Schools and Corona virus

[speakout]

Two large (800 pupils each) secondary schools near me ( Scotland) now both have pupils who have tested positive for Covid in the past two days.
Schools have been back in Scotland for over two weeks.
The response is to send the positive pupils home and carry on as normal- no testing of other pupils or staff, no deep cleaning.
I feel quite unsettled- this virus is obviously still at large in our communities.

The knock on transmission is going to be huge.

Teachers are parents too. In my department alone four of us have children. And between them they attend 6 different schools.

Over the entire staff body that is more likely 20 or so associated schools because some people travel from so far away.

So the chain of transmission from school to home to school could have quite far reaching consequences.

@HipTightOnions

Testing bubbles when there's a case in class

Not practical: in secondary a “bubble” might have 400 pupils in it.

Yeah I know. I don't mean every school but it would be good for a study to be done - or even select a sample from the bubble.

I think we need more concrete data from schools.

In my department alone we have 4 parents of school aged children in different neighbouring counties. Plus in my department locally there are another 3 parents representing 4 different schools within the area and one nursery. Oh and my childminder.

I have eight main friends and we've been able to social distance and meet up outside during the summer, being very careful taking our own drinks bottle etc. One works in school office and does all the first aid. Another is in a whole secondary school bubble. I work at a school in a bubble of 100, along with two friends who work at the school in different year bubbles of 100. Two friends work in nursery. We've all been so careful living within the guidelines, and I know two are losing sleep over going back. It's just hit me, it's going to be so hard to see them in the winter as we'll most of us have so many regular contacts, the odd one maybe do a walk with, but there's no way I can meet up with any inside really. Going to be a hard winter.

Testing bubbles when there's a case in class

Not practical: in secondary a “bubble” might have 400 pupils in it.

Copied from above. Doesn’t really matter if it’s not practical or not, it is to prevent further infection. If tests couldn’t be completed then 14days isolation for the bubble whatever the size. With this happening time and time again I’m sure the government would make sure it is deemed practical.

With this happening time and time again I’m sure the government would make sure it is deemed practical.

Do we think the government wants to test / have the press publish stats on asymptomatic infections in schools? After all, if no one knows about them, they can't worry about it can they.

Bear in mind you have MPs opposing masks purely on the grounds that they dilute the message that schools are safe (so much for following the science!).

I agree with you @walksen very likely no-certainly add more discredit to the PHE study of schools in June, but I was thinking on more of economic terms that if children are at home and parents need to take time out, jobs cannot be fulfilled as well, having a knock-on effect on the economy.

@BelleSausage

They won’t close schools again until several staff members or pupils die.

Parents will continue to send in sick kids because the message around testing has been so mixed.

Schools will have temporary closures because of staff absence in the winter.

And we all et find out how flawed that PHE study was (because it was done in nearly empty schools).

I wish I didn’t believe this too 😢

Here's the scenario:
Get schools back - everyone pretend it's safe please, nothing to see here!
Cases start popping up in schools (especially secondary)
Schools advise PHE for advice as per instructions (as there is no plan B).
PHE go "out of office reply, please contact Dido Harding and co"
Dido and fellow politicals and sub contracted companies quickly lose all reports and pretend it's all going swimmingly. Noone joins the dots.
Afterwards they regret less than perfect internal communications and put it down to teething problems in the new pandemic response organisation.
It's all going to be fiiiiiine

"Here's the scenario:"

Would be funny if it wasn't for the fact it seems so plausible with this government....

To keep on top of it they need to test all the bubble.
Maybe not day 1 but before 5 days. Then you can shut down those ones contacts.
And i dont think contacts siblings should go into school.

The nearest test centre to my school is between 1hr 30 and 2 hours from there. That in itself is a huge problem.

Does anyone really think that if you spend a couple of hours in a room 2.1m away from someone who has coronavirus that you have no chance of catching it?

Government have published revised guidelines, late on a Friday night, what a surprise! Now have new rules for schools in local lockdown which may involve rotas and remote learning for Secondary schools.

What a joke. Friday night guidance on a bank holiday weekend with schools in lockdown area opening ( to staff at least) on Tuesday!

It's always a bad joke about the timings of announcements.

Important changes to shielding can out at 10pm at a weekend too.

It's either thoughtless or incompetent to keep doing this. Are they (yet again) blaming the press for forcing their hand?