“Encouraged” to test twice a week - final straw.

[motherrunner]

I have just read an email from my Head where PHE are recommending teachers take twice weekly lateral tests.

This is because:
-1 in 20 asymptomatic people in my city have tested positive
-my school has not been fully open since last week in Sept (we have fully closed on multiple occasions)

I am on my knees with exhaustion and stress. I teach full time, I leave the house at 7.15, drop my children at their breakfast club, work, collect them at 5.30 and then it’s home, tea, bedtimes and then planning/marking. How am I to find the time to go to the test centre twice a week? The email says we it is “voluntary” but we are “encouraged” to do so and focussed a lot on community responsibility etc.

I have slowly felt more undervalued at time from the ‘schools are safe’ propaganda, to ‘stressed teachers want to close a day early at Christmas’ (that’s another headache, my school not closing but my children’s school is). I haven’t seen my mum since March as she is a nursing home and I won’t be seeing any family at all over Christmas due to my job.

Is it unreasonable of me just to say ‘sod it, I’m not having the tests’ or is that irresponsible?

Just say you haven't the time.

Oh and you’re not a terrible mother or teacher. You’re at your limit.

We have specifically been told to get tested regularly but to do so outside working hours. Um, no unless I can do it at home.

8-7 isn't doable for anyone who works full time and has a family.

Ask your head whether they would prefer you to come in late after testing twice a week or whether they will be arranging for tests within school.

As a compromise could you go round once at the weekend? Go early and there will be less of a queue I would imagine.

I'm a teacher. Have been for 20 years and my choice but I've always working in "difficult schools" usually in SM or RI. Well, back in September I had enough.

From March to July I was expected to be in most days and teaching key worker children -except I have my own young children & I'm a single parent-one of whom their school wasn't open at all on Wednesday and one whose school wasn't open on a Friday. I'm a single parent who is CV -immense pressure put on. Then on top on-line streaming, setting and marking work, welfare checks etc -and we were expected to respond to emails from 6am to 11pm. Year 10 went back in June and then I was in 4 days a week. No PPE, no masks, no staffroom, no area to make tea -they took it all away and make the staffroom a classroom. Fine. No outside cover for absent staff -all done in house. I got 3 hours of PPA -planning time a week -all of it is used each week for cover -as no outside supply under "protecting us from Covid". Then add in the fact we were open ALL Easter and ALL May HT and expected to be in with no extra pay as "we need to pull together to support local families". Clap for NHS. Teachers vilified for being "lazy" and enjoying "WFH" -ok then! When our challening students came back -they were difficult before -supposed to have masks on in corridors-I was challenging maybe 100 students a day who repeatedly don't follow the rules -don't stay in their pods, don't have their masks on when walking around etc. Regular fights, no social distancing. Lots of covid positive tests.
We as the teacher now move lessons -so the students are left unspervised whilst staff move -frequently you arrive to a destroyed classroom -I can't teach in my classroom anymore. I wheel everything around on a huge trolley. Breaktimes and lunchtimes -we supervise students in their pods. Windows either open and classroom freezing or no windows that open. Three classrooms I can't be more than 1m away -there is no room. They don't wear masks in classroom, so I'm with 30 students for 6 hours a day with no respite. 20 years of teaching, outstanding in every lesson observation etc and the final straw was a student spiting in my face when I asked him to put his mask on in a corridor -for the 3rd time back in September / October time. I've always treated my students with respect and kindness and always believed in "giving something back" and teaching in state. SLT were discussing opening in October HT -we already teach and stream our lessons at the same time -the demands are not realisitic. Year 11 don't want to do any work -they believe the exams will be cancelled. I seriously thought about leaving teaching altogether -but then a friend of mine phoned me -he'd heard I was thinking of leaving teaching and invited me to his school, a little local private school which has 10 students in a class -about 300 years old (the school)-I went there as a student for 6th form, and it is lovely. Really lovely, I know it well and they had a vacancy for a teacher and he wanted me to apply. Excellent facilities. My own classroom. So I'm going in January 2021 -bye bye state education and the government -well done you. In the 20 years I have taught, the behaviour now in most local state schools near me -is shocking, most people will be horrified. Teachers punched etc -it's awful. I just can't do it anymore -if I remain in education and I'm going to give it 12 months at my new school, remains to be seen over the coming months. But the 7 staff in my department (large secondary school) -I'm leaving, 2 staff are currently off with stress and 2 are leaving for Janaury for a different schools-one is leaving teaching altogether. I was asked what the handover position for January was - 3 long term supply teacher recruited, all 3 are not qualified in the subject area.

Education and state education was on its knees before, it is passed out on the floor now. The farce over the last inset day. My school is still open -my DC1 school is shut. DC2 is open. DC3 is shut. Well done government. I can't take my kids to school with me. I have no childcare.

Doesnt really sound practical if you've got to go to a test centre and queue up.
I'm doing them twice a week ( NHS staff), but Ive got a box of kits and do it myself at home. Only takes a couple of minutes, then i leave it for half an hour while i have breakfast.

I work in care and I get tested every week. I'd happily get done twice BUT my test is in work waiting for me when I get there. I don't have to do any additional arsing about. You shouldn't have to traipse to a centre. You should either have a stack of them at home or they should be at work for you. Also, thank you. Genuinely, I can't believe how appallingly teachers have been treated throughout this whole thing.

That sounds exhausting. I agree with your thoughts on this.

Meanwhile, the virus is spreading from child to child rapidly in so many schools and the Govt does nothing to combat this, which is where I'd like to see parents and unions focused.

Also, thank you. Genuinely, I can't believe how appallingly teachers have been treated throughout this whole thing.

This in spades from me too.

Lateral flow tests are the home tests. I don’t they’re expecting you to go anywhere, probably should have made it clearer in the email

@BungleandGeorge

Lateral flow tests are the home tests. I don’t they’re expecting you to go anywhere, probably should have made it clearer in the email

@BungleandGeorge Definitely not home kit, and definitely a lateral test.

Email from LEA (have crossed out any info that is too revealing):

“Lateral Flow Testing for employees in educational settings

“XXXX has been transformed into a mass lateral flow testing centre to provide asymptomatic (without symptoms) testing for Covid-19 with results in 30-60 minutes.

The testing centre is open 7 days a week, providing testing Monday to Friday 8.00am-7.00pm and weekends 10.00-6.00pm.

The testing site is open to all residents and employees, including those working in the City’s educational settings. We are encouraging settings to publicise this offer to their employees and wider school community as soon as possible. We advise people to access a test on a regular basis and for employees in educational settings twice weekly testing is encouraged.

There is no requirement to book an appointment, those wanting to get a test can simply arrive, register on site and get tested by providing a nasal and throat swab”.

As per PP, test centres do proper RT-PCR (the most sensitive tests) as they are testing symptomatic people. Lateral flow tests are less sensitive and used for screening asymptomatics, but done more frequently to overcome sensitivity issues. I’d be surprised that any test centre is doing lateral flow (but covid logistics continues to suprise me!). Your head should be arranging home testing kits as per NHS staff which just take a few minutes (like a nasal pregnancy test), or someone to come to your work.

@BungleandGeorge

Lateral flow tests are the home tests. I don’t they’re expecting you to go anywhere, probably should have made it clearer in the email

No they're not, lateral flow are the 30minute tests they're using for large scale testing of asymptomatic people, in the very high case areas. You do have go to a centre to have one, although care homes have also been using them on site.

Hopefully, if they're going to require schools to test regularly (which is what many teachers have been asking for) they'll have to arrange for it to be done on site.

@motherrunner You are not a terrible mother, citizen, teacher and you are most definitely not a terrible wife.

Your husband gets home at 6.. surely he can do some of the drop offs and pick ups. This should not all be falling to you. Tell him that it is unreasonable that you shoulder all of this responsibility.

We've been issued lateral flow tests in the NHS and I was seeing it as a good thing to get extra reassurance I don't have it. They might let you visit your mum if you can prove you are negative.

However we have been issued home test kits which are really easy and convenient to do. They do say you need training (we watched a video) and I guess they trust Drs and nurses more to self test than teachers.

If I had to go to a test centre twice a week I might insist it was in work time!

That's crazy! We're tested regularly and have been for a while (residential support worker), but the "Corona Team" (employer organisation's own) come around to us onsite, we definitely aren't expected to go to a public test center.

I used to teach in a UK state secondary - the worst working conditions I've ever had, mainly I suspect due to managent being the option for the kind of teachers who were particularly self interested and had discovered they didn't want to teach but didn't want to venture outside the school system either...

My Dd had one of these at university before coming home. The results took 30 mins. However the result statement was a bit woolly ‘it is unlikely that you’.... rather than ‘you didn’t’. They are not as effective (50-70%?).
I feel for you OP. I would possibly go every so often as a compromise. If you can sit on your own in the car with the radio on and reframe it as ‘me’ time?
Sorry you are going through this.

I'm usually the first one shouting "follow the covid rules" but I completely understand why you can't do this. Working in a full time job with long hours with kids is bloody exhausting, and especially at the moment.

Forget testing twice a week. Can you get there at the weekends and just do it once a week?

yanbu. you should be provided with test kits to do either at home or at school which is what is happening with NHS staff AFAIK.

That’s awful, the screening centres are designed more for a one off, other staff (care home, nhs) who are expected to test regularly have been doing them on site or at home. I agree with you it’s not reasonable to expect you to spend hours each week getting tested, especially when it’s a test you could just as easily do at work or home.

Are you in a union? You need to have a meeting with your members and rep (if you have one- but not essential). The best way to resist this is collectively.

@motherrunner

I have just read an email from my Head where PHE are recommending teachers take twice weekly lateral tests.

This is because:
-1 in 20 asymptomatic people in my city have tested positive
-my school has not been fully open since last week in Sept (we have fully closed on multiple occasions)

I am on my knees with exhaustion and stress. I teach full time, I leave the house at 7.15, drop my children at their breakfast club, work, collect them at 5.30 and then it’s home, tea, bedtimes and then planning/marking. How am I to find the time to go to the test centre twice a week? The email says we it is “voluntary” but we are “encouraged” to do so and focussed a lot on community responsibility etc.

I have slowly felt more undervalued at time from the ‘schools are safe’ propaganda, to ‘stressed teachers want to close a day early at Christmas’ (that’s another headache, my school not closing but my children’s school is). I haven’t seen my mum since March as she is a nursing home and I won’t be seeing any family at all over Christmas due to my job.

Is it unreasonable of me just to say ‘sod it, I’m not having the tests’ or is that irresponsible?

I've not been asked to do this but as a teacher with young kids, I just wanted to offer solidarity. I'm also absolutely exhausted!

Your head should be arranging home testing kits as per NHS staff which just take a few minutes (like a nasal pregnancy test), or someone to come to your work.

@Apandemicyousay you say that as if it's an option. Mistaken assumptions about the conditions in schools are a massive part of the problem. We are not being protected at all.

@Sforsh49

If it's an NHS test centre they won't just test you twice a week. You have to have symptoms, even if it's a queue up no appointment necessary centre, so basically you'd have to lie to them twice a week that you had a temp/cough/loss of taste/smell.

If the head wants you testing twice a week then the school needs to pay for private tests for you all.

Just say no on the grounds that you won't lie to the NHS, cost them money an already stretched system doesn't have, and take up tests that may be desperately needed by genuinely ill patients.

Thats not correct in some areas. Where I live anyone who wants to can get a test and the council have also issued a list of non standard symptoms such as sore throat or tiredness where they are encouraging you to take a test. You tick a different box on the form it says something like I have been asked to take a test by my local authority or someone else.

However this is unreasonable. My dh is unable to drive due to a medical condition. He travels to school each day on public transport, leaving home at 7am and returning at 6.30pm. It would be totally unviable for him. He took a test a couple of weeks ago for non standard symptoms but he had the day off work to do so.