As the parent of a school-aged child who is a close contact of a positive case

[Achristmaspudsskidu]

Would you rather

1. They sent home for 10 days self-isolation like during the autumn term like would happen in any other sector.

1. They continue to go to school and get the nose/throat swab tests in the hall together every morning for 10 days by volunteers, and go back to lessons, if negative.

What if your child wasn’t a close contact? Would you be happy with the close contacts remaining in class and sitting with your child every day?

I would want more data on the reliability of the testing, as administered by volunteers who may or may not know what they're doing, before I could answer that question.

Obviously, it's better for kids to stay in school if they can, but if there is a risk of them spreading the virus, I'd rather that they isolate and study at home - regardless of whether my dc is a close contact or not.

Option 1 every single time. Because of my husband's ECV status, if this is implemented before he is vaccinated, this may well be the point that we decide that fines or deregistering is the only option. We've been able to workk with school so far and have negotiated an authorised absence for the first week back to try and avoid any post Christmas mixing spike. But this may be the point where we can't risk it anymore.

I would like parents to have the choice but for my circumstances and children, I would opt for the daily test and a better education than I am able to provide at home.

Option 1

I wouldn’t be at all happy with the close contacts remaining in school. The tests are unreliable and shouldn’t be used for this purpose.

I would like parents to have the choice

I certainly don't agree that it should be about individual choice. This isn't about protecting people as individuals, it's about protecting the community as a whole. The approach that we adopt should balance the need to protect the NHS and vulnerable people from the virus with the need to educate our children. The decision should therefore be based on how we can best prevent the spread of the virus with as little disruption as possible. Individual preferences shouldn't be a factor.

I'm truly past caring right now, but I do know that ds1 absolutely needs to be in school for his mental health and his learning. He had a breakdown over the lockdown summer term, so overall I suppose option 2 for us.

Option 1

Option 2 has been the case at my DC school for the last 6 weeks.

I was very happy with it.

2 potentially.

Although depends in circumstances.

But if other asymptomatic were found then whole class / year group isolate.

But if your child has had Covid I think it would be better if they don't need to isolate again and it is less likely they will catch it again, at least in the short term.

But I don't think we are particularly high risk as a family and are unlikely to spread to others, so easier to come to this conclusion.

@AlexaShutUp

I would like parents to have the choice

I certainly don't agree that it should be about individual choice. This isn't about protecting people as individuals, it's about protecting the community as a whole. The approach that we adopt should balance the need to protect the NHS and vulnerable people from the virus with the need to educate our children. The decision should therefore be based on how we can best prevent the spread of the virus with as little disruption as possible. Individual preferences shouldn't be a factor.

I disagree. If some parents do not want to send their child in for the testing, then they should be able to keep them isolated and educated at home. Some household had ECV living there and they should have the choice to make the most suitable decision.

I thought you were contagious 48 hours before testing so not sure how it’d work tbh.

Testing posItve

@Watermelon888

I thought you were contagious 48 hours before testing so not sure how it’d work tbh.

You continue to be contagious after showing symptoms.

If some parents do not want to send their child in for the testing, then they should be able to keep them isolated and educated at home. Some household had ECV living there and they should have the choice to make the most suitable decision.

Sure, but that's a slightly different issue. This is about how to deal with close contacts of confirmed cases, which is all about preventing the spread of the disease to others. It isn't about protecting the close contacts themselves or their household members, because the point is that they have already potentially been exposed.

I would support the right of parents with CEV household members to take their children out of school as a precautionary measure if there have been confirmed cases in the bubble, but that's a separate issue from how you contain the spread of the disease by those who have already been potentially exposed.

@AlexaShutUp

I would like parents to have the choice

I certainly don't agree that it should be about individual choice. This isn't about protecting people as individuals, it's about protecting the community as a whole. The approach that we adopt should balance the need to protect the NHS and vulnerable people from the virus with the need to educate our children. The decision should therefore be based on how we can best prevent the spread of the virus with as little disruption as possible. Individual preferences shouldn't be a factor.

Are you suggesting that parents would not have the right to consent to their child being tested at school?

Saying the potentially infected children have to come in and have be tested and they don’t have the individual choice to keep them home and self isolate is rather a dangerous road to go down, isn’t it?

I'm less concerned about giving people the individual choice not to test and to keep their kids at home, and much more concerned about parents opting for the testing because it suits them, when we don't actually know whether it is reliable.

Option 1.

What will happen to the those who test positive. I'm assuming we will be summoned to collect them? But they are then contagious and potentially infecting those around them until they are collected.

I also don't understand where the volunteers are going to come from and would be very upset if teachers were forced to do it.

So, in other words, to clarify my position, I don't have an issue with parents choosing to isolate their children instead of getting them tested (as long as appropriate safeguarding measures are in place to protect any children who might be at risk), but I don't want parents to have to option of choosing mass testing just because it suits them, unless we have reliable evidence that it is actually going to work.

@AlexaShutUp

If some parents do not want to send their child in for the testing, then they should be able to keep them isolated and educated at home. Some household had ECV living there and they should have the choice to make the most suitable decision.

Sure, but that's a slightly different issue. This is about how to deal with close contacts of confirmed cases, which is all about preventing the spread of the disease to others. It isn't about protecting the close contacts themselves or their household members, because the point is that they have already potentially been exposed.

I would support the right of parents with CEV household members to take their children out of school as a precautionary measure if there have been confirmed cases in the bubble, but that's a separate issue from how you contain the spread of the disease by those who have already been potentially exposed.

No, it’s not a different issue. The OP, which I was answering, states:

Would you rather

1. They sent home for 10 days self-isolation like during the autumn term like would happen in any other sector.

2. They continue to go to school and get the nose/throat swab tests in the hall together every morning for 10 days by volunteers, and go back to lessons, if negative

I said I would like parents to have the choice.

Option 2, definitely.

I get the upset over the rushed announcement (I am a governor and have been for many years).

But, as a parent, I would rather have my children at school.

No chance my children would allow a volunteer to swab them every morning for 10 days! So the decision would be out of my hands.

Sorry, but I think it is a different issue. I think all parents should have the right to decide how they protect their own families, but I don't think it's a matter of personal choice as to how other families should be protected from your child potentially spreading the disease.

Self isolation/testing isn't about protecting individuals, it is about protecting the community as a whole.

Which test is it? I know teachers have said it is nose /throat, which implies it's not the lateral flow? But if not how would they obtain quick results?

The lateral flow is about 50‰ accurate I think, which would make it not very reassuring for this purpose.

I'd support the use of a regular quick test to weed out some presymptomatic or asymptomatic cases. But still isolate contacts of known positives.

But I live with a ECV family member so doing a lot to help my kids avoid it.

@BrassicaRabbit

Which test is it? I know teachers have said it is nose /throat, which implies it's not the lateral flow? But if not how would they obtain quick results?

The lateral flow is about 50‰ accurate I think, which would make it not very reassuring for this purpose.

I'd support the use of a regular quick test to weed out some presymptomatic or asymptomatic cases. But still isolate contacts of known positives.

But I live with a ECV family member so doing a lot to help my kids avoid it.

Details here

schoolsweek.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Schools_Colleges_Testing-Handbook_version-3.3-Copy.pdf

It is both lateral flow and nose/throat. You are right though-I don’t think they are terribly effective.