Hearing from more and more heads of soaring numbers of kids being dropped off for school. One primary in London that went from 12 kids in March lockdown to 56 now. A secondary in West Yorkshire that went from 30 in March to 150+ now.
Combination of things driving it. Employers people less flexible. Savings depleted so less capacity for parents to miss work. More citing mental health issues for kids and parents which would classify as vulnerable.
In many cases though, teachers tell me, vulnerable kids are not the ones making up the numbers- many are still off and difficult to reach which is a huge worry.
Practically it’s also posing problems for staff. As one head tells me: “I cant actually accomodate that many pupils as I have so many staff off with Covid. And I am also legally required (and need to) have teachers on the remote learning full time.”
Another: “The situ now is the support staff are in school teaching from videos made by teachers at home/managing behaviour and the teachers are working virtually from home engaging with the home learners. The support staff are all considerably older than the teaching staff...”
“...this has caused a lot of issues/extra pressure for them at home and a lot of bad feeling in what was a fantastic team previously. Many of the support staff have underlying conditions themselves or partners with underlying conditions.”
Keen to hear from teachers about whether this is happening in your school- as ever, DMs open.
V interesting data from @TeacherTapp. They’ve spoken to 6000 teachers up and down the country. Shows that 35% of primary schools had at least 20% of pupils in on Wednesday. In the March lockdown only 1% of primaries said the same and none had more than 30% (9% do now).
4% of primary schools said they had 40-50% of their normal number of pupils attending and 2% said they had over half.
Inundated with messages about this. For example, a primary school I’ve been going to a lot throughout the crisis in south London had 6 kids going in during the March lockdown but 45 in this week.
Primary school in York, 500 on the rolls. 30 in in March. 155 this week.
Primary school in York, 500 on the rolls. 30 in in March. 155 this week.
Heads increasingly desperate to limit the numbers. Here’s a letter from a head in a school in Surrey asking parents to show restraint. Said they had 15 kids in during the first lockdown- 135 this time. 
It’s the same story as in other parts of society- lockdown no longer seems to exert the same psychological force. Whereas in March parents (even if they qualified) didn’t want to send their kids in (out of a sense of solidarity and/or fear) that’s no longer the case.
I’ve even had reports of heads receiving solicitors’ letters threatening them with legal action if they don’t provide a place for the child in question.
From one head: “Heads have been told they can’t put a cap on numbers or prioritise 2 keyworker families and are then just told ‘do your risk assessment’. A lot of my colleagues have had the worst week of their careers this week. They’re at breaking point.”
This email from another head in some desperation. “we are facing a situation where there are so many full year group bubbles that we are having to operate waiting lists....each day more key worker families are requesting a place in school, some of whom are working from home.”
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