Why I won’t send my daughter back to school

My daughter is in year 2, so outside of the government’s target groups to be going back to school right now. However, as soon as I saw the announcement, I knew I would not be sending her back even if her year was included.

She is not shielding and neither is the rest of the family. We are lucky that we don’t have a pressing need for childcare but both parents working from home is most definitely a challenge. She is certainly lacking face-to-face child interaction. It feels like the world is on the verge of returning to some sort of normality, but I can’t help but see stress and upheaval for any Early Years or Year One child returning to school.

I can’t see in my mind how social distancing, compulsive cleaning, and protective equipment is going to work in primary schools. Perhaps, I thought, the government has thought this through and is providing support and guidance to schools on how to do this whilst maintaining whatever it is they hope to maintain by sending children back.

Unfortunately, this open letter says otherwise. A group of early years settings, education experts, parent groups and teaching unions have written a response to the guide sent out from the Department for Education, outlining why they think education will suffer for those under the age of seven.

Some families have no choice but to send their children to school, but for the sake of the teachers and the health of the nation, avoiding it, for now, seems like the best option wherever possible.