I keep hearing talk about school closures....

[november90]

Which is just talk at the moment, no facts behind it (or at least I don't think so!).
Does anyone know if this will likely be secondary school or all schools and nursery's? DS1 is currently in preschool which he absolutely loves! If it closed for the rest/majority of the school year I would be devastated for him!

@Letseatgrandma

Schools will open with lots of testing taking place

I can’t believe that anyone thinks replacing self-isolation of positive close contacts/siblings with a crappy daily lateral flow test that is less than 50% accurate and likely to tell pupils they are negative when they’re not, is a good idea.

Would you want your child sitting for 6 hours a day next to the brother of a child who is at home with covid? I certainly don’t.

I agree but I've a feeling the government will just say ' we're testing so it's fine' ! Then the public will hear this and not get behind any closures. I know I'm being simplistic here but that's how I see it.

@Letseatgrandma agree!

(hang the pupils in at one time)
Great typo @sparklygoldtinsel

@Letseatgrandma

Schools will open with lots of testing taking place

I can’t believe that anyone thinks replacing self-isolation of positive close contacts/siblings with a crappy daily lateral flow test that is less than 50% accurate and likely to tell pupils they are negative when they’re not, is a good idea.

Would you want your child sitting for 6 hours a day next to the brother of a child who is at home with covid? I certainly don’t.

I thought the testing was for those who were a close contacts in school - where does it say it would replace household isolation?

I work in a secondary and want to be armed with the information! I have read the latest info, but I still read it as the household still isolates if the child tests positive. Happy be corrected though.

Pre-Covid when austerity measures meant that it was cheaper for HMCS staff to work from home rather than commute to Petty France, they were all provided with laptops and dongles so that they weren't using a home computer or home broadband.

It was always practically and technologically possible but only became doable when the mindset that people had to be in the office to work was challenged.

In the same way and for urgent reasons it is necessary to challenge the view that D.C. can't be educated unless they are in school. Doubling down on this myth won't provide the tech that makes it possible.

Of course, this doesn't apply to primary aged children whose skills of independent learning have not developed, or SN DC who require supervision beyond that can be given by parents or vulnerable D.C. who are unable to study from home.

A nuanced approach would be better - would always have been better.

Better still fund parents so they don't have to combine working with educating/caring for children. And provide online education. And provide SALT, OT, CAMHs.

What's the betting that the 'new variant' will be blamed for school closure whilst the government will excuse its failure to implement online learning because it was a priority to keep schools open?

I thought the testing was for those who were a close contacts in school-where does it say it would replace household isolation?

The close contacts won’t have to isolate if they come to school every day and have a quick (inaccurate) lateral flow test instead for 7 days-it’s in the school/covid testing handbook.

Siblings of positives (and presumably other household members/teachers who have positive family members) can continue to come to school and be tested daily as well-it was in the DfE training webinar for SLT last week.

Ffs

@Letseatgrandma

I thought the testing was for those who were a close contacts in school-where does it say it would replace household isolation?

The close contacts won’t have to isolate if they come to school every day and have a quick (inaccurate) lateral flow test instead for 7 days-it’s in the school/covid testing handbook.

Siblings of positives (and presumably other household members/teachers who have positive family members) can continue to come to school and be tested daily as well-it was in the DfE training webinar for SLT last week.

Oh wow - that is not what I thought I had read on the gov docs. Will have to catch up with the Headteacher as he was doing the training.

That is hugely different to close contacts at school (not that I am saying it is a good plan for these either).

We are tier 2 and my secondary and college kids are back to online learning in January.

They need to update this then (from the handbook).

I shouldn’t be surprised, given there is no consistency or clarity in information they give out!

@daisybrown37

They need to update this then (from the handbook).

I shouldn’t be surprised, given there is no consistency or clarity in information they give out!

It was HT discussing the webinar on Twitter-hopefully you are right and they were wrong.

Siblings of positives (and presumably other household members/teachers who have positive family members) can continue to come to school and be tested daily as well-it was in the DfE training webinar for SLT last week.

This must be a misinterpretation - there is no way they would endorse that move away from household isolation.

This is from the Q+A webinar

Hopefully a misunderstanding, yes.

@Letseatgrandma

I guess schools are fucked then.

The one thing I don’t understand, is that all of these decision and policy makers are supposed to be reasonably intelligent people.

I think there's a lot of confusion about how the testing will work.

Initially, each child will be tested, and presumably any positives will have to isolate for 10 days.

Then, it seems like close contacts in and out of school will be tested daily in school, instead of being sent home. Teachers will be having regular tests, I think? I've also seen suggestions that symptomatic kids could get tests in schools.

It all sounds really dangerous to me, and needs a massive rethink.

I think we will get some kind of announcement about schools in the next week- I think there will be a longer staggered start to term, to allow testing to actually take place, for starters!

Can we just please keep shouting about the fact that the 'lateral flow' tests they're planning to use in schools are 48% effective.

And ineffective test or not, I DO NOT WANT close contacts of positive cases (whether the contact was at home or school) in class sitting next to my child!

The tests are not reliable.
But that aside for now.
How the hell is this going to work?
So, kids are tested in school. Ignoring the improbable logistics of actually testing them, for arguments sake, let's say we manage this. Where do they wait for their results? (We have no space for them - all our space is fully utilised due to one way systems, holding areas etc).
So, here's a scenario, which plays out at every school, when a child is taken ill, with a dodgy stomach, or whatever: the uncontactable parent.

Little Johnny has a test, by a mythical medic/teacher type person, who just happens to miraculously appear. He waits in his covid secure area (hah) for twenty minutes. And he tests positive. What then? He is spirited away in a covid secure manner (hah again) whilst school contacts his parents, to tell them to collect him. But little Johnny's parents don't pick up...what then? We lock him in a cupboard? Multiply that by dozens, every day, in every school.
Bloody joke.

Sunday Times mentions prioritising teachers after healthcare workers for the vaccine / assuming the Oxford vaccine is approved!

Just a few things, i saw an article a few days ago days masks are not very helpful unless social distancing measures are followed, hardly possible if teachers are having to test students.

I am not a teacher, but as a parent, last week DD had symptoms. We read that children may need tests doing by parents. I was bricking it, but for my daughter, ok, ill have to do it. I wore a shield as well as a mask, and bought gloves with me. Only for the fact that its my daughter was I prepared to do this.

I am really troubled that if tests are required, this will fall onto the teaching staff to have to do, for multiple students each day.

As if its not enough that teachers have to spend hours a day teaching in their coats and gloves with the windows open, but potentially being in very close proximity to children with the virus, testing them, all for an unreliable result.

I am shocked and saddened, the teachers did not sign up for this. Their job is hard enough without this additional weight around their necks, and how are they to find the time?

@Crumpetycrump

Sunday Times mentions prioritising teachers after healthcare workers for the vaccine / assuming the Oxford vaccine is approved!

But someone on here told me that it stops the teacher getting symptoms but it's likely they can still spread it. No idea of that is correct?

I don’t think it’s known yet whether the vaccines stop the virus from spreading as well as protecting the person who has been vaccinated.