To think this class should be closed?

[Jenster03]

I'm a part time primary teacher and in the space of two weeks, 14 children have tested positive out of 30 in my class.
We've had 2 or 3 return in that time, but more and more are testing positive. Now my teaching assistant has it.
AIBU to think we should be sending the class home and remote learning? How would you feel if you were a parent of a child in my class?
Oh, and I'm pretty anxious about my level of exposure too!

And what is working age? Up till 67?

My ds is in secondary and some of his classes were 14/30 last month. Local public health ordered measures like whole school pcr, masks in classrooms etc but didn't move to remote learning even though they are old enough not to need an adult at home

I would love to have all your holidays. (Has that been covered yet along with the blitz and NHS staff?)

.

Yeah, all those unpaid holidays. ✅

@Sherrystrull

It's not hysteria, it's reality. I've seen it go through 25% of the staff in my school in the last half term and seen the effect on everyone. People with CEV relatives are scared. People are exhausted from doing the job of two or three extra people.

Open your eyes.

I don’t believe that 25% of your school’s staff were seriously ill with covid.

They are of working age, why should they be prioritised when they are not in a vulnerable category?

Why are NHS staff prioritised for a booster? They are of working age as well.

@julieca

Sheikh all children virtually have been removed from CEV. So what proportion of adults of working age from all adults are cev? Also do you have a link for that? Because the figure released before was much higher.

Yes, I posted the link to the ONS data up thread.

It covers all people who were working before the shielding advice came into being at the start of the pandemic. As you correctly state, that number has fallen since then to be an even smaller percentage of the population.

My point is that people are massively overestimating the number of working age adults who are likely to become seriously ill with Covid.

The actual figures are much lower, and I think people are conflating those who would just prefer not to catch it, with people who are likely to become seriously ill from it.

@SheikhMaraca

They weren't all seriously ill. However 10 days absence for multiple staff is enough to cause massive disruption.

They are of working age, why should they be prioritised when they are not in a vulnerable category?

Because if they get ill - as a number of double vaccinated teachers I know have - they won’t be in school teaching your children.
And by the way, there is a shortage of supply teachers right now. So actually no one might be teaching your children. Tough.

[quote Sherrystrull]@SheikhMaraca

They weren't all seriously ill. However 10 days absence for multiple staff is enough to cause massive disruption. [/quote]
The idea of 10 days isolation is a political decision, not a medical one.

I agree that this should be scrapped, it’s a very disruptive policy to have adopted,

@Howshouldibehave

They are of working age, why should they be prioritised when they are not in a vulnerable category?

Why are NHS staff prioritised for a booster? They are of working age as well.

Because NHS staff work with CEV people.

Teachers work with the lowest risk group of all (DC) so of course they shouldn’t be prioritised.

What a daft question!

I don’t believe that 25% of your school’s staff were seriously ill with covid.

And I don’t see that claim in her post. You made it up.

@borntobequiet

They are of working age, why should they be prioritised when they are not in a vulnerable category?

Because if they get ill - as a number of double vaccinated teachers I know have - they won’t be in school teaching your children.
And by the way, there is a shortage of supply teachers right now. So actually no one might be teaching your children. Tough.

They won’t get seriously ill though, the facts on this point are really clear.

An adult, of working age with normal BMI is very, very unlikely to become seriously ill with Covid.

I really think we should do everything we can to keep children in school. That being said, it's awful to be at work if you're worried about your health and about the children's. Try to follow all guidelines you can and encourage children to stay home if they have a cough, before a pcr, and make sure you get a flu jab.

Most teachers won't be due a booster yet anyway even if they planned to do them. I had my jabs early due to a quirk in how my role was classed and I'm not due til November. No idea whether I'm getting one or not.

I absolutely think teachers should have had some priority in the initial roll out and think it was a political decision not to include them but an upside of that is their immunity from the vaccine shouldn't be waning yet. If they had it earlier as a priority group then they should be entitled to a booster as part of that group.

Definitely think all teacher should be able to have boosters when due if they want to.

"I agree that this should be scrapped, it’s a very disruptive policy to have adopted,"

Why? Because it's inconvenient to you? The policy was adopted, on advice from, you know, actual experts in science and medicine, due to the fact we're dealing with a global pandemic that has killed several million people already.

"What a daft question!"
Not daft at all. And you haven't acknowledged my point earlier, which was: "You want schools open and fully-staffed? Then get behind supporting booster vaccinations for the people you're going to want to facilitate that."

Teachers work with the lowest risk group of all (DC) so of course they shouldn’t be prioritised.

Now that’s an interesting, illogical and misleading claim. Children might not be at high risk of serious illness themselves, but they are in fact the demographic with the highest infection rate at present. So school staff (TAs especially, who work closely with children) are very much at risk from children, who spread infection prolifically.
That’s why they should be prioritised for boosters.

"They won’t get seriously ill though, the facts on this point are really clear."

"An adult, of working age with normal BMI is very, very unlikely to become seriously ill with Covid."

You know, it REALLY pisses me off when randoms on the internet decide whether or not I should be OK to catch Covid. Vaxxed or not, I still reserve the right to prefer to NOT catch it from children (or anyone, for that matter) who have been sent into school when they are quite likely to be infectious.

Ok. Of the 25% of staff with covid (which I think is an absolutely shocking amount of people by the way) 50% of them were bedridden and likened it to the flu. Some are struggling to return to full health. A couple have come back and then gone on the sick as their health now means they cannot currently cope with life in school.

Two classes have barely seen their teacher since the beginning of the year.

It had and is causing massive disruption. Two staff out of four in my team being off has made my already crazy work life almost unmanageable. We have no displays up in school, I've barely heard a child read, many of my books are unmarked. This is not me.

A supply teacher needs a huge amount of support, other teachers need to pick up extra planning and duties. Children off with covid means I have to provide remote learning which doubles my workload again.

They won’t get seriously ill though, the facts on this point are really clear.

I alone have three quite seriously ill ex-colleagues (I’m retired). One has been ill for three months and has cardiac and thyroid problems, previously a fit and healthy 40 year old man. Though many don’t get seriously ill, some do. No one knows before the fact who will be badly affected - that’s why all need to be vaccinated, or given a booster to supplement waning immunity.

Stay at home then

I hear you, @Sherrystrull.
It's insane, and non-school staff just do not get it.

@Lightswitch123

Stay at home then

Who are you aiming this helpful nugget of advice to?

[quote julieca]@Hyly68 that is a strawman. I have seen no one argue for long term closures of schools. But when covid is running riot through a class then it affects any parent in that class who cannot work from home.[/quote]
I was responding to a poster that said children should be kept at home until their age group is vaccinated. So yes there are posters wanting this.

A poster.