Covid spreading in Scottish schools

[jomartin281271]

I can't say I'm surprised. The idea that there could be covid in the community, and somehow when our kids get to the school gates they walk into a magic land where the virus doesn't exist is nonsense. The Scottish schools have been back for two weeks now, so this is a priview of what we can expect in the rest of the UK.

www.heraldscotland.com/news/18693187.coronavirus-scotland-evidence-shows-spread-covid-19-glasgow-schools/

Evidence in 2 schools.

29k tests conducted and 37 positive? I mean..... its hardly rife is it?!

The number of positive tests compared to the number of tests taken is very low, I find that quite reassuring.

To make this in any way meaningful data we need to know what the spread means - have hospitalised cases increased? Have deaths increased?

'There is evidence of transmission of the virus amongst a small number of cases in school settings and this is being carefully managed.'

I think there was always going to be some spread but it's clearly not raging out of control and it's also being squashed. I think that's really positive and I'm so glad for children at school in Scotland who really need to be there. This virus exists. Even with a vaccine it won't disappear 100%. Reaching zero Covid is completely impossible.

This is exactly what ‘living with’ the virus is about. We can’t stop the spread without immense damage to everything else in life. So we manage it carefully, get better at doing so, life adjusts. Looks like it’s being handled well in Scotland.

It is wonderful to see all children back at school after such a long and unprecedented break.

Nearly 30,000 tests and they found 37 cases hardly spreading out of control.

I'm not going to wait until our children are lying in an ICU bed before accepting that this is a massive social experiment, and the government are using our teachers and children as guinea pigs.

Well what do you suggest? It was an immense ‘social experiment’ to send food production workers in to do their jobs at the height of the pandemic (and beyond) but I didn’t notice anyone clamouring to keep them at home.

Education is fundamental to our society. There are options available for parents who don’t want to partake of the state provided system.

wow I've not heard the guinea pig line trotted out (see what I did there?!) for a while.

OP you really should go and look at some actual data before making threads like this.

We also have massive numbers of children off school and awaiting testing. My 3rd year (year 10?) said out of a class of 28 they had 11 in yesterday.

I don't want to catastrophise. My kids are in school and staying there unless there are a number of cases in the school, at which point I will keep them home. However I don't think track and trace is scaled to support schools returning, and I don't think they have thought through how it will work when e.g. our school is a "bubble" of 1.500 pupils.

No one said they were walking into a magic land where the virus didn't exist!!!!! Do you expect your children to walk into a magic land where cancer and other things don't exist???? We all know we have to live with the risk like we do with everything else. What do you suggest we do? Order lots of cotton wool and wrap the school children in that?

@jomartin281271

I'm not going to wait until our children are lying in an ICU bed before accepting that this is a massive social experiment, and the government are using our teachers and children as guinea pigs.

On a global level then?

What is the alternative for education if schools remain unopened to the majority of children?

@canigooutyet Blended learning. Which was the plan until a load of parents on Facebook didn't want to have their children at home.

@TheKeatingFive

This is exactly what ‘living with’ the virus is about. We can’t stop the spread without immense damage to everything else in life. So we manage it carefully, get better at doing so, life adjusts. Looks like it’s being handled well in Scotland.

It is wonderful to see all children back at school after such a long and unprecedented break.

This!

What makes you think your children will end up in ICU OP? The risk is minuscule.

[quote Schmeebles]@canigooutyet Blended learning. Which was the plan until a load of parents on Facebook didn't want to have their children at home.[/quote]
Yeah, that's the reason....

Blended learning is immensely problematic for working parents, including teacher parents (how is that supposed to work), is essentially just less good provision (more homework, less actual teaching), is disadvantageous for children from difficult or less educated backgrounds and by no means guarantees no spread of CV.

It’s a very poor solution.

[quote Schmeebles]@canigooutyet Blended learning. Which was the plan until a load of parents on Facebook didn't want to have their children at home.[/quote]
Having them at home is not a sustainable solution for any working parents. We just have to learn to live with it and do our best to mitigate the risks.

Which was the plan until a load of parents on Facebook didn't want to have their children at home.

Dickish comments like this help no one.

How were teacher parents supposed to cope with ‘blended learning’ btw?

[quote Schmeebles]@canigooutyet Blended learning. Which was the plan until a load of parents on Facebook didn't want to have their children at home.[/quote]
I'm going to skate over the deliberately goady 'didnt want to have their children at home' because frankly it doesnt deserve any air time.

The economy needs to recover, parents need to work, blended learning doesnt enable parents to work.

[quote Schmeebles]@canigooutyet Blended learning. Which was the plan until a load of parents on Facebook didn't want to have their children at home.[/quote]
Well then, I for one am exceedingly grateful for this group of parents. It is vital for children they are back in a learning environment. Blended learning only works if you have parents that are willing and able to facilitate this at home. From the seemingly middle-class bubble on mumsnet it is obviously impossible to imagine that some children might not have perfect parents who can encourage their children at home but the reality is that many many children haven't engaged with any form of learning since March. Blended learning would mean that the disparity between the classes yet again widens as those with the ability and means to support their children do so, and others do not, meaning that their children only get half the education they need.

OP, if you are in the fortunate position of having the time and means to home educate and you are that concerned about such a small number of cases, then I suggest you take your child out of school.

Did you hear the Governor of Madrid saying "yep we are expecting every school child to catch Covid-19" words to that effect.

Just thinking "oh great" but at least a modicum of honesty perhaps or just preparing population for worse case scenario? Who knows? But first official I have heard of saying this.

I'm quite suspicious of the data too.

Just had a look on line for testing availability. You can only book a postal test within first four days of symptoms being present (and in mild cases maybe these won't be that noticeable or prompt testing). After day five you are told not to test but to self isolate - is anyone recording or tracing contacts of people isolating with symptoms but who haven't been able to be tested, given the shortage of postal tests and lack of availability of face to face tests?

I don’t think anyone thought that schools would be magically Covid free. I think the assumption (mine anyway) was that there would be an increase but this would be managed by testing, track and trace and self isolation.

[quote Schmeebles]@canigooutyet Blended learning. Which was the plan until a load of parents on Facebook didn't want to have their children at home.[/quote]
It’s these ridiculous posts that stoke the divide between teachers and parents.

Even teachers would be impacted by part time school for everyone.

Part time school is just half the provision (at best if no KW provision) plus homework. This isn’t good enough to keep the gap between top and bottom lower.