and work life. I'm new there so feel pressure to try to keep up productivity as if still in office. End up working longer days to try to keep up and make up for hours lost during the day looking after the kids, but still worry as balance still not right.

Both are free school meals, but only just got vouchers for one and it doesn't cover the 1st 2 weeks of lockdown.

Worried about those who still have to work in public facing roles in supermarkets, police etc and those healthcare professionals not in hospitals who aren't getting the PPE they need nor the care packages and support like those in hospital settings. The NHS is stretched across the board.

Although it's tough with many in real financial difficulty or worse it's still so important to have these physical distancing measures in place and not to bow to economic pressures too early to lift the lockdown prematurely. 

Would like to see more done to protect the known vulnerable and more resources for the unknown vulnerable to seek support and have a safety net.

Keep safe everyone stay well stay home.

I have a 1 year old who normally attends nursery full time, a 4year old and a 7 year old. Both my husband and I are working full time from home. My employer is very understanding and supportive. My husband and I are working "shifts" so that the children are supervised at all times although that means a very long day for me starting at 7.30am. The 4 and 7 year olds have lots of school work. We're having to leave the 7 year old to get on with it himself whilst the 4 year old is lucky to complete 1 assignment a day as he needs help, understandably and the parent doing the "parent shift" needs to also look after the 1 year old. The school is very understanding. However we're trying not to worry about the education given how young the children are.  

Whilst we can just about see our 7 year old back at school, we struggle with the idea of the 4 and 1 year olds going back to school and nursery.  This has been the longest stint that the 1 year old has ever had where he's been well (I.e. no colds or coughs or fever).  Germs spread in nurseries like wildfire and if there was covid in the nursery I am sure he would catch it.  I believe the nurseries should be amongst the last to reopen. 

The children are all missing school and nursery and really keen to go back. The 4 year old is desperate to learn but we're struggling with time. Thankfully we have a large garden and the good weather has meant they have spent hours in the garden every day.