Classrooms are half full!!

[shesellsseashells99]

My son is at secondary and his classes are about half full as everyone has this cold/cough. My son says that if anyone coughs, they are told to put on a mask and then sent home. However daughters primary doesn't seem to strict. I dont know what the answer is but kids are never going to be at school especially as people cant get tests. My son says a child only has to cough 2 or 3 times and they're sent out...

Or half empty??

'too' strict

That sounds unlucky/unusual. I suppose once a bad cold gets into a class it does the rounds.

We only have 1-2 per class missing at the moment (not the same ones the whole time, obviously)

Umm I guess it various only one child off in my daughters secondary school class so it uniform across the country

Readily available tests and fast turn around of results would allow the kids to be back inside classrooms after 24 hour absence.

Or as Boris would probably say a full class of students as isn't 15 about right for a class size in his sphere of experience.

What does everyone think about a child coughing occasionally in class if well in themselves? Both my children have asthma and on tender hooks as always have a bit of a cough if they catch a cold!

@Lockdownseperation

Readily available tests and fast turn around of results would allow the kids to be back inside classrooms after 24 hour absence.

But if they still have symptoms they would have to stay off i suppose

If your DC have asthma then the rules still apply, just that for the cough criteria it's a new, continuous cough OR if you already have a cough then it's worse than usual.

I'm in the same position. As soon as I get a back to school virus then I know that will mean I'm off isolating and getting tested. It's something we've just got to accept.

It would be better for everyone’s health if people didn’t send ill children to school whether or not it was Covid...
In my experience ‘a couple of coughs’ doesn’t get anyone sent home - it’s Too much hassle unless it’s repeated coughing. My classes are down about 4 each, and not because children have been sent home but because they haven’t come in.

The cold which leads onto a cough is doing the rounds here too - I had both of mine off end of last week getting the coughing eldest tested, and now the younger one has the same cough - so I'm sending the negative tested elder one back into school and made it clear to the school I'm only getting the younger child tested in order to put the staff's mind at ease.

Yep there are loads off - if they manage to get the testing turnaround and test booking down to what it should be of "get symptoms > go online > get test for same day or next > results following day" then it's tolerable. But at the moment it took me 5 hours of refreshing the website to get a test booked and god knows what the test turnaround will be as it's such a fuck up.

There was always going to be a wave with coughs and colds after 6 months out of school and away from peers - we should have had testing prepared for that - especially when the symptoms are so bloody vague and common for most shit kids pick up(and half of MN are inventing other ones).

Our school have been allowing them in on the basis that there are “a lot bugs going round”. But now there are six confirmed cases of CV19 in the school and 6 year groups or partial year groups self isolating. It’s a tricky balance.

This isn't the case experience in either of my DC's schools, so far at least.

Why would they still have to stay off if they have symptoms? My DD test results said as long as she has been fever free for 48 hours she could return to school.

@Lockdownseperation

Why would they still have to stay off if they have symptoms? My DD test results said as long as she has been fever free for 48 hours she could return to school.

So if they still have a cough for example they can go in?

I work at a large secondary school, we have maybe 2-3 off per class, either ill or waiting for results from tests. Students are in with the usual autumn colds, occasionally coughing, asthma etc.

The primary my children go to are taking the same approach, they are in with runny noses, occasional/ preexisting coughs etc.

Both schools are taking the common sense approach and following the advice that's it's a new continuous cough, fever or loss of taste/smell that would trigger time off/ testing.

My classroom of 30 was full until last wed. Then one was told to isolate for 2 weeks. And another 5 are off with colds.

My 13 year old said her class has been down to about 50% too. And she's had covers for loads of lessons as so many teachers are off. The government need to sort out testing now as school is getting to be a bit of nonsense.

@OnlyBejoking

My 13 year old said her class has been down to about 50% too. And she's had covers for loads of lessons as so many teachers are off. The government need to sort out testing now as school is getting to be a bit of nonsense.

It really does need to be sorted now. It's a mess!!

@shesellsseashells99

What does everyone think about a child coughing occasionally in class if well in themselves? Both my children have asthma and on tender hooks as always have a bit of a cough if they catch a cold!

I've been coughed on literally all last week where I teach. Kids aren't sent home it's business as usual. I got a minor cold but it's gone. Full classrooms where I've been and loads and loads of very very snotty sneezing coughing kids.

I can't at all think why secondary schools in which the pupils have found coughing a few times will get them 2 weeks off might be struggling for numbers...
I suspect that several of those with 'coughs' simply put a cough on for a few minutes in order to get out of school and never had a cough in the first place.

secondary pupils making up a cough to get time off? who'd a thunk it?

(most secondary school pupils propbably)

We have only had 3 to 6 off a day from the whole school.

Nearly all our pupils are in. The odd cough here and there would not involve being sent home.

@shesellsseashells99 yep as long as they have tested negative for Covid they can return with a cough.