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Original poster

Do schools see results of Covid tests?

54 replies

Dustballs · 01/10/2020 22:06

There are kids at our school who've been in coughing, been sent home, come back coughing and not been tested.

There are kids not being sent home at all.

And yet 3/4s of the school is shut due to just one case.

Are schools allowed to see results of a Covid test if a student is sent home with a cough - or do they have to rely on trust?

OP posts:
Solasum · 01/10/2020 23:38

@Treesofwood as I understand, what was meant in that situation was that testing people hot off a plane did not actually catch all those who would go on to develop Covid, and testing the same people again five (?) days later into isolation Picked up many more positives

Treesofwood · 02/10/2020 00:20

Solasum, maybe. That's feasible..Not what he said though.

Kitcat122 · 02/10/2020 07:06

This is why the people who work in school were so concerned. However we were just shot down in flames on here.

meditrina · 02/10/2020 07:26

At present, schools cannot require proof of a negative test

I think that needs to change.

noideaatallreally · 02/10/2020 07:32

@Dustballs

I would have thought 99% of people would be honest with a positive result.

Not round here they won't. In most homes both parents are working. We live in London and there's not many grandparents around/family to help. Childcare is scarce and expensive. Parents need their kids to be in school and can't afford to be off work.

They'll send their kids in if there is a loophole and an option.

Not much of a loophole though if (when) infected students pass it on to teachers and TAs and the school has to shut as a result of staff illness.
LittleRa · 02/10/2020 07:32

We are not allowed to demand to see results as it’s private health information (GDPR) so have to rely on trust but we have been saying to parents “if you would like to share that information with us then we’d be happy to see it” and hoping that we have a good and open relationship with parents that they would want to be transparent and honest.

IceCreamAndCandyfloss · 02/10/2020 07:56

@Treesofwood

I would have thought 99% of people would be honest with a positive result. Unless they were worried they were one of the 2000 or so that day who had a false positive.
I would like to think it was 100% and people knew it was important not to risk the lives of others.

Sadly I suspect it’s no where near as high as 99% as many send Ill children into school regardless.

CulturallyAppropriatedName · 02/10/2020 08:15

@Treesofwood

I think one MP said 93% of positives were false or something It's why they don't want to do tests at airports.
No. What he intended to say is that if they randomly test people coming in at airports to see who has covid in lieu of asking people to quarantine for two weeks they would only detect 7 percent of those who are infected. Because it can take a number of days between being infected and having symptoms/testing positive. If you catch covid on your big night out last night of holiday, you won't test positive the next day at the airport. That will be a few days later when you have been to granny's house, the supermarket, the office, and the pub thinking you were fine because you tested negative at the airport when you flew back from Spain.

That is why they don't test at the airport. Not because testing only picks up 7 percent ever.

StealthPolarBear · 02/10/2020 08:45

I don't really understand this concept of the text being private medical info either. You have to tell school whether the child has it or not so they know whether the child should be in or not. The texts are standard, they don't include any other info about you.

Original poster
Dustballs · 02/10/2020 08:49

Do employers have the right to demand to see test results?

Would the teachers have to show their results?

OP posts:
kimlo · 02/10/2020 09:02

dd's school asked me if I would email them a copy of dd's results before she went back.

I don't see why it's an issue, you have to say what they are anyway so theres no information in the email that they don't already have.

peboh · 02/10/2020 09:08

The three schools the little in my family go to are asking for proof of negative tests. I don't think anyone has argued with them yet, therefore they haven't had to worry about wether they're actually allowed to require it or not.

NewNameNoName · 02/10/2020 09:13

We can't ask for proof and we do now know that at least one family has sent positive students in. They got tired of waiting for a test result and they mixed with 3 year groups before confirmation of a positive test results. And still sent them in. One kid spilled the beans 8 days after test, 3 days after the positive result confirmed.

My faith in humanity is slowly being eroded, especially as a teacher who was shielding due to being on immunosuppressive medication.

TheFallenMadonna · 02/10/2020 21:38

We haven't asked for negative test results from staff either, but our staff isolate on full pay, so there isn't that driver to return to work after a positive test.

MushMonster · 02/10/2020 21:44

We just got a general email from the HT, as they do. It included that they want a scan/ pic of the test result either positive or negative.

MushMonster · 02/10/2020 21:45

I forgot to add. This is Wales.
Rules can vary quite a bit between areas.

MushMonster · 02/10/2020 21:47

@NewNameNoName that is bad indeed! I struggle to believe people can behave like this!

Original poster
Dustballs · 02/10/2020 22:03

@NewNameNoName What you've described is what I feared (my kids have come home with similar stories - nothing confirmed - but kids do spill beans to each other especially).

That's why I started this thread. It's very worrying.

OP posts:
GreenPlum · 02/10/2020 22:08

Our high school requires proof of neg result before kids are allowed to go back. Fine by me.

tywysoges · 02/10/2020 22:23

DD’s school hasn’t asked to see the test results. I informed them via the absence reporting that we were waiting for results and when they came back negative I just sent DD to school the next day with a copy of the text on her phone. No questions were asked. They did send a letter around after she had returned asking parents to inform the school of results, but I don’t think they are asking for proof.

VelveteenBunni · 03/10/2020 07:21

My daughters school has stated that children won't be allowed back unless they have seen evidence of a negative test (this can be shown on a phone screen they said)

I take it they can't actually do that then?

VelveteenBunni · 03/10/2020 07:27

Can't upload the pic of the email so I'll just paste it.

Parents / Carers

If your child has been off unwell with COVID-19 symptoms, please ensure that you have provided evidence of a NEGATIVE result to the school office, or a member of the senior leadership team, before your child returns. This can be done via email, or showing a negative result via a phone at drop off.

Many thanks for you support with this.

TheFallenMadonna · 03/10/2020 11:50

It's against the DfE guidance. I'm not sure why, since it is now the law that you have to isolate after a positive test result. But there you go.

OpenlyGayExOlympicFencer · 03/10/2020 14:07

Schools being able to require sight of test results doesn't solve the problem, only shunts it elsewhere. It tackles the symptom, not the root.

Parents who have to go to work and need someone to look after their children aren't going to isolate because school is no longer an option. They're going to farm the kids out to whoever will have them. Depending on individual arrangements, that could potentially end up exposing just as many people, perhaps more given that most primaries have class bubbles now. The problem will continue while there are people who will lose money they can't afford to be without if they have to isolate.

booearing · 03/10/2020 15:10

This is our schools policy.

Following the test, the result will arrive in 48-72 hours. The parent is requested to inform the school of
the result.

  1. Until the test results are known, EVERYONE living with the pupil will need to self- isolate.
  2. If the test result is negative then the parent/guardian need to provide evidence of this to the school(s)
before the pupil(s) can attend school again.
  1. If the test comes back positive, EVERYONE living in the household will need to self-isolate for 14 days.
  2. Following a positive test result, the Authority's Contact Tracing Team will contact you and you will need
to work closely with them to help prevent the infection spreading further. We are in Wales so i don't know if the rules vary around the UK