AIBU to hope that school bubble isolation soon stop and to ask what you think is a viable alternative.

[Moelwynbach]

I'be been listening to radio 4 today and also read a Guardian article advising 1/4 million pupils missed school last week due the required 10 day isolation period.

The Minister for Education is calling for an end to the regulation stating that September is too long to wait. MPs have called for immediate change on 19th July.

My own thoughts are:

• School bubble shut downs disproportionately affect women as the main care giver. Affecting long term career options.
• Infection rates in poorer areas are higher, children in these areas are already at a disadvantage educationally.
• The time away from school is widening an already significant socio-economic divide. *Children from less well of families have less opportunities to access technology and internet.
• Parents cannot teach as well as a teacher. It is a skilled job.
• Many parents who have zero hours contracts will repeatedly have their child sent home and cannot earn money.
• Many parents like me cannot teach and work from home at the same time.....My kid just doesn't work that way he is 5.
• What happens after all the annual leave is used? I'm the main earner and can't afford to take unpaid leave.

To this end I agree that something needs to change it is not sustainable for children or carers. At some point we need to accept that this is part of lives. I'm not saying we need to all run out and carry on as normal but how we do sustain this unpredictably? What would be the best scenario for you? Mine would be for no requirement to self isolate unless you are the infected child.

I'm trying to form my thoughts and so many things whizzing through my head.

Flumposie are you not vaccinated?

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland
I know a few doctors working on Covid wards and in paediatrics and all saying they are not seeing any severely affected young kids.

Funny how people always know doctors on Covid wards when they disagree with someone about Covid facts. Your comment sounds bollocks to me.

I am as CEV, but people who are double jabbed are still catching covid and being ill.

Vaccinate over 12s.
Dh is a teacher in his 40s and has just had his second injection - so not protected by it yet. Shame teachers couldn't have been made a priority group earlier isn't it? And they aren't a priority for booster vaccines either. We need as many people vaccinated as possible to reduce unrestricted thread, it's licenced for teens so why not do it?

I would like the vaccination for any child over 12 whose parents want them to have it.

The parents who decide against it can opt for them self-isolate, LFD test or send them to school if they want. I’d have all of my own kids done tomorrow.

I don't think it's a case of 'letting COVID rip', but developing strategies to cope with it
“Strategies to cope with it” are masks and social distancing, but they want to get rid of those!

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

No alternative is needed. Teachers should all have had opportunities to get the vaccine by now and by september should all be fully double jabbed. Bubbles wont be needed, children are at extremely low risk regarding Covid. There should be provision for parents to choose to keep their child off if they are worried about it for some reason, without being hammered about attendance, but other than that there should be no need to retain the bubbles/require isolation.

What about provision for CEV staff or staff who can't be vaccinated? Or for staff with CEV family members?

Strategies to cope is let us vaccinate the children so we can get herd immunity.
Then lst those vaccinated ones not isolate for contact.
This way is because gov have messed up again or been unlucky with the vaccines but they cant be honest. As usual.

Double jab staff and then only send ‘ill’ children home, like we would for a vomiting bug or flu. Bubbles are not sustainable and are proving so disruptive to pupils and staff alike.

@Albien

I don't think it's a case of 'letting COVID rip', but developing strategies to cope with it “Strategies to cope with it” are masks and social distancing, but they want to get rid of those!

Masks went a while ago in schools, they still have some social distancing/bubble measures. Thinking about schools specifically, testing would be the easiest thing to do with vaccinations a very close second. I know my teen would jump at the chance of a vaccination despite never needing to self-isolate yet, still counting the days to the end of term

Interestingly, the latest positive case in a school near here has gone back to sending home close contacts only rather than the whole year group. PHE must have changed their advice.

@ChicChaos. No, most schools are still enforcing masks. And No, PHE have not changed their advice. They judge on a case by case basis, according to how rigorous social distancing, disinfection, ventilation and mask wearing has been around the infected child

[quote LadyPenelope68]@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland
I know a few doctors working on Covid wards and in paediatrics and all saying they are not seeing any severely affected young kids.

Funny how people always know doctors on Covid wards when they disagree with someone about Covid facts. Your comment sounds bollocks to me.[/quote]
Probably because the original post being referred to was not in any way a fact. It was so statistically unlikely that bollox is the most likely explanation...

I don’t think it was statistically unlikely at all. Not to anyone who understands statistics

At primary, close contacts are the whole class - they can’t socially distance effectively.

Don't imagine there is any social distancing going on in secondary classrooms either!

Hospitalization rates are remaining low,, which suggests that being double jabbed means although you may get ill you should only be mildly affected. That does not warrant kids being subjected to isolation who do not have Covid.

Untrue we have had 3 kids in hospital in the past 2 weeks from our school one is at risk of dying. All under 5s. We have also had 4 contacts from the school - in hospital, one of which will likely die today - who is 33. We have a member of staff who is fit (competes in a certain sport) and is in a very bad way. She is double vaccinated

Really? That's, um, unlucky......

If this were true, I'm pretty sure this would make the news as the chances of this happening all at the same time in one school are absolutely tiny.

Also, it's July, so all 3 of the Reception children at your school in hospital all happen to be late summer borns as well?

I do think they should vaccinate 12-18 if only for preventing them infecting others/incubating variants.

It looks like they might go for lateral flow test every day instead of isolation, which isn't thay effective but maybe good enough in a mostly vaxxed country.

We've been lucky so far as only one DC has had an isolation (back in October and due to INSET days she only missed about 5 days of school) so far, also my kids are a bit older. I won't be bothered if they miss the rest of the term, as it's not like much learning is happening, but it would be a shame if they get a contact at the end of term as they'd have to miss out on a week or so of holiday activities.

I don't believe for a second that all parents would do daily lateral flow tests instead of isolation. You would not have any way to check they were being done either.

Tinysalmonswimminginastream You don't have to believe me but sadly it is the truth.

We have 50% summer borns in our EYFS.

t only affects women more if that’s the set up at home but it doesn’t have to be and many share the parenting duties between the couple.

Ah if only it were that simple. All the evidence shows that women have been disproportionately disadvantaged due to the pandemic. School closures are just one aspect of that - but a significant one.

@Awalkintime

Tinysalmonswimminginastream You don't have to believe me but sadly it is the truth.

We have 50% summer borns in our EYFS.

Well I just looked it up and at the beginning of June the average daily number of hospital admissions for the entire 0-5 age group for the whole of England, was around 4. In March 2021 the number of children in the entire 0-5 age bracket who had died within 28 days of a positive Covid test was 3.

But in your school alone there are 3 children just in the age 4-5 bracket in hospital, one at risk of death, plus 4 more people from the school in hospital, one likely to die at 33 and another double vaccinated member of staff 'in a bad way'?

No I don't believe you, I'm afraid.

I didn't say 4 people from the school, I said 4 links to the school as in people who have been infected from others in school. We have a couple who have both been ill in hospital and the child is being looked after elsewhere and 2 relatives of a member of staff.

Said child at risk is on oxygen normally, his condition means he uses oxygen daily so yes he is at risk. He is often ventilated in a normal year.

You don't have to believe me, you can think what you want. Put your head in the sand if you wish.

@Awalkintime

I didn't say 4 people from the school, I said 4 links to the school as in people who have been infected from others in school. We have a couple who have both been ill in hospital and the child is being looked after elsewhere and 2 relatives of a member of staff.

Said child at risk is on oxygen normally, his condition means he uses oxygen daily so yes he is at risk. He is often ventilated in a normal year.

You don't have to believe me, you can think what you want. Put your head in the sand if you wish.

Well conversely, there has been a fairly large outbreak of Covid at my kids school recently and I know of about 10 people who are currently positive (kids, adults, single jabbed, double jabbed) and the worst symptoms they have had between them is sore throat, slight temperature, feeling a bit tired and G and Ts not tasting right.

I don't know what you are talking about 'head in the sand'. The data doesn't back up what you are saying at all, so I do not have any reason to be particularly worried.

I am very sorry if it is true what is happening at your school, but it is not reflected at all in the national statistics. If what was happening at your school was happening all over the country then the national data would look very different.

The Minister for Education is calling for an end to the regulation stating that September is too long to wait. MPs have called for immediate change on 19th July.

Schools in my area break up on the 16th. People I know in other areas break up on the 21st. What in earth is the point of changing anything before September?!