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/

I am not in England and teach primaryot secondary. However a few points that strike me.

1. Where is the room for this to be found?
2. Time taken, if testing 100 pupils a day and total time for each pupil to arrive, test and leave is 5 mins, that's either a big space and a lot of volunteers or a long wait. Our school buses don't arrive that much earlier than start of school.
3. If results take 30 mins plus to arrive does the child sit in class then get whisked away, or do they wait until they have the all clear?
4. My 12 years old in primary would skim the nose if doing it, it would be a rotally pointless activity with negative results due to this. What would be in place to ensure a proper swab was taken?
5. School staff can't really do it as they will be in class, unless every morning a new 1/2-3/4h class happens where class teachers oversees students test and positives are pulled from classes as the day goes on. This way reduces numbers of people needed, also gets rid of logistics doing it before school so getting pupils in early enough, maybe the office staff could catch the late commers as they sign in 🤔

Negative- loss of a period of teaching, either education matters or it doesn't, maybe teachers could do an extra free lesson every day? Do their but for the cause, and they could sort transport for kids whose buses have left?

Ok, so tongue in cheek but... So much needs sorted and staff are on or about to go on holiday. My heart goes out tob hose having to deal with this.

@CraftyGin

I’m a secondary teacher and welcome testing. I don’t think it will be a particular logistic problem, eg do it in one of their PSHE lessons.

My student DD did two lateral flow tests before coming home. She went to the sports hall, showed the bar code on her phone, self-administered the test, received the result 30 minutes later. It wasn’t rocket science or the equivalent of defusing a WW2 bomb.

With all medical interventions, you should consider BRAN - benefits, risks, alternatives and nothing.

Benefits - you pick up positives who then isolate and no longer transmit.
Risks - false negatives who think they can drop social distancing
Alternatives - PCR tests but too long to get the results
Doing nothing - where we are now.

I favour the LF tests to pick up positives, but still encourage negatives to maintain social distancing.

But if you do it during PSHE, then any kids who are positive will be walking around the school and mixing for part of the day.

Not that we have timetabled PSHE lessons anymore anyway...

But I genuinely don't think you've thought this through. To have any impact at all, testing surely has to be done at the start of the day.

These are kids who this term wouldn't have been in school, but isolating.

I agree mass/random testing in this way would be workable.

@Nellodee

Right now I think most teachers are feeling this.

I see your field and showeth mine candle

@W00t

The government needs to be held to the promise that "reasonable costs for additional workforce will be reimbursed." *@Incredulous2020*

You mean like schools will be supplied with laptops for pupils without devices.
Months later, oh, they're coming, they'll be here soon. Even more months later, oh, we don't think you need that many (my school was only about 150 devices short )

And that other wheeze- oh, we'll fund catch-up for all England pupils. Oh, sorry, just vulnerable/PP pupils. Oh, actually, each vulnerable pupil can have an hour and a half of tuition.

Well pointed out. Schools definitely can't spend promises.

Today my son's secondary have given all staff members a home testing kit. They are to test in January before they start back.

So things are definitely moving fast.

We must have around 300 members of staff if you include non teaching staff. So a lot of test kits would have been needed.

I find it difficult to believe an actual secondary teacher would think this could be done in a pshe lesson.

The idea of doing tests in PSHE makes me laugh.

So I have to teach kids who will test and may be positive 10minutes later.

Then what do I do? Im already sat in a tiny room, not social distancing with 30 other people.

Do I just carry on teaching, shedding that lovely viral load until i too get a positive result? What about the 150 kids I teach in the meantime? Or the families they go home too?

What teachers wanted was safer working conditions, for everyone. This is bollocks.

A relative is a fairly senior civil servant (with one of the more egregious liars as their Minister, thanks for the word Priti) and says that this Government’s policy is to fuck up left, right and centre and tip all the blame over civil servants. I thought of that watching the Permanent Secretary being grilled yesterday, and felt sorry for her. I so wished she could have responded “I’d tell you if I knew, but the bastards are making it up as they go along, and they haven’t got a clue about anything to do with schools”.

I believe the guidance says it has to be done first thing in the morning,, twice : not when they rock up to their once a fortnight PSHE lesson.

We don’t have PSHE lessons. We suspend the timetable for a double period once a half term. So that idea is out.

We also don’t have morning registration at the moment to allow for staggered break and lunch.

So no- there isn’t any ‘wasted’ time in the school day.

If anyone can remember the last time their Yr9 had the HPV jab it takes all day to get one year group through the hall to have the jab and that is a much quicker process than the lateral flow test.

We don't have a PSHE lessons either. We have 20 mins tutor time in which to deliver PSHE, mentoring, bulletins, assemblies and everything else that's chucked our way.

@BelleSausage

We don’t have PSHE lessons. We suspend the timetable for a double period once a half term. So that idea is out.

We also don’t have morning registration at the moment to allow for staggered break and lunch.

So no- there isn’t any ‘wasted’ time in the school day.

If anyone can remember the last time their Yr9 had the HPV jab it takes all day to get one year group through the hall to have the jab and that is a much quicker process than the lateral flow test.

Yeah, getting a year group through vaccinations usually takes the best part of a day and that's a quicker process than doing these tests.

If you allow 5 minutes per child, that's 125 minutes to test my tutor group - that's over 2 hours.

If it takes 2 and a half hours to test close contacts (and I actually think my 5 minute time frame is pretty tight and doesn't allow for any reluctant/panicking/making a fuss kids), say 5 staff to do the testing, that probably means getting kids into school well before 8am to ensure they all have a negative test by tutor time.

A lot of kids won't manage that. School busses won't allow for that. It'll massively inconvenience all staff as the kids will have to go somewhere and all staff not doing tests will have to avoid them.

And it will be knackering.

I can see certain parents opting for the 10 day isolation as they won't be able to get their kids in early enough. So, no doubt we will still be providing remote education on top of all of this.

11 per bay, per hour, so we need 100 bays, and it would take an hour, max.
Sorted!
We'll setup bays down the pavement of surrounding streets...

If you allow 5 minutes per child, that's 125 minutes to test my tutor group - that's over 2 hours

Isn't that just the taking of the tests. Where are you going to put the newly tested DC whilst awaiting their results.

And you need a foolproof way of attributing the correct result to the correct pupil.

It should of course be carried out first thing in the morning, if you are at all serious about this replacing SI (and I really hope that idea gets jettisoned).

Tests in addition to SI could however be done any time, as they are intended to mop up asymptomatic cases which would not otherwise have been detected. Every one found is a bonus

@noelgiraffe

Not many volunteers on this thread which is a bit worrying since schools will need 100,000 volunteers per day. All signed up by January 4th.

I genuinely would if it would actually help anyone, but absolutely not if it continues to be about preventing contacts from isolating. I am still horrified that was introduced already near me. I have always said I am against mass testing in general, but I know its something school staff here said they wanted, so if they thought it would help I would have been willing to help with that.

Just a few points: Once again, there will be no man handling. No headlocks. I am hoping school staff are joking (i am quite literal and not always able to tell). I would assume teachers know dc cannot be 'manhandled' Lots of parents are HCPs and would be more than capable of assisting with testing. A few people have said it would be impossible because we already have jobs, but the reality is we work shifts so of course we have time off during school hours. Lots of us work 3x13 hour shifts a week. Yes many of us are working on top of that to help etc but we still have some hours available if we want to help.

We don't 'manhandle' unwilling people in our jobs. I have looked after many 13/14 year olds in labour who were unwilling for various procedures (many adults decline too but I am talking about consent and children here). No means no, we don't do it - that would be assault.

Anyway I may be reading too much into posters just trying to be funny!

Oh, one more thing; I am currently doing a PHd part time and have had communication from the uni that no one can be onsite in January until 2 negative lateral test results are obtained, between 3 and 7 days apart...... has someone decided that 50% accuracy means that two tests = 100% accuracy?

yes, I rather think they have...

@W00t

11 per bay, per hour, so we need 100 bays, and it would take an hour, max. Sorted! We'll setup bays down the pavement of surrounding streets...

But what about the parking? Though I suppose the testing bays could double as parking bays if you were clever with timings. Win win.

Just to answer the question. If I were on furlough leave with no caring responsibilities or health concerns then I would volunteer

Nick Gibbs on LBC this morning when asked confirmed that DBS checks will not be required for the people volunteering/getting paid to do the testing. The reason being that they will be supervised. Are parents happy with this? As a parent I am not.

I was wondering about that actually. Given volunteers would
Not be alone with the kids. When we volunteer at a food bank over the summer holidays running holiday clubs we don’t need a DBS because we are never alone with the kids so this makes sense. As a parent I would be fine with this.

Twat on the fucking radio said schools are large and have enough space.

No they fucking don't. The hall and theatre are used for lessons or exams. Hall has wood floor so not non porous. Theatre building is used for one of the year groups.

@farfallarocks

I was wondering about that actually. Given volunteers would Not be alone with the kids. When we volunteer at a food bank over the summer holidays running holiday clubs we don’t need a DBS because we are never alone with the kids so this makes sense. As a parent I would be fine with this.

Makes sense I’m fine with it too

When you don't have a DBS you have to be accompanied everywhere by someone who does.