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If you think there have been no cases in your child's school, you're probably wrong

71 replies

CloseSchoolsProtecttheNHS · 03/01/2021 14:31

Contrary to what most people think, they don't tell the whole school community if they have a positive case. They tell close contacts and some schools even encourage them to keep it quiet to avoid panic. Where it's an isolated case and no close contacts (because of absence on the day when symptoms started, for example), they usually tell noone and the family of the positive case often choose to keep quiet rather than be stigmatised as having broken the rules and caught it (I know you don't have to break the rules to catch it but that's the stigma).

Unless you have a particularly small school, you may well not realise that it's been identified in your school. My child had to isolate as a close contact of 3 positive cases and another parent of a child in another class said to me (during the time he was isolating) that they were so impressed there had been no cases in the school - yet 11 kids in our class had since tested positive!

On top of that, children don't usually show the main three symptoms. As soon as I hear about people saying how the only case in their school has been a teacher, I immediately know that it's probably spreading in their school without them being aware. Families talk about how they have no idea where they caught it as they don't go anywhere, except their child is in school 'but he's been fine so it hasn't come from school'.

OP posts:
annevonkleve · 03/01/2021 15:03

In my son's 6th for college they told us every time there was a case. Some schools may be different but you can't generalise like this.

yankeedoodledandee · 03/01/2021 15:06

I live in a small town, you can't even fart here without someone knowing. Not a chance there are secret covid cases Grin

Waxonwaxoff0 · 03/01/2021 15:07

Our school emails all parents whenever there is a case to avoid rumours about who has it.

CloseSchoolsProtecttheNHS · 03/01/2021 15:08

I'm not generalising, I said 'probably'.

It's far more widespread than some people think. Really bored of the 'No cases in our school except two teachers' kind of comment.

OP posts:
Northernsoullover · 03/01/2021 15:08

Our council updates publicly. I trust them as much as I can as they include small and large outbreaks and clusters.

CloseSchoolsProtecttheNHS · 03/01/2021 15:09

Our school emails all parents whenever there is a case to avoid rumours about who has it.

OMG surely that just fuels it? When just our class found out there were cases, we were all trying to get our kids to talk to the other kids to find out who was 'case 0' - mainly so that we could find out how much time our kid had spent with the contagion!

OP posts:
Waxonwaxoff0 · 03/01/2021 15:10

Well there was a Year 6 pupil who had Covid and then there were rumours started about a child in a different year having it that were untrue. I guess they do it to avoid accusations of parents sending infected children to school.

habsboys2020 · 03/01/2021 15:12

OP why would that fuels it? Some people will find every reasons to create rumours or be a busybody but generally the fact that school is transparent and shares things enables spreading of rumours and false information. Isn't it?
Apart from as your user name suggests, we close all the schools and be cooped inside what is the best way in your opinion is to help stop rumours? I want to know just that.

Whatever9999 · 03/01/2021 15:14

There was one case in the school my boys go to. On the last day of term, ironically.
We had an email informing us even though it was neither of the boys year

Jijithecat · 03/01/2021 15:14

So when the head teacher emailed the parents to say that so far there have been no pupils known to have covid and listed steps we could take towards keeping it that way, they were probably wrong?

Xerochrysum · 03/01/2021 15:15

Well I believe our school is telling the truth. Our school emailed the parents too, as well as there were info updated on the website.

Redbrickwall · 03/01/2021 15:16

And how awful that there is a witch hunt like this. I have seen this on fb school groups where parents try and identify ‘the leper’. I am sick of it

rooarsome · 03/01/2021 15:16

Definitely not the case in DCs school.

TheUndoingProject · 03/01/2021 15:18

Your user name makes it pretty clear you have an agenda OP. Plenty of schools are perfectly open and communicative about cases, there’s no need to shit stir.

PleasantVille · 03/01/2021 15:21

Contrary to what most people think, they don't tell the whole school community if they have a positive case

Unless for some strange reason they are only sending the messages to me my DCs school absolutely does notify everyone when there's a case and explains what actions needs to be taken.

Are you assuming that all schools are acting in the same way? Confused

UserID · 03/01/2021 15:22

Like others, our school emails whenever there has been a case. The only case we have had is a teacher who caught it from her husband. Luckily it was over half term so nobody in school was exposed.

dementedpixie · 03/01/2021 15:22

Our school emailed each time there was a case - have been about 12 in total. Only 1 of the cases caused one of my dc to isolate.

badpuma · 03/01/2021 15:23

We've had a letter each time someone tested positive - 3 last term. Dd did not have to self isolate at all as they were different year groups.

RockingMyFiftiesNot · 03/01/2021 15:30

Here it is reported in the online newspaper for our area - which school, which year group, number of cases. No names obviously but comprehensive info and regular updates

luckylavender · 03/01/2021 15:33

In most schools I know, they aren't allowed to make it public because of GDPR

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 03/01/2021 15:33

They informed all the parents of a bubble closure at my DDs school. It was pretty obvious anyway, one of the classrooms being closed up and the children knew 'elephant class' were off.

Common sense says there have likely been asymptotic cases. But there's been nothing amongst staff for example.

Overall, i believe the school was lucky last term.

BrokenCircle · 03/01/2021 15:35

In my school, and in my partner’s school, even staff weren’t told of cases.

unibows · 03/01/2021 15:39

Our school emails but in all cases that involved my children's year they knew who it was from texting each other.

My year 11 had to isolate then the school contacted close contacts. Ds was told he could go back the next day, he knew it was one of his good friends so I emailed the school back to query ds's return. An hour later I had a call that ds did need to isolate for 10 days, he had been missed when they made their earlier calls. Hmm

I've never heard of parents trying to find out who the child is, that's completely wrong and disgusting behaviour

yomommasmomma · 03/01/2021 15:41

What is the point of this thread OP?

Oh yes.....I see...just read your username!!!

Thedogshow · 03/01/2021 15:41

In both my children’s schools there have been 1 or 2 cases over the autumn term and we have received an email from the head when this has happened (not my kids yeargroups).