The schools are open! Except to all the kids self isolating...

[DonLewis]

I keep reading about closing the schools is the last point on the plan for closing things down in the event of another lockdown.

Great.

But, both of my kids schools are open but they both have whole year groups self isolating. And each week they're open another year group bubble gets burst and another 200 kids are at home self isolating.

But the government get to say the schools are open. It's really getting my goat. My kids have had less than a week at school between them! And I can't see things improving. It's not the schools fault. Why can't we do something different? Close the schools for 2 weeks. Kind of force a 2 week self isolation for all school kids. In those 2 weeks schools get to focus on their online provision. Then, reopen the schools and if bubbles get burst, the teachers have had a head start on planning.

Not sure what I'm posting for. I'm just feeling quite fed up about it all.

Schools shouldn’t be isolating whole year groups

That’s bad planning

Well they are. On the advice of PHE.

Gov came out strictly yesterday and said close contacts only

Not contacts of contacts or it’d never stop

Dds achool uses a seating app and only those who’ve been sat next to child isolate

Not entire class

Thankfully mine has not been isolated yet. However, I do think there comes a point, if it's one isolation after another, that home learning is better. At least they can go out, for exercise, and socialise within the restrictions when home learning. If they have to continually isolate they can't leave the property.

That’s s state secondary so sound like they have done enough to lessen the bubble size

Yes, there are lots of local schools with whole year groups isolating near me. And between that and fighting for a test when a regular cold overlaps with the symptoms of coronavirus - it's going to be a messy few terms.

Are you in a bit of a hotspot? We haven’t had even one year group out of 8 have a positive test yet.

Schools will be told whether to isolate a whole bubble

I'm on the doorstep of an area of concern but which hasn't tipped into the category which requires further intervention.

@veryvery that's what I think. The kids are so fed up. Can't play their team sports, can't go out for a walk or a bike ride. And they think it's pointless because they'll go back to school when their 14 days are up and it'll be a question of how long till the next period of isolation?

The year 11 dc is getting horrible demoralised and demotivated.

The younger dc is just eating. And eating and eating.

Tbh I can see why they do whole year groups. Having some kids in school and various groups isolating and returning at different times must be a nightmare. By having the whole year off you can concentrate on a decent online provision.
Plus I think they have to if 2 ir more cases which may be the situation

Only about 2% of schools in the uk have groups or classes isolating due to outbreaks. You must be one of the unlucky 2%.

I think it depends how scared people are

Dd tells me loads are mildly unwell in her school but not testing dispite coughs etc

School is not too strict about sending people home

This if people don’t test people don’t have to isolate

I think a lot of parents aren’t bothering - if aixk they keep them home couple days then send them back save the whole class staying off

That what most I know are doing

Man, in the unluckiest 2%!

I have tried so hard to keep things going for the kids. All through lockdown we tried to make the best of it. Tried to keep upbeat, tried to keep them going with school work, get then into new hobbies. Tried to show them that the slower pace of life was ok. Showed them how lucky we were/are.

We bought second hand bikes. We learned to knit!

Now I just want to go back to bed. Maybe it's because I start a new job and the night before the one child that can't be left home alone isn't allowed to go to school. Poor me, basically. I'll get over it. But geez, if another politician gleefully declares the schools open I might just scream.

Schools shouldn’t be isolating whole year groups

That’s bad planning

That's government advice! If there's an app that means this doesn't need to happen, perhaps someone should share it with Gavin Williamson.

I really feel for you op, especially ur year 11 dc. How will it be a level playing field when it comes to the exams next year if some dc have spent half the year at home self isolating 🤷‍♀️

6 schools approx affected in our city. The whole year group gets sent home

@Ginogineli, well, yes, that's the other extreme but really not regarding Covid spread. I'm not particularly scared, emotionally, but not great for people who might be vulnerable for one reason or another. I'm very middle ground on this. Will test if I have to but not offer myself up for testing if I don't need to. I don't read all the stuff about additional/ possible symptoms and just focus on what the NHS guidelines say. I do think lots of people may have already had it before they were really testing / it was in the public eye. I think we need to be pragmatic. But knowingly keeping a child off for just a couple of days with obvious symptoms really doesn't sit right with me.

One year group have been told to isolate my kids are in another year group, but it looks like ds has it - but no tests available, not sure how the school make a call on that - how many more before they decide to ask the year to stay at home?
Kids literally sit shoulder to shoulder at school - have to social distance while walking down to the shop for lunch or walking to school - but the magic school bubble doesn't seem to be magically protecting them they are still getting ill!

yep Ginogineli thats the way of complete idiots, its all fine nothing to see here until, their teacher dies or maybe the numbers force the whole country back into lockdown.

Just so long as you realise the reason young people didnt die is because they were the ones getting oxygen maybe or icu. at complete overwhelm as in london say even young people died waiting for ambulances

Kids are sitting shoulder to shoulder and whilst people might expect their close contacts only to be sent home if they test positive, they don’t have to have the same seating plans in each class (this isn’t possible in secondary schools) so they’ll have myriad close contacts.

and of course there are also thousands off with symptoms untested as there are no tests.
as we will be tomorrow,
bubbles need to be limited to 30. even insecondary if that means some stuff is sacrificed then it is what it is. to continue where some will not be getting their gcse stuff is grossly unfair. if will already be 2/35

With the amount of mixing within year groups, I don’t know how we’d identify “close contacts”. It’s certainly not just the pupils they sat next to in their lessons.

My impression was that the government advice seemed to be leaning to far towards keeping kids in who might be infected. (However, we're ECV so really keen not to have it brought home. )

Quite a challenge for the teachers to balance what different people want.

I don't see how some schools/health advisers are only sending children they're sitting closest to home, in a classroom they all share much the same air for at last an hour at a time!