Children and teachers have been thrown under the bus, haven't they?

[ReadTheData]

Can I please urge all of you to write to your MP about this?

The government have had months to prepare and in only the third week of September they have failed already. They have not kept up their end of the bargain for opening schools safely.

Taking two weeks off every time for symptoms is not feasible for children, working parents or teachers, especially in the winter term.

They're deflecting blame to the few that have taken unnecessary tests, but the number of people who would choose to take this horrible test or put their children through it for kicks, a laugh, or whatever, are surely few and far between. And it's a nightmare getting a test anyway! So I don't believe that propaganda for a minute, the government are doing everything they can to wriggle out of it.

I'm sure no parent wants their child to be part of some kind of sick experiment - and I'm sure teachers don't want to be thrown under the bus either. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the teachers went on strike over this.

Please stand up and shout about this to anyone who will listen. I want my children to get in education this year and I want children, parents and teachers to stay safe.

How come we fight an invisible virus if we don't even know how many cases there are? The government need to get their shit together instead of lurching from one disasterous decision to the next.

[MrsSaturn]

Literally writing my letter this morning! Absolutely fuming... What are the government playing at?!

[redcarbluecar]

Good post and I agree.

[MrsSaturn]

www.google.com/amp/s/www.thesun.co.uk/news/12680992/children-turned-away-coronavirus-tests-rationed/amp/

[OpheliasCrayon]

As a mother and a teacher yes we have. I personally don't worry about covid but I do worry about severe losses of education time for children. Teachers are being treated like shit. No ppe. No distancing etc but we all know this. But let's not forget who has been thrown under busses before us in this.... I'm thinking the medical staff who have died due to poor or no ppe... It isn't just us.

[TheBlahs]

@OpheliasCrayon I feel so sorry for teachers at the moment. I have very good friends who are teachers and they're frankly terrified at the moment. The situation is completely out of control.

The poor children too, not only do they need education they need some normality and some routine and to see their friends. It's heartbreaking.

I too shall be writing to my MP OP. Fed up of this nonsense.

[IncidentsandAccidents]

Completely agree. You've summed up how I feel.

[GameSetMatch]

It’s ridiculous, half of our school are already at home less than two weeks after school opening, the nearby school has closed due to no staff. We received a letter from school stating it’s taking a ‘low covid’ response which means any sign Of illness at all your child must be off for ten days, ‘tiredness’, ‘headache’ and ‘aches and pains’ are on the list!

[Mintjulia]

What do you expect the govt to do?

We need capacity of upwards of 500,000 tests a day. That needs huge test facilities and qualified staff. They are already using every commercial test facility and most of the universities.

It's like saying we should employ half a million extra nurses - but they take time to train and qualify.

I am hugely relieved and grateful that my dc is back in school. I also accept that we may have to isolate for two weeks. I've prepared for that, and will support another school mum (support bubble) if it happens. I'd rather stay calm, and prepare to get through any illness than blame people who are already working their arses off.

[ReadtheData]

The only way out of this is more tests, not less. Isolated for 2 weeks each time is not sustainable.

Schools should be given their own tests for pupils and teachers. Parents have a point of call to pick up a test if they need one and teachers can take tests too, if showing symptoms. It would streamline the whole thing and help to keep schools open.

And what about the nightingale hospitals? They could be drive through tests and labs all-in-one cutting out the courier and processing tests much more quickly.

The government of really missed opportunities here.

[TheClaws]

Remember all the threads and petitions about getting the poor children back to school? I do. Must of been hundreds of them ...

[ReadtheData]

@Mintjulia not every one has a support system in place to isolate every time their children are ill. People need to go to work and children need a consistent education. My young children get coughs every winter. They will be missing weeks, if not months, of school in a year, if we have to isolate for 2-weeks each time. I would have to give up my job as I cannot do that.

We've had 6 months to prepare. That's enough time to recruit lab staff. My friend is a lab technician and has been looking for work for 4 months and hasn't found anything yet. Why don't they do a call to arms? All lab staff apply here? Similar to what they did to the retired and part-time nurses/doctors.

The government have dropped the ball and they know it.

[Bol87]

@TheClaws - if you read, people are happy their kids are back, it’s the lack of preparation, tests and contingency people are angry about. Not the re-opening of schools. I don’t know why teachers are ‘terrified’, I certainly don’t know any terrified teachers but I do know they are already fed up & angry at the disruption & lack of support.

[mac12]

The UsForThem crowd have a lot to answer for. They helped drive a narrative that it was the most important thing to get everyone back to school as normal in the middle of a pandemic without pausing to think whether it was safe or sustainable. They campaigned against masks & now they’re campaigning against teacher over-reactions when bubbles are closed. Lots of people warned what would happen & now are kids are suffering again with disrupted learning because we couldn’t put in place the basic mitigations for dealing with a highly infectious airborne virus

[ReadtheData]

@TheClaws I think you've missed the point of the post. We do want the children to be back to school. What we don't want, is for them to be isolating for two weeks every month or so, or for the schools to close because all the teachers are isolating for 2 weeks due to a lack of tests...

[MillieEpple]

Anyone that ever set foot in an infant school knows 4ish coldy type virus go round each academic year, 2 stomach bugs (plus chicken pox, slap cheek, impetigo, scarlet fever but these are limited in spread). And being young children they get a tempretaure with a cold. In fact some of them thats the only symptom, but you know 6 of their class have a classic cold.
Obviously some are very mild and only a max of 1/3 of the school gets each bug - but people have normally come in throughout or had one or two days off.
How they thought 1/3 of people off for two weeks, every 6 weeks was going to lead to FT education i dont know.
It would work if you left the school with a test which was returned within 24 hours.

[ReadtheData]

@Bol87 yes I'm afraid terrified.

Teacher 1: she cares for her elderly dead and no tests means she probably won't be able to see him for the whole academic year.

Teacher 2: her child has serious health issues which makes him vulnerable and she's scared that she's going to make him ill, or that he is going to get ill at school. So at the moment she's debating whether to home-school which is a shame as he loves school, and/or he gives up her career.

Teacher 3: a supply teacher who won't be able to pay her mortgage if she can't work because the schools are closed.

I have another friend who is a tutor. Being self-employed, if kids are isolating all the time she will not be able to work.

If we are going to send teachers out onto the front line, they need to have the tests.

[ReadtheData]

@MillieEpple exactly! Boris has lots of children, surely he realised this?!

[IncidentsandAccidents]

@TheClaws I'm delighted my children are back at school! The problem is that the 'world beating' test and trace system we were promised is in utter crisis due to lack of foresight, planning and general competence in our government. This has put many families and children in an impossible situation.

Children do need to be in school (full-time!) and this is exactly what most parents want. The problem is that all the talk about prioritising education was just that. All talk.

[ReadtheData]

Completely agree @IncidentsandAccidents

[Chickenitalia]

@ReadtheData Boris may have many children but I doubt he’s ever done much parenting of them. I doubt any of the current government have, that’s what the staff are for...

Op I agree completely. The kids are loving being at school, their teachers are incredible and so cheerful on the surface, but behind closed doors they know it would take just 1 case to get into school and it will go through the lot of them. They are following all the guidelines for kids staying home with symptoms but then the testing farce means parents are over a barrel with their work. No online school work will be set unless a whole class is sent home so there are a lot of kids just sitting at home, learning nothing, causing parents to lose work/money/sanity. And we’re back to square one again.

They had months to plan for this. It’s appalling.

[PenguinIce]

Whilst I am sure that change is needed in a lot of areas of the U.K. where I live we have thankfully not seen large numbers of cases/deaths. So far (I appreciate this could change) there are minimal positive results and there has only been one within a school setting in the whole County since the schools reopened! I am hoping that there is not a blanket response across the whole Country in light of the testing problems as the last thing I want is for my dc to miss more school when cases in my area are still minimal (as they have been since the start of the pandemic).

[Springxchicken]

Yep my child's off for two weeks because of a sodding cold. 8 days to go! Pisses me off because her best mate was hardcore and didn't need a day off for his. So his cough and snotty nose is allowed in but my child's isn't. It's a joke. No tests. My kids missing out on making new friendships in year one. She now wants to stay home and not go back. Because she's confused! She was told it was all starting again only to be pulled out again. Grrrr.

[DoubleDolphin]

"09:56ReadtheData

@TheClawsI think you've missed the point of the post. We do want the children to be back to school. What we don't want, is for them to be isolating for two weeks every month or so, or for the schools to close because all the teachers are isolating for 2 weeks due to a lack of tests.."

But surely you must have realised this is what would happen re self isolating etc. It was clear to me that as soon as kids went back to school, infections would go up and there would need to be isolation regarding bubbles etc. .there were an awful lot of posters wanting kids back, I'd love to know if they really all thought it would be plain sailing and noone getting it.

[IncidentsandAccidents]

@TheClaws the issue isn't bubbles isolating due to confirmed covid cases. It's the fact that children with coughs or temperatures can't get tested. We were led to believe that we would have access to quick tests and results so that children with colds could be back at school as soon as they felt better. People can't get tests and are having to isolate for a full two weeks, which should have been completely avoidable.

[Trackandtrace]

More than 1000 schools have had confirmed cases since reopening after summer. That doesnt factor in any that cant get tests. Its a nightmare