COVID test every time your child has a cough

[Jenbot78]

Hi, has anyone else been in this position? DD (3) has been back at the childminders for 5 weeks now. She has already had a snotty nose and cough for which we got a COVID test which was negative. We had to get another one last night as she again had a cough.

I understand why we need to do this (to stop spread) but it is SO disruptive! It affects both mine and DHs work as we can’t go back until we get the test results!

Turnaround was less than 24 hours last time but that still meant juggling work around.

Yesterday’s test was a nightmare as DD got wise to what we needed to do (last time PP on the ipad distracted enough...)

I’m just interested in other people’s experiences when their children have developed coughs and snotty nose?

I feel winter term will be a nightmare if every time there is a new cough we have to self isolate until we get test results! My son will be starting childcare so I don’t know what we’ll do as I remember DD being perpetually ill in that first year 😱.

I fear this will have horrible effect on women in the workplace. Let’s face it, most of the rearranging of working hours, having to take days off with children with mild symptoms etc is going to come down to mums!

@MrsWhites exactly! And I am apparently a much needed part of nhs staff, no idea what I will do which is why I’m hoping some form of agreement can be met if the test is negative

The tests we have already can be turned around in hours. They just aren't. Test and contact tracing are the only way through next year. Maybe ask your MP why they don't put more £££ into turning tests around quickly

But Test and Trace is a bit of a joke because it is not being done properly. I have been in two pubs, the first one is inside a park, massive space outdoors. The first time I went to order, they asked for my name and number, then my partner and a friend who was with us went for two more rounds and they didn’t ask for anything (they had no idea who they were or where they were seated, this is a pub with a massive space at the back with tables and benches and there is no service from the waiters there, you take your own drinks).

This Saturday we went to another pub, to have lunch in the beer garden. When we entered the pub there was a sign in the door for an app or website and the girl at the door told us we needed to go to the website, enter the postcode, name of pub and registering the date/names/telephone numbers. But that’s it, she just asked us to do it, but nobody actually checked that we had done it at all, we could have not done it and they wouldn’t have known.

Track and trace is not done properly.
I wouldn’t put much hope on it.

Luckily my DD is not ill very much, but She is starting nursery in September and I wonder what happens in somebody in her class devlops symptoms. What happens then? All of the class need a test? It is going to be crazy!

@piscis

The tests we have already can be turned around in hours. They just aren't. Test and contact tracing are the only way through next year. Maybe ask your MP why they don't put more £££ into turning tests around quickly

But Test and Trace is a bit of a joke because it is not being done properly. I have been in two pubs, the first one is inside a park, massive space outdoors. The first time I went to order, they asked for my name and number, then my partner and a friend who was with us went for two more rounds and they didn’t ask for anything (they had no idea who they were or where they were seated, this is a pub with a massive space at the back with tables and benches and there is no service from the waiters there, you take your own drinks).

This Saturday we went to another pub, to have lunch in the beer garden. When we entered the pub there was a sign in the door for an app or website and the girl at the door told us we needed to go to the website, enter the postcode, name of pub and registering the date/names/telephone numbers. But that’s it, she just asked us to do it, but nobody actually checked that we had done it at all, we could have not done it and they wouldn’t have known.

Track and trace is not done properly.
I wouldn’t put much hope on it.

Luckily my DD is not ill very much, but She is starting nursery in September and I wonder what happens in somebody in her class devlops symptoms. What happens then? All of the class need a test? It is going to be crazy!

If everyone was tested, result two hours later, get on with the day, it wouldn't be such a big deal. 999/1000 (more at the moment) it's going to be a false alarm. If it takes 3 days every time ...a lot more of a big deal

We could stop paying for discounts on people's meals and throw it all into testing

We currently have a crap system due to government incompetence, and the app development was given to someone with connections to certain MPs rather than to a company with any expertise. Those are government failings, not unfortunate circumstances

They also need to work on the sensitivity and specificity of the test.

DS had a bit of a cough and a snotty nose all last week. No temp, not a constant cough so just a cold. Possibly a bit of hayfever. Nursery never asked us to get him a test or isolate so they seem to be being pretty sensible about it.

@DappledThings hope other areas will be sensible as well, my eldest has Hayfever, started sneezing/coughing, eyes streaming, itchy throat but I knew it was that as she always gets it but I bet could be easily mistaken by other people

I'm not going to test my children every time they get a cough. Especially if it involves swabbing up the nose. I'm simply not doing it.

@Spinakker Unfortunately I will have to do this if it is a requirement for quick return to school otherwise I might as well give up my job now

@Spinakker

I'm not going to test my children every time they get a cough. Especially if it involves swabbing up the nose. I'm simply not doing it.

You don't have to test them, you can stay at home and off childcare/school for 14 days instead.

It's going to be crap for education - I mean, the continuity of education, rather than education as an 'industry'. By mid October there are going to be between 5 and 10 children out of a class at any given time. a) who is providing online work and feedback for those children, b) who is catching them up when they get back? It's asking teachers to do two jobs - provide online learning/feedback AND a normal school day of teaching and marking, but also then trying to juggle children at different stages in the learning journey the whole time.

@ohthegoats I think the idea is schools use Oak Academy more so children at home can keep up but using the Oak Academy stuff.

24 hour turnaround is not so bad. We were recently tested as my daughter caught a cold and cough.
As we don't have a car we did the postal test, her results were 4 days from requesting the test and mine were 5 days. Not sure what winter is going to look like!

Sandie,

The problem is that unless schools stick exactly to the same sequence of lessons as Oak Academy, it isn't possible to pick it up for a few days at home and then return to the right place in the sequence of school lessons.

So for example, in school we might be doing a very successful 3 weeks of work on a popular English text, which we have chosen to appeal to our students and for which we have a sequence of lessons to deliver NC objectives for that year group.

There isn't a 'parallel' sequence of lessons on exactly that book as part of oak, so while if the whole bubble / school closes, we can fairly easily move everyone onto a combination of central and bespoke online learning (as we did during lockdown), but a child missing a few days while being tested, or 14 days isolating with their family, can't just pick up Oak Academy work and be in the right place when they get back to school.

@cantkeepawayforever isn’t Oak academy going to release their plans in advance for September though so schools can match up?
Alternatively schools can have there own online stuff planned.

Sandie, that isn't really my point. I have looked at the Oak Academy English plan for the year group I work in.

Compared with the texts we use in school, the texts chosen - probably for good reasons to do with copyright etc - are less engaging and less suitable for my particular setting.

So we either have to 'go with Oak' for safety, acknowledge that the teaching and texts will not be of our usual standard but at least the backup is there, or go for what we usually do, knowing we can achieve really high quality outcomes but also knowing that if a child is of for a few days, we cannot use Oak as a backup.

It may be that we start as normal, realise that following what we normally do is utterly impossible and revert (hopefully for a single year) to Oak plans to support uncontrolled and frequent moves into and out of school.

Our school stopped using oak academy after a few weeks anyway. I know my child and a couple of others hadn’t engaged very well with it. To be honest I think it was a combination of the lower quality texts than they are usually taught and also the delivery was quite patronising at times I felt.

If the whole family has been tested due to a child's cough and all negative its absolutely crazy to keep them all out of school..I know the test isn't perfect but a number of negatives suggests child really hadn't got.. .

If they do enforce it parents will work around.. Ie ring to say gave vomitting bug or alike, still send other kids in and send affected back when cough over.. Likely faster than 14 days at home... I'd like to think would also covid test to make sure as results are so fast now... But who can say...

This guidance is what all schools and eyfs should be following.

It is ridiculous to say they have to self isolate after a negative test. All they have to do is ask to see the email or text that shows the negative test result.

Our childcare allow them to go back after a negative result.

If people dont bother to test
The bubble will carry on with the infection growing until the next person with symptoms gets ill. Which could be a child's parents so might not even seem linked to school.

• if this is say a childminder or private nursery and you have agreed you would test for symptoms and then dont they might cancel your place as you are putting them and all the other children at risk.

If you send your child back to school you are agreeing that they will be tested.
Otherwise why should other people test for you? Would you not rather know so can avoid meeting grandparents etc?

However if tests take 5 days to come back with an average incubation of 5 days the contacts are 50% likely to already be contagious.

@Keepdistance tests are not mandatory so I don’t agree that by sending your child back to school you are agreeing to testing. Plus I don’t think most people on this thread have a problem with testing as such, they have a problem with repeated testing for every cough children will inevitably get during the winter period, and also with schools interpretation of the guidelines insisting that children still have to isolate even after receiving a negative result.

Maybe school places should be withdrawn for refusal to test. Children could be taking it home to vulnerable family members, passing it to staff etc.

@IceCreamAndCandyfloss school places are not withdrawn for refusal to vaccinate so why should they be withdrawn for failure to test? People are far more likely to test if schools allowed children back as soon as they have received a negative result.

People are agreeing to test by sending them back.
It's not like people dont know it's

• likely their child will get a cough or fever
• know that they will need to get a test

• If people refuse schools will all shut
• teachers will get ill (or strike or leave)
• people will start to remove kids from school

This is what gov and us 4 them are emding up with because of no SD and you cannot have it all which ways. Back in school for everyone including vulnerable and fines. And people refusing to test.
Also bear in mind other parents (and teachers) will know which parent this is and who is refusing to test and so letting it potentially spread.

The pp was literally saying they wouldnt swab their dc.

Yes it is rubbish and i really dont want to do this. I wouldnt have sent all the kids back would have done PT and masks in secondary as minimum.
But from the teacher (and other perspective) why wouldnt they be incredibly angry with you not testing it means the teacher has to continue teaching potentially a class full of infectious children.
Think of the ECV they may remove their child when there is a suspected case but if there is no testing how would they know when it is 'safe' to go back? Do you think a shielding or over 50 teacher should just carry on teaching

"If you send your child back to school you are agreeing that they will be tested."

I don't disagree with mine being tested but I know that I can't do it. I can't pin down a teenager and force something in his mouth and nose. There needs to be testing provision in place for young people with his needs. As a vulnerable child he should be in school.