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.

[Lilibet2022]

Sorry that was to @Basil2021

[Quartz2208]

I get the impression that this is simply the tip of the iceberg with issues that you have with the school.

On the face of it Primary Schools and Secondary schools from what at least I can see in my area handle it very differently. Secondary definitely do have the idea of close contacts and vary between just classes to even those who are in the class with them.

Primary I think recognise that within a class there is no social distancing. For ours cases have taken a year group out because the whole year are in the lunch hall together. The decision has been made for them to have lunch in the classrooms from now on - the positive of class bubbles I think is good but still a little sad.

Frankly the whole thing is ridiculous now and a decision needs to be made for September

[Lilibet2022]

According to our school, four whole year groups are close contacts. That is physically impossible

It's not physically impossible at all. If an Art teacher for example tests positive. They've interacted with all years that week leading up to being symptomatic and testing +. The school had no obligation to tell you who it is if you're not a close contact. It's confidential information to do with their staff.

[Lilibet2022]

BUT - the SLT are known for taking the easy option, the pass of least resistance, always in the school’s favour. I know I won’t be able to convince anyone on here just how dire the situation is and maybe the answer is to look at another school.

The path of least resistance. They're following government guidelines during a pandemic. Not staging a protest over the choice of biscuits in the staffroom.

Take it up with your MPs.

[tiredanddangerous]

I work in a large secondary. It's PHE who decide who we send home, not the school. We just do as we're told!

[yeahdarling]

@Lilibet2022

How can you get two young children to school when you are stuck in the house? It takes some organisation.

The same way everyone else does. You manage somehow. It's called parenting and we've all had to do it even prepandemic times. To be honest I find it odd a teacher doesn't know that this is already the guidelines and has been since Sept. Other people can leave the house. Get your DH / DP or a friend to do a socially distanced school drop off?

What makes you think the teacher doesn't know this? It still takes organisation.

[Whinge]

It is an easy option to shut a school though. All home very little work set and long weekend for some - they are not all teaching online - some appear to have taken this as a bonus holiday (again)

The head or SLT cannot just make the decision to close a school. It's not an easy option, as it's not an option they can choose.

If a school has to shut due to Covid then that will be a PHE decision, and any school instructed to fully close would need solid evidence that they were not able to remain open.

[Awalkintime]

AliceLivesHere

So you think it is perfectly safe for 1 person to be in charge of all the kids? No issue if one has an accident and they need to go to hospital? No one to serve dinners? No staff breaks? If someone discloses something then safeguarding measures can't be activated? No SEN support? No one to answer the phones or emails? No one to do the registers and submit them? No one to submit dinners...the list goes on.

Yes there are risks - 2 of our children are seriously ill with no underlying conditions. 2 contacts of the school will have their life support removed today but that's fine is it?

You can't know what the issue is in school staffing wise that is their personal health, it's just another stick to beat schools with and show your underlying feelings against authority.

[Lilibet2022]

What makes you think the teacher doesn't know this? It still takes organisation.

Not what I was referring to @yeahdarling they originally claimed they can't leave the house if they have to self isolate as a close contact. This isn't true and hasn't been since September. I was questioning why a teacher who would presumably know the guidelines inside out by now wouldn't know that. That's all.

[yeahdarling]

@Lilibet2022

What makes you think the teacher doesn't know this? It still takes organisation.

Not what I was referring to *@yeahdarling* they originally claimed they can't leave the house if they have to self isolate as a close contact. This isn't true and hasn't been since September. I was questioning why a teacher who would presumably know the guidelines inside out by now wouldn't know that. That's all.

Ah ok. I missed that bit.

After the past two years I find that school staff are pretty hot on up to date guidance as we have to quote it constantly to people!!

[Getawaywithit]

Lobby your MP to make your work environment safer

Why don't you, and all the other parents complaining about the situation with schools at the moment, lobby their MPs to ensure that schools are safe as they can be for both for students and safe and that schools have the money they need to manage the specifics of the pandemic effectively?

[Walkaround]

“It’s called parenting” has to win a prize as the favoured Mumsnet rude and patronising comment.

[roguetomato]

@chaosrabbitland

its enough to drive me nuts , from the 11 june my dds whole form and 3 others was sent home to isolate for 10 days , when i took her back on monday it was a disorganized mess and they werent letting any of them into the school until 11 am when theyd finished pissing about with the lateral flow tests that dd and several of her friends are opted out of , so even though those opted out should have been allowed straight in as per the email the school sent me , they made them wait outside anyway , she got fed up of it and rang me wanting to come home , so shes literally only had 2 days and lo and behold , the school ring me at work , boy in the form has tested positve and they have just decided to send home the whole lot again for another 10 days .

this farce has only come about since these lft were given to schools and are now being used , its just absolutly ridulous and im starting to wonder if shes going to be at home more than at school . the only parents taking it seriously must be the ones doing these tests , as when i went up to the gate , one mum collecting was reassuring her son and his mate that they would be meeting up for a playdate and my dd spoke to her friend in the form whos mum had taken her to sainsburys , she is opted out of testing like my dd , and the school are sending them home to isolate when in reality i bet most of them actually arent anyway

Wow, easy to see why the school keep having positive cases. Parents proud of children opting out for lft, blatantly disregard SI. No wonder, don't you see?
On the contrary, my dc's school kept mask since last Sept, still testing twice a week, haven had even 1 SI yet.

[Lilibet2022]

After the past two years I find that school staff are pretty hot on up to date guidance as we have to quote it constantly to people!!

@yeahdarling yes so I which is why I commented on it as thought it was odd. If you had a pound for every time you had to say "sorry we're just following government guidelines" eh?

Why don't you, and all the other parents complaining about the situation with schools at the moment, lobby their MPs to ensure that schools are safe as they can be for both for students and safe and that schools have the money they need to manage the specifics of the pandemic effectively?

Getawaywithit there is already a campaign group calling for better ventilation and mitigation measures in schools but unfortunately they don't have their own pr support like the 'grassroots' UFT do. I'm not complaining I was simply pointing out to someone else complaining that if they don't want schools to close again to push for safer measures.

[Lilibet2022]

this farce has only come about since these lft were given to schools and are now being used , its just absolutly ridulous

This farce hadn't come about since lfts at all. Lots of pupils got sent home long before lfts were introduced including my own

[Lilibet2022]

It’s called parenting” has to win a prize as the favoured Mumsnet rude and patronising comment.

Okay I'll bite. It IS called parenting / life / shit we have to deal with as parents who work etc. Juggling childcare when one has to self isolate or when someone is ill normally has always been something we've had to deal with. It's a ballache but we all manage somehow. But sure I'm the rude one for pointing that out and not the people saying teachers are just looking for an excuse to not ruin their holiday.

[beingsunny]

We just had one case of a yr 3 girl with Covid confirmed on Tuesday, they moved to homeschooling for the rest of the week partly because the holidays started today for 2 weeks.

That was the advice from health.

[Lilibet2022]

@Quartz2208 there's no social distancing in a secondary either if you think about the teenagers and what little social distancing they have between them two but yes you may be right. I think it depends. One friend I had had two DDs in 2 different years one was sent home to isolate the other not despite the fact they all used the same entrance and same lunch time. I think the duration of the time you're sat or stood next to a positive pupil or staff member plays a big factor too.

[StaffRepFeistyClub]

The problem we now have is that a significant number of teachers had track and trace notifications to self-isolate. So lots of teaching staff getting notifications means that it is not safe to open the school. The concern is that it was a former year 11 prank.

I would much rather be teaching in class rather than this on-line malarky

[CrappyBirthday2Me]

Why are we sending kids home for a virus that affects them not at all or mildly, when the adult population are largely vaccinated and certainly the vulnerable are? Why are we letting people crowd into stadiums and fuck off abroad but not letting healthy children GO TO SCHOOL?! I’ve seriously seriously had enough of this bullshit.

[Lilibet2022]

@StaffRepFeistyClub is that even possible? Can they do that through the app surely that can only be done if they've tested positive and there's evidence?

[Lilibet2022]

Why are we sending kids home for a virus that affects them not at all or mildly, when the adult population are largely vaccinated and certainly the vulnerable are?

80,000 children with long covid have not been affected mildly and these children go home to vulnerable family members. Not everyone has been fully vaccinated yet despite the government's blarney.

[Lilibet2022]

The vulnerable have not all been vaccinated. There were thousands of school aged children who were on the shielding list now expected in school by law if not homeschooling of course. That's thousands of clinically vulnerable children mixing with hundreds of unvaccinated households daily. So no they haven't all been vaccinated. My parent with terminal cancer only very recently got their second dose.

[CrappyBirthday2Me]

80,000 children with long covid have not been affected mildly and these children go home to vulnerable family members. Not everyone has been fully vaccinated yet despite the government's blarney.

Not everyone needs to be fully vaccinated! Remember ‘groups 1 - 6’? I knew someone would trot out ‘long Covid’. Your stats about long Covid are totally unproven and post-viral illness has always existed and we haven’t even bothered tracking it in the past let alone kick healthy kids out of school to protect others from catching any virus that might cause it.

[CrappyBirthday2Me]

The vulnerable have not all been vaccinated. There were thousands of school aged children who were on the shielding list now expected in school by law if not homeschooling of course.

That’s because stats show very clearly that even previously considered vulnerable children aren’t at risk from Covid.