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?

Right, so the DfE have options when it comes to posting propaganda on MN. They could do a guest blog post. They could do a web chat.

But they didn’t, they contacted MNHQ asking them to post on a thread on their behalf.

Obviously I’m gutted that it wasn’t ‘Secondary schools are fucked, BOFFINS ADMIT’ but it was a thread posted by a parent rather than a teacher.

Did they think that parents might listen to their authority? Despite posting the same old shite that has been roundly debunked all across MN?

I don’t get it. It’s pretty fucking weird thing for a government department to do.

So, whilst all the exam years struggle with their mental health. Their life chances decimated unless they are in a very fortunate position. If your bubble hasn’t closed yet you’re fortunate. The DfE had time to post on MN and Twitter. That tells me, they know they are wrong and they are worried. It’s obscene the DfE felt then need to post on a chat forum on MN to influence opinion,

Gav/DfE read the room, all those children will be voting at the next election. The majority will never vote Tory.

But this is the DfE that had famously got everything wrong this year.
If anyone has heard enough about them / what they are - to be sufficiently influenced by what they say - they also know enough about them that they couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery. Even with laminated instructions.
Meh - they've just made themselves even less credible, and more of a laughing stock.... So incompetent they couldn't even do a guest post....

Interesting Twitter thread mobile.twitter.com/tweetsbyames/status/1331327502715924480

Yeah. Incompetence. Announcing major changes late on a Friday night. Or after term has actually started in Leicestershire, many iterations of the guidance and not highlighting what has changed refusing to allow make then claiming they ensure masks so schools are safe. Parents have seen fuck up after fuck up after fuck up.

The latest weekly figures show that 99% of schools are open and that only 0.2% of pupils are isolating at home with a confirmed Covid-19 case
What about all the kids who are at home due to schools being short staffed, due to staff either ill, isolating or caring for isolating kids?
One of my dds is in that category
What about kids who are at home due to outbreaks in their bubble or isolating due to being in contact with a child at school with covid?
My other dc is in that category.
Why are they only mentioning kids at home with a confirmed case of Corona?

It’s so that they can blame the attendance figures on schools sending home too many kids to isolate rather than uncontrolled covid.

They obviously can’t fathom how one kid could have 30 close contacts because they have no idea what schools look like.

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 a load of rubbish. I work as a supply teacher and this week have crossed 4 bubbles in a single primary school. None of the staff there are social distancing and they can freely walk in to any classroom they want. The head also wanders around in to different classrooms speaking to all members of staff. No visors or masks permitted in corridors or anywhere else. Parents not required to wear masks, even if they enter school to speak about a child. Some classes have no windows that open, so ventilation is poor.
I have been to other schools that do have strict safety measures in place, but the dfe have certainly not ensured this school is.

First priority - ensure all head teachers are following a strict set of rules so that all teachers can be protected as much as is possible

The entire sixth form at my dcs school has been home for 2 weeks due to an outbreak. So approx 250. This was not due to the school being overzealous at sending kids home. They were advised to shut the entire sixth form due to an outbreak getting out of control.
The whole of year 9 has been home for 3 days due to not enough staff. So a further 250. So at least 500 have been home for the last few days. Plus any covid cases or direct contacts in other years. They are definitely misrepresenting things by only talking about confirmed covid cases being at home!

Noblegiraffe I fully agree with your initial posts. I haven't rtft but just wanted to day a couple of things. We're in Liverpool where they have started mass testing as part of a pilot, including in schools (with consent) - there is info on the Liverpool Echo and Liverpool Express websites. There's quite a lot of opposition to it here unfortunately, so by no means has every child been tested. But the tests were done last week in DS's school - he had one and was negative, it was the lateral flow test do you get results same day. However there hasn't been any info given at all about how many cases were found in his school or how many (if any) have been asked to isolate as a result. Previously there would be letters put on the school website for any confirmed cases - two last week before the mass testing started, three the week before that. Seven the week before half term.

Liverpool council are publishing the amount of tests being done and the amount of positives found. But nothing about age groups.

I am waiting with interest for information. I have heard varying anecdotes from high to low levels being found in schools through the mass testing, which I can't verify. But keep an eye out for info from Liverpool's mass testing as I am hoping results will be published at some point soon. Also look for Rainford High who did a mass testing exercise in September - info in the Liverpool Echo - very interesting results, levels were obviously lower in September than they are now too :-(

I really can't believe that government are not putting secondary schools and colleges on remote learning from 11 Dec if they're allowing household mixing at Christmas. I'm hearing reports of quite a few people who are planning to take their kids out of school for the last week of term regardless.

Thanks for everything you do in school, and for your awareness raising here. Stay safe.

Glad to see you haven't been nobbled and are still free to post.

Hi catsarecute. id love to hear the outcome of that research. I wonder if it will even be shared. It certainly ought to be.

Strange. 2 sentences from my below post have gone missing overnight. Anyway, I'll repost it with them back in.

Today 00:13CatMuffin
The entire sixth form at my dcs school has been home for 2 weeks due to an outbreak. So approx 250. This was not due to the school being overzealous at sending kids home. They were advised to shut the entire sixth form due to an outbreak getting out of control.
One of my dds is in the sixth form
The whole of year 9 has been home for 3 days due to not enough staff. So a further 250.
My other dd is in Year 9
So at least 500 have been home for the last few days. Plus any covid cases or direct contacts in other years. They are definitely misrepresenting things by only talking about confirmed covid cases being at home!

Well of course there’s not a problem if you are only counting the tiny number who are at home after a positive test.

It’s more the huge numbers at home isolating but well/asymptomatic and the ones at home because there is no staff to teach them. And those at school not being taught properly by supply/cover staff and those at school not being taught properly because their teachers are trying to live stream the lesson and teach remotely and live at the same time.

Its okay because the governemnt have come in to pat us on our heads and tell us to stop worrying.

So bizarre.

@PineappleUpsideDownCake

Its okay because the governemnt have come in to pat us on our heads and tell us to stop worrying.

So bizarre.

www.expressandstar.com/news/education/2020/11/26/schools-are-safe-places-say-leaders/

My local MP mandates ‘schools are safe’. IRL my school has closed due to high numbers of transmission.

Pp talking about staff crossing bubbles in primary schools:, not on, but is, of course, happening across all bubbles in 5-7 year groups in all secondaries.

Motherrrunner... but its fine because the mp at the end of the article says that schools have "all the measures in place." Hmm..

It's full on crazy that we know our schools are closing and their reply is its safe.

It genuinely feels as if they don't care about state education

It genuinely feels as if they don't care about state education

Don’t you worry it’s not limited to state. They don’t care about any sort of education.

The problem is so huge they can’t tackle it. So instead they’ve chosen a catchphrase or two ‘schools are safe’ ‘measures in place’. (Both of which are meaningles but that’s by the by) now they are just sticking fingers in their ears and shouting the catchphrase

Where is the education secretary?? Anyone with any conscience or ounce of a sense of responsibility would be taking action.

I've been stewing over this statement and getting more an more angry. As a pp said with regard to masks, up until half term it was almost discouraged by DfE for masks to be worn in schools. They say schools are safe because they have all the recommended safety measures in place but they know that some of these measures are impossible to implement in many schools. They say that data shows school staff are not at an increased risk but we know this data is flawed and in fact reading between the lines they are in the highest group. It feels like they are only interested in mitigating their own risk of future lawsuits for negligence in keeping staff and pupils safe. Will the blame be thrown back at schools who could not follow the government guidance.

We've had a confirmed staff member case this week which has resulted in many staff having to isolate. The urgent meeting we had was that we need to ensure distance of 2 metres even within our bubble but we simply cannot do this in our SEN school. DfE are trying to cover their arses but so to is our leadership team. Why can't everyone just be honest and say what the reality of currently working in a school is?

That article is so interesting... everything that is really shit is made to sound good!

90% attendance : that's pretty shit
'Only' had two year groups closed ; WTAF??
We have 'only' had to do that with one year group : sigh

Where is the education secretary?? Anyone with any conscience or ounce of a sense of responsibility would be taking action

Yes, just where...the biggest crisis in education ever. I can't even remember what GW looks like.

Schools are abandoned.

Needs to be a twitter feed #whereisgavin..

It feels like they are only interested in mitigating their own risk of future lawsuits for negligence in keeping staff and pupils safe. Will the blame be thrown back at schools who could not follow the government guidance.

Yes - but I doubt it'll work. They issued guidance saying masks discouraged in classrooms. So many other countries have mask in classrooms - at the levels of infection in the UK (everywhere) it's recommended by pretty much all scientists. France even changed its mind over masks once things got out of control there - that's defensible, ploughing on regardless and not employing an easy, basic mitigation is not.

He spoke in parliament during the week. Was clearly told to thank us. It sounded like it stuck in his throat.

The missive to MNHQ was sent simultaneously and matches hos words.

If you are watching , DfE. I know and you know that 99% is a drop.

I know and you know that you are threatening schools so that they stay fully open because I know and you know that the figures actually look bad.

I know and you know that the 0.2% is the tip of the iceberg.

Never mind, keep heading for the iceberg , eh?