Children and teachers have been thrown under the bus, haven't they?

[ReadTheData]

Can I please urge all of you to write to your MP about this?

The government have had months to prepare and in only the third week of September they have failed already. They have not kept up their end of the bargain for opening schools safely.

Taking two weeks off every time for symptoms is not feasible for children, working parents or teachers, especially in the winter term.

They're deflecting blame to the few that have taken unnecessary tests, but the number of people who would choose to take this horrible test or put their children through it for kicks, a laugh, or whatever, are surely few and far between. And it's a nightmare getting a test anyway! So I don't believe that propaganda for a minute, the government are doing everything they can to wriggle out of it.

I'm sure no parent wants their child to be part of some kind of sick experiment - and I'm sure teachers don't want to be thrown under the bus either. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the teachers went on strike over this.

Please stand up and shout about this to anyone who will listen. I want my children to get in education this year and I want children, parents and teachers to stay safe.

How come we fight an invisible virus if we don't even know how many cases there are? The government need to get their shit together instead of lurching from one disasterous decision to the next.

@walksen

"I can't see many employers agreeing to their employees having every other week off school"

Hopefully they will be understanding about repeated periods of self isolation due to repeated instances of positive tests in a bubble and a number of incidences of being off for a few days with coughs and temperatures and waiting for a test....

The trouble is part time wouldn’t be immune. You’d still get community cases closing bubbles and lack of tests causing lags. Unless the guidelines stated a positive case doesn’t close a bubble.

like back in march when our designated health specialists told us tracing etc and testing wasn't necessary, no evidence for it

That didn’t happen. Testing was always happening just not in numbers needed. Tracing happened very early but after cases increased it’s no longer useful or possible. That’s what they said in March.

Teachers should be teaching them over the Internet

The government would have to provide teachers and pupils with adequate technology for this to happen.

My classroom has an ancient desktop with no camera which would be no good for any sort of live teaching via the internet.

3 week back I have been away from the classroom since last Thursday. I have a chest infection but due to covid risk assessment I have to have a negative test result before I can return to teach.
I sent the postal test same day so Thursday last week. There were no tests available online at all luckily, the school have 10 from the government!
Have still not had my result. I have phoned and just get told "there is a serious backlog"
There are at least 10 other members of staff now off all waiting on tests, we will be closed soon due to staff shortage.

Milly they said there is no point testing, who kicked off, they ramped it up, they had raised the threshold.

@Letseatgrandma I've got 4 secondary age pupils in my house. They've all got smartphones but not all got laptops.

No sign of them prioritising teachers for tests yet.

@middleager

What are other countries doing?
www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/28/reopening-schools-different-countries-tackle-education-conundrum-coronavirus

@walksen - People can be the most understanding people in the world, but if you are as small business on the ropes, then, 'giving' time off is just not feasible.

I do not think people realise what a knife edge most businesses are on, and can not accommodate random staff absences. Wait until the furlough scheme ends, then there will be plenty of parents to home school.

[quote Itsabeautifuldayheyhey]**@middleager

What are other countries doing?
www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/28/reopening-schools-different-countries-tackle-education-conundrum-coronavirus[/quote]
Thanks. Some of the differences include blended learning, small class sizes and Saturday school. I think other European countries have better broadband reach too.

This is the result of weak leadership and the poison of Us for Them. There are a lot of posters who should be thoroughly ashamed of their selfishness.

My son was sent home on Friday with a slight temperature, 37.8 and headache. Was told he needs a negative test to return or isolate for 14 days.
Have been trying since Friday for a test refreshing every 20/30 minutes. When I say constant I meant from 8am until midnight sometimes I've even woken up in the night to try!! NOTHING... so he's now off until his time is up.
I'm miffed because he had a headache as he didn't drink all day (picked him just before 1pm) as they children are restricted on toilet use and he didn't want to need the loo and not be able to go. Got him home took his temperature (in the ear not forehead as I've heard they are unreliable) was 36.5... raghhhh so that's that not allowed back for another week and bit.
I'm worried what will happen when proper cold/flu season kicks In I won't be able to afford to keep taking time off. Just don't know what the solution is

"Just don't know what the solution is"

Realistically at the moment and until testing and is unfubar'ed parents might be better off keeping them off for a few days at the first sign of a cold until the risk of temperature or cough clears up.

In the past messages from schools has been come in unless really under the weather but right now doing this can mean 2 weeks off......

Plenty of people have been continually at work during this crisis. The world cannot stop for covid any longer.

Over the summer a number of teaching unions advocated blended learning from the start of term, with different year groups in school for one week and then home learning for another. Would have allowed for more social distancing in schools between pupils and between pupils and teachers.
The headlines were along the lines of teachers wanting to work half time, lazy teachers etc etc. All the kind of comments that were reiterated on here by parents.
Well, look what happened. I don't feel any sense of triumphalism at this, just deep sadness.
Im