Thread 3 shielding chat

[AuntieSocia1]

I hope this unimaginative thread title doesn't put off all the amazing posters from this group!

As we transition into this new phase things could get interesting....

Waves to lurkers

I lost the plot this morning and was reduced to tears at school drop off. People hugging other people's kids, people coming right up to me and each other. I had to wait nearly half an hour for space to take ds in. I've spoken to and emailed the HT to ask for alternative provision as I don't feel school is safe with the system they have in place. I am that parent I know but I don't care really. I am exhausted by it all.

I've only done postal testing which I think at the moment is possibly better as the news says there's not enough tests and people are having to drive 100 miles to a test centre! The worlds gone mad.

That’s awful @Bercows. I’m horrified for you.

Oh @bercows I am so sorry to hear about your nightmare drop-off experience. You have done the right thing contacting the HT. Don't worry about being 'that parent' you have got to do whatever you need to to stay and feel safe. I wouldn't be surprised if a message goes out to parents reminding them how they are supposed to be behaving, I know my head would do that for sure
Thank you for your reply regards postal test too.

Thank you. Messages had already gone out to parents but they have ignored it as they often do about most rules. No nuts in school due to anaphylaxis? Sure no problem I'll just send in Nutella butties. Boils my piss. I think HT will reiterate the message and hopefully point out that there are those within the school family that are ECV and we all need to protect each other.

HT has offered no reassurance or alternatives to their current system. So every day I will have to walk past dozens of people to get ds in and out of school. Twice. It's a joke.

Me again. Temporary plan out in place at school that has made it stress free. Phew! I was thinking I'd have to home school him.

Good!

That's really good news @Bercows, I bet that's a huge relief.
I made it through my first day back in class. Only half of the children in at a time which helped. They were lovely, all smiley and keen to get back which was great. My individual risk assessment finally took place...ten minutes before the children arrived! Staff are allowed to wear face coverings if we wish which is good news too. I'm very glad the day is done, although I think a full class on Monday will be a little daunting still.
I hope all went well for any of you back in school too.

That's really positive and I'm glad you had a good day. I'm supposed to be starting a TA placement this term but with the school as it is I'm not feeling confident at all. I'd want a mask and visor like our tutors are wearing in college. Nothing in the school newsletter to remind parents about SD at pick up and drop off.

Ugh. Back to work today. 0640 am! When I was wfh, I was just rolling down the stairs then.

Not too bad. Perspex screens , spray, sanitiser and signs everywhere. I was on my own on the far side of the office until new shift at 1400. Then 6 more people in. So tired now. 7-1700 is a loooong shift.

Aaaaand had quite a few bitchy comments about my 'holiday'.

Looking for a new job now.

What is wrong with people @Babysharkdoodoodood? Sorry you've had to listen to ignorant people that just don't understand.

The bitchy comments are the worst.

@Bercows
Am glad you’ve at least a temporary plan in place. Hopefully the rising R number & rule changes from Monday will shake people out of their complacency a bit. Has anything gone out in the newsletter yet? Does your school have/use the dread WhatsApp groups? I can totally see not wanting to share private details of your health on there, but if, on balance, it’d be less-bad people knowing that you’re in the shielding group & that means you needing to do xyz & please would they abc because otherwise they may literally kill you, it’s maybe worth doing? Your placement sounds much trickier though - is there someone at your College you can talk it through with? Wearing a mask & a visor would presumably fall under reasonable adaptations under the EA, and schools are meant to be extra-careful not to break students (meaning people on placements etc in this instance, though obviously the wee folk as well!) aren’t they? I hope you can get it all sorted out ok.

@Teaistheanswer
Well I suppose you’ve at least GOT an individual risk assessment (I’ve genuinely seen that abbreviated to IRA before, do wonder what goes on in some people’s heads...) but that’s pretty shocking: not exactly leaving much time to amend it if they’d made a complete mess of it! I hope this week went well with your whole class in & you’re not feeling too zapped this weekend.

Oh @Babysharkdoodoodood, I’m so sorry you’d to put up with that. Good luck with your job-hunt: I hope that you find something that you really enjoy (& ideally has better pay & hours & clearly colleagues & also biscuits & tea/coffee & basically All. The. Things.). People are The Actual Worst.

@Outnumberedwoman - really hope that you & your family are all ok: thinking of you

As for me, still just doing that seemingly-endless chasing of one hospital department after another in-between appointments in-person & phone/video. Rheumatologist making next August’s appointment a phone one because she’s so confident I’ll still be shielding then is still messing with my head a wee bit. And it seems a second wave is coming, during which I’m going to have to keep going into hospital for things, which is a really scary thought. Oh & my brother is not simply going to have to be on campus at the start of term, timings of various things mean he’s had to book himself into a hotel as he’s not going to be able to do his usual commute (pre-pandemic he’d leave just before 0500 & generally got back around 2000-2200). Super.
On a vastly more prosaic note, am currently waiting for ASDA shop to arrive as they have the decency not to charge shielders for delivery at all, let alone go hoiking prices up. (Again, boo Tesco.) And I have a dozen custom-made cloth masks on the way to me - they’ve a nose wire so I don’t need to worry about steaming up my glasses; & I can put a filter in them. Just wish N99 filters weren’t so hard to get: PM2.5 ones are no use Covid-wise nor, you know, any other lurking lurky lurgies hanging in the air...

@MarieVanGoethem Hospital appointments are the worst atm aren't they? Especially having to sit around all masked up.

I had my post surgery appointment on Thursday morning after a night shift, so exhausted. They'd mucked it up and made the appointment for the day they phoned me. Ie last week. Luckily the surgeon was there and she squeezed me in. She's a lovely woman and I've had her since day one. She had to break the news of my bc dx way back in October 2012, after being called in halfway through my honeymoon.

Anyway she needed to see me as when she was capping the port for my implant, it was just covered in silicon. So I've got an ultrasound and mri on Monday to check that the actual implant isn't leaking. If it is then we need to have discussions on whether to replace or remove. Tbh, l'd rather it was removed and have the other one lopped off as well. I've hated being lopsided and at least I won't have any issues if there's nothing there. I've grown to hate my boobs now.

Also wondering if we'll get a local lockdown here. Birmingham and Solihull are both in now and our cases are rising again. I've just returned all my equipment

Hope everyone’s doing OK.

Do we think they’re going to start shielding again soon? It would be good if they publicised their criteria for doing this ahead of time.

I’m still staying in except weekly exercise but I might be forced to go into central London in a couple of weeks which is really scaring me.

On the Andrew Marr show today they said the government is working on Shielding 2.0 and that it’s going to involve personalised letters based on all our risk factors (not quite sure how they are going to manage that mammoth task given the problems with the initial, simpler, shielding letters).

Good morning all
I made it through the first full week in school but was absolutely shattered at the end of it! The children were lovely but the constant handwashing (both theirs and especially mine) seems to take up half the day! Timetables are SO tight to make sure we don't overlap bubbles and lunchtime is particularly bonkers. Bearing in mind I'm at an infant school I think the children have adapted really well. The poor staff look rather on edge but I think that's fear of getting timings wrong and getting told off by the head I started the week with 30 but was down to 25 by the end of the week. It's my teaching across the whole year group next week so rather nervous about that.
Interesting that shielding had a brief mention on Andrew Marr @Egghead68. Why do I always feel like we're some kind of after-thought though

I don’t know how you do it @Teaistheanswer and the other e-c-vulnerable teachers. I would be so nervous about catching the virus.

Yes I also feel we are also always either an afterthought or target of blame.

It’s possible our ranks will be swelled quite significantly in Shielding 2.0. There is talk of possibly asking everyone aged 65+ to shield.

I'm lucky @Egghead68 as a HLTA I move between supporting and teaching so I don't have the headache of trying to organise how to keep them all on track. The downside is I cover in the three year 2 classes in order that the teachers get their planning time. In my school two of those classes are job shares so I'm backwards and forwards like a yo-yo in the cover week. I will be spraying everything!
I just hope they make a decision about shielding and communicate it clearly. Mainly so we don't stress about it and employers are crystal clear. I'm asking a lot aren't I?

Hope you can stay safe @Teaistheanswer. (I should have said teaching staff not teachers).

I doubt we’ll get much warning or communication about shielding 2.0. Based on past performance it will probably be tweeted at 10:30pm on a Sunday night to take effect Monday.

Hello everyone. SorryI have been away. Lots going on. Thankfully DC1 covid test was negative but as he was having fevers he missed that whole week. Went back last week and thankfully completed the whole week. He brought the cold home though and while he was over it wothon 24 hours i have been struck down and it has settled in my chest so more antibiotics and steroids!

In other (and slightly amazing) news DC2 has settles brilliantly into his little class at special school. He is so happy and content. The staff are lovely. I cant think of enough words to describe how great they are! And even after such a short time there is a noticable effect - he is much easier to deal with. Much calmer and less temper tantrums. He goes in singing every morning! And the best thing is he started to follow some direction for them on Friday! It is such a relief that we know he is in the right place with the right people and the right resources.

@MarieVanGoethem thank you for thinking of us all. X

@Egghead68 nice that we were mentioned I suppose but like you I don't imagine shielding 2.0 will go smoothly - another clear as mud shambles!

@Teaistheanswer glad you have got back into it. Hopefully you won't be too tired to enjoy your evenings though- even if its just watching tele. Hope you can stay safeas well.

@Babysharkdoodoodood so sorry to read what comments you returned too. Some people can be hurtful and ignorant! Good luck on the job hunt and I hope you are successful very soon and can tell them all to shove it as you walk out the door!

@outnumberedwoman that is great news on all fronts (except the cold obviously) it is such a relief when children settle well. Hope the antibiotics and steroids do the trick for you.

@babysharkdoodoodood people's comments can be so thoughtless. I had one about my 'lovely long holiday' as I lugged in huge bags of resources I'd made for the whole year group (not to mention the mountains of stuff my head of year had already collected!) which made me feel I bit

Thank you all, I shall definitely be doing all I can to keep safe. Have decided my only outings will be work and medical appointments!

@Babysharkdoodoodood
They’re pretty grim, especially if you’ve to be there for a few hours for something. I don’t think you can wear a mask inside the MRI scanner (metal in bit that makes it conform to your nose) can you? So at least a bit of time off? I hope it all goes well, anyway - whatever you end up deciding.
(Excellent news jobwise, too. May the donkey of destiny kick them all in the kneecaps.)

@Egghead68
Ahahahaha... I’ll believe it when I see it. I think Scotland managed it, to be fair. Or at least, someone I know who’s shielding up in Scotland got (multiple, she’s a special article) condition-specific letters when shielding was paused, so I’m guessing when it restarts they’ll get them too. Everyone 65+ shielding seems a drastic step - and you have to wonder how much that’s about socio-economic control; or whether there is known to be genuine clinical need for that level of increased vigilance.

@Teaistheanswer
Infant-age wee folk can be amazingly adaptable, can’t they? The world is still really new to them & when you’ve only Infants they’ve not Big Ones there to potentially make A Thing of how strange it all is. I mean Y2 are The Big Ones, but they still tend to think School Is An Adventure in a way Y6 don’t I’m glad it’s all going pretty well so far - sorry you, too, have had Idiotic Comments from from colleagues. Seems mad people apparently somehow still really don’t understand just what shielding is.

@Outnumberedwoman
Oh but I’m relieved to hear from you & especially to have such good news! Am sorry you’re not well, but a cold, even one so bad, must be such a relief, even with your DC1 having to miss a week of school & now you needing more antibiotics & steroids. Both your DC being in school & so happy with it is so lovely to hear
x

And just to continue my anti-Tesco crusade my ASDA shop yesterday was fab: driver was brilliant at distancing; he apologised that they’d not had my orange juice at the very last minute; & when I contacted ASDA about the fact I’d paid for it to be in carrier bags to make it easier + faster to unpack & they’d not bagged it, I got an apology & 5 x the carrier bag fee. Which is welcome as I pushed the boat out & bought Andrex instead of own-brand loo-roll: 5p more per roll, people, got to make that up somewhere...

Oh ffs. The implant's leaking!

Aaaaaaaaargh!