Coronavirus outbreaks in England spreading mostly in schools

[herecomesthsun]

Link here

I know it is what many of us have been predicting for some months, so an all too familiar topic.

However, I thought some of you, maybe especially teachers or those from vulnerable families, might be interested in having the article flaaged up.

[ceeveebee]

@PlonkItDownNOW

go visit Grandma at the weekend

Which is completely allowed, so why you're huffing and puffing about it I don't know.

Not in my area for the last 9 weeks...

[MummyOfZog]

As a working parent, with a primary school aged child I do NOT think the answer is to simply shut schools. These kids have already missed so much, and with the best will in the world, home school via online methods is just no comparable at this age group (it does, however, work well for university and sixth form subjects) to face to face time. Mainly because learning at this level is less 'books and writing' and more learning through play and practical activities.

However, there are some very easy, simple additional rules I think should be put in place to address some of the social distancing problems in schools. For example, I think all parents should be asked to wear masks during drop-off/pick-up. We have staggered times at our school to reduce the number of people at the school gates, but there are always bunches of parents having a chat and clogging up the area, plus the queue to drop children off is quite long and I do really think masks would be of some minor help here. Yes, its outdoors, but so many parents in the line do not respect the social distancing rules (including teachers, who get v close when they want to have a quick chat about a child I've noticed!)! Teachers should also be asked to wear masks during the drop off/pick ups for their own protection, as they are speaking with many different parents during this time. I know in some schools these things are already happening, but a huge majority aren't and until its in the guidance I don't think those schools will adopt these measures.
I also think the gov should scrap fines for non-attendance at the moment, only for those parents who actively choose to home-school during this period due to covid fears. This might help free up a couple of spaces across a few classes.

[Haskell]

The school I work in is in a local lockdown area. Staff and children are wearing face coverings in all communal areas. Children that arrive without one are given a disposable to use, and their parents informed of their lack of mask. The list of children that are exempt from wearing coverings has been shared, and is very small (

[Jrobhatch29]

@PlonkItDownNOW

1.3% chance of death if aged between 50 and 59 I believe.

Don't think it's even that high according to this study

www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.23.20160895v5

[Char2015]

@Waah

How are reception children supposed to learn phonics when their teachers faces are covered by a mask? Genuine question?

Quite easily, by pre-recording the lesson and letting the children watch it. By utilising the videos (e.g. RWI) already available.
I think, if people think hard enough, there are solutions to all the barriers people are finding.

[palacegirl77]

Not sure about that article it said that "In England there were a total of 595 outbreaks in educational settings this week, with 252 of which coming from secondary schools, and 216 coming from primary schools." But on the graphs it includes universities as educational settings and for example, Sheffield has nearly 800 cases between 2 Unis - so not sure those figures are right.

If it is the case that young, healthy people are the ones catching it that bodes well for hospitalisations staying low. Although again, apparently those figures are for any respiratory illness including flu.

[Haskell]

I should say, for balance that my teenaged daughter's school also has all these mitigation measures in place...and they have had to close all but one year groups (7-13) since start of term.
Their pupils travel mainly by bus and train.

[MrsLJ2014]

Waah Exactly what I was going to say about tea hung phonics. I'm wearing a mask where possible, such as seeing children out at hometime but it is not possible at all times.
I do worry about the lack of PPE in school. I worry that either me or my 6 year old son could bring the virus home but I do not want schools to shut. How the heck do I live online teach my class of 5 and 6 year olds whilst also helping my own 6 year old access his own online learning?

[MrsLJ2014]

Tea hung phonics?!!
Teaching phonics!!

[jcyclops]

Unsurprisingly, The Guardian article is factually wrong and is a total misinterpretation of the data.

"In England there were a total of 595 outbreaks in educational settings this week, with 252 of which coming from secondary schools, and 216 coming from primary schools."

The figures in The Guardian are the totals for the last FOUR WEEKS (wks 36-39). The figures for last week (wk39) are 225/96/82 respectively.

The data is from the ONS/PHE weekly Covid Surveillance report which is published every Friday.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-covid-19-surveillance-reports

The table shows the figures that the reporter misinterpreted. There are approx 16,800 primaries and 3,500 secondaries in England.

[MrsLJ2014]

Char2015 Pre recorded lessons would be ok but not great when you have children not getting it so need to go over something, not just continue with the video

[Char2015]

@MrsLJ2014

Char2015 Pre recorded lessons would be ok but not great when you have children not getting it so need to go over something, not just continue with the video

You can pause the video, re-wind. You wouldn't just continue with the lesson if a child needed to go over it. Just pre-recording the sounds would be sufficient and can be used over again. The teacher will continue to teach live, but just using video for the phonics sounds.

[TheGreatWave]

@mummumumumumumumumumum

one secondary school in our area has had several cases (more than any other in the town and there are 4 or 5 more) and they have mixed TG of years 7 to 11 and the kids act normally moving round the school. A huge number catch the school bus there too. It seems to me the schools who are organized properly are fairing better so it is as much about processes as the virus

I wonder if my DC's school has faired better locally because the vast majority of pupils either walk to school or are dropped off. The majority of the other schools have much wider catchment areas and have school buses.

[lljkk]

A huge number of relevant contacts are within own household, not special setting.

Source. Updated thru 29 September.

[noblegiraffe]

Palace that's why you need to read further to see the other graph that shows universities contribute minimally to the ' educational settings' section.

People also need to remember that 595 outbreaks in secondary schools is hiding the number of kids currently quarantining home and not in school. 13,000 in Birmingham alone last week. Thousands in Greater Manchester.

It's all very well saying schools shouldn't close, but they already are.

[fishywaters]

You cannot close schools without a full national lockdown. Teens just won't stay home again. You might get a few middle class parents managing to keep their teens working, but many older teens will be mixing in each other's houses and out on the streets. There is nobody who can enforce and keep them at home. The fear factor of Covid is gone. The only thing government could do is the 2 week circuit breaks - one at half term, one at Christmas, one at February half term. If they plan that they should give teachers and pupils some notice. Closing schools again just isn't going to fly on so many levels. Plus it doesn't make sense - it is not a race to the bottom. The whole point is that you only close schools where there is actually a proper Covid problem.

[VillageGreenTree]

Most parents of school aged children (or frankly even teenagers and young adults) are not in the at risk categories.

Quite a few are though. What about these people?

[Spicegirls]

Schools should not close again. Ffs.

I say that as someone whose child has got it.

The answer to this isn't to completely fuck up a whole generation.

[herecomesthsun]

@VillageGreenTree

Most parents of school aged children (or frankly even teenagers and young adults) are not in the at risk categories.

Quite a few are though. What about these people?

2 million shielding.

1/10 of these are said to be parents of school age children.

That would be approx 200, 000 people.

Plus extremely clinically vulnerable teachers and children.

[shinynewapple2020]

@MrsShelton

Well let’s face it, as winter starts it’s only going to get worse

No PPE in schools....no masks. Yet every other environment is wearing them? I don’t see the point in the rest of us ‘doing our bit’ and wearing masks all day if we go home to our children who have mixed with 30+ kids that day!

It's because your children have been mixing with the other 30 children in their class then coming home and having a cuddle that you need to wear a mask when you go out and about . If there is a likelihood of you having picked up something from your DC then the mask is to stop you passing it on .

[Frazzled2207]

of course there have been more clusters in primary schools just because there are more of them.
There are tens of thousands of primary schools
thousands of secondary schools
Less than 100 (I think) universities.
So if there was one cluster in each of the above (there isn't) of course primary schools would come out on top!

[ceeveebee]

[quote Haskell]The school I work in is in a local lockdown area. Staff and children are wearing face coverings in all communal areas. Children that arrive without one are given a disposable to use, and their parents informed of their lack of mask. The list of children that are exempt from wearing coverings has been shared, and is very small (

[Silversun83]

@StatisticalSense

This is exactly why politicians should never have come out and claimed that they would protect schools at all costs. The restrictions that would be required to keep the virus at bay while keeping schools open are simply unpalatable whereas closing schools would likely be enough to prevent any other additional restrictions being necessary (and quite possibly allow a few other relaxations). What needs to be done now is for schools to be moved online for all except the most vulnerable children (who would be looked after by TAs and other non teaching staff) until Easter with schools being expected to provide the usual timetable in the form of video lessons to all pupils with immediate effect.

How exactly would this be done with young primary school children?

My DD has just started in reception and they are learning so much each day but it is all interactive, play-based, social learning.

There's no way you would be able to replicate this virtually.

I would happily agree to no mixing of households (and other restrictions, though obviously appreciate the effects on the economy) to keep primary schools open.

[hopsalong]

@PlonkItDownNOW

Yes, exactly. At my son's parents evening, we expressed concerns that he'd been crying in the lunch queue because it was too loud. Did he show other sensory issues etc? The teacher said that five of the children had to be taken back to the classroom by an assistant because they couldn't cope with the noise levels. This is a tiny point. But she said she'd never seen anything like this before covid. There are also two children in his class (year one) without special needs who aren't completely potty trained. Children suffer socially in the most basic ways imaginable from being deprived of social LIFE outside the home, which means primarily school. It's nothing short of deprivation and abuse to force young children to spend many months without social interaction or education, or even exercise, parked alone in front of a screen.

There seems to be a fantasy among some people that if schools close children can be home schooled instead. Most people can't do this. My employer isn't going to offer any more flexible working arrangements. Furlough is over. We can't afford for either of us to stop working. We are both meant to be teaching in person. Schools closing would mean us splitting the working week so someone is always at home and a five year old watching seven hours a day of TV, with a quick sandwich lunch. For a month or two, yes. For a year, no way.

There is nothing instinctive or natural about choosing the worst for your own child to reduce the risk of a virus for elderly and sick people that you don't know and haven't met. (The vast majority of elderly and sick people survive covid, even if they get it. So don't let anyone take this as 'condemning the elderly to certain death'.)

Human societies normally put children first, not last. There's nothing exemplary or morally admirable about damaging their future lives to protect adults.

[noblegiraffe]

of course there have been more clusters in primary schools just because there are more of them.

Secondary schools came out on top, not primary, frazzled