The government have fucked up the re-opening of schools

[noblegiraffe]

They have, haven't they?

Back in June their five tests for reopening schools were:

First we must protect the NHS’s ability to cope, and be sure that it can continue to provide critical care and specialist treatment right across the whole of the United Kingdom.

Second, we need to see daily death rates from coronavirus coming down.

Third, we need to have reliable data that shows the rate of infection is decreasing to manageable levels.

Four, we need to be confident that testing capacity and PPE is being managed, with supply able to meet, not just today’s demand, but future demand.

And fifth, and perhaps most crucially, we need to be confident that any changes we do make will not risk a second peak of infections.

I'm pretty sure I know the reason for not reminding people of those five tests this time round, but particularly test 4 - capacity within the testing system.

I was listening to the radio today about how the lack of testing is damaging the NHS's capacity to reopen services as nurses with symptoms cannot get tests and therefore cannot return to work. The same goes for schools - if teachers cannot get tests, either for themselves or for family members with symptoms, then they cannot go to work. This has been the case even with priority referrals.

There also seems to be utter chaos around who gets sent home when there is a positive test. Some schools are sending home a year group, others close contacts. Teachers often have no idea if they'll be sent home if one of their pupils tests positive.

But surely the government are tracking cases in schools carefully? No, it turns out they're not even storing that data. schoolsweek.co.uk/its-official-dfe-doesnt-know-how-many-schools-have-covid-cases

And a survey suggests that covid protection measures in some schools are poor. www.tes.com/news/third-teachers-lack-soap-and-water-school

So with an abysmal test and trace system, less than adequate measures to prevent the spread, and a department that isn't on top of its brief we can expect more disruption to come.

Even if your own kids' school is fine so far, parents really shouldn't be happy with this state of affairs, particularly the lack of testing capacity that will mean children will be out of school or missing a teacher unnecessarily.

YABU: The government have done a sterling job
YANBU: The government have not done a sterling job

Yes that makes sense whilst waiting for the result. I’ve been reading the data thread and the German system in schools is impressive. A proper protocol. Unlike ours, which no one seems to understand.

I'm still not clear on why hospital departments and e.g. supermarkets dont shut or shut parts of the place up and send scores of people home when there is one positive case, but one case in school and bam, a year group of 300 have to fuck off home.

Maybe because we all wear masks in supermarkets. PPE in hospital. Whereas kids in schools say right next to each other as they always have.

@LockdownLucy your comparing apples with pears. I fact apples with chocolate cake.

*say = sit

A shop near me had a couple of staff test positive, they had to close the shop for cleaning and the close contacts of the staff were sent home for 14 days to quarantine.

In school there are an awful lot of people who count as close contacts of each other because we are all crammed into small, poorly ventilated spaces together on rotation.

Schools are open and your kids are being educated. The problem is Covid 19, not the government. You might think the coping strategies are not perfect (they're not) but what would you do? Moaning is a national pastime, and if it's moaning about Conservatives, even better.
And btw, it's "the government has fd up" (singular). "Members of the government have fd up" (plural).

What would l do?

Commission extra spaces
Employ more teachers
Strict social distancing

Italy postponed opening their schools as the delivery of one person desks which allowed for social distancing were delayed.

Boris just shoehorns everyone back in, gains to report the numbers, and creates a serious public health issue. There was plenty he could do.

Remember
‘We will close everything else before schools?’
‘Schools are Covid secure and totally safe’
‘We have a moral duty to reopen schools’ but no moral duty to make them safe apparently...

@mrpostit that’s made me howl!
The government are responsible for dealing with shit like covid.
Responsible for dealing with poverty, homelessness etc. But no, let’s not expect the government to do a better job. Let’s blame covid. Blame poverty, blame homelessness. Really?

And how would you pay for it?

No they arent though!!
Mine are at home. They caught a cold in 8d. Yes really covid secure!
100% from school we have not been anywhere.
Unfortunately for dc1 it was a temp and cough cold so had a test. Still coughing so still home.
Then dc2 now has it.
This 'system' is disadvantaging thoose who happen to get temps or coughs.
No work given either.
And the cold hasnt even reached me or dh yet.
Any less that bright person could tell you that
Kids get theses symptoms constantly
Some people havent been SD so have caught colds
They gave them to mass gatherings of 30+ now everyone has one
If 1 person in family catches it then it moves through.
People cannot be spending their life online trying for tests
Going for a test
Having a month off school and work.
We are worse off with school open as now dc is actually missing the work. Dp will spend time driving to the test.
And now we cant even go for a walk!
Dc2 is missing meeting people in reception
Yet the original person with the cold has probably had 0 days off.

I'm always intrigued by the posters who think everything's fine because it isn't happening to them. My son's school is still open, and I've had a better experience than most with testing this week. That doesn't stop me seeing the shambles that is going on nearby and elsewhere!

I read yesterday that there are concerns about the disproportionate effect the lack of testing is having on areas of economic deprivation, particularly in the North, and it seems to be playing out that way here (NW England.) The director of public health in my town has sent to schools (to be forwarded to parents) an extended list of symptoms to look for in children. It includes things like headaches, extreme tiredness, rashes, diarrhoea... basically, if your child's illness is anything other than a broken limb we're supposed to isolate and test.

The problem is, there have been no testing facilities in our town for at least a week- a mobile unit is coming today and tomorrow, apparently. When trying to book home test kits, it says none available. This is a town with high levels of deprivation, and a lot of parents don't have access to a car to drive to a test centre further away even if they can get a slot, so without a home test kit they have to isolate for two weeks. Many of these families are those whose children need to be in school the most, and/or will struggle financially with being unable to work due to self-isolation. The local newspaper posted about testing difficulties and were flooded with comments from people struggling to get tests- some in the comments had recommended contacting schools as they'd secured a test that way, so I'd be surprised if many schools have tests left.

My son and I developed symptoms at the weekend, after constant refreshing I was able to get us a test slot on Monday afternoon in our nearest city, and we got the (negative) results Tuesday evening so were able to return to school/work yesterday. However, there were people tested earlier still waiting for results! The lack of consistency in timings can't help schools with their planning and management either.

@mrpostit

Schools are open and your kids are being educated. The problem is Covid 19, not the government. You might think the coping strategies are not perfect (they're not) but what would you do? Moaning is a national pastime, and if it's moaning about Conservatives, even better. And btw, it's "the government has f*d up" (singular). "Members of the government have f*d up" (plural).

what would you do?

For a start...

Have the functioning testing system they claimed to have

Pour money into that rather than the 'eat out to help out and increase the spread of the virus scheme

Listen to the school leaders who talked about opening schools gradually, so as not to overwhelm the system

Not threaten families with clinically vulnerable people, with fines

Not lie to the nation

what you do? I wouldn’t lie, just for starters

I am confused tbh. Apparently kids don't spread it, but keep getting sent emails saying if they have a cold keep them home. Kids also being told daily that if they don't feel well to stay home. My child loves to fabricate/enlarge symptoms, so it's now making it hard to get them out if bed in the morning! Greer!

The op posted it was easier to get a COVID test in France;

PARIS (Reuters) - "One of France’s biggest trade unions said a large number of staff at private COVID testing facilities across the country will walk out on Thursday [today] over work conditions that one employee said were like being in a war zone."

"At many testing sites in France, people are queuing around the block to get tests, some test results are delayed because laboratories are overwhelmed and the government is demanding more and faster testing."

“The secretaries don’t answer the phone any more because they get sworn at on every other call,”

“The patients are aggressive, on edge.They want their results right away, but there’s only a limited number of spaces. Some people started fighting while queuing out front,”

"In a prelude to Thursday’s strike, staff at around 20 health testing clinics in southern France operated by a firm called Biofusion went on strike on Wednesday."

“The private sector does nearly 80% of tests."

uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-france-laboratorie/staff-at-some-french-testing-sites-strike-over-covid-19-conditions-idUSKBN2672BC

@Clavinova

You're needed urgently on another threat. Somebody is accusing Boris of lying, you need to rush over and defend him and prove that there has never been a more honest person in the history of the world ever.

I think Clavinova is really Boris’ press officer

@mrpostit

Schools are open and your kids are being educated. The problem is Covid 19, not the government. You might think the coping strategies are not perfect (they're not) but what would you do? Moaning is a national pastime, and if it's moaning about Conservatives, even better. And btw, it's "the government has f*d up" (singular). "Members of the government have f*d up" (plural).

My kids' school isn't open, they're not being educated, they're at home for 2 weeks with covid

I’m a teacher.

Last term teachers and schools were crucified. The impact on moral was profound.

No one listened and the unions were accused of causing trouble. Everyone was warned.

Boris pushes schools back with no support or help. And hence the shot show has commenced.

Haha Mr Postit or should we say Mr Hancock? Only a brazen ballbag like him could defend this Government's record here. A nation of moaners and CFs causing needless testing chaos on our quest for freebies? A cabinet who could barely organise a piss-up in a brewery, but first they would have to give the contract to supply drink to a Chinese company.
Lies and chaos. Its the Government who didn't control the virus before lockdown and once again after lockdown because that's how they wanted to play it. Now correct my grammar as i was educated under Thatcher.

what would you do?

Not lie!
Hancock told us that work had started on Apple/Google apps at a daily press conference even though Apple and Google said that they'd not been approached by the government.
Contact tracing is very important at secondary schools. There's high turnover of desk usage between people who don't know each other. If someone from y11 Maths started having symptoms in 1st period then everyone who used that desk in subsequent periods should be made aware as well as the kids who sat near the positive case.
It's obvious that we needed a stockpile of tests. There's almost 9 million kids at school and schools probably know what percentage of kids and teachers are off school with colds/illness in a typical week and they could have come up with a realistic number of tests needed. Allocating the same number of tests to all schools when they range from small village schools to secondaries with thousands of kids was madness.

There's a lot of confusion and difference in interpretation of the guidelines (both schools and parents) Until recently people were encouraged to test even when not feeling very ill (especially in local lockdown areas) If that is inappropriate now because of a surge in a demand it should have been communicated to people rather than having a campaign which shames people. MN is probably at least average in teens if intelligence and this summer I regularly saw posts where people were going to get CV tests as an "insurance policy" before meeting grandparents. There's been much talk about testing in airports helping reduce quarantine times, I'm not surprised that people thought they'd get tested and not quarantine if it's negative

KenDodd
Too busy - going out for the day.

I’m a teacher. Last term teachers and schools were crucified. The impact on moral was profound.No one listened and the unions were accused of causing trouble. Everyone was warned. Boris pushes schools back with no support or help. And hence the shot show has commenced

All the shit things teachers said would happen has happened.

Quelle surprise.