NEU calls for two week closure for secondaries and colleges following leap in infections

[noblegiraffe]

The NEU has called for a two week closure of secondary schools and colleges following a more than 9-fold increase in the infection rate in secondary school children in a month.

www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-teachers-demand-2-week-school-closures-after-cases-jump

The infection rate in Y7-11 was 0.5% last week, according to the ONS survey of random households, but this nearly doubled to 0.93% in the latest set of figures. This rise cannot be ignored or passed off as relating to university students as has happened so far.

In other, entirely unrelated news, 61% of teachers report that if a student doesn't wear a mask in a school where they are mandated in communal areas 'nothing happens'.

www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-61-staff-say-nothing-done-if-pupils-wont-wear-masks

And Teacher Tapp data from yesterday had 26% of teachers reporting that their schools were partially closed to students.

In the meantime, the testing positivity rate in 10-19 year olds is 17%, which means that this group is severely under-tested and lots of cases will be missed. The rate should be below 5%.

Yet the insistence continues that in any lockdown scenario, schools will remain open. Idiocy.

"but will also be receiving a significant pay rise."

Will this pay rise be as significant as the last one? The one that was so paltry that I didn't even realise I'd had it? Think it was about £7 per month. Is that what you call significant?
I'm not holding my breath about even getting this next one at all. (I presume you mean the one that was slated in the Mail about being a "reward" for lockdown, when it fact it was agreed back in January?)

I still remember her name - Mrs Jones ! I’m sure your students do too noble.

I think we need to unfortunately just carry on as it is. Maybe we should all go into tier 2 and not mix households for the time being. I would also happily say close pubs and bars etc (and the government support these businesses properly)

Thanks pom - teachers remember their students too!

Without any sort of attempt at increasing mitigation measures, Rainbow?

I really think we need a big push on ventilation at a minimum. And I really don't understand schools that don't have masks in corridors.

@noblegiraffe

They were an amazing group. All of them really needed the C to progress so they were very motivated. One of them got an F in Y11 but wanted to do engineering, another had been told by a previous teacher that they'd never pass maths. We all had a big hug and a bit of a cry on results day. Still think of them fondly years later.

That's a fantastic achievement for them, and also for you.

This thread has reminded me to check and refill my own dc's sanitiser bottles today .

According to @Eng123, it appears that I might benefit from some extra help. Do you do private tuition, noble?

Hah, no Ange, not at the moment. But maybe I should consider it instead of my new career in cyber.

@ResplendentAutumn:

Ylva, our students doing exams in November are already being taught on line.
Fully interactive, normal lesson. The only difference being for us is that in the classroom, whilst there are obvious benefits, we also used to get behaviour issues. On line, there is no opportunity for students to play up.
We get more done in that sense and it hasn't been an issue. There is no reason why teachers can't talk via modern tech to their students and do a proper lesson

That's fantastic! And thanks for sharing, I really think that students who re sit exams deserve this chance.
I hope other schools are just as creative and supportive!

@ResplendentAutumn

Marsha I can see from the way we did and do things compared to my own dd provision is that right from the start, they ran a tight ship. Everyone signed in on time or phone calls made. They were chased and reminded this is happening, there is no time for slacking. The students were very, very good. But over lock down aside from providing a structure and a normality, it was of course an excellent way to keep an eye on them.

It was great for them to see their friends, their peers and interact. Sadly, everything my own dc didn't get.

Brilliant, that’s good to hear. From what I have seen it’s the same for us.

Well yes extra measures in place would be great!

I would support all students wearing masks, if medically possible, more cleaning, hand sanitiser, extra PPA to make up for cleaning times, our behaviour is spiralling out of control as our move to a different classroom isn’t possible and nothing else has been put in place! Ventilation is key but not sure how achievable that is in my school!

CallmeAngelina

"I don't think we should throw them under the bus ... or what do the teachers on this thread think? Are these children not worth your time?"

What on earth do you mean, worthourtime?

Well, let's put it this way: the thread title + many teachers pointing out how they are working in a dangerous environment + nobody has actually mentioned the exams = some MN teachers don't come across as caring.

But thank god most who have responded actually are!

I am not sure I really believe in a two week circuit break.

If we look back at the epidemic charts from spring we can see that infections rates went up really quickly , doubling every 3 days at one point, but went down much more slowly even under the most severe lockdown.

So a two week lockdown might if we are lucky reduce the number of daily infections by 50% or even 75%. But it will take less than 2 weeks to get back up to the level just before the two week lockdown.

Is that worth the cost in terms of jobs and education?

Honestly, masks in corridors is better than nothing but really makes no sense to me as a public health measure. Yes, you're exposed to more people in corridors but the duration of exposure (which is just as, if not more, important) will be far greater in lessons. Unless it's normal to hang out in corridors for hours these days. The viral load in classrooms will be the highest, and this is important for severity of disease.

If students can wear them in corridors, they can certainly wear them in class.

Large parts of the US are doing better with masks than us (with the one glaring exception who caused an outbreak) - the director of the CDC thinks they're more important than a vaccine.

Countries who adopted universal public space mask wearing early on have way lower mortality - up to 100 times lower. That's 500 deaths rather than 50,000. Wouldn't our children be better off if this was the case here? 100 times fewer children or grandchildren bereaved for a start, and in all the countries where this is true, much lower economic impacts (that means fewer parents with lost jobs etc).

news.vcu.edu/article/Early_face_mask_policies_curbed_COVID19s_spread_according_to

I really feel the adults in charge this country are letting the children down. The evidence is overwhelming and unequivocal.

Not wearing masks in school is fine when community levels are low but nowhere in the UK is this true any more.

Children around the world are wearing masks no problem, from Ghana to Mongolia, our children aren't somehow inferior to all these other children. If they were told to do it and shown the WHO instructional videos on how to do it properly it would be no more difficult than hand washing for the vast majority.

And it doesn't have to be all or nothing, those who can't don't have to and will still benefit from the protection of the majority wearing them.

It's so short sighted and stupid, it's such an easy measure. I do not understand.

They stopped testing people back in March.

If we have people being tested, and track and trace as opposed to people just isolating with symptoms, we should hope that a lockdown would be more effective this time.

Is that worth the cost in terms of jobs and education?

Most kids have a week off anyway. So one lost week: a third of children have had to isolate for 2 weeks in Liverpool due so far. It can only get worse with higher rates of infection. Schools closing from lack of staff.

If a 2 week break brought infection down even slightly I'd suspect there would be a positive impact on education with less time off overall.

However, it won't be enough to stop the inexorable loss of teaching staff to time off sick, cycle of disruptive isolations with kids off for weeks, and school closures, unless they put more risk mitigation in schools (masks, SD, blended, ventilation, whatever - SOMETHING!).

Honestly, masks in corridors is better than nothing but really makes no sense to me as a public health measure.

I know, but it shows just how dire the mitigation measures are in schools when even the most basic things aren't mandated by the government. No requirement for a classroom to even have a window, let alone an open one. No masks. People should be shocked and appalled.

High risk areas should have weekly testing, it’s not even happening in hospitals. Absolute disgrace.

I can't understand, and I say this as a teacher, why they don't simply have a two week half term now and take a week off next year's summer holiday. The pupils would still have the same contact time in the main. I appreciate that this wouldn't help year 11 pupils who would have gone by then. However I do think our government needs to take a realistic and sensible look at the likelihood off written exams for year 11 not going ahead and plan for that now rather than ten minutes before the first one.

Noble I AM shocked and appalled.

I think teachers should strike. I honestly think ECV teachers at least should walk out and take it to employment tribunal if it comes to that. But the problem is, teachers care about kids and the government don't and that's the difference- they feel part of their school community and are going along with trying to make it work, as they always do. I also think there's this level of disbelief that the government would allow this if it were unsafe.

Unfortunately in a past life I did risk assessments and I can tell you categorically that school risk assessments are shit (not blaming the school staff - they're doing their best - they need extra money for mitigation).

Risk assessment should be likelihood of a hazard occurring and ALSO the consequences if it does (severity of harm). This last bit has been completely missed. As infection rates rise, with asymptomatic children, the viral loads in classrooms will be going up. This is my worry. There is robust evidence that viral load is important in severity of disease. I am shocked and appalled that teachers are expected to work in these conditions, without even a very basic, cheap, proven safety measure (masks for all who can).

Test and trace kicks in if you're less than 2m for over 15 min. But teachers are in this situation over and over again all day long. And yet, don't have to isolate in the same way as everyone else. 2m is not a magic distance, plenty of people have been infected in restaurants and on buses over this distance and some people have been infected when never actually sharing the same room as the initial case, but coming in shortly after they've left (it has been proven in specific cases - one bus one lift - particularly important where no ventilation - as in many classrooms - and has been shown in the bus study in China that ONLY those not wearing masks were infected once the positive case left the bus).

The rates of infection in most of the UK are now above the levels where Indie Sage in their schools report said masks should be used in primary and secondary. Above the former level when schools had to close.

It's unforgivable, and whatever the 'emergency legislation' I don't think will stand up in court when so few other countries are taking this approach (and have published science based clear standards for when it's unsafe for schools to remain open).

I am not shocked and appalled, I am delighted that the government have the sense to realise that children need to be in school. How long do you lot want to hide in holes for, it’s a virus, almost always mild symptoms and it is not just going to go away!

"Well, let's put it this way: the thread title + many teachers pointing out how they are working in a dangerous environment + nobody has actually mentioned the exams = some MN teachers don't come across as caring."

It's precisely because teachers DO care that we are expressing concern at the situation everyone (not just teachers but students and support staff too) who sets foot inside a school is in. We want to be able to continue teaching in the best way possible for as long as possible to benefit our pupils, and the way schools have been forced to operate so far is NOT conducive to that outcome.

Thanks, JK, I know you're concerned, but so many don't give a shit so long as their kids are in school and the government has successfully smeared teachers as workshy whingers for so long that that is the dominant narrative.

I don't know why the unions aren't all over this.

I don't know what to do.

@BillywilliamV

I am not shocked and appalled, I am delighted that the government have the sense to realise that children need to be in school. How long do you lot want to hide in holes for, it’s a virus, almost always mild symptoms and it is not just going to go away!

Who’s hiding?