When will our children get HEPA filters in their classrooms? I am so tired of my children constantly being ill and missing school!

[Annemcc32]

I can't believe we are still waiting for HEPA filters in classrooms, they were talking about this in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and STILL they have done nothing! What exactly are they waiting for at this point? There's tons of evidence that they work to remove viruses from the air.
My kids have had Covid 4 times so far and were both very ill. How can they defend doing nothing to prevent staff and children? They have a duty of care to provide a safe environment.
The MOST annoying thing is that clean air IS provided in the Houses of Parliament, many private schools and even the DfE!!
Other countries have already done this now and it reduces transmission of airborne viruses to offer a layer of protection and reduce illness/absence.
I noticed that one council has committed to it just recently (Herefordshire I think). Why is this not being sorted out ASAP before the kids go back in September?
Why are we so bad at protecting our kids?
Not to mention that IF bird flu takes off (no pun intended) this would help. Where did public health go? The UKHSA seem to have taken a sabbatical for the last four years.

There are more studies if you like.

We can remove almost all of the Covid particles on a Covid ward.

https://www.cuh.nhs.uk/news/air-filters-on-wards-remove-almost-all-airborne-covid-virus/

Do you believe pollution doesn't exist in the UK? There is a lot of evidence for air filters wherever you put them.

https://www.surrey.ac.uk/news/air-filters-and-scheduled-window-opening-can-reduce-classroom-pollution-36-surrey-study

As cheap as so yes you can spend more... as with most things!

100,000 of kids with long covid 2 million adults! You dont build immunity to covid

The idea of Herd Immunity has been so widely debunked and it's absurd to see such anti-science claptrap being spouted here as if it's fact.
Parents: please protect your kids!
My daughter has watched me deteriorate before her eyes due to 4 and a half years of Long Covid.

Definitely a good idea as they will clear the airborne viruses, allergens and polluting particles. Who wouldn't want to breathe cleaner air?! There is so much illness around now even in summer and anything that can keep me healthy to parent, esp as a widow doing it alone,is a good thing. I have some HEPAs at home and they are cheap to run, like a lightbulb, and stopped me catching what my kids bring home from school. I know that schools are poorly ventilated and my school had to close to 2 yr groups due to covid outbreak in Feb. Staff absence is high, as well as pupils, and I saw on 22-3 school budget the supply costs have increased in the last yr by 18% a 15k increase. You have to spend to save and this is an investment in health and wellbeing which surely is top priority!

Nobody is saying we shouldn't do this too! They are discriminatory against children with health conditions anyway.

100% agree. My kids health is my priority.

Teachers shouldn't have to do this either. We know they do. But it shouldn't be a race to the bottom we should all be fighting for the best for our children (and that includes clean air to keep them healthy).

Well they'll all be disabled from COVID soon so your class won't be as busy.

The idea of Herd Immunity has been so widely debunked and it's absurd to see such anti-science claptrap being spouted here as if it's fact.
Parents: please protect your kids!
My daughter has watched me deteriorate before her eyes due to 4 and a half years of Long Covid.

I wasn't talking about herd immunity. I was talking about diet.

Well they'll all be disabled from COVID soon so your class won't be as busy.

That's good then. 👍

It's not possible to cure yourself from a multi-system disabling virus with a good diet.
Or prevent it.
I was in great shape, eating a great diet, before I got Long Covid. Covid doesn't care.

The suggestion is not that they won't get sick but that it will be beneficial to their health and they will be sick less.

Lots seem to think so. Or else you'd be campaigning to keep them safe.

Yea I'm not convinced about this. Scrapping the bullshit rewards around attendance would help, and I say this as someone who had a type 1 diabetic DD who never got an award because she had appointments during school time and a child who missed out on a school trip for all the 'good attendees' because he had a hernia operation and had three days off. Ridiculous. Also making family leave better for parents to care for an ill child rather than feeling pressured to send them back too early because of attendance numbers and pressure from work. All of that would help but we cannot live in a hepa filtered world. My children have suffered very little from school illnesses, thank goodness, but we've all had COVID with two of us affected long term. I caught it at a party with adults. My OH company really exert pressure on people to stay in work even if they test positive for COVID! There's so much that goes into this and hepa isn't going to solve it.

It's not possible to cure yourself from a multi-system disabling virus with a good diet.
Or prevent it.
I was in great shape, eating a great diet, before I got Long Covid. Covid doesn't care.

But the OP wasn't trying to cure her child of a multi system disabling virus. She said they had poor immunity and were sick a lot.

Schools need decent heating and air con systems before air filters. I've taught in rooms ranging from 2-34 degrees.

Open the windows? Play outside? Walk to school? Drop house heating levels? Play in mud, no daily showering etc. Build up at natural immunity.

In Ireland the children bring their own stationery, it’s really not that expensive to get them for your own dc, most children have stationery at home anyway. It should’nt come out of the teachers pocket!

Looks like the OP brought all of their mates from the long covid FB group over for a scrap!
@Annemcc32 start a campaign, fundraise, lobby the government if you (and your many friends) are so passionate about this. Otherwise you’re just ranting on the internet to people who can’t help you. At the very least I’m assuming you have a link to a petition that people could sign if they wanted?

But given schools have to pay ~£160 a day for supply staff a few days off not only costs schools financially but also in lost learning (as staff have to reteach). Plus there are pupils absences and long term impacts to health (this isn't just Covid but it reduces pollen, pollution, mould, pathogens etc. improving asthma). Infections can trigger health conditions.

There is plenty of evidence on efficacy for short term absences - although it is important how the devices are positioned for optimum effects.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950362024000316?via%3Dihub

It also improves grades!

www.vox.com/2020/1/8/21051869/indoor-air-pollution-student-achievement

Holy smokes just come right out and say your kids health means nothing to you. You don't care that they're sick, that one single COVID infection could permanently disable them. Blimey. Why use seatbelts at this point? Why wash hands? I really hope some of you read this back and realise you voted "no" to your kids breathing clean air. Then justified your response with the monetary cost. Wow. Just... Wow.

I work in pharma too. There are literally studies that show that HEPA filters in classrooms not only reduce sickness absence among staff and pupils but has a knock on effect to community transmission as well. It’s not rocket science.

Know this isn’t AIBU. OP but YANBU. We’re going to look pretty bloody stupid in about 10-20years time when the wider population realise we’ve knowingly damaged our children’s long term health and could have reduced the risks but decided it wasn’t worth the bother.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/17/sick-children-health-worsening-record-numbers-wait-for-nhs-care-in-england
This is from last year but I'd be surprised if numbers had improved

This is crackers. The education budget doesn't extend to this. I support flu and covid shots being made available largely at the expense of the individual and better provision for at home learning for when kids are ill.

You don’t really believe we are still
waiting for filters so you? It was never going to happen and nor should it.

I work in a school and if the higher ups decided to buy air filters instead of paying for everything we actually need, I’d think they’d lost their minds. Until we have enough staff who are paid properly, we can access additional services, we have enough resources to provide for childrens learning in suitable buildings that are maintained properly, buying air filters is pure stupidity.