EDUCATION ‘BECOMING A JOKE’ IN SELF-ISOLATION
MUM SAYS THE YEAR 11 STUDENT IS ‘SUFFERING’
A WEST Drayton mum fears her son’s education is becoming a “joke” after he has been forced to self-isolate at home for two weeks for a second time in a month.
Terri Buck received notifications from Park Academy West London on October 6 for her son, Cameron, to self-isolate for 14 days, before getting another letter sending him home again on October 24 for a further two weeks.
“I just find it an absolute joke – my son’s in year 11 and he’s got exams coming up,” the mum-of-three said.
“Ever since he’s gone back it just seems he’s back a week. This is twice it’s happened in the space of five weeks.
“It is not working at the end of the day. My son is suffering.”
Ms Buck feels it is a “vicious circle” with coronavirus cases on the rise and the possibility, when Cameron returns on November 9, that he could be sent home once again.
According to Government guidelines to schools, anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive at the school must be sent home to self-isolate for 14 days since they were last in close contact with the person with confirmed coronavirus.
This includes having a face-toface conversation with someone within one metre, or being within one to two metres of that person for more than 15 minutes.
The letter on October 26 from Park Academy read: “We have been advised by Public Health England that there has been a confirmed case of Covid-19 within the school.
“We have followed the national guidance and have identified that certain students in Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 have been in close contact with the affected individual.
“Work will be uploaded for your child to access through Google classrooms...if you are not able to access the work online then packs will be available for collection from the academy.”
Ms Buck said work was dropped off for Cameron during his first isolation period, but that nobody called to check in on him or help him with the work.
“It’s like you just get left. He tries asking me, but I don’t have a clue.
“I wasn’t the brightest [at school],” the 38-year-old said, adding: “We have not got a laptop or anything. We are not a rich family.
“I think they should check up on the kids more – they should ring them up and see if they need help.
“Cameron can’t be the only one surely? There’s got to be other kids out there.”
Ms Buck is also concerned over the longer term impact being off school most of this year will have on him, as the 15-year-old was also forced to start studying from home before schools shut, due to his baby brother Henry’s fragile health.
Born prematurely in January, Henry stopped breathing at home in March and Ms Buck had to perform CPR on him to save his life.
He then spent three weeks in hospital on a ventilator.
Ms Buck said: “We didn’t know what was going on. We didn’t know if the baby had it [coronavirus] and we had to tell everyone to stay in. It was all a bit traumatic, [Cameron] was a bit traumatised.
“It’s been a bit of a tough year.” The family are also eligible for free school meals, which can be collected from the school during selfisolation, but due to Henry’s vulnerability, Ms Buck said she does not want to take extra risks of taking public transport to pick up lunch.
However, she added: “I can sort of manage, there are other people I’m worried about.”
During the pandemic and since being made redundant as an aerospace operative just weeks ago, Ms Buck has been helping families struggling in the community, coordinating donations and food deliveries through a Facebook group she set up with friends in 2015, originally to help the homeless.
She said: “I do some bits for my group, making sure some people can go out and deliver some food. The community has been amazing.”
She said anyone in need who wants to get in touch should do so via the ‘Hillingdon And Local Areas Help The Homeless And Vulnerable Families’ Facebook group.
A spokesperson for the Aspirations Academies Trust, which runs Park Academy, said that during October two members of their teaching staff tested positive for coronavirus over separate weeks, which led to students being asked to selfisolate. These cases are the only selfisolation orders they have had to make since returning to school in September.
The spokesperson said: “We are very sorry for the disruption that this has caused, but we are obliged to follow the advice of PHE in relation to Covid-19.
“Overall, the return to school for our pupils has been a success and we’ve had an attendance of almost 94%.
“This is a sign that our parents feel confident about sending their child in and they know that lessons will be delivered to a high standard and in a safe environment.”
They added that in Cameron’s case the family were told to contact the academy directly if they needed further support, and that the school was not contacted at any point regarding any concerns, for example over free school meals or work issues.
The school also believed Ms Buck had a “well-established point of contact” with the vice principal, who she worked closely with over lockdown to raise any concerns.
The spokesperson said now they are aware a laptop will also be delivered to the family’s home, and that they could also arrange for free school meals to be dropped off.
On how the school is helping pupils’ learning during these tough times, they said the academy had bought revision guides for each student for core subjects such as English, maths and science, which have been given out alongside the home work packs.
“All students have access to these and the guides are revision booklets that allow students to work and write in the books, providing additional work and support,” they said.
“Contact can be made by either emailing the academy or by calling reception.
“All staff names are listed on the website if specific staff need to be contacted by name.
“During school time, students have actively been taught techniques on how to revise/work at home as part of the recovery curriculum.”