If the school class/year group has to self isolate, do the kids drip back in following Negative test or have to sit out the whole fortnight

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

Just hypothetical here.

A boy in Dds class did not attend Friday as someone in his household has symptoms. I've no idea whether it's him or someone else.

If it is him and he is positive school will send the whole class home to self isolate for 14 days.

As it has been 5 days since he saw my child, and probably most if not all of the kids in the class, can the students return before the 14 days, pending a negative test?

Also, is it 14 days from his last day at school or 14 days from the results coming back?

[Hereinthesticks]

I can see why a head would not want all the responsibility. But the older a pupil is and the more limited their subject choices, the easier it should be to identify who they have been in contact with, without sending home several hundred pupils who have not been been exposed.
Track and trace is supposed to work this way and schools could make better use of it (e.g. the forthcoming app).

[Frazzled2207]

Sorry meant to add he is also bound to inform them

[Frazzled2207]

@Hereinthesticks
Possibly it depends but our head has been adamant it is up to PHE not him. But perhaps it depends who they speak to at PHE

[Hereinthesticks]

Who is deciding whether one case is going to put hundreds of secondary school pupils out of education for 2 weeks or just the identified close contacts as described by a pp above? My DC school say PHE decided that the whole massive secondary school year group and entire bus would have to stay home. Do some schools not consult PHE while others do? It seems to be that if your school do contact PHE then the likelihood of getting shut down is greatly increased. Presumably it is not essential to do that if the pp's school above just identified close contacts and sent them home.
The app would help. But intelligent solutions to limit education disruption don't seem very popular with the government right now.

[Frazzled2207]

Interesting point re mobiles. They would have to be on. But perhaps would work if just sat in bags?

Stats for school attendance are out. An “estimated” 92% of all state school pupils were in on the 10th. 8% is quite a lot. I imagine there will be a big change a week on from that.

[Hereinthesticks]

@CrumbsThatsQuick

With a single positive case only close contacts have been sent home in no daughter's year. The rest of the bubble remains intact.

That is not what has happened in my DC school. Just one positive case has sent home an entire year group of several hundred plus everyone on the school bus, which affects all year groups.

The pupil is doing GCSEs so there will be pupils isolating who at no point sat in a classroom with the positive case.

If the positive case had got a public transport bus and not a school bus, they wouldn't have contacted all the passengers and told them to stay home for 2 weeks. Everyone on the school bus has to wear a mask.

When the government's mobile phase Track and Trace is released in a week or 2, will the school isolation policy be updated? Presumably it will be possible to easily and quickly identify which pupils sat near the positive case for a prolonged period. Schools that has mobile phone bans should consider lifting these bans so that more effective track and trace can take place within schools.

I understand we need to reduce virus transmission, but it seems the threshold for pausing the education of hundreds of pupils without any proof that they had any contact with a positive case is very very low currently. The mobile phone T&T app should be able to help with this, but are schools preparing to make use of it?

[AlwaysInAQ]

So my situation is now that my DD is off school with a cough. A test was booked last night and carried out at a centre this morning. It came on very suddenly yesterday teatime along with a bunged up snotty nose which I originally put down to hay fever until the cough started.
The positive test in her year is someone she does not have any lessons or contact with and as I understand it, just her form group was sent home yesterday to isolate (but not the teacher)
A boy who is in a lot of classes with DD has temp and cough and a test booked tomorrow and one of her closest friends at school is now poorly with a cough and test booked tomorrow.

[CrumbsThatsQuick]

With a single positive case only close contacts have been sent home in no daughter's year. The rest of the bubble remains intact.

[Kaktus]

@LoungeLizardLhama

I’ve had an email from DDs school this morning to say that a child or staff member is self isolating due to developing Covid symptoms but they’re saying that nobody else needs to isolate unless the test comes back positive. It seems like there’s loads of conflicting advice/opinion but I have to say, I’m happy with the way our school are handling it meaning the whole bubble don’t have to miss out on school ‘just in case’.

*Until we know the result of the test, there is no need for your child to isolate and they can attend school as normal.
If the individual who is experiencing symptoms tests positive, we will contact you immediately and your child will need to isolate for 14 days from the date they were last in contact with them. Other household members will not need to isolate.
If the test result is negative, the individual can return to school immediately (as long as they have not had a temperature, vomiting or diarrhea for 48 hours). There will be no further action for close contacts.
If a test result in inconclusive, or a test cannot be carried out, the individual will continue to isolate for the 10 day period (other household members for 14 days). There will be no further action for close contacts.*

I’m surprised they’ve told you that. Surely most schools have multiple kids who have had to take a test due to having a temperature or a cough? Ours has (all were negative) and no communications were sent out.

[LoungeLizardLhama]

I’ve had an email from DDs school this morning to say that a child or staff member is self isolating due to developing Covid symptoms but they’re saying that nobody else needs to isolate unless the test comes back positive. It seems like there’s loads of conflicting advice/opinion but I have to say, I’m happy with the way our school are handling it meaning the whole bubble don’t have to miss out on school ‘just in case’.

Until we know the result of the test, there is no need for your child to isolate and they can attend school as normal.
If the individual who is experiencing symptoms tests positive, we will contact you immediately and your child will need to isolate for 14 days from the date they were last in contact with them. Other household members will not need to isolate.
If the test result is negative, the individual can return to school immediately (as long as they have not had a temperature, vomiting or diarrhea for 48 hours). There will be no further action for close contacts.
If a test result in inconclusive, or a test cannot be carried out, the individual will continue to isolate for the 10 day period (other household members for 14 days). There will be no further action for close contacts.

[H1978]

I think, as a precaution, even if the contact with the person testing positive is minimal, it’s better that the whole bubble isolate for 14 days. Dd3 is currently self isolating as someone in their class bubble tested positive but the rest of us are allowed to carry on as normal unless she starts displaying symptoms, in which case she would need to be tested and we would all need to self isolate until the results come through. I also got a call from the school today to let them know if she has any symptoms.

[cptartapp]

A boy in DS1 class at college tested positive. DS sits next to him, they're good friends, were at a hot tub party around the same time!
DS began his 14 day self isolation straight away (from his last contact with him) if his own accord, the college acted promptly, but it was 5 days before track and trace caught up with us.
If DS has no symptoms he can go back after 14 days. All other students sitting in a 2 metre radius from affected lad also told to self isolate. If they have no symptoms they don't need to test. I don't need to self isolate unless DS does show symptoms.

[TheOrigBrave]

Our school is setting work daily and the headteacher insisted that it must be completed on the day it is set

And the consequences if it's not?
What about children with no access to a computer, either because there isn't one at home or because parents are WFH?
What about children who don't have any supervision or just someone to ask, or that the person at home doesn't speak enough English or isn't well educated?

While my son has been home I have supervised where I can (he has just started secondary school), but I have my own job to do.

Does this HT have children at home who have also been given the same expectations?

[badlydrawnbear]

@Teacher12345

We have had a positive test of a sibling of a child in DS class. if the child in DS now tests positive, the whole class isolates.
What I want to know is, does the family have to isolate too or just DS? Seems odd if DD can still go to school but I think the rules are thats she can?

Just DS. We are living this at the moment.
DC1 can't leave the house, but DC2 should still be going to school and I still have to go to work to interact with large numbers of vulnerable people. We are required to keep DC1 at home for 14 days from last contact with the positive case, which the school says is the last day DC1 was at school, we are not sure about that as surely the positive case should have been off school unwell on the day their result came back. We don't get DC tested unless she becomes symptomatic herself (if it is even possible to get a test). It is shit, harder than the original lockdown school closure as she can't even go for a walk. Our school is setting work daily and the headteacher insisted that it must be completed on the day it is set, which is a problem as I don't see my DC on days that I am at work doing 13hr shifts and DH cannot supervise any work while WFH, but I emailed the class teacher and she was fine with us just catching up where we can. DC2 can't go to school on days that I am at work, as DH can't leave DC1 in the house on her own twice a day to take and collect her, and her teacher has emailed me suggestions of things to do with her based on what they are doing in class (she miss about 5 days across the 14 day period).

[TheOrigBrave]

Neither me nor my DD know who the positive case is though. So I'm guessing school make the decision on whether close contact has happened?

Yes, exactly that. The school will inform you if your DD needs to SI.

Presumably if a child is isolating at home and the family aren't then they are staying distant from family members? I can't see how that's going t work in a lot of cases.

In my village I know of an 11yo who is being kept in her room (as indeed the SI guidelines state). I also know of another who has done the school run with his Mum.
If my son has to SI there is no way I will keep him in his room - that would be so damaging to his emotional wellbeing. We will lockdown together as much as possible.

[AlwaysInAQ]

Neither me nor my DD know who the positive case is though @Kaktus
So I'm guessing school make the decision on whether close contact has happened?
I do agree with poster who says where do you draw the line. I'm not saying I want my DD to isolate just so unsure of the rules. I've sprayed her with Dettol spray when she got home

[TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince]

A bubble in my dd’s school has just closed for 14 days as a student has tested positive.

[StealthPolarBear]

Presumably if a child is isolating at home and the family aren't then they are staying distant from family members? I can't see how that's going t work in a lot of cases.

[Aragog]

It would be handy if schools could say just 3 things the kids can work on over the 14 days.

Lots of schools do this and more. Some did similar - a weekly overview - way before Covid was even on the scene.

[TheOrigBrave]

What I want to know is, does the family have to isolate too or just DS? Seems odd if DD can still go to school but I think the rules are thats she can?

Just the DS, unless you have symptoms obv.
I was/am dreading DS2 having to SI following school outbreak as it's just me and him at home and I'd feel pretty rotten leaving him at home while I went out for a run or swim or something.

[DateLoaf]

Good question OP and also how does this all work when you can’t seem to get tests at the moment?

[Teacher12345]

We have had a positive test of a sibling of a child in DS class. if the child in DS now tests positive, the whole class isolates.
What I want to know is, does the family have to isolate too or just DS? Seems odd if DD can still go to school but I think the rules are thats she can?

[StealthPolarBear]

If close contacts are being contacted and only they are told to isolate what is a bubble?
I'm sure when they were brought in the idea was that all isolated or not, together.

[Frazzled2207]

@TheOrigBrave
I run an organised activity albeit not sport. It is now mandatory to hold all participants details for this very reason.

[Kaktus]

@AlwaysInAQ

I have had an email today from DD's school to say someone has Covid and the "small number of pupils that have been in contact have been told to SI"

She does not know who the pupil is but one of her friends has been sent home as she thinks the rest of her form has as well. But they are in year bubbles and are only in form a short amount of time then are mixed. DD sits next to one of the children sent home and was with her yesterday playing sport so surely she and all her group should be isolating?

Your daughter should be SI if she’s been in contact with the positive case, not if she’s been in contact with someone else who has been in contact with the positive case.