We are actually going to be testing our kids all the time aren't we

[yukka]

Dd (1yr) got sent home from nursery with 'a bit of a temp' yesterday, it just about reached 38. She had the MMR jab on Wednesday. She was poorly Wednesday, better Thursday and fine Friday am hence sent her in on Friday. By 1:30 her temp was up.

We had to go for a covid test as she's not allowed back until we confirm it's not that.

Thankfully the process was straightforward but it really made me realise how often we will have to do this over the next year.

Because she had a temp on Wednesday (surely from mmr) you have 5 days from first symptoms to get a test. if the test is inconclusive we can try another one tonight/ tomorrow or we have to assume she has it and isolate.

It's really hard to get a stick down to your 1 yr olds tonsils for 10 seconds... I have a gut feeling we will be isolating. And gutted as she only started nursery on Monday having being delayed due to covid and was doing really well.

On the flip side, of course hoping she doesn't have it and mmr is masking symptoms. We've followed all the rules throughout this pandemic it would be a shame if her first week of normality led her to be sick.

@Lilybet1980 well a guidance needs to be agreed across the board because I can foresee my children being sent home for coughing even if it is just the cold?

[quote AlaskaThunderfuckHiiiiiiiii]@Lilybet1980 well a guidance needs to be agreed across the board because I can foresee my children being sent home for coughing even if it is just the cold?[/quote]
Totally agree, it'll be a potential nonstop cough fest for some families, it can't be right they lose their jobs.

The guidance is clear for schools/ nurseries temperature, new persistent cough or loss of taste/smell. Unfortunately these are also symptoms of other things but that’s why testing is so important or isolating if not. Currently don’t see what else they can do

[quote AlaskaThunderfuckHiiiiiiiii]@Lilybet1980 well a guidance needs to be agreed across the board because I can foresee my children being sent home for coughing even if it is just the cold?[/quote]
Yes you are right, they need to test if they have a cough. I just meant you don’t always get a fever and a cough with a cold.

The 90 minute tests will be an absolute game changer if they can be used in a school or nursery setting.

@Lilybet1980

But you don’t need to test for every standard cold. Only if they get a temp or persistent cough (or loss if taste/smell). A snotty nose is not a symptom. And the turnaround time of tests is rapid. I had same day result for a drive through test. Postal tests are about 4 days from order to result.

We were also told if it’s too hard with young kids just to get the nasal swab and not to do the throat swab.

And yet read the threads in here where a kid has a typical cold, no temp and posters are saying yes, you have to get tested, you have to isolate and tell nursery/school because some people have tested positive and didn't have the core symptoms. So if you've got parents who are asking on here or who are really worried, just calling up nursery and school saying "Murphy isn't coming in today, he's unwell, were getting him tested, we think he has it" that's the whole class / bubble out until the test results child in

My understanding is actually that it's only children who have been in close proximity with a student who has tested positive that will be sent home. Not while awaiting results and not even necessarily an entire bubble.

On the flip side, it concerns me that the guidance for schools is that they shouldn't ask for evidence of a negative test before allowing a child who's had symptoms back to school - they should rely on the parent's word. I'm sure we can all think of parents we know who'll be sending their kids back in claiming they've been tested when they haven't.

If only one positive test then it will be just the children in close proximity, but with no social distancing in a class that might be quite a few. 2 positive tests and PHE get involved and that is when a bubble might be asked to self isolate, remember that could be a whole year group and in a secondary school that will be a lot of pupils, and there is likely to be a cycle of this in areas where community rates are high.

Bubble only bursts with 2 positives in 14 days. You as parents will not be told of the first one unless your child sits next to first child. Us as staff are not told.

There's no way that test will work for many children who have sensory processing disorders. My son who has ASD refused to have the nasal flu vaccine, he opted for the jab instead. He will not tolerate something shoved that far up his nose now.

@Tyranttoddler

My understanding is actually that it's only children who have been in close proximity with a student who has tested positive that will be sent home. Not while awaiting results and not even necessarily an entire bubble.

We've b told that if a student or teacher has symptoms, they are to get tested and the whole class (yr1 so not smaller bubbles) is off until the result. 14 days I'm total of it's positive. Immediately back if it's not.

School letter re while bubble off for 14 days

Poor old DS has had to have it done three times now. All times clearly not covid, but necessary for him to be allowed back to nursery after earache, and two obvious snotty colds. And yes, it is also a massive pain in the arse booking testing (the postal test kits have a really slow turnaround time, and the face to face ones seem to have a completely different set of locations available every time you refresh the screen).

I can see why parents would lie, honestly. Which is terrible, but I would go a long way to avoid having to schlepp over to a windy industrial estate car park on foot, and prise open the clamped jaws of a furious three year old yet again.

@Tyranttoddler

My understanding is actually that it's only children who have been in close proximity with a student who has tested positive that will be sent home. Not while awaiting results and not even necessarily an entire bubble.

I had a phonecall from nursery this week, cough going round, everyone needs to be tested before coming back. Fortunately in the meantime (call at 9am on his non nursery day, test booked for 3pm) my son started coughing so at least it felt justified. The results took just over 24 hours to come in so we all (me, husband, mother in law who lives with us) all lost a day at work whilst still having to pay a days nursery fees. It's going to be a very long winter...

I see. That's not the gov guidelines so I am surprised and I've not heard of a school doing that - but then I'm secondary and our bubbles are bigger. That would be an absolute nightmare as a working parent.

Sorry, that was in response to sleepingstandingup

I have had to forward the test result email to nursery before she goes back it's not just on my say so.

That's interesting, yukka. I guess private nurseries can do what they like (assuming yours is one). But the DfE guidance to schools specifically says that they shouldn't ask for evidence of test results.

Our kids have been back in nursery for 2 months now, fulltime. Neither has needed to be swabbed. A few of their friends have, very easy to arrange, results back within 24 hours, all negative so back to nursery. I really don’t understand what the issue is. Swabbing young kids is very easy as they scream (which gives you a brilliant view of their oropharynx) and it takes 10 seconds.

Unfortunately some kids do tend to get frequent temperatures, but most don’t.

@welshweasel

Our kids have been back in nursery for 2 months now, fulltime. Neither has needed to be swabbed. A few of their friends have, very easy to arrange, results back within 24 hours, all negative so back to nursery. I really don’t understand what the issue is. Swabbing young kids is very easy as they scream (which gives you a brilliant view of their oropharynx) and it takes 10 seconds.

Unfortunately some kids do tend to get frequent temperatures, but most don’t.

You've clearly not had to covid swab a toddler!

You have to swab the tonsils for 10 seconds without the swab touching the inside of the mouth or tongue. It's hard enough for most compliant and consenting adults to manage that on themselves (or have it done to them). Before then getting it far enough up their nose and twizzeling it around 10 times.

They asked how old my son was and said that I could do both nostrils instead of his throat, which made life easier.

Add to this that in the drive through testing centres you aren't allowed to even open the car windows, never mind get out. So you're doing it cramped in the back of the car, one hand holding the swab leaving only one hand remaining to stop said toddler grabbing at the swab because funnily enough, they're not overly compliant!

It's certainly not something I'm going to look forward to having to do frequently over the winter, neither is both of us losing a day's pay every time we have to wait for results to come back.

@Tyranttoddler

I see. That's not the gov guidelines so I am surprised and I've not heard of a school doing that - but then I'm secondary and our bubbles are bigger. That would be an absolute nightmare as a working parent.

Yup, and this is a head teacher obsessed with attendance in a school that really struggles with attendance so I'm even more surprises to find she's being more hardcore then most.

My concern is, like many other parents, that I only get paid for the first day of an absence with my child and obviously when you're paying nursery fees but not earning any money, you quickly end up in a real mess. This is just going to be a nightmare.

The 90 minute tests will be an absolute game changer if they can be used in a school or nursery setting.

Everything I’ve read on administering these tests to children and how traumatic it is, make me think school staff shouldn’t be asked to do it.

It is far better for ds if school staff administer the test rather than us. They have training to safely restrain him and we don't. The only way it can be done on ds is if he is restrained by several people or sedated. Alternatively it will have to be done in a medical setting with sedation.

Schools are being given kits to give to parents, not to administer themselves! (Maybe different in special or residential schools.)