Some reassuring news about schools being really safe

[TheAdventuresoftheWishingChair]

I know there's a huge amount of (justifiable) worry about schools going back soon and I saw a piece of news today which deserved it's own thread in case people wanted some nice news.

Public Health England has looked at the evidence from June when 1,646,000 pupils went back to 23,400 schools in total. They found just 67 cases of the virus as a result of that. Only 0.01% of schools actually experienced an outbreak. That means that not only are children exceptionally unlikely to suffer any serious effects from catching the virus if they do get it but they are also really, really likely to catch it or spread it around in school. I know that won't reassure absolutely everyone, particularly if you have a child with additional health needs, but it is so lovely to be able to look at the evidence and say that, in terms of this virus, schools are actually really low risk.

Story from here www.gov.uk/government/news/study-finds-very-low-numbers-of-covid-19-outbreaks-in-schools?utm_source=01ce0967-35e6-401b-92c7-8d5c486b1fe3&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate

@TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince

Dh read that out to me last night. The 60 or so kids that had it.

He also read out from the same document, that something like 125 school staff had also caught it.

ONS says 46 deaths of school staff so 125 seems a low number bs outcome

But as you can only get a test if symptomatic, and kids are largely asymptomatic - we actually have bugger all data about how many kids actually caught it in school!
Isn't the 125 staff just from June though? One month of data?

30 outbreaks in SOCIALLY DISTANCED schools in England in a month.

Over 20 in Scotland in a week of FULL classes.

England has five times more schools than England.

Does this suggest something about social distancing in school.

Wonderful name, OP.
I see you sitting in your chair, eyes scrunched up and wishing like mad. Refusing to either see or understand the fact that no school in England has gone back full time with all pupils yet. Flu season is Nov-Feb.
So we’ll just have to see what happens, no studies yet carried out match what’s going to happen in a couple of weeks.
I’m a supply teacher, pushing 60, who’s decided to sit this one out until February. Then we’ll see what the reality is.
I’m working in a supermarket til then. SD, masks...the works.

Just seen the breaking news report about 17 teachers testing positive at one school in Dundee. So the kids are alright, but the adults working in schools are screwed.

Aw, God bless the OP and her naive enthusiasm.

Rainbows and unicorns....

I wonder how much time, money and effort the Government have put into this PR campaign. They've chucked everything bar the kitchen sink at it.
And now they're infiltrating Mumsnet. Sadly, we're not all as stupid as they'd like to believe.

@Longwhiskers14

Just seen the breaking news report about 17 teachers testing positive at one school in Dundee. So the kids are alright, but the adults working in schools are screwed.

But no one wants to hear that- all we keep hearing is school is safe for children.

Which is why most of us are feeling more than a little pissed off!

@CallmeAngelina it’s a pity they didn’t spend that money on the schools instead to actually make them safer!

And now they're infiltrating Mumsnet.

Oooh, here’s a thread they might enjoy. 89% of MN voters think they’re totally useless.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4001279-This-government-don-t-give-a-shit-about-schools-or-your-kids

@Hardbackwriter

I absolutely agree that schools as they are/will reopen now aren't the same, or really comparable, to in June. I will just point out, though, that MN was full of fear in June, too, and people saying how awful it was that they were reopening at all, that children and teachers were guinea pigs, that it would lead to a huge spike in infections - all the things that people say now. This idea that the reopening in June was fine, sensible and well-planned is very retrospective. Just like how no one ever talks about nurseries (now operating essentially as normal) any more, since it turns out there have been very few problems since reopening them, and if you mention this you get told that of course nurseries are fine when that very much wasn't the narrative in advance.

Yes, agree with this. The way people now talk about how low risk, socially distanced and sensible the measures were in school in June/July do not match up at all with the way people were speaking about schools in June, when the schools opening at all was going to cause a massive rise in infections, it was madness to open up, teachers should be striking etc.

I don't know, yes it's going to be very different this term to last but it's just really difficult to know how it is all going to pan out.

it's just really difficult to know how it is all going to pan out.

Erm, no, not that difficult at all!!

I don't know, yes it's going to be very different this term to last but it's just really difficult to know how it is all going to pan out.

School in Dundee has confirmed 17 teachers have tested positive for Covid since going back full time, two pupils and someone else in the extended community. That is now it's going to pan out.

Erm, no, not that difficult at all!!

Well, that's what everyone was saying at the end of May as well...

I think just as big a problem is going to be the fact that this is all going to be happening in the term where everyone catches every bug and cold going anyway, and staff are going to have to go off work for things that normally they would just push on through with, there won't be any staff in school! And there is no way that all parents are going to keep their kids off school if they wake up one morning with a temp of 38.1, they will shovel a bit of calpol in as they normally would, send them on their way and hope for the best because Mum has to get to work!

I'm not one for pessimism or panic. But I do take exception to shoddy statistics, and as many others have pointed out, comparing June to September is just that.

@KingFredsTache

Erm, no, not that difficult at all!!

Well, that's what everyone was saying at the end of May as well...

I think just as big a problem is going to be the fact that this is all going to be happening in the term where everyone catches every bug and cold going anyway, and staff are going to have to go off work for things that normally they would just push on through with, there won't be any staff in school! And there is no way that all parents are going to keep their kids off school if they wake up one morning with a temp of 38.1, they will shovel a bit of calpol in as they normally would, send them on their way and hope for the best because Mum has to get to work!

staff are going to have to go off work for things that normally they would just push on through with, there won't be any staff in school!

You're seriously advocating that poorly (but not with Covid) staff should carry on teaching? You want a flu breakout on top of Coronavirus?

Plus, any kid displaying a temp will be packed off home straight away.

This is evidence that schools were relatively safe in June. It is NOT evidence that they will be safe in September.

Patiently waiting for someone to point out those 17 teachers might not have got it in school and that it’s all just some huge conspiracy to ruin children’s life chances and their mental health....meanwhile, the family of those 17 teachers, their vulnerabilities and ultimately potential deaths don’t matter.

You're seriously advocating that poorly (but not with Covid) staff should carry on teaching? You want a flu breakout on top of Coronavirus?

I'm saying that in normal times teachers would just carry on through with a slight temp, slight cough etc (and quite rightly too because if everyone went off sick because they felt a bit rough during Nov/Dec/Jan nothing would ever get done) but they won't now (again rightly) be able to do that, and that is going to cause problems.

Also we actually have no idea how many kids caught it as you only get a test if symptomatic and kids are often asymptomatic.

@BadAbbot

30 outbreaks in SOCIALLY DISTANCED schools in England in a month.

Over 20 in Scotland in a week of FULL classes.

England has five times more schools than England.

Does this suggest something about social distancing in school.

It’s speaks volumes about social distancing. It also suggests that the government think the general population can’t understand basic data.

OP all your data shows is smaller class sizes work better for low transmission of the virus.
It obviously does wonders for children too as they get alot more teacher time.
The government dont want parents to catch onto that and realise how poorly they have treated schools and teachers over the years.
We should be watching Scotland closely to see how their schools are doing.

[quote noblegiraffe]And now they're infiltrating Mumsnet.

Oooh, here’s a thread they might enjoy. 89% of MN voters think they’re totally useless.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4001279-This-government-don-t-give-a-shit-about-schools-or-your-kids[/quote]
Never met @noblegiraffe but I really like you 💐

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/16/doctors-nurses-porters-volunteers-the-uk-health-workers-who-have-died-from-covid-19

Some journalists are writing about the ordinary lives lost to covid, of healthy people. Amazingly many newspapers are ignoring these sad stories for so many.