The government wants YOU to volunteer as a school covid tester

[noelgiraffe]

The govt have proudly announced that there will be mass testing in secondary schools, colleges and special schools from January.

What the headlines don’t quite convey is that schools will be expected to set up and man their own testing centres and that this make-shift testing of close contacts of positives will replace close contacts having to isolate. The tests pick up about 50% of positive cases so I’m sure this will be fine.

Covidy kids will be getting the bus to school to queue up and be tested by people who have watched a video and a couple of online worksheets.

Even better, they want those people to be YOU!

“The document says that reasonable costs for additional workforce will be reimbursed.

It adds that a school may want to hire temporary staff, such as agency and contract workers, or draw on volunteers such as parents, retired teachers, Red Cross, St John Ambulance and community organisations.”

If you can’t help in person, perhaps you can support by talking positively about this effort on social media and parenting forums?

“Under a section labelled “social media guidance”, the document reads that “consistent, accurate and positive communication about testing activity is essential”.

They want to see “proactive public social media using agreed materials” and schools are encouraged to “monitor your existing social media channels, parents forums etc. and provide any feedback”.”

Come on folks, do your bit!

schoolsweek.co.uk/7-staff-roles-2-hour-training-and-dhsc-sign-off-on-press-schools-given-mass-testing-instructions/

And Gavin instructing the 'independent' pay review board not to recommend any uplift in pay for experienced teachers in their findings...

Good times all round!

My Y9 dd was instructed to self-isolate last week along with half of her class.Two of the children not sent home were kept off school and taken for tests by their parents. Neither had symptoms and both were positive.

This, in a nutshell, is why the schools strategy is STUPID and will not work. If they were all wearing masks we might have a fighting chance, as a society, but without and schools as they are - no amount of locking down elsewhere is going to help until something sensible is done in schools.

Every study ever done on children shows that a large proportion of positives are asymptomatic. In outbreaks from schools in Israel it was 60% (IIRC).

So you either need to do something to minimise transmission (masks, blended learning, social distancing, small class sizes) or do something to ensure ALL potential positives are identified and/or isolated (the current 3 symptom testing strategy or lateral flow testing or only sending home half the class will never be enough).

I've said it before and will say it again, every time I hear of a case in a school I mentally tell myself there will be AT LEAST another case in that school. Double the numbers, to account for asymptomatic positives.

yup I understand that the Government want SLTs on standby over Xmas to do tracing.

Could they not be billed for this?

With some of the money being redirected from Serco? Is the Government not capable of doing this?

Alternatively, maybe a private company should be set up to run this? Preferably one with no ostensible experience in the field? As this seems to be what the Tories like?

IloveJKRowling yep. We're received three more letters since then about other positive cases and expect that that is being duplicated in schools across the country.

And the next level of madness begins with yet another half arsed about turn announcement dumped on schools the day before they close If anyone is surprised give yourself a quick slap for not having learned they do this every.single.bloody.time.so.we.should.expect.it.by.now

I thought that we were now to double as both test and trace as Serco have been so spectacularly shit was it, honey

Closed schools and online learning is an unexpected bonus.

Yuck....online learning.

Not a moan at the excellent teachers but a whinge about DS who compartmentalises stuff so school is school and home is home.

Thank God he has broken up today.

In terms of testing, I’ve been volunteering for the last two weeks with community treating. I don’t do the testing although I know how to but it’s all asymptomatic people being tested.

We’ve had very few positive results.

I guess the same testing could be done in schools but it should not be down to teachers to do this. They have enough to do.

Would happily volunteer and dbs checked. What’s the drama?

Schools not closed noble - simultaneously being education for exam years face to face, for other years online and babysitting for kw and vulnerable whilst also setting up a testing system and testing every single pupil within 5 days so everyone can be back in full on the 11th.

Sounds totally feasible Perhaps they could give us a cut of Sercos profits funding.

DBS checks are not portable.

It took three weeks for my DBS to come through to the school precovid...

... Can't see any problem with a bunch of new volunteers applying for one all at the same time....

Schools not closed noble

Oh I'm saying that the government have closed schools because that is the message they very much don't want to be given out, and you can see it already niggling on here. Moving to online learning or remaining open for keyworkers and vulnerable children has very much been described as schools being closed when it was something they didn't want to happen.

People aren't allowed to volunteer in schools at the moment are they? I thought that was against the rules at the moment ...

So how is this going to work?

Fuck knows. And fuck definitely knows a lot more than this bunch of clowns.

@Elephant4

People aren't allowed to volunteer in schools at the moment are they? I thought that was against the rules at the moment ...

So how is this going to work?

You mean you expect the government to have a plan and not dump and run?

My experience with DBS was extremely timely,a week ago.

True about DBS not being transferable but a lot of schools have low paid part time workers may like the extra hours (midday assistants and cleaners).

Also school volunteers and PTA members quite often get DBS checked. Though secondary schools do have less volunteers than primary or sometimes none. So not totally impossible. It would just depend on them wanting to do it.

@Piggyinblankets

And Gavin instructing the 'independent' pay review board not to recommend any uplift in pay for experienced teachers in their findings...

Good times all round!

At least those buggers (MPs) are not getting the pay rises they wanted.

Schools not closed noble - simultaneously being education for exam years face to face, for other years online and babysitting for kw and vulnerable whilst also setting up a testing system and testing every single pupil within 5 days so everyone can be back in full on the 11th.

I thought it was every single pupil too and have been raging about it for the last two hours... just read this though :

This will offer staff a weekly test, and daily tests if they have had a case in their class.
Any pupil who has come into contact with a positive case will be offered daily tests for seven days, where otherwise a whole bubble, class or year group might have been sent home.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-54872039

what it’s every pupil and that. Both of them.

Are the random volunteers going to be tested too? 😬🙄

it’s every pupil and that. Both of them.
That’s what I thought at first ... Not sure now though.

“Schools and colleges will be able to establish testing to offer students two rapid tests three days apart, with positive results confirmed by a lab-based PCR test”

www.gov.uk/government/news/staggered-rollout-of-coronavirus-testing-for-secondary-schools-and-colleges