Why is Covid affecting schools?

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Latest updates are there have now been 421 outbreaks in UK schools. How is this possible? From what the government was implying throughout August was that schools would be safe environments which Covid would be unable to affect. How we was told that children don’t spread the virus.

You could understand the odd case here and there but that seems very high when most schools have only been back for one week. I suspect this number is much higher due to the lag in testing and results and indeed the amount of people unable to even get a test. Also we’ve not had enough time to really see the effect of spreading within schools from asymptotic carriers, just what has been taken in from being caught elsewhere.

We are still officially in summer, what will the situation be once the weather turns colder? Once the community transmission increases with the R rate now above 1?

@Keepdistance

And yet one school already with 4 teachers and one student so unless the student was related...

Why so? Can it not be a single case coming in too?

was that schools would be safe environments which Covid would be unable to affect. How we was told that children don’t spread the virus.

You mean you believed them?

Tell me, what magical unicorn dust drops away from children on their 19th birthday to change them from "at school can't possibly spread it" to "in the fastest growing covid age group, please social distance"

If you can't see the illogic in that, please tell me: Are you considering running for government?

It was a convenient lie.

Incubation as little as 1d. And can be over the 14 quarantine tome.

I think for school (or anywhere without masks and SD the advice should be a cough rather than relting on parents to work out whether it's persistent. And teachers.

Because - as teachers have been saying here for months - schools are not "Covid secure".
Bubbles are huge.
Social distancing is neither mandated nor possible.
Many children and young people are asymptomatic so spread it without knowing they're infected and infectious.
Because we can encourage mask wearing and social distancing on the way to school but we can't enforce it.

I am amused at the idea that all schools have playing fields!

Secondary school:

Students are not distancing from each other because they are in bubbles. Staff are trying to distance but it is very very difficult.

Students have to be reminded constantly to wear masks and sanitise hands, which makes me think they are not doing this if I don't nag them. Masks are shoved in pockets, dropped on the floor, repeatedly touched to adjust. If parents can't provide a clean shirt every day, they are not going to provide a clean mask.

Bubbles are whole year groups - that can be up to 300 students. However, almost every child has a friend/neighbour/sibling in a different bubble. So, even if we keep all year groups apart, Johnny is in Y11 and his sister Jane is in Y8. Jane's best friend Julie has a brother in Y7 and a sister in Y9. If Johnny gets infected he can pass to Jane, who passes to Julie etc etc.

And, despite working our nads off keeping them safe in school, the buggers all wait for each other outside the school gates and walk home together/hang about on a night etc.

What do you mean “how is it possible”? It’s an infectious virus, cases were always going to go up when schools went back. What did you expect?

For england these are ones kids have gone back to school with. Scotland is the one to watch with inter school transmission.

In a way it would have been good to quarantine the children and staff before returning. But that was just too big an ask.

Secondary was always going to be a shit storm. they should have split year groups so they could distance and have smaller bubbles so whole years aren’t out

Most cases now are probably due to community infection.

These are rising, so more schools may be affected if this continues.

It might take a couple of weeks for the extent/impact of Infections within schools to be seen.

Lots of posters pointed out that as a minimum the current systems were a recipe for a hugely disrupted term littered with unpredictable lengthy absences at short notice etc.

The vast majority of these 'outbreaks' are a singular case, which clearly has an external cause (as the virus doesn't suddenly appear in schools without someone bringing it in).

Sorry but 😂😂😂😂. How is it transmitting in schools ? Well they lied. Kids do transmit it. Who knew 🧐. Teenagers are little adults. We have been back a week and have lots off waiting for tests. Mainly students but some staff. No SD (not room), few masks (as Boris said they only keep others safe) and 2,000 people in one place. I mean, how could we have known 🤔

I asked how this was possible as we was told so often that schools were covid secure. I am disappointed the way it is heading but not surprised in the slightest.

In August I was posting on here along with many other posters that a blended approach would be more sustainable and can see that there’s a high probability that schools will be closed to most children from October half term through to Easter.

When schools were only open to key worker and vulnerable children there was 3 outbreaks. This grew to 197 from June to end of term. Mostly a week in we are 421 and counting. I can completely see that part time schooling would be difficult for a lot of families but surely much better than the possibility of months with no in school provision.

I’m just outside Liverpool and on Monday we had 8 schools affected, 3 secondary and 5 primary.

There is a PRU not far from here that has completely closed to due Covid and I expect to hear of more.

Ds is at a huge 6th form college that serves 16-18 year olds from a massive geographical area. They are operating on a week on week off approach with remote learning being done on the week off. The bubbles are done by subject, surname and are then colour coded. The logistics of accommodating over 2000 students must be extremely difficult.

Dd is in year 5 at primary school and is in a class bubble. There are staggered drop off and pick up times and the school have done everything within their power to minimise risk but when you’ve got lots of children still abroad not back yet or who have just returns from holiday it’s extra risk.

I am expecting a full local lockdown soon.

"Secondary was always going to be a shit storm. they should have split year groups so they could distance and have smaller bubbles so whole years aren’t out"

There is a limit to how many entrances/ toilet/ break areas etc schools have. For the vast majority of schools 10 bubbles isn't workable.

People on this website wanted schools to go back. Schools went back.

The virus will not discriminate between a 16/17yo secondary school kid and a 25yo teacher. Of course it will spread through schools, and at a much greater rate than last term as everyone is back in tiny spaces.

I have 2 in secondary. I wanted them to learn online. But the govt. have sent everyone back, because certainly on this website, that's what was wanted. People complaining about the lack of education, their kids being let down etc. People would be out marching if schools hadn't gone back. Even though it's a receipe for disaster and absolutely wasn't my choice.

Because it's not the schools that are the issue. If they've been back a week those first infections happened elsewhere- all the people who rushed out to bars, restaurants, soft plays and anywhere else that opened are a more likely cause. Realistically 421 is a relatively small number given the number of daily confirmed cases.

'Covid secure' and all the other pointless buzz words don't mean no infections will happen, that's impossible. All of the children and staff have lives outside of the school and contact with people outside of the school who have their own exposure and so on, it's exponential.

Blended teaching, home learning or another shut down isn't the answer imo. It's not sustainable and for a huge number of children and families its simply not an option. A family living off a small wage dependant on the parent(s) being able to go to work can't survive if there are children at home who need care/education. Yes it's a flawed system but it's what we have.

What you have to look at with this is the still low number of deaths and hospital admissions. There is a very real possibility that the virus is becoming less deadly, it was always a theory it would adapt like to transmit easier but have milder symptoms.

They lied.
They gaslighted.
They lied some more.

“Covid-secure” is spin, not a real thing.

Just out of interest, @Charliescar, what's your solution? You insist on demanding solutions of teachers, but what would you do?

The question isn't, 'How was this possible?' The question is, 'Why did the government lie?'

There is also an associated question, 'Why did people believe the lie?'

“Covid-secure” is spin, not a real thing.

^

This. If there was such a thing we could apply it everywhere and just get on as normal.

@SisterAgatha

I suggest outside teaching. There’s no reason the school field could not have been commandeered with open side marquees, outdoor heaters, pop up screens and power lines laid down.

They had time.

Im just wondering where outside we could put enough marquees to teach 1500 teenagers.

Especially since there is no school field...

2 of r year groups have been told to isolate because there teachers tested positive kids went bk Monday 1 class sent home yesterday 1 today no way did these teachers catch it from pupils on monday an get tested that quick.