To ask if your child’s teacher has tested positive what action did you take?

[Reesewithaspoon]

D’s (15) has just been informed that his form teacher has tested positive over the weekend.
Just had an email to confirm which states that the teacher, a student teacher and only 3 students (have no idea why just 3) have been asked to self isolate so the rest (including my son) are to stay in school.
This is the first time with either of my dc that we have had this (both in secondary school) so not sure of the protocol, do they not self isolate the whole class?
Ds suffers from terrible anxiety and we have had lots of problems over the last 3 years. However, after counselling and medication we have been back on track for a while but he is constantly texting me this morning in a complete state saying he has been very close to this teacher last week.
I also care for my mum who is clinically vulnerable so am quite concerned.
Has anyone been in this position? Did your child still continue to go to school even when their teacher had tested positive?
Im not sure what to do for the best.

Well op, to answer your question, if one of my Dc's teachers tested positive, the action I would take would be to send a message with my best wishes and hope for them to have a speedy recovery.

As for your other comments....... so these two people have 2 of the most stressful occupations at present, and you feel they are selfish for continuing to work? I work with CV patients (and am currently recovering from CV..), does this mean my policeman DH and our DC should all be isolating from me, permanently?! Seriously? I appreciate you are stressed about your parents, but if you are not prepared to risk any exposure, then the onus is on YOU to isolate from your own immediate family, perhaps you could move in with your parents? It is NOT up to this teacher to isolate from their own family to please you!

If you are this concerned about the risk of your son being exposed (and I do understand why), then you are going to have to keep him off school- schools are not a safe place right now.

This. It's equally if not more likely that the teacher caught it from school (no ppe, not even normal masks, long exposure in crowded indoor spaces without social distancing) as from a HCP with full PPE at work. It's just hearsay that this is the route of transmission.

The risk in schools is real. In most studies a very large percentage of children who are positive are asymptomatic.

If you are a carer for a vulnerable older relative unfortunately your choices are take your child out of school or find another carer. Schools are the exact environment in which covid has been shown to thrive. If a case gets in the school, there is little to prevent transmission.

Many people have been put in this awful situation by the government's insistence on no masks in schools, no money to reduce class sizes and allow social distancing (etc etc).

Why. Schools are Covid secure and transmission doesn’t happen in school.

😂 😂

OP Bet you'll be the one complaining when his work isn't set by 8.05am every morning despite the teacher being in school and actually still teaching.

I understand that you’re worried but what you’re expecting is ridiculous. Everyone who works with anyone with Covid should live alone and those of us who teach shouldn’t have any contact with anyone apart from the kids we teach. That’s absurd.
We all have loved ones that are vulnerable and are all worried but be realistic with your expectations, everyone is trying their best to navigate this madness.

So are you proposing that the children of doctors and nurses should also not be in school, @Reesewithaspoon?

Also:

Apparently (not sure how true this is) ...so it's just a rumour anyway. I bet you anything it's a load of rubbish.

...and let's think of the teachers who care for their own vulnerable relatives, spouses or children, yet have to be in front of 30 unmasked teenagers in a confined space every day. Who do you think is more at risk? You or them?

Wow - god it’s miserable on here. I hope the teacher and nhs partner make a good recovery.

I'm a teacher with Covid. Because I was vulnerable and DH WFH and is ECV I literally drove myself to work in my own car and drove home. We had no contact with anyone outside work.

I caught Covid in school from one of the unmasked 150 teens who pass through my poorly ventilated classroom each day. If any of the parents are angry I have dared to contract Covid whilst doing a key job in unsafe conditions then they are utterly beneath my contempt.

Hope you and your husband are okay, Fred.

Thanks Nellodee. He's doing better than I am fortunately but we're far from well. I don't think I'll be back in work full time til New year. School have been very understanding.

@FredtheFerret

I'm a teacher with Covid. Because I was vulnerable and DH WFH and is ECV I literally drove myself to work in my own car and drove home. We had no contact with anyone outside work.

I caught Covid in school from one of the unmasked 150 teens who pass through my poorly ventilated classroom each day. If any of the parents are angry I have dared to contract Covid whilst doing a key job in unsafe conditions then they are utterly beneath my contempt.

Thankfully most posters don't agree with the op Fred. I hope you have a speedy recovery, it really is a rotten virus. Take care

@PrivateD00r. Thanks for the good wishes. In real life people have been very kind.

I think if I was working in I ICU with covid patients and was forced to isolate from.my family for a year or my partner was forced to stay away from their teaching job, I would personally find it easier to take a carer break from NHS. Then where we be if all the covid carers decided they was having too much asked of them and took a year out to stay in the family home and allow their family to live a normal life.

I think it's really doubly unfair ask that of our carers. True it might be nice if you could choose to keep your child out of a teachers class who's partner is in the NHS, but we cant ask the other way round and still expect there to be a nhs to treat us in a pandemic. Someone has to save those lives and they are as human as everyone else with partners and kids. Too much is asked of them as it is.

Teacher with recently diagnosed Covid here (also 32 weeks pregnant). I've seen a few comments on MN about people being 'angry' their children have caught it from their teacher. I mean, really. It as if some people think an infected teacher has deliberately coughed all over their child. And as for teachers whose partners are on the front line, wtf are they supposed to do. Not work? Please.

@Covidwoes

Teacher with recently diagnosed Covid here (also 32 weeks pregnant). I've seen a few comments on MN about people being 'angry' their children have caught it from their teacher. I mean, really. It as if some people think an infected teacher has deliberately coughed all over their child. And as for teachers whose partners are on the front line, wtf are they supposed to do. Not work? Please.

It's insane and unfair. I'm sure it's pretty likely that you have still caught it from a student as 80% of people are asymptomatic!!!

I really and truly don't think all these people who are having a go at us have any idea what it's like in school at the moment or how much of a risk we take day in day out. I personally, as I have said, am not concerned for myself risk wise and I'm happy to be at work. However I am still very much of the opinion that schools are NOT safe. And I would argue are more unsafe for staff than the children.

This thread has angered me so much

For all the school staff with covid at the moment and especially those who are CEV (I am!) and / or pregnant, I really hope you're all ok and recover well and speedily.

And for those who have bad mouthed us and shamed us for being in work or giving your kids covid, shame on you. Have some damn respect. I don't want claps or even thanks for teaching, now, or ever. I love it. But some people need to get a grip and realise what risk we put ourselves at day in day out to educate your kids.

My teacher daughter now has to isolate because of contact with a case in her class. I should probably start a ranty OP about how one of her 17 year old pupils has given it to her.

@saraclara my teacher daughter would like to isolate but isn't allowed. A 17 year old in her class (front row, class of 30) tested positive. DD has no symptoms - yet.
The rest of the year group have been sent home - so even those sitting much further than 2 meters away but teachers are not allowed to isolate because they are deemed to have been 2 meters away.
I am ECV so DD hasn't been able to visit me since September and is unlikely to for the foreseeable future.

@tyzz my daughter teaches teens with SN who struggle to maintain social distance, and who at times need 'hands on' calming and behaviour management. So her school management can't avoid staff being required to isolate.

Of course it's a two-edged sword. I wish she wasn't at constant risk of needing to isolate. I can quite imagine her going back and the same thing happening - which would take her out of our family Christmas.

Well I've heard it all now. And if ever there was a post to remind me why I should never return to teaching, then this is it.

Well done to all teaching and medical staff out there who are cracking on despite having to deal with arsehole attitudes like the one displayed by the OP.

@Blobson

Well I've heard it all now. And if ever there was a post to remind me why I should never return to teaching, then this is it.

Well done to all teaching and medical staff out there who are cracking on despite having to deal with arsehole attitudes like the one displayed by the OP.

Absolutely! This post would be enough to tip some school staff over the edge. Absolutely disgusting!

Test and Trace work on the 48 hours prior to diagnosis. So if the teacher took the test at 2pm on Sunday then she only need to list CLOSE contacts from 2pm on Friday. Your DS may not have had CLOSE contact with her in the 48 hours prior to the positive test and therefore does not need to isolate

You are over reacting.

And if you are married or living with someone working directly with Covid patients and you work with lots of other people (Ie in a school or college etc) then you should isolate from that person to risk contamination

So my colleague who's 18y DD works on a Covid ward (in fact she was 17y when this started) should not be allowed to be with her own child? A child who, might I add, was seeing horrible situations at work every day at such a young age, and needed her mum's support?Q

You seriously expect husbands and wives to not be within 2m of one another for the best part of a year? You want them to live apart perhaps?

Or maybe those teachers should just have to and their notice in now instead. Then your child can have a flurry of supply teachers instead maybe, seeing as we have teacher shortages in this country as it is. And the teacher can be forced to retrain or ask for Government support in order to pay their mortgage?

I know you are upset at the possible risk you now find yourself in, but seriously you have to realise that what you are suggesting simply isn't possible.

It isn't possible and it definitely is NOT reasonable.

You know that children in your child's class are likely to have parents who work in healthcare with Covid patients, right?

This as well.

My school is local to a number of hospitals, all of which have taken in Covid patients from day 1.
We have full KW bubbles from March due to the number of parents we have who work in hospitals. Many work with Covid patients.

Shall we also make those children isolate from their parents and their school friends?

@Sforsh49

Test and Trace work on the 48 hours prior to diagnosis. So if the teacher took the test at 2pm on Sunday then she only need to list CLOSE contacts from 2pm on Friday. Your DS may not have had CLOSE contact with her in the 48 hours prior to the positive test and therefore does not need to isolate

You are over reacting.

This isn't quite right.

It is 48 hours prior to the start of symptoms or, in the case of asymptotic, 48 hours prior to the test being taken.

For example:

• I had 'non main 3' symptoms from the Thursday
• I had a test due to hospital admission on the following Tuesday
• I had a positive result on the Wednesday

For the purpose of T&T they wanted to know the details of everyone I had been in contact/where I had been from the previous Tuesday onwards - so a week before the test.

@Sforsh49

Test and Trace work on the 48 hours prior to diagnosis. So if the teacher took the test at 2pm on Sunday then she only need to list CLOSE contacts from 2pm on Friday. Your DS may not have had CLOSE contact with her in the 48 hours prior to the positive test and therefore does not need to isolate

You are over reacting.

But this is just utter bollocks, isn't it? Only bothering about the 48 hours previous is ridiculous. It's perfectly obvious that you could have been with someone, say, 6 days earlier and might have caught the virus.

This is from the gov website on self isolation for 14 days:

It is very important that you follow this advice even if you feel well, as symptoms can take up to 14 days to appear from your last contact with the person who has tested positive for COVID-19.