Do I ask if they have swine flu at the school I am due to work at in Sept?

[CrushWithEyeliner]

I am starting as a TA at school in Sept and go for my CRB check on Monday. DD whilst not in a high risk group is vulnerable and has had to be hospitalised for infections and various complications. I would just like to know - should I ask them outright?

I think there is a pretty high chance the answer will be yes. And in any case, those that have it at that school now, will not have it in September and without a crystal ball they're not going to be able to give you any guarantees.

You want to ask them now whether they are expecting to have swine flu in eight weeks' time?

I would take the working assumption that pretty much all schools are going to have swine flu cases by September, or by October at the latest, though.

They won't know if they will have it in Sept and as Maureen has said it is very likely that someone in the school community will have it.

We had our first case this week and school carried on as normal

ok fair enough thanks, maybe it was a bit panicy but I am a bit concerned about it all being honest.

Really no need to just post faces at me.

Id assume they will, aswell as many other contagious illnesses ( it is a school!) What would you do if they say yes? I can understand why you want to protect your dd, but maybe you need to think if working in a school is the right choice considering your concerns

If you don't have a strong immune system and you are worried about dd a school may not be the best place. I have a weak immune system and am plagued by illness.

I know - I am thinking about this now......

I think you're panicking about your new job too much! Relax. Enjoy the holidays and worry about these things, if and when they happen.

Thank you MM

I'm pretty sure we're all going to get it - my dd has that classic 'underlying health issues' and I genuinely think it will be fine - it pretty much seems to be a bad cold for most people. And if it's not, we'll deal with that if/when it happens. I do have a brilliant gp and went to talk it through with her this week, which really helped my anxiety. Might be worth getting your worries out in the open with somebody medical - does your dd have a paed you can talk to, or her gp?

I'm pretty sure we're all going to get it - my dd has that classic 'underlying health issues' and I genuinely think it will be fine - it pretty much seems to be a bad cold for most people. And if it's not, we'll deal with that if/when it happens. I do have a brilliant gp and went to talk it through with her this week, which really helped my anxiety. Might be worth getting your worries out in the open with somebody medical - does your dd have a paed you can talk to, or her gp?

On top of the sensible messages on this thread I'd like to point out that here, in London, Swine Flu is everywhere - so would you also avoid the supermarket, bars, shops, public places and if so for how long?

It's a viral infection - you cannot avoid it (much as you might wish to) - you can just take precautions with good hand hygiene

if it helps we've all had it (I'm pretty sure) and we have asthmatics and immuno-surpressed adults in this family -

There'll be someone who's had it in every school by september.

Thanks for that advice Debi. I suffer from HA so this was always going to be an issue for me.