How Gavin Williamson Has The Nerve To Say Parents Gossiping At The Schools Gates Could Be Responsible For A Coronavirus Spike We Will Never Know

Yet again, it shows a huge misunderstanding of... well, everything about schools and parenting.

Talking at school gates.

by Rhiannon Evans |
Updated on

Humility, there’s not a lot of it going around in politics these days. So no surprise that less than a month after the A Levels fiasco and in the midst of another U Turn (about face masks), Education Secretary Gavin Williamson is back on the news telling us everything we (not them) should be doing to make sure there’s not a second coronavirus spike.

After well and truly messing up the last ‘return to school’, the government are adamant that this return to school will be THE return to school. And it seems that there’s not much that could happen that would dissuade them from this course of action.

No matter how many U turns it takes. So just hours after MP Alok Sharma said there were no plans to tell children to wear face masks in schools, they revealed their plans to tell children to wear face masks, Those in high-level covid areas in years 7 and above are now advised to wear masks in school corridors and places where social distancing is more difficult.

But yesterday Williamson also made another suggestion – that parents stop ‘gossiping’ at the school gates.

Of all the things to worry about, this one seemed oddly low on the list. The key, of course, was that this was something that could be pinned on the parents. And again, of course, it made it clear that none of the current cabinet have the foggiest idea about what happens in the lives of most parents.

Since the start of this crisis, parents have been cast adrift by this government – left to work from home without childcare or any legal help, or even words of encouragement from ministers, that would’ve aided them in juggling things. Parents had to fight alongside Marcus Rashford for school meals to continue. They had to tune into the news daily to find out what the hell the government had planned next – or when it might happen. In case of another U turn.

So first off, to tell parents that anything is their responsibility beyond their legal prerogative to get their child to school seems a bit of a cheek in that context.

And yet, the Evening Standard reports Williamson said: ‘We're asking all parents to show understanding and consideration to the whole school community.

‘Most schools have put in place staggered starts to make sure that there’s a swift and good flow-through of parents, and we just ask people to be respectful of the systems that are being put into place.

‘We'd ask parents just to be really considerate, make sure they're able to drop their children off and then get on with all the tasks of their day.’

But, as Twitter users like Christine Armstrong – author of The Mother Of All Jobs – pointed out, it shows such a misunderstanding of the way schools and communities and parents operate. Which, by now, we're getting used to.

With lack of funding and increased pressure on parents and kids alike, school gate chats can be vital communications – not only for the parents, but for the organisation of events that keep a school going. They can also be a great place for parents to find community in a world where parental mental health is teetering on the edge. It’s nice to speak to someone not on an effing 150-strong WhatsApp group every now and then.

It's no surprise a cabinet that is largely male and privately educated hasn't thought about that for half a second. But do they really only have the ability to legislate and mitigate for circumstances directly linked to their own?

Did they ever consider some parents might also have to hang around on account of having more than one child and staggered start times?

That’s aside from the patronising tone of ‘get on with all the tasks of their day’. I guess those tasks would be working, looking after children and organising a home amidst the backdrop of total shitshowness from the government, Gavin?

The idea that many of us are ‘hanging around the gates’ gassing (and yes, as Christine says, it’s clear what sex he has in mind) and time-wasting is bizarre – because most of us are just about managing a quick hello before literally running home to try and get everything done within the six hour window available. Possibly with a screaming toddler of baby in tow. Even for those able to take time out, we’re running to the nearest establishment serving caffeine and sugar thanks.

That’s for those of us who are able to take our kids to school ourselves – many of us are doing 9-5s that are incompatible with the school day. We're working without flexibility thanks to the male-based government’s inadequate stance on ensuring workplaces are joining the 21st Century and become progressive and flexible.

While the government is comfortable (short of any other ideas) in placing children in 'bubbles' that can reach the hundreds, surely parents talking is a negligible. Never mind the fact that if a parent is wearing mask and standing a safe distance from someone else, they’re doing nothing legally wrong.

But in the same way that there’s been nothing illegal about people holidaying in Spain, or returning to shops or using the British coastline, there’s still an opportunity there to flip the story, encourage snobbishness and make the fault ours, not theirs.

The continued policy of 'do as we say, not as we do, and even if you do as we say, it’s still your fault not ours' is one we’re well aware of by now. Doesn’t make it any less rage-inducing. Maybe that’s what we’re all gassing about at the school gates Gavin – though I doubt you’d credit the 'kind of people' who do school drop-offs with the brain cells to hold a political discussion. Probs just gossiping. Anyway, must dash, best get on with all the tasks of my day.

READ MORE: What Do People Like Gavin Williamson Have To Do To Be Cancelled?

READ MORE: Parents Shouldn't Be Worrying About Whether Or Not To Send Their Kids To School - The Government Should

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