The government is encouraging covid spread in schools

[noblegiraffe]

Bear with me, because if they're not, you have to explain this:

1. Schools will stay fully open end of. Even when they're not.

1. No masks allowed in classrooms where teachers and pupils spend the most time. The expectation that they would be mandated in corridors is fudged at the last minute to lockdown areas only.

1. Pupils are not allowed to be tested for the symptoms that kids are most likely to get.

1. Teachers (who in secondary will teach all bubbles without masks) are not to self isolate if there is a case in a class they have taught.

1. Fudge any data that may show teachers getting ill at a higher rate than the general population and Chris Whitty lying about it

1. Fudge data that may show school pupils having a higher infection rate than the general population

1. Not permitting / trying / mass testing in schools where there have been cases in case they find out how bad the spread is.

1. Actually sending letter to parents to tell them to stop getting kids tested.

9 Fine parents who try and keep their kids off when in contact with a known positive case.

10. Launch a propaganda campaign to convince parents that schools are safe using data from schools in lockdown, which every news outlet dutifully publicises. Continuing that propaganda campaign by releasing a video of socially distanced school kids wearing masks in classrooms.

11. Hide Gavin Williamson in a cupboard so that no journalist can accidentally ask him how his aim to reopen schools safely is going.

12. Announce that one of the school safety measures will be children in bubbles which will burst when there are cases. Stop this midway through September and start sending home as few kids as possible. Remove the schools remit from PHE control and put DfE in charge to enforce this.

13. Produce a Tiered system of responses to infection levels (rotas, masks, closures) to reassure parents, and shut the unions up. Then never mention them again and in fact state that they are not to be used.

14. When Hull begs for rotas due to imminent collapse of system, send a letter to all local authorities re-iterating NO ROTAS

15. Have some strange control over the media so they don’t mention any issues, or if they do, it must be accompanied by a picture of a jumbo classroom containing max 5 kids.

16. Tell teachers to ignore the app when it tells them to isolate, or to turn off the app completely

17. No funding for schools to implement any covid safety measures

Any other explanations for this list?

How can the DfE justify that exams this year can be in any way fair given the variation schooling for children across the country? If anyone from the DfE is following these threads then you must realise the frustration from parents and teachers at your ineptitude.

I ahve no words for what I think of the DfE launching propaganda offensives on MN.

Our year 11s seem to have given up.
They are all convinced there will be no exams for them, and nothing we say seems to change their opinion. Even pointing out that they still need to work forgood teacher assessments doesn't work! Hardly any engaged with the remote learning or live lessons during their latest isolation period.
Nothing will be able to make this fair for them.

The absolute fuckers.

My son has Covid, caught at school. As do at least 2 other classmates, so minimum 10 per cent with it currently.

In the first half of this term my dd yr13 had only 8 days in school. My other dd y11 missed 10 days. We are in an area with very few cases. I can't imagine what schools have been like in the North of England.

Thanks lonelyplanet. saves trying to paste a link on my phone.

Thought twaddle was a very restrained description.

Hoping @noblegiraffe is not a nobbledgiraffe.

Nobbled?

DfE insulting people's intelligence again I see.

School closed completely for 2 weeks plus 244 other students isolating as close contacts of positives, positives themselves or with symptoms.

Nothing to see here

The science is clear that children and young people are typically at very low risk from Covid-19 The disease is much less severe for children, even if they do catch coronavirus

Yes but their CV or ECV parents or siblings, who they might bring it home to could get very ill or die, causing untold harm to the child's mental health. We, the DfE, give so tiny a fuck about this impact on children that we haven't even allowed CV or ECV families to school from home or even included this risk to children in our (completely bollocks) risk assessments.

And staff are not at higher risk than those working in other sectors. If we ignore the majority of teachers who reported (because they put only 'teacher' and not 'primary teacher' or 'secondary' teacher) and also only look at dates when covid wasn't rampant in schools.

Also - what about the primary teachers in ICU in Brighton, or the teacher in Liverpool who died? Which brings me to...

This is probably because education settings are rigorously enforcing all the mitigations – handwashing, mask wearing, bubbles, isolation of staff and pupils with symptoms etc.

This is just flat lies. We know not all contacts are now being asked to isolate. We know that test and trace doesn't work fast enough to prevent close contacts of positive cases freely mixing in school for days and days. We know that masks are not being worn in the highest exposure setting - classrooms - and that DfE actual advises against wearing them. We know DfE have blatantly ignored the key mitigations recommended by WHO, Indie SAGE and all scientists not paid by our government which are:
smaller class sizes
social distancing
masks (especially when less than 2m distance maintained - which it cannot be in all state schools)

Italy, Spain and France now have pupils wear masks all the time from the age of 6.

We are the only country failing to take these basic, low-cost measures to protect teachers, children and their parents.

But I'm glad they came on thread. Shows that telling the truth is working. We parents see you DfE. We see you don't give a shit about pupils or parents or teachers. WE SEE YOU and we don't believe you and we ARE NOT PUTTING UP WITH THE LYING AND GASLIGHTING ANY MORE.

I can't believe that DfE message. It's actually batshit that they would post that drivel on Mumsnet of all places. What were they thinking?

My older daughter knows it's all bollocks, that message. Apart from anything else, her school did proper social distancing and small class sizes in June / July and she's quite clear that the only reason those protections have gone is because DfE won't fund them.

Honestly, she could run the DfE better than they are - better grasp of the science too.

What do they think this is going to achieve? We've all seen the WHO recommendations for schools, and Indie Sage, the evidence on masks. The multiple scientific papers showing that indoor, poorly ventilated settings with large numbers of people for a long time are perfect for covid spread (these settings are also known as classrooms...).

It's like they've come on a thread with people discussing how grass is green and issued a statement saying grass is blue.

Um, I'm actually looking out of the window now at my grassy front garden you patronising liars.

They have such little confidence in their ability to educate that they don't think we can think for ourselves and read. Probably making the misogynistic assumption that we are just air head mummies who could not possibly have been educated to degree level and above, and thus will not be able to spot propaganda when we see it.

The mask wearing bit of the DfE statement annoys me. They only just come round to properly advocating their use (whilst in lockdown) and this is only in corridors , on buses,and for secondary age groups. but now they trumpet it as if they have ensured their use.

On the plus side whoever posted it put it on a nearly full thread that will drop down the list of threads rapidly displaced by "Who shall I meet at Christmas?" threads. Just about as relevant as truthful..IE not very.

We are on our fourth positive case now in a primary class in less than a week. If that’s not school spread I don’t know what is.

What a crock of shit that statement from the DfE is. The evidence of what is really going on is happening NOW. We are witnessing it in real time. How they can attempt to pretend there is no problem I just do not know?

Overinflated sense of their own importance. Can't possibly believe the many many reports from the chalk face and school gate.

I reported that DfE post for twaddle bordering on downright lies.

I shouldn’t have said bordering on, should have just stuck with lies.

Yes I believe social media has been discouraged from allowing dangerous misinformation about the Covid situation to stand haven't they?

Maybe we need to start censoring the dfe like Twitter did with the orange man.

Why have MN posted that nonsense from the DfE ?

This is probably because education settings are rigorously enforcing all the mitigations – handwashing, mask wearing, bubbles, isolation of staff and pupils with symptoms etc

what a complete fabrication !

How can a 3 class year group ,mixing at playtimes , their teachers together in the staff room ,2 staff members from same year group dx ,and NO ONE asked to isolate be a bubble ???

As a department, we have ensured that all schools continue to operate with strict safety measures in place to minimise the risk of infection

what ? What! ,how have they ensured this ?

The gov must be seriously worried about events in schools to go to these lengths to try and naysay the reality being discussed on SM .

The gov must be seriously worried about events in schools to go to these lengths to try and naysay the reality being discussed on SM .

Yea this

Do you think the person who sent that message to MNHQ, or anyone at the DfE really, actually believes it?

@CallmeAngelina

Do you think the person who sent that message to MNHQ, or anyone at the DfE really, actually believes it?

Well they are so remote from the reality in schools, and so "ivory tower" - they probably do!