Covid/school closure. Children made to feel so unwelcome

[Lettuceforlunch]

Has anyone else had this? AIBU? I’ve never known a school be so ultra conservative in their interpretation of the rules around Covid. I’m at the stage where I think they’re now using it as an excuse not to have the children in. This week they’ve had all of four year groups out because of two confirmed cases in two individual classes. They’re in class bubbles FGS! Or at least, that’s what parents have been told.

[ResIpsaLoquiturInterAlia]

@WhenSheWasBad

It’s really frustrating but please don’t blame the school.
They take advice from PHE. Also you really won’t know how many people in the school who have tested positive. Or which adult staff members have crossed bubbles.

I concur as these are my sentiments too after recent ad hoc no notice primary school year group Covid bubble burst and return to home schooling. Literally received an email plus SMS mobile group call text just an hour after morning arrival drop off to return as soon as practicable to remove child to self isolate. Transpired one initial positive case reported. Not sure who as obviously confidential to family concerned. Families subsequently cagey on WhatsApp parents class group chat. By elimination/omission half of the class came forward to declare negative confirmatory PCR test results indicating their concern for others but personal relief. Such a fast moving and worrying development because of the uncertainty. Some who do not test or regularly test always (false and dangerous) negative at home using less reliable anti gen screening kits have subsequently tested positive with the diagnostic PCR test. Shock horror as many households are therefore actually PCR positive despite false lateral flow negatives. No one with any symptoms and all presumed current Indian Delta variant which is seemingly impacting children more than previous variants of slightly less concern. This is kicking off in a number of central London schools as data trending rapidly in the wrong direction and many not testing until symptomatic by which time Covid has been seeded, incubated and spread asymptomatically within crowded schools with next to none risk mitigation measures implemented. It’s frustrating and more so not just logistically but as much because of the lack of transparency in a matter which can detrimentally impact and risk health as if it’s just a bit of common cold that will blow away soon. Home schooling with online live teaching however is fine for families accustomed to working at home living at work.

[Mummyrowland]

Are you talking primary or secondary? My son just tested positive. Shut two year groups in primary as they are a big bubble.
Also shut part of secondary school as they did a taster event day before he tested positive so several schools affected.

I've worked through the whole pandemic and now 15 months down the line I feel frustrated and a failure that covid is in my house (I have it too)

I'd rather a bit of sense and over isolating than keeping us further locked down

[Parker231]

There was a piece on Radio Five today about school closures and a head teacher saying they are struggling for staff. No money for agency staff or no agency staff available. The head wanted much greater testing so that proper decisions could be made on who did and didn’t need to isolate.

[Lilibet2022]

@Mummyrowland wishing you and your son a swift recovery.
You are absolutely not a failure. This was bound to happen when masks were removed from classes and pubs reopened. Regardless of how many measures others took. So many people catching it now have been super careful. It's so unfair.

[Lilibet2022]

No money for agency staff or no agency staff available.

I can't speak for the position of other schools but from the ones I am aware of outside staff including agency staff can't currently come in. The schools I know of that have had explosions of cases have a high percentage of take up of tests. Not all are unwilling conspiracy theorist flat earthers. My friends autistic DD had a panic attack before hers. They chose not b to force her.

[BungleandGeorge]

I think it varies by school, some stick to the ‘close contacts’ recommendations and send relatively few home and others it’s the entire year group. Ours get no live teaching at all when isolating unless the entire school closes. It’s a postcode lottery!

[Lilibet2022]

Ours get no live teaching at all when isolating unless the entire school closes.

Lobby your MPs for better covid mitigation in schools and less classes bubbles and schools will have to close.

[Pieceofpurplesky]

We have loads off
(Close contact) all of our lessons have to be taught to our classes
In school and online at the same time.

It takes twice as long to plan and prepare lessons that work for both

[MyDcAreMarvel]

@Lettuceforlunch Children have a right to an education and mine certainly haven’t had much of one this year. yes and it’s your responsibility as a parent to ensure they get one. So if they are off , you educate them with the support from the school.

[ChloeDecker]

I think it varies by school, some stick to the ‘close contacts’ recommendations and send relatively few home and others it’s the entire year group.

All schools still have to phone PHE/DeptforEd when they hear news of the positive result and do what they are told. Every school has a slightly different outcome because every school is different (staffing, pupils, buildings etc). PHE/Dept forEd are advised who has sat next to who, who has been in which classrooms/playgrounds etc, how many have tested positive and then advised what to do.
Sometimes DeptforEd will say just send those sitting within 2m of a child and then PHE will phone back and say no, whole class/year group (this has happened twice in my school)

It’s not rocket science really and definitely not because one school wants to cause more havoc than another.

[Strictly1]

@Lettuceforlunch

I also don't see why they have to share the minute details of who has tested positive with all the parents, all you need to know is that it's safest to close the school and what provisions they can and will make in the mean time.

I do think parents should know the reasoning behind decisions taken, not the specifics of who exactly is off but how and why certain steps have been taken. Children have a right to an education and mine certainly haven’t had much of one this year. There have been too many times now where closures have happened and the days haven’t added up or there seem to be way more children off at any one point than in other local schools.

You want more information so that you can then challenge it? The school will have sought advice from professionals and now staff and leaders will be busy implementing online learning, safeguarding, free school means etc. You want to add to that multiple calls and emails questioning the decision made. You are frustrated understandably but your frustration is misplaced.
Did you want them to let your child in, potentially infect others and go home a bit later?

[Lilibet2022]

Schools unfairly get a lot of the crap here for those sent off to isolate. This week my DCs school had to send several children home and a number of head staff who'd been in prolonged closed contact with those pupils who tested positive who have active daily roles with many of the pupils across all years. If you think they'd rather juggle the online learning and that level of responsibility from home then I don't think you are being very fair on the teachers.
The government's mitigation response in schools had been woeful from the beginning, regardless of the suspicious pressure a 'grassroots' parents group with Tory PR support was allowed to put on the Prime Minister that byline times exposed at Christmas. We are the only country who doesn't focus on the ventilation and no cracking a window open an inch don't really do it.
So sorry for repeating myself but for those who keep decrying they don't want schools to close. Lobby the govt to put better mitigation measures in place so the DCs don't have to lose any more days at school. Yes it sucks having to keep DCs off and rejig work commitments but shit happens and kids get ill. It happens sometimes. To a pp above who said the dinner ladies had to go in or they wouldn't get paid. I believe both them and the employer would have been liable for a fine if they were found out.

[Maladicta]

Public health rules dictate what constitutes a close contact. Three cases across two classes was enough to have all of ds's year 12 sent home to self-isolate, the school was very clear that this was done because of the advice they were given, rather than its own decision.

[Barbie222]

OP is just finding out the hard way why telling schools to get on with it without money doesn't work. If there's not enough cameras, you can't stream to home, and there's a couple of parents in each class who refuse permission to film anyway, sometimes for very good reasons. If there's not enough staff and no budget for more, you can't open. There literally is no money left.

Lessons aren't tins of beans, they take hours to plan and resource, videos take hours to film and edit, and you can't just pick up another one without it being a Twinkl generic which no doubt wouldn't be good enough for OP either. Unless you fund it, it won't happen.

[Soontobe60]

@Lettuceforlunch

I’ve asked the school but they’re very tight lipped.

Of course they are - it’s confidential information!

[Lilibet2022]

I do think parents should know the reasoning behind decisions taken, not the specifics of who exactly is off but how and why certain steps have been taken.

Again. Its none of your business. Its a pupil's of staff members private medical details and unless you or your DCs are a confirmed close contact of a positive pupil that they have to inform by law basically suck it up. No I'm not a teacher but I'm aware of the workload and the responsibilities each school has and aware of the sacrifices the staff have made when they couldn't see their own family for months on end just so they could carry on teaching our DCs. There are easily over a thousand pupils in most state schools. Schools are not just places of education they are workplaces for their whole team of staff the head also has to manage and they also have to provide the same duty of care for as their pupils. They haven't got time to fill everyone in on the minute details after the teaching of the pupils the planning the pastoral care of both the pupils and the staff and nor should they either.

Children have a right to an education and mine certainly haven’t had much of one this year.

Children also have the right for a safe school environment and the staff that teach them have a safe right to a working environment. None of which neither has had since September. The govt have been trying to achieve herd immunity through the school population with no regards for long covid in kids and the impact it'll have on Britain's future workers. If you truly feel that way about your DCs school then you are free to move them elsewhere if you are unhappy with them busting their butt all year.

[newnortherner111]

If you voted Conservative or did not vote, you are partly to blame. If our Prime Minister was vaguely attentive, this situation would not be arising by now.

It does seem more cautious than many other schools though. Supply teachers who have the option not to work and can afford not to may be unavailable.

[Babynames2]

Is it secondary OP? If so, they certainly won’t just be passing contacts in the playground. I work in secondary and I questioned why we had only one year 8 class bubble off when I knew for a fact from doing lunchtime duty that they are sitting in friendship groups, not class bubbles, so mixing indoors through lunch and then on the playground jumping all over each other. They’re meeting their friends to say hi in between lessons, and then can meet after school and get the bus home with whoever they want.

We now have 4 year 8 class bubbles isolated and several other suspected cases in students and a positive case in staff. Sending only class bubbles home doesn’t actually do anything to stop the spread because the rest of the kids they’ve mixed with carry on mixing with the rest of the year.

[Lilibet2022]

It does seem more cautious than many other schools though.

I don't agree. The explosion in cases in my DCs school meant the school had to contact the PHE again. The PHEs advice remained unchanged. The same happened on my friends school where they will end up closing as the number of positive cases in a very big school edge's nearer and nearer to a 100. Again. The advice from PHE remained unchanged. If this was a workplace they'd have adviced the boss to close for a fortnight by now. It's not being no more cautious than any other and I'd put money on there being more than 2 cases there that the op claims it has. They can and won't know for certain who is a close contact or who tested positive etc beyond those 2 if there was no reason to inform them.

[yomellamoHelly]

"Bubbles" are a construct to make parents feel better about sending their kids in. There's lots of mixing at so many points throughout the day. It's impossible to police. At least they're being honest about it.

[Whinge]

@yomellamoHelly

"Bubbles" are a construct to make parents feel better about sending their kids in. There's lots of mixing at so many points throughout the day. It's impossible to police. At least they're being honest about it.

I agree with this, bubbles are an illusion of protection. In reality schools will have multiple groups / teachers mixing each day, as there's no funding to maintain tight controls / employ extra staff. Like others have said I would be surprised if it's just 2 cases.

[cansu]

You are being ridiculous. The school gets advice from public health. Results will come in at odd times and the school has to act quickly. If someone phones up at 8 to say their child is positive then the school has to act to stop children mixing in playground etc or on transport. They will not be happy to do it. Closure is a real pain for teachers and switching to online with half a day to plan is not what they want.

[Barbie222]

I’m at the stage where I think they’re now using it as an excuse not to have the children in.

[1AngelicFruitCake]

@Lockdownbear

Frightened their holidays could be interrupted?! Do you realise how ridiculous you sound?!

Do you realise that some areas had last day today and others will be stopping for summer next week?

If there is a risk of covid going through a school so close to end of term I can well imagine HT and Teachers being keen not to have their holiday plans interrupted.

Oh sorry, are you in Scotland? Well if that’s the case that’s outrageous!
I also think schools closing multiple bubbles for one case is over the top. It’s hard at the moment for everyone. I’m a teacher, bubbles are closing and I’m worrying each day it’ll be us and I need to do home learning, whilst making sure my own children are able to get to school.

[Happymum12345]

@Lockdownbear
I don’t expect the first thought of teachers with students at their school with covid is ‘oh no, my holiday will be ruined’.