DS school is mixing his pods - I need to complain don’t I?

[SummerCherry]

DS is in a slightly unusual primary school in that he is in a special unit for children with SN, but attached to a mainstream school. In previous years there is integration, where the children who are able to, spend one or two lessons in a mainstream class.

I had assumed that this wouldn’t happen this year, as it means mixing for smaller pods. Also, one of the reasons I felt a bit better about DS going to school is that he is in a small class of 10, even though they all take school transport.

Also the teachers only wear visors, instead of masks, and don’t seem to understand that this doesn’t really protect them or the children.

I just got a note in his book last Friday that they were going to do integration with the mainstream (class of 30) from next Monday and that they were all very excited about it.

My heart sank, so now DS will also be in a class with 30. I think I need to write to the school and raise this as an issue don’t I?

New Siblands?

I am beginning to see that I think the whole premise of school policy is that children don’t transmit.

But we don’t actually know that. We do know that children are not necessarily major drivers - however we do know that children do get Covid19 and do pass it on - there is just not a huge amount of evidence that they pass it on as much as adults.

However children are often asymptomatic and often not tested as much as adults - so we don’t really know how much they do transmit yet. Maybe we will have more definitive information on this soon, but it is not available yet.

It’s not really relevant that children get it mildly, as the issue is who the child then transmits to - families and grandparents.

This vast majority of children are in class sized bubbles of 30, or at secondary of the whole year so often 150-300.

As such the majority of families have to accept that this is the way things are.

We don't have our heads in the sand, we are aware of the increased risk. We also know that we can't change this.

So it's probably unrealistic to think that things should be different for your DC.

@SummerCherry most teachers feel like you but our hands are tied by a lack of resources, be it space, money or time. We can't move to anything but full time learning, even in the North West where we should be at Tier 2 now but for some reason aren't, so we just have to keep going.

think it is low risk, as there is no evidence at all at this stage of mass transmission or 'super spreaders' among primary aged children. It sounds as if the benefit of integration is far higher than the risk of spreading covid (which anyway is extremely low risk for children) so their risk assessment is appropriate.

Then why did Boris Johnson, when asked to drop children from the rule of 6, say that it was an unfortunate truth that children do spread it?

@whyarewehardofthinking I feel bad for teachers, they shouldn’t be at increased risk just because of policy. Resources maybe, but sloppy thinking isn’t excusable. It really does matter having smaller pods, and wearing masks is much more protection. I can understand if there aren’t enough teachers for smaller pods, but any other ‘reason’ like ‘just being able to hang out with others at lunchtime’ or mixing lessons is just a bit of lazy thinking.

Every school should have had a good look at it’s school structure and agreed how to minimize risk with the latest evidence surely?

Are all 10 resource base children mixing with the same mainstream class, in which case it's likely the benefits of that are quite big compared to the risk of a bubble that while bigger than you thought, still is too bad.

However I'd want to know if the base children are all going into different classes, meaning the bases is mixing several bubbles. That seems a much bigger risk.

Any yes, I know bubbles are not safe as such, but I want my child to be in school the less people he has close contact with the lower the chance he has to isolate as a close contact/bubble mate.

Similar situation in DSs school where we were told they would be in class bubbles (special school so very small classes) initially, but then after a few days it transpired things have changed and they are grouping two classes per bubble for PE and some other times.

I work at a university and we are still doing some face to face stuff. Advice is to wear visors in class not masks.

I am going to suggest to students that wearing a mask will be safer but at the end of the day they can Do what they want. I’ll have to wear a visor I think or they will struggle to hear me if I’m muffled.? I might try a mask and see if they can hear me, but at least I’ll be more distant from the front row than they will be from each other. I certainly wouldn’t want to sit next to someone for hours with just a visor.

The teachers are lucky to be provided with visors, some schools haven't even done that and teaching staff are not supposed to wear masks as the govt said it was unnecessary. My school have provided visors and said that they will support any staff who want to wear face masks in corridors and when working 1:1. The bubbles at my school have 200 children in them. No it's not ideal but it is what it is. If you aren't happy deregister your child, but don't complain to the school when they are doing as instructed by the govt

So it's probably unrealistic to think that things should be different for your DC. Why not he is already in a bubble of 10, they could easily delay integration for a few months. There is no reason for them to do it, they haven’t risk assessed it, they just haven’t thought about the extra Covid-19 risk.

Perhaps the school did look at their risk assessments and decided that 'othering' the children outside of mainstream would do more damage to their education, mental health and social skills than the risk of covid.

teaching staff are not supposed to wear masks as the govt said it was unnecessary. I suspect you are right, but this makes me quite sad, as the evidence is fairly strong on this that prolonged periods indoors are high risk for aerosols and teacher’s are much better protected from other teachers, even if not children, if they have masks.

@SummerCherry

DS is in a slightly unusual primary school in that he is in a special unit for children with SN, but attached to a mainstream school. In previous years there is integration, where the children who are able to, spend one or two lessons in a mainstream class.

I had assumed that this wouldn’t happen this year, as it means mixing for smaller pods. Also, one of the reasons I felt a bit better about DS going to school is that he is in a small class of 10, even though they all take school transport.

Also the teachers only wear visors, instead of masks, and don’t seem to understand that this doesn’t really protect them or the children.

I just got a note in his book last Friday that they were going to do integration with the mainstream (class of 30) from next Monday and that they were all very excited about it.

My heart sank, so now DS will also be in a class with 30. I think I need to write to the school and raise this as an issue don’t I?

Mine is the same. Pods in this case have exception and he can mix. There are no masks at either school for them, the staff or the children.

@HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime

Perhaps the school did look at their risk assessments and decided that 'othering' the children outside of mainstream would do more damage to their education, mental health and social skills than the risk of covid.

No they didn’t. But delaying an hour here or there in a mainstream classroom is not going to make my DS have mental health problems from feeling excluded and ‘othered’! Getting COVID-19 in the household on the other hand...

Yeah knock yourself out. Complain, everyone's at it, I'm sure the teachers will be delighted.

It's not about having heads in the sand, it's about you wanting to complain about something that the school is perfectly within the guidelines to do. You don't have a leg to stand on.

You expect the teachers to wear a mask all day?

The guidelines are to have as small a bubble as possible. And the teachers are worth protecting too. I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t think that less risk is better, whilst providing education? The virus loves a bit of sloppy thinking, it doesn’t care about guidelines.

@Thefaceofboe

You expect the teachers to wear a mask all day?

Why not?! Many teenagers in other countries are also wearing a mask all day at school. Healthcare workers are. Shop assistants are. Hairdressers are. Also my child’s school have a fairly short day. They all wear masks on public transport as the drivers wouldn’t do it otherwise, my child does for over an hour a day.

Wouldn’t you want to wear a mask in order to protect yourself?

The bubbles aren't to protect children or staffing sadly they are to prevent the whole school self isolating. If your teachers have visors lucky them, at my school we are allowed nothing. Oh unless a child has symptoms then we can put a mask on while we wait for the parent to collect.

I’m a teacher, big secondary with year group bubbles. We wear masks in corridors but not in class. We have to talk and project our voices a lot, we just can’t do that in a mask. Unless you’ve done that for 5 lessons a day every day don’t say that we can.

The bubbles are to do both - to help limit any spread and also to stop whole year groups etc self isolating. The purpose of isolating is that there has been a real risk so bubbles have to have a medical purpose!

I am very sorry that many teachers are not allowed even visors or masks. That does make me feel sad. It is not so bad when the community transmission rate in the area is low. However in many areas the rate is getting quite high and then it will infiltrate schools. If I were a teacher I would wear a mask. I cant’ believe it is ‘not allowed’.

@zaphodbeeble I get that there may be issues with wearing a mask. But I don’t think these have even been looked at. Different masks are easier to talk through and wear than others, for example. And even then, surely at the very least it should be something that teachers are able to do if they want to?

Why go in with a complaint, rather than a calm and reasonable question/conversation? Why make the HT life any harder than it already undoubtably is.

You want your child to only be in his bubble of ten and integration isn’t important to you. What do the other nine sets of parents think - have you considered they’ve maybe been complaining that they do want their child integrated as much as possible?

Although our primary tries to keep class bubbles intact inevitably due to staff overlap, playtime etc they actually have a lot of time in key stage bubbles. Their hands are tied, no point complaining about it.

It just isn’t feasible to teach class after class whilst wearing a mask. It’s very easy to say ‘if I were a teacher I’d .,,’, but you’re not.