Govt plan to one-off test all secondary kids on return to school, too late to Christmas safer

[noelgiraffe]

The DfE have just woken up and realised that schools might be in even deeper shit come January than they are even now, due to Boris's Insane Christmas Covid Bonanza.

So they are going to offer a round of tests to all secondary and college students and staff on return to school in January to try to mitigate the effects.

It will be optional and consent will be required. This will be two lateral flow tests 3 days apart and is separate to the daily testing for close contacts.

This is good news, but it's a shame they didn't think of this before Christmas and allow secondary kids and staff to be able to visit elderly relatives more safely and minimise the Covid Bonanza in the first place. Reactive rather than proactive as ever.

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

it's not a closure?

School will only be open to keyworkers and vulnerable kids, plus Y11 and 13, unexpectedly and at very short notice and will be online for the other year groups. Is that not an issue for parents, childcare etc etc?

I wouldn't have thought childcare is an issue for secondary school students.

I actually asked our deputy yesterday if she thought we should be planning for teams lessons in week 1 and she said definitely not. So I think it will have taken many by surprise.

@Waxonwaxoff0

I wouldn't have thought childcare is an issue for secondary school students.

That is certainly not the message that has been repeated on here time after time after time when anything like this has been suggested.

Greenwich council probably have opinions on this.

@Lumene

Are these swab tests?

Who will administer them?

School staff will. Except I will refuse.

For primary students childcare would be an issue. But for secondary school, for just one week, it should be manageable.

I might be slightly sceptical, but it seems a big ask to test 3.3 million people, twice, in 1 week. Do we even have that many tests available?

@FiggyPuddingFiend

I might be slightly sceptical, but it seems a big ask to test 3.3 million people, twice, in 1 week. Do we even have that many tests available?

Ssssshhhh.

Details schmetails, I'm sure that the DfE have this all under control.

It's not at all like they've just pulled this out of their arse since yesterday when the school testing handbook was leaked and everyone went wtf.

This totally wasn't decided just before lunch today. (Video here: www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/eb893fa5-7468-48b9-96ad-ec08ff14f21c of how they don't have a clue and the head of the DfE having their arse handed to them about it.)

Brilliant! Tell schools just as they are closing for Christmas.

Schools are still having to administer track and trace right up to Christmas Eve and now they have to get organised for a staggered start that they knew nothing about.
Bloody Government Fuckmuppets.

Before we fall for the primary schools are safer line, might want to have a look at this

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/945441/Weekly_COVID-19_and_Influenza_Surveillance_Graphs_w51.pdf

Primaries should also close for a week. For us, there have been more cases - bursts bubbles - in my y4’s school than in my y8’s school. It’s akin to patching up the bigger hole in the pipe but letting the smaller one grow.

The government need to really think carefully about their next moves. They’ve let things get things so out of control that mass school closures (government sanctioned or not) after this Christmas folly will be inevitable.

School staff will be expected to administer these tests. Schools have been sent the info today, with no guidance and no warning and told to recruit 5-10 volunteers and create a safe space to administer these tests.

Will they be told to isolate after contact with any positive cases they encounter? So the same 10 trained staff will end up doing multiple isolation periods?

DFE have managed to avoid isolating teachers because 'there's no reason to be within 2m of pupil' .... but here you go, go waggle this cotton bud up the nostrils of 150 kids.

I can see where this is leading, can you... teachers will get unions to support them but admin staff will be thrown into the firing line of this shitshow.

I'll volunteer after I see SLT on the rota

Support staff should also be in unions. If they're not, they really need to join now.

Has anyone heard anything about special ( secondary age) schools? I can't find any info, which is nothing new, but just thought someone on here might know.

I understand the concerns but wonder what people would suggest in terms of a solution that they see as acceptable?

When I was tested yesterday it was done by a test centre worker. She was fantastic, but previous to this had zero experience in a similar role. She was recruited specifically to do the test. It was carried out in a carpark under a pop up gazebo.

She stuck the swab into my throat and then up my nose. She wore a mask and glasses. I expect she deals with multiple positive people daily. The school lateral flow tests are nasal only.

Schools are recruiting people to do the tests. At least ours is- I've already seen the advert.

What would people like to see instead?

Its a total logistical joke.
Pleased my year 10 has extra week at home.
But when she goes back and majority of her school take public transport to and from school.
Not designated school transport general public as near city centre so city centre workers bus drivers ext.
So she gets to school test and tests postive.
Or negative then 3 days 2nd test postive shes then been in contact and infested so many people.

Our primary had 3 classes burst one this week.
Having different age kids I would say primary age kids are more cuddly and close contact than teens so if they see family over xmas it maybe very close contact making them bit more risky.

@Chaotic45 if school recruit people that's fine. They are choosing to test.

I'm not against the testing. I'm against the conversation I had with SLT today who said 'we need to find 5-10 staff volunteers to train to do these tests" and wondering how true to the definitions of 'volunteer' they were going to be, because I imagine once they don't get enough volunteers they will begin to enforce it as mandatory, and will probably start at the bottom (eg lowly admin staff who are paid buttons as it is) and work their way up. I hope I am
Proven wrong on this, I really do.

I also think primary schools should go back a week later

Or at least that PARENTS WHO ARE ABLE TO ARE GIVEN THE OPTION TO HOMESCHOOL NEXT TERM WITHOUT THE RISK OF FINES/HAVING TO DEREGISTER

only putting it in capitals in case DFE happen along. I don't think reading small print is their specialty.

I’ve been a secondary teacher for 20 years. If you want me to swan your child fine. You also need to realise I am the parent who told their 3 year old (who had to ran head first into a stone bollard) to ‘shake it off’ and ‘atop crying’. It’s a reason I don’t teach primary. I can’t promise I won’t scrape their brains with the swan.

*swab

@LaBelleSauvage123

Special schools did get a mention this time, looks like they will be starting as normal with no testing.
www.gov.uk/government/news/staggered-rollout-of-coronavirus-testing-for-secondary-schools-and-colleges

@Chaotic45

I understand the concerns but wonder what people would suggest in terms of a solution that they see as acceptable?

When I was tested yesterday it was done by a test centre worker. She was fantastic, but previous to this had zero experience in a similar role. She was recruited specifically to do the test. It was carried out in a carpark under a pop up gazebo.

She stuck the swab into my throat and then up my nose. She wore a mask and glasses. I expect she deals with multiple positive people daily. The school lateral flow tests are nasal only.

Schools are recruiting people to do the tests. At least ours is- I've already seen the advert.

What would people like to see instead?

1. More than a fortnight’s notice (or even if that fortnight was two working weeks, not the Christmas holiday) both to sort out the testing centre and to prepare for the scale of pupils who require remote education; remember the promised laptops STILL aren’t in schools.

1. A proper guarantee that if we hired additional staff, we’d be reimbursed. So far, all promises of school funding for COVID costs have been either outright lies, partial truths or announced then changed.

1. A promise of a suitable marquee (like the testing centres) if we don’t have a suitable room.

1. No suggestion from the government that “existing staff” (who already have jobs) could do the testing leaving school staff at the mercy of different SLTs.

With better organisation this could have real positives: actively recruiting those who have been made redundant or who are struggling on zero hour contracts, for example.

And I think as long as consent is gained from pupils and parents, more testing has to be a better thing. A test with 50% effectiveness is still better than no test on an asymptomatic teenager. The issue is with how it’s being done, not what they are trying to achieve.

Not so great when your child has exams in January and has already missed last two lessons due to staff absence/ self isolation.
Note to Gav Exam years not just 11 and 13
Although ok of school provide proper zoom lessons.

Anyone else doubt they'll produce enough tests here? Like when they announced that they'd provided all schools with tests. That was all schools given 10 tests. So 0.3% of our school population then...better than a slap in the face, I suppose, but a fat lot of good.

Wouldn't it have been easier to send out a home test kit to every child on 1st jan? swab the child, provide the result, return to school.... yes the first few weeks would have been chaotic in school but it's the same number of tests being done, just not putting school staff at additional risk