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Original poster

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

225 replies

noelgiraffe · 17/12/2020 15:15

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

OP posts:
cantkeepawayforever · 17/12/2020 21:20

@hopefulhalf

But presumably these "volunteers" would ? Seriously they can't send out a bunch of C-19 tests and expect them to be done in a "testing station" without PPE surely ?
Well, you were the person expecting them to be done in a classroom at tutor time, with the swabs thrown into a bin by students..... I had assumed that you therefore meant that they were being supervised by the tutor (as is normal in tutor time).
Original poster
noelgiraffe · 17/12/2020 21:21

would guess no as on the parliament video link above she categorically states no funding will be given to schools for extra staff or resources to administer the tests

I missed that. The DfE announcement specifically said that we would be given extra money for staffing.

What is going on? We have to get Kevin's mum to do all 7 roles because she's the only one who volunteered?

OP posts:
MillieEpple · 17/12/2020 21:22

I dont think they are expecting all schools to partake.

cantkeepawayforever · 17/12/2020 21:23

Has anyone also noticed the line in the guidance that if any positive cases are foundduring the daily testing, then the 7 days of daily testing restarts from the beginning?

This will very, very rapidly, in many schools, mean that every child in every year group is being tested daily.

It's like the testing of children in September - it so severely underestimates the size of the demand that there is going to be for testing that it will fall over immediately, fundamentally undermining any faith in the system and driving parents and students to avoid testing altogether.

hopefulhalf · 17/12/2020 21:24

Supervised by the tutor in mask, gloves, googles - yes. Then get the kids to wipe down the surfaces or would that be too much to expect of NT teens ? Then eveybody washing their hands bins the PPE , washes their hands again andcgets on with their day.

cantkeepawayforever · 17/12/2020 21:25

So every teacher gets new medical grade mask, gloves and goggles every day?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Original poster
noelgiraffe · 17/12/2020 21:27

@MillieEpple

I dont think they are expecting all schools to partake.
Yes they are. All state schools have to set up an onsite covid testing lab.

If not for the mass testing, then for the replacement for contract tracing.

OP posts:
starrynight19 · 17/12/2020 21:27

I missed that. The DfE announcement specifically said that we would be given extra money for staffing.

About ten minutes in @noelgiraffe she asks will schools get extra people , reply no , she then asks about extra money , reply no.

cantkeepawayforever · 17/12/2020 21:28

I may be a lowly primary teacher, not worthy of access to testing, but i do have very close contact with over 30 young children daily.

I was given (for the term) 2 pairs of gloves and 1 visor (ONLY to be worn when in physical contact with a child with definite Covid symptoms IF they are isolating ready for a parent to collect).

I am not allowed to wear a mask in school at all. I do wear a standard cloth mask whenever and wherever I can get away with it.

The idea that every tutor will have a full set of PPE daily is laughable.

cantkeepawayforever · 17/12/2020 21:29

NOWHERE is it stated that there is any money at all for PPE.

hopefulhalf · 17/12/2020 21:31

I don't think you will get anyone to volunteer/ be paid to do Covid testing without it. Why would it be daily ?

MillieEpple · 17/12/2020 21:32

Oh yes for the contact tracing they do ' sorry. I meant this mass testing for the first week back. Theres no way they have enough tests ready or enough army who are apparently supporting it.

starrynight19 · 17/12/2020 21:32

@cantkeepawayforever have you seen the latest infection rates with regards to secondary. We catching up at an alarming rate. I also had a visor for close contact. Didn’t help me sadly I caught it from school. Currently three weeks in with more symptoms developing.

Piggyinblankets · 17/12/2020 21:33

hopefulhalf you ahve digressed form the non porous floor.

starrynight19 · 17/12/2020 21:34

Theres no way they have enough tests ready or enough army who are apparently supporting it. The army will only be involved in the training part. It’s solely down to schools to deliver this.

Original poster
noelgiraffe · 17/12/2020 21:35

@hopefulhalf

I don't think you will get anyone to volunteer/ be paid to do Covid testing without it. Why would it be daily ?
Because close contacts will no longer have to self-isolate but instead have 7 school days of daily tests?

It would really help if you read the guidance before attempting to discuss it.

OP posts:
cantkeepawayforever · 17/12/2020 21:35

@hopefulhalf

I don't think you will get anyone to volunteer/ be paid to do Covid testing without it. Why would it be daily ?
'Instead of isolating' tests have to be daily for 7 days. Given the current infection / isolation levels in most secondaries in most areas, I imagine that pretty much every school will have at least 1 group being tested every day for all of next term, and many will have multiple year groups or the whole school.
FiggyPuddingFiend · 17/12/2020 21:36

@hopefulhalf

I don't think you will get anyone to volunteer/ be paid to do Covid testing without it. Why would it be daily ?
The testing for close contacts is daily so they avoid isolation. If that was in place at my school this week, we'd have about 300 students to test each morning before they could start lessons. (We've had a lot of cases Sad)
starrynight19 · 17/12/2020 21:36

@cantkeepawayforeversorry I meant latest infection rates with primary

cantkeepawayforever · 17/12/2020 21:38

@starrynight19 inevitable, really, isn't it?

hopefulhalf · 17/12/2020 21:39

I have read it initially for all pupils eg: mass testing (that is why I thought it could be done in form time). Testing close contacts is different, it woildn't be every form everyday.

FiggyPuddingFiend · 17/12/2020 21:42

There are 3 parts to the testing:

  1. Initial mass testing, 3.3 million students need 2 tests the first week of January.
  2. Weekly testing for teachers
  3. 7 days of testing instead of isolating for close contacts
MillieEpple · 17/12/2020 21:44

cantkeepawayforever - it says PPE will be provided. I'm not holding my breath but Its in the 15th dec guidance about the testing.

itsgettingweird · 17/12/2020 21:44

So if school starts at 8.30am I'm assuming it's expected pupils are tested from 7.30am and the teachers school day is made even longer as they will have to start prepping at 6.30/7am for the day before the testing. And then what. Work out which students have now been sent home and need to access the lessons online and sort that out too sending them links etc?

FuckOffDfE · 17/12/2020 21:45

Another way in which the government avoids spending money in schools - get the teachers to do the testing on top of their impossible workload at the moment. Why do we think that our children and their education isn’t worth more than this?