To ask if you are happy with the protection levels at school?

[MissMissICantDoThis]

I am a teacher so feel that I have some insight into what is going on in schools and I am feeling increasingly worried about the 'second wave'.

We have guidelines at our school and they mainly protect us adults. In reality, I couldn't do my job without breaking the guidelines and putting myself at risk. I accept this and felt that I accepted the risk in general. In my circle it is generally 'brave face and no complaining' attitude so I do not hear anyone talking about it.

I have mixed feelings for my own children. My son seems genuinely scared for the adults in the family and I am doing my best to support this.

I do not think that they will close schools again. The damage that the last lockdown did is evident. However, I am increasingly in favour of closing them again for a circuit breaker at least. The scientific evidence is so mixed that I do not know what to believe and wonder if the government are purposely being vague to avoid lockdown. Death rates are inevitably down compared to the first wave now that they only count deaths within 28 days yet they announced that it can take several weeks for someone to become critically ill.

My friend has a worried child too and she has said that if necessary, she will take her child out and face the fine. Is anyone else's child really worried? How do you feel about this?

I am genuinely prepared to accept that I am on half term and have spent more time watching the news than I normally would. Am I allowing myself to be scaremongered?

@starrynight19

Utterly indifferent if I’m honest.

My children are fit, healthy and happy. And delighted to be back at school and thriving.

That - is all I’m bothered about

Thankfully your in the minority and most people do seen to care about other people.

I abide by the rules I wear masks I care

But when it comes to my children and schools, their happiness trumps ensuring young children are kept apart from one another etc

With all due respect to the exams officer who posted, our exams officer is in an office with a Perspex screen, visitors are well away from her and she can move around college during lessons when it’s quiet. College is very safe for her (as it should be). Meanwhile in my very small classroom I have to come within 1m of most of the class just to get in and out of the room, which worries me as that’s an automatic SI if anyone in the class tests positive. But I can’t materialise in and out of the room!

I'm a teacher, vulnerable, live with two other vulnerable people and i'm anxious. I'm still bright and breezy with my class and my own 2 children but my kids are worried. They are stringent about masks, sanitising and changing when home but they say many in school are not. I know this is true because I too experience it. I've had two cases in my class, my kids have had 2 in their year groups respectively.

One of their cousins, who was not vulnerable, had it and has been left with heart problems. My ds friend had it in May and has also been left with heart problems so they are aware that for some it is not "just a cold". For me, my mother and my ds it could be serious. (Autoimmune conditions, vascular dementia and autoimmune again respectively). They know full well that the provision in schools for remaining safe is a load of old toss because they aren't idiots. They might be in year group bubbles in the day but they still get on the school bus with every other child. Yet it's not safe to be in another famies home where I live. Even my teens can tell when they're being gaslit. Utter nonsense.

Seeing around 300 kids in my classroom every day with no masks scares the shit out of me and I feel I've been sentenced to a probable death potentially.

@noblegiraffe no you're right, I'm in the South and cases are very low where we live. I might feel differently if we had high case numbers.

@noblegiraffe

I bet the people oh so happy with the level of protection in schools don't live in Manchester, Birmingham or Liverpool.

I’m very very happy I don’t live in Manchester, Liverpool or Birmingham

For many many reasons

• Why?

Underlying health condition?
Obese?*

You’re all compassion, aren’t you?

In direct answer to your question op - no.

Schools are not COVID secure. Fact.
Schools are contributing to the spread. Fact.
Many teachers and children are anxious. Fact.
The problem is, there is no easy answer because we need schools open. I just wish the government would be open and honest about it rather than spinning the line that schools are safe. They are not.

@flaviaritt

* Why?

Underlying health condition?
Obese?*

You’re all compassion, aren’t you?

Classic response of Covid drama llama

Take the facts. But distort them to be demonstrating lack of compassion.

I work in an infant school. The measures in place are ok.

We have increased cleaning and handwashing. We have reduced contact through staggard starts, playtimes and lunches. We have reduced contact by having auxillary staff rooms and doing things like switching to online staff meetings and keeping TAs to fewer clsssrooms. We also trained more first aiders so the first aid wasnt whole school. We wear PPE for personal care. We have increased the amount of outdoor learning. We ventilate more. They also have a mix of desks/carpet spots so children are spread out more.
However, we havent found parents that supportive in queues and going to sleepovers, play dates across bubbles without these measures. And within the bubbles there is basically 30 children climbing over teachers / TAs all breathing at each other and its very hard to keep apart from other staff in your zone- we all share two toilets for instance.

It's not just schools. I'm in an office that is so called "Covid Secure". Staff including management are not following one way systems, social distancing not happening, etc...Yes they have published a risk assessment and put tape and signs in place but It's all lip service to say they've ticked those boxes. In theory we could and should be working from home but that's a whole other thread!

But when it comes to my children and schools, their happiness trumps ensuring young children are kept apart from one another etc
Hmmm, I wonder if you would feel this way if you or one of your children had underlying health issues?
Because this is the reality for lots of people.

@MuppetsRus

It's not just schools. I'm in an office that is so called "Covid Secure". Staff including management are not following one way systems, social distancing not happening, etc...Yes they have published a risk assessment and put tape and signs in place but It's all lip service to say they've ticked those boxes. In theory we could and should be working from home but that's a whole other thread!

And yet you are all adults. Someone could whistle blow this to H&S E and it would be looked into.

We can't do that in schools as WE ARE FOLLOWING GUIDANCE THAT WOULD BE ILLEGAL ANYWHERE ELSE.

Muppet the difference between your workplace and a school is that your workplace is breaking the rules.

[quote WhatNameToChooseNow]**@Sodamncold* btch[/quote]
I take that as a no then.

So you’re thinking you will probably die from COVID despite not underlying health condition?

@WhatNameToChooseNow

Seeing around 300 kids in my classroom every day with no masks scares the shit out of me and I feel I've been sentenced to a probable death potentially.

Are you very vulnerable? Because otherwise I do think this is concerning, that’s a lot of anxiety. It must be horrible, I’m primary so not as bad as secondary, and I am assuming you’re vulnerable from this comment so I do really feel for you. Could you speak to your GP?

@PoptartPoptart

But when it comes to my children and schools, their happiness trumps ensuring young children are kept apart from one another etc Hmmm, I wonder if you would feel this way if you or one of your children had underlying health issues? Because this is the reality for lots of people.

Well no. Of course not. If they had a serious underlying condition that made them particularly vulnerable then I wouldn’t be sending them in. Nor would I expect the majority of the school to bend to me and my children.

I'm a TA is a primary school. I am a 1 to 1 for a child with GDD. I cannot SD from him......

Our school has well ventilated classrooms (the kids are complaining of being freezing so we are reminding them to wear layers!)
We stick to our bubbles although there are a couple of TAs that swap in the afternoons.
We have staggered starts, finishes and breaks.
Hand washing is regular and supervised
I clean tables and high touch areas regularly
We have boxes of tissues everywhere and the refrain after anyone sneezes, coughs etc is " Now wash your hands!"
I have a visor. I have been 'encouraged' not to wear it..........

We have had 1 positive case and the bubble was closed. No one developed symptoms but, of course, could have been asymptomatic.

My kids are Y11 and Y8. They go to a small secondary. They remian in one room for much of the day with allocated seats and teachers coming to them. No masks required at any point in the day. They have isolated 1 bubble after a positive case and we have just had a letter to let us know that there are another 2 cases.

I am glad my kids are back at school. DS has his GCSEs this academic year and was worrying about catching up. DD was suffering from the lack of social interaction. HOWEVER I am under no illusions that schools are 'Covid secure'. They can't be by the very nature of their function. They are filled with young people who don't stick to the rules either because sticking to the rules is impossible or because they feel that they will be untouched.

Sadly I am in my 50s and fat so if I get it I am likely to suffer quite badly......

My daughter i snot happy and she has had two meetings with pastoral, and emailed both her head of course and the principal but been largely ignored.

Meanwhile the place has had several cases and they were all sent hone for two weeks plus she was threatened with a disciplinary action for being rude and aggressive in her email to SLT. (She wasn't, we red her email and a neighbour who works in behaviour support in another local school also read it for us)

I should add my sons secondary is following the guidance very well and it doesnt feel safe compared to my little infants as none of the stuff works in secondary.

I’ve pretty much resigned myself to catching Covid. Pretty scared as Dh had appalling asthma, Covid could be really serious for him.

Schools aren’t safe. I don’t expect 100% safe there’s no such thing. But I teach 250 kids a week in tiny unventilated rooms. Pupils and staff are receiving positive tests, I don’t feel safe.

@Sodamncold

I am aware that death is unlikely. However I am still worried about the long term health effects of Covid.

I caught standard flu 15 years ago and ended up in hospital on a ventilator. I now have long term heart damage.

The fact is that there is currently no confirmed data showing the impact of covid on long term health. I do not think we should be willingly accepting the risk of catching it on the provision that we will "likely" be okay.

You had a horrific experience with flu

Have you spent the last 15 years petrified of catching it at school and wanting to weed face masks and enforce strict social distancing etc amongst children in schools?