Track and trace told not to bother reporting cases amongst staff or pupils in schools

[NebularNerd]

This is a scandal. School staff are being thrown to the wolves. Remarkably short sighted given that students and staff will spread the virus in the community. The virus does not stop at the school gates.

twitter.com/parents_utd/status/1314972457888030721?s=21

@The80sweregreat sadly I can't hold my breath for the 6 hours I'm with the kids every day.

Monkey, I know. It must be an awful situation for all staff in schools.
I work on one but only for a very short time. That's bad enough!

a report on the BBC on Monday suggests stopping all testing of children because they get 1/3 of cases and it's assumed they hardly transmit so in the uk we should stop testing then

So will they say children can just go into school with symptoms and spread it all around? Or they still have to isolate and stay off for two weeks without being tested?

Is it some sort of grand research project into how well children transmit the virus? Let them all in school and see how many adults in school catch it?

@Ouchy I said children need to be educated , thousands of children are home educated with excellent outcomes.

@OhDear2200 Ummm what about those of us that work? are your children year five or younger or have a vulnerability that mean they can’t stay at home alone? If so then yes schools should be open for your children.

@OhDear2200 assuming you are a single parent obviously.

It's crazy. Teachers/TAs are cannon fodder. Kids are super spreaders and teachers/TAs are there in cramped conditions for hours, with no masks, no social distancing, poor ventilation, inadequate toilet/hand washing facilities (I am a TA and as much as we wash hands often, lots of children do have a tendency to put their fingers up their noses straight afterwards ). It's putting teachers lives at risk.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/worlds-biggest-contact-tracing-study-22828326

@AldiAisleofCrap I know about home education and that’s fine, possibly great, for those parents that do not work, and children who benefit from that education style. I toyed with the idea in the past but for mine (and many of my friends) it would be cruel to educate them at home. Many children prefer to spread their wings outside the home and to be with their peers daily. Also clearly many parents are not able to home educate, or cannot afford to not work in order to home educate. The mental health implications of school closures for children and adolescents are well documented.

I do think however people who would prefer to home educate at present should be allowed to do so without losing their children’s school places. And I feel for teachers who feel anxious and vulnerable. I hope teachers who do feel unsafe find, or are helped to find solutions that make them safe. This does not mean however that schools should close; it just means appropriate arrangements are needed for teachers whose age or other vulnerability means they need to shield.

Well so much for the suggestion that children are not tested because they are assumed not to spread the virus. The findings of that Princeton study that VillageGreen posted about show the exact opposite! I'm amazed they've been allowed to report it. I'm off to grab a screenshot before they're forced to take it down.

Although to be fair, that study took place only in India where there have been more cases amongst young people so far than in more developed countries and the setting is slightly different. Let's hope it's not indicative of what's happening here now more young people are catching the virus.

How would we know how many cases there have been here in young people when we’re not testing them?

When we do test them, like in universities, it suddenly turns out an awful lot of them have it.

@Ouchy I said children who are vulnerable should be in school so that covers the “ safety net” if your children only socialised in school and are unable to have a routine away from school that’s a real shame for them. As for independence they will learn to be far more independent being home educated than in a school.

@Ouchy home educated children don’t stay at home all day. Neither are their friends limited to children within 12 months of their age. Believe me HE kids “spread their wings” far more than your have the opportunity to do in school which is a controlled and regimented environment.
Also why would you think parents that HE don’t work?

A lot of misunderstanding about HE above.

children who benefit from that education style HE is not an education style, there are many ways to HE.

Many children prefer to spread their wings outside the home and to be with their peers daily This is perfectly possible when HE.

The mental health implications of school closures for children and adolescents are well documented Amongst teens a drop in mental health problems was reported. School is a significant cause of mental ill-health in the UK.

Apologies if I've missed this and I'm repeating

That's graph which shows cases in the 10-19 age group isn't a very good one. Remember this will therefore include freshers at Uni. The figures for ages 10-16 are much different and less alarming, by far.

@YellowishZebra

I am a TA, at our one form entry primary school we have had 4 bubbles off, 2/3rd of staff have had it (confirmed and tested) all just mildly ill and recovered. No confirmed cases in children - lots of tests though. I'm chilled about it now, I've had it it's done and I didn't pass it to my family.

None off here but teachers are told not to test.

Home ed in the time of a pandemic is not the same as normal home ed and shouldn't be compared. All local groups, classes etc in the home ed community shut when this kicked off and haven't reopened. Kids can't meet in each other's homes. The independence touted as a great reason for home edding is non existent in this scenario and it is disingenuous to suggest otherwise.

Kids who are normally at school, but can't be because of covid are isolated to a greater degree. Parents who choose to home ed long term set up their lives around it, work wise etc. Having it forced on you is very different.

Fwiw, in my area there have been 4 cases in the whole county in schools. 3 in pupils, 1 in a staff member. Any blanket closure of schools would hit us disproportionately.

@AldiAisleofCrap once again I’m not criticising home ed. I had to do it during lockdown and of course put a routine in place. Because I don’t work, I could and the children continued to thrive on it. But lockdown rules at that time prevented their socialising with their peers which I thought was cruel. I did not break lockdown rules. I am also lucky enough that my children attend a fabulous school where their teachers are wonderful and they have so many friends. Lockdown limitations didn’t allow for that to be replicated at home (without breaking lockdown).

I appreciate you appear to be a great advocate of home ed and that’s great it works for your family. I understand for many children school isn’t ideal. But for those children who absolutely thrive on school, I disagree with its cancellation for all children to protect the NHS. The NHS should be properly funded in the first place.

Absolutely agree. We had considered home ed but school had been better than we could have imagined for my kids. They really do appreciate belonging to school and being there each day with their friendws.

I think if you've had to leave the school system as its not meeting needs (as Im aware it doesnt for everyone) or are ideologically not in favour of school it might be hard to see just how important it is in schooled children's lives.

We certainly weren't doing normal home ed when school was closed as we didnt have all the ways and means to meet up with others that home edders normally have.

Mine need school. But they also need school to be safe... Im not sure it is at the moment.