How secondary school bubbles are working In practice

[sleepwouldbenice]

Hi all

Our school has said they are having whole year bubbles for secondary school and if there if one positive case then they will make no attempt to distinguish if pupils have mixed and they will all have to self isolate

Is this typical?

I know there are many schools where they have year group bubbles but to my knowledge they have all said they will try to segregate further before identifying close contacts for isolation and /or saying it would kick in after 2 . Just need some perspective please!

They have also apparent said the kids can do what they want in their bubbles ( the policy says they can’t always social distance but should try) so hugging etc has been allowed. They have also had year group assemblies in a small hall despite having the facilities to deliver this by teams etc across form groups

Teachers won’t mark homework within 48 hours which I totally get but pupils are then expected to touch it straight away and action things

I really didn’t expect it to be easy at all or perfect but sone of these things just seem wrong and would again like some context to understand

Thanks in advance

I think it is completely different from school to school. Ours have been back for 4 weeks. First 2 weeks it was pretty much the same as e.g. 2019 - no distancing, lots of moving around, packed canteen and corridors. However after the first 2 weeks they changed timetables so they don’t move around so much and brought in other measures. Initially there were LOADS of kids off, but (touch wood) there haven’t been any cases.

They are in a “bubble” of the entire school -1,500 kids - but I think we were told here that if there is a case they will just do track and trace of the people the kid remembers being in contact with.

I was anxious about it at first, but I think my brain has just decided it can’t deal with any more worry, and therefore accepted it.

Different again. My son is in yr 8. He’s bubbled with half of his yr group approx 200 kids. They don’t move around very much, his entire timetable takes place between 3 classrooms off the same small bit of hall way. All bubbles have a different point of entry. Hands must be sanitised on entry to school and classrooms and again on the way out. They replaced work sheets with personal whiteboards which is photoed at the end of each lesson. Pe has become a change of socks and shoes as the changing rooms are off limits so they just go for a local walk. We’ve had an email stating if there was to be a suspected case the entire bubble would be sent home until the test result was known. Which I think means 1-2days off for a negative result so I’m planning a in and out sort of half term.

My relatives in secondary school have the same system, each year group is a bubble, and social distancing within year groups is not required though it is recommended to try. If one person tests positive, the whole year group will isolate. It seems to me that so many cases among teenagers will be asymptomatic that there could be quite a bit of spread before someone is tested and gets a positive result.

Thanks all For your comments

I just think that some issues are avoidable And encourage spread but was looking for reasons Why I was wrong.

Having talked (questioned) my son further I’m feeling a lot better about our school. There’s strict social distancing even within the bubble no assemblies just recorded messages to the “classroom screen” . I think it’s down to what’s viable within the certain building some schools just won’t have the space.
Was thinking about the schools a lot today and if they were doing enough after Scotland announced more lockdowns 2-3weeks (depending on area) that the schools reopened.

Having seen teenagers in town clearly not socially distancing with teens in different schools right next to a PCSO who was doing nothing to intervene I don't think anything that they do in school will make much difference.

Our kids have been back for a week and they are doing class bubbles for Yrs 7-9 and Year group bubbles for Years 10-11 due to all the different groups. Unfortunately, we just had 2 emails from school saying DC1's whole year has to self isolate and that there's been a case in DC2's class so they do too. Brilliant 🙄

Gosh that hurts!😮
Tbh I don’t mind at all if it’s someone from their class or they’ve been mixing for ages. It’s the face that :

They have said the whole year will self isolate with a positive test whatever the circumstances eg first day back at school even if they had barely mixed, and

They are encouraging excessive mixing from the assemblies, general contact Etc

Yes. They do have the technology and space to do this, they are just choosing not to

Tbh I do agree that schools won’t be the key driver for increased cases, it will be not social distancing in general as shown by the stats today. I just don’t think this approach helps!

I don’t know how they are in school, but as soon as they are through the school gates near my house the masks are off and they are hugging play fighting, and all the usual playing around. I don’t really blame them , poor things must just be so feed up with this covid virus, and let’s face it they know they won’t die of it, most of them won’t even know if they have had it.

Looking at our local school cases, 7 schools impacted, in one example 2 whole year groups sent home in secondary due to one infected student in each of those 2 year groups. Rest of school continues as 'normal'.

School near me, 1 case conformed- year groul sent home. But not teachers who have taught subjects to them (obviously as school would just shut).

But say a teacher has caught it, goes home, passes it on to their primary age kids and on it goes.

It's a farce but what can you do?

Live with the risk. Its the older carers/grand parents who will ultimately suffer.

But life has to go on? I'm at a loss tbh

1 positive case in my sons school, two classes have been told to self isolate as they’ve been in contact with the child. Lots of worried parents including myself. I guess we’re about to find out how effective those bubbles were.

Year group bubbles here for senior school. Staggered lunchtimes and separate communal spaces for each year - sanitiser everywhere - desks set up social distanced - no after school activities - go in sports kit if games/PE as no changing rooms in use - no waiting outside classrooms - all windows open - no assemblies/hymn practice/chapel - no parents allowed on site.

The bubbles may as well be foaming spit bubbles of covid. They're not working.