Military to support mass school testing

[lonelyplanet]

From the BBC this morning- The Ministry of Defence said 1,500 military personnel will hold webinars and give phone support to school staff.

There are about 3500 secondary schools in England. Here's what I think will happen. Staff will get invited to a 30 minute zoom webinar to explain how to carry out the testing of the ineffective lateral flow tests. There won't be enough tests, staff or facilities for labeling and processing for everyone so schools will be advised to target only close contacts of positive cases.

Two weeks later the school phones the army helpline.

School Testing Admin Officer: Hi Covidire Academy here; we have a question. No one has tested positive with our school tests - are we doing it right?
Army Helpline: That's great news, you are clearly doing it right.
STAO: Lots of the children are complaining of headaches and rashes. Do we send them home?
AH: No need if they've got a negative result
STAO: Mrs Higgins is a TA and luckily a trained nurse. She is overseeing the students swabbing themselves. She says they don't like the feel of the swab so the children are only sticking it slightly up their nostrils. Is this okay?
AH: I'm sure that will be just as effective
STAO: Mrs Higgins has had a mild cough for a few days but has had 2 negative tests, can she continue? We are short staffed and need her.
AH: Yes if she continues to test negative
STAO: She is also a 1 to 1 TA for a child with severe diabetes is this okay?
AH: Yes if she continues to test negative
STAO: A child in Year 9 has had an asthma attack and admitted to hospital. He has since tested positive despite 5 negative tests last week. He hasn't been in for 3 days. Lots of his class have been off sick but no other positives from our testing.
AH: Your testing regime is clearly working well at preventing infection. Keep up the good work.

And that's just secondary schools. Primaries - no measures.

That's after you've listened to the Top Gun hold music for half an hour, while Kevin's mum the volunteer lets rip a sweary rant about the videos of her making their way on to TikTok.

I expect that the next time the military are deployed to some area of armed unrest, schools will reciprocate by holding webinars on behaviour management. What comes around goes around.

@bornatXmastobequiet

I expect that the next time the military are deployed to some area of armed unrest, schools will reciprocate by holding webinars on behaviour management. What comes around goes around.

I'm sure they could give us some useful pointers on that too!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55471095

I thought you must be joking when you said it would be primarily webinars and phone support, as I thought the useful role they could fill would be warm bodies for places with insufficient volunteers

The whole idea is a bit of a shambles - lateral flow tests are less than 60% reliable when used by trained members of the public

www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4469

and I doubt anyone has considered what the rate might be if tests are taken by untrained children/teens on themselves

Though I suppose if it is mass testing to mop up at least asymptomatic cases that would otherwise not have been detected, then it will do some good. If it is to replace SI (as they appeared to be saying a few days ago) it's a recipe for disaster

@mpsw

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55471095

I thought you must be joking when you said it would be primarily webinars and phone support, as I thought the useful role they could fill would be warm bodies for places with insufficient volunteers

The whole idea is a bit of a shambles - lateral flow tests are less than 60% reliable when used by trained members of the public

www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4469

and I doubt anyone has considered what the rate might be if tests are taken by untrained children/teens on themselves

Though I suppose if it is mass testing to mop up at least asymptomatic cases that would otherwise not have been detected, then it will do some good. If it is to replace SI (as they appeared to be saying a few days ago) it's a recipe for disaster

Yes children will be performing the tests on themselves instead of self isolating. Imagine the mess we will be in.

My daughter did her own test from home the other day, she did it fine. There will be teething problems but we do need something. I do think all teachers should be one of the top groups getting the vaccine.

The closest they get to an understanding of reliability when 11- 18 years olds self administer would be the Birmingham Uni test that found there was 3% accuracy.

SAGE only found it 48% accurate. Presumably carried out by trained staff. Sage report dated 25th November. Children will be way less.

The situation would be comical if lives weren't being put at risk.

@Piggyinblankets

The closest they get to an understanding of reliability when 11- 18 years olds self administer would be the Birmingham Uni test that found there was 3% accuracy.

😲😲😲😲

Your initial post is really amusing, made me smile. But how sad that in reality it will be very much like this, which isn't funny at all, and will cost more and more lives....

Yes and the kids won’t for fun stick their bar code on someone else’s test at any point or try to stick their swab up someone else’s nose.

Maybe when the army try and give accurate advice like PHE did to schools early in September it will be stopped and taken over by the DFE again.

Usual government total mess. Of course when it all goes to hell in a handcart we know who they will blame. 😡

@Piggyinblankets

The closest they get to an understanding of reliability when 11- 18 years olds self administer would be the Birmingham Uni test that found there was 3% accuracy.

Here's an article on it: www.newscientist.com/article/2263746-test-caught-just-3-per-cent-of-students-with-covid-19-at-uk-university/

I am very concerned about the consequences of using a test that is so inaccurate in untrained hands instead of proper contact isolation

I have to say I didn't read the news article about the military assistance and just glanced at the headline (because I don't have DC).

I'd assumed they were going to be brought in to administer the tests!

I thought...at last...a half decent idea since that will provide the resource, rigour and logistics needed for this kind of thing.

Actually aghast that it means a webinar and phone support...

Just wondering how many volunteers are currently stepping forward to come into schools and co ordinate this shitshow.
Given exam invigilators/ pta / governors etc are either likely to be working themselves or if retired in the at risk category.

I tend to assume that people working in schools have a basic level of intelligence and won't need this kind of advice.

Indeed lonely. This appears to have led to the DfE withdrawing a return to uni ad but no one seems to ahve joined the dots to the testing in schools.

Don't forget that the kids administering their own tests only have 90 seconds in which to do both throat and nose. Otherwise the schedule goes to shit.

schoolsweek.co.uk/a-7-step-plan-for-running-mass-testing-in-schools/

Confidence through (3%) certainty.

@Piggyinblankets

The closest they get to an understanding of reliability when 11- 18 years olds self administer would be the Birmingham Uni test that found there was 3% accuracy.

Quoting so this doesn't disappear among the other posts.

It definitely needs repeating.

@bornatXmastobequiet

I expect that the next time the military are deployed to some area of armed unrest, schools will reciprocate by holding webinars on behaviour management. What comes around goes around.

“Put down your AK47 and proceed to the isolation room. Tell miss you are to log on to the Year 10 Conflict Resolution Unit, read through the introduction, and design a poster to explain non confrontational peace keeping on international borders.

And, by the way, I will be calling your mum at lunchtime.”

I have to say I didn't read the news article about the military assistance and just glanced at the headline

This is what they're relying on. Most will see the headline, proclaim "another good idea Boris" and post some guff on FB about wartime spirit.

When I saw the headline I thought it would end up being only a few schools so the government could say they were doing something, but this seems a bit ridiculous. Has the military risk assessment said it’s too risky to send employees into schools? (I’m joking and also not joking)
We scrabble around for staff to cover lunchtimes and 1:1 absences due to illness and have employed extra cleaners but our budget is tight and I’m expecting further staff cuts because the extra cleaning is coming out of our existing budget.
I desperately want to keep the schools open but give us the resources, whether that’s money or people ffs.
I keep seeing people banging on about not letting our children down, how they’ve suffered etc, but they only deserve volunteers and remote support? That’s the best that our children deserve? I think a lot of people higher up choose to see children and teenagers as real people when it suits them and just numbers the rest of the time. We see the numbers as faces with names.

And to think we spend the first few years in primary teaching kids not to stick stuff up their noses, fingers, playdoh, little Lego bricks, apple pips, pencils...............