As the number of new corona virus cases appear to be reducing, lockdown measures have begun to lift slowly. This includes certain year groups going back to school. This is (of course) an optional move and many parents have decided not to send their kids back for fear of a further spread of the pandemic. As many of us know, it is hard to keep young children from breaking the two-metre social distancing rule. But for some parents this is a huge relief, as they have been both working and been without childcare for nearly three months which has proved challenging. There seems to be three situations when deciding whether to send children back to school.
- Parents needing childcare so choose to send their kids back
- Parents who are furloughed or not currently working so are able to look after their kids at home
- Parents who do not feel it is safe enough to send their kids back quite yet
Whichever option they choose, schools have a lot to consider reacting effectively to keep both the students and staff safe and happy. Not only have they got to deal with the number of parents with concerns about the current crisis, they also need to assess each child’s needs. For example, three months is a long time to not see your friends at a young age, and each child will react differently. Many fear that the corona virus outbreak has been detrimental to school children’s mental health, with the children’s commissioner reporting that 83% of children with history of mental health issues have said that the pandemic has made their mental health either a bit or much worse. In addition, the lack of structure without regular classroom teaching, as well as the reduction in interaction with classmates has been hugely reduced.
There are many websites available to help you through these times including websites such as:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/family/in-the-news/coronavirus/kids-mental-health-coronavirus/
It is therefore vital that schools open with a measured approach. Doing everything too quickly could have an impact on the potential for a further outbreak, but without school children are not getting the education they need at such a vital time of growth in their life. Institutions are taking a measured approach for bringing kids back with class sizes at a limit of 15 pupils. Also, only years reception, year one, and year six have optionally returned in primary schools, and years ten and twelves in some senior schools have also been given the opportunity to go back.
It will be interesting to see in the coming months if more are able to go back, or if the goal of a September return will come to fruition. We hope everyone is staying safe happy and feels like they are supported throughout the decision-making process surrounding school.
We would like to get your feedback; how do you feel about it? Are you a single parent and you need to return back to work? Are you nervous or anxious about them returning? Are they anxious about returning? Please take 2 mins to share your thoughts with us.
If you have any queries or views on the matter, please do not hesitate to contact us via email – we would love to chat!
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