Teachers are getting COVID at three times the rate of their local community

[OwlWearingGlasses]

Please keep your child at home unless absolutely necessary or vulnerability.

www.tes.com/news/exclusive-coronavirus-schools-teacher-covid-rates-333-above-average

I see your point. But as an ICU nurse I'm on mostly nights as most redeployed staff will only work day shifts reluctantly in ICU. I am permanently tired, anxious, tetchy, unable to concentrate. My child will go in on the days I need to sleep, if there's a day with a parent at home (awake) she stays at home. However I cannot physically or mentally cope without one day to recharge. I feel guilty but have booked DC into school one extra day next week.

Anyone saying that teachers have the same risk as many other professions, please could you list the occupations where large numbers of people (children or adults) are still allowed to congregate indoors for several hours per day (not a supermarket trip) with no ppe and often limited ventilation with no social distancing. Thanks

@notevenat20

This false stat was discussed before. There need to compare to the working population which they don't do.

This is the poster that started a thread saying that people should retract what they say about schools being responsible for accelerating numbers.

How did that thread age?

It took longer than I thought for you to find this thread. Where’s the rest?

@StrugglingICUnurse you are exactly the kind of person school is open for

Next week I'm teaching a critical worker bubble at school. I can't bloody wait after a couple of days planning, adapting, videoing and uploading resources for home learning. I'm one of the lucky teachers being in a large enough year team that some of us can be teaching CWV and others setting / responding to home learning.

However I will have 23 children in my bubble. As critical worker children many of them are in direct contact at home with nurses, doctors etc all of whom have a higher viral load.

This is an issue. My workplace should ensure I am safe

@notevenat20

This false stat was discussed before. There need to compare to the working population which they don't do.

Well you could compare it to the increased risk of frontline healthcare workers from the beginning if the first wave when they had inadequate PPE?

www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30164-X/fulltext

@SchrodingersUnicorn thank you. I have been feeling really guilty about that extra day. But I really feel like I need it.

@Bluewavescrashing nurses doctors etc are at least working with PPE. Are you not worried about your own viral load?

Not in any way meant to be goady, I have utmost respect for teachers and would support you in wearing PPE at school.

StrugglingICUnurse I’m glad schools are able to open to help you out. Don’t feel one bit guilty.

I’m in full time doing online and looking after kw/v kids in my class.

@StrugglingICUnurse as a TA covering keyworker bubbles I have no problem supervising your children. You are what keyworker places are there for. Thank you.

I'm a PGCE student (nc for this, hopefully!) and am expected to start my second school placement soon. I am terrified, the teachers and TA's I was with during my first placement are too. I'm worried about bringing it home to my family, or catching it and not being there for my 2 year old daughter. I hope people do think and only send their children if they have to. If I were to choose not to go I will owe £9,000 in fees for nothing, which is not an option for us. We are basically being used as replacements for teaching staff who are wfh/are unable to come in. I do want to do it, for myself and the children I will work with, but I'm scared of what could happen.

A couple of observations.

My friend works in a primary school as a midday assistant. There are 200 due to be in next week. What in gods name did Boris THINK would happen? Even the new guidance is not enough, it should state that all adults in the family home are keyworkers required to work outside the home on weekdays. Exceptions made for staff on nights who need to sleep.

Secondly, I do think that we need to pull ourselves together a bit. In the nicest way possible. ‘Terrified’ is quite a strong word. I’m almost 50 and I’m worried about catching it, on lots of levels. I don’t think there’s any reason to suggest it would kill me, so ‘worried’ will do fine.

I’d be ‘terrified’ if Trump pressed the nuclear trigger. Perspective.

Not just teachers it's all school staff.
I'm support staff and and myself and 2 others in my office have had it.
Also the cleaning staff and kitchen staff have all been wiped out with it.

@CountessFrog I say terrified as I'm more worried about the effect on my family as a result of something I've done. I'm not terrified of Trump pushing the button as there's nothing I can do about that. I think perspective is subjective.

@StrugglingICUnurse

I see your point. But as an ICU nurse I'm on mostly nights as most redeployed staff will only work day shifts reluctantly in ICU. I am permanently tired, anxious, tetchy, unable to concentrate. My child will go in on the days I need to sleep, if there's a day with a parent at home (awake) she stays at home. However I cannot physically or mentally cope without one day to recharge. I feel guilty but have booked DC into school one extra day next week.

Please don’t feel guilty, I’m a teacher. You are exactly who should be sending their child to school.

This is the poster that started a thread saying that people should retract what they say about schools being responsible for accelerating numbers. How did that thread age

You are confusing the causes of the first and second world war. Opening schools did not cause the increase from late August. I think that's a fact now. Since the more infectious B117 in late November we probably need to shut everything down.

Well you could compare it to the increased risk of frontline healthcare workers from the beginning if the first wave when they had inadequate PPE?

I don't fully understand the point you are making sorry. I was thinking of just comparing to anyone who was working in an office.

@Bluewavescrashing nurses doctors etc are at least working with PPE. Are you not worried about your own viral load?

Yes I am worried but what can I do?

I also feel my mental health is 1000 x better when I'm at work, achieving, solving problems, having social contact with colleagues, seeing some of my class. It has to be balanced against the fear

Actually opening schools in September may well have started the climb in August.
By saying schools were opening with massive year group bubbles and no masks - it sent the message that it is ok for children and teenagers to mingle indoors as they were going to be doing that soon en masses anyway.
Also - some counties actually DO return in August, not September.

strugglingICUnurse you are exactly the person who teachers (I am secondary) are more than happy to have in KW provision. Of course 110%. Don't feel guilty. Rest when you can and ease take care

Struggling, as an icu nurse, what do you you think of the people who send dc to school when one is a sahm or sahp?

@notevenat20

This is the poster that started a thread saying that people should retract what they say about schools being responsible for accelerating numbers. How did that thread age

You are confusing the causes of the first and second world war. Opening schools did not cause the increase from late August. I think that's a fact now. Since the more infectious B117 in late November we probably need to shut everything down.

You posted your thread long after schools had gone back.

I am keeping my children at home because I want to keep teachers safe, even though we could send to school.

Its a bit crap though, when on other posts teachers, teaching from home are sending their kids in, because they can't homeschool and their kids would be sat in front of tv all day!

What happens with other kids? I see to their basic needs and then catch up with the rest when I am not working.

What are my kids worth less?

I will continue to keep them home, because I know I am doing the right thing, but it's a hard read and makes me feel really guilty for my kids.

Its a bit crap though, when on other posts teachers, teaching from home are sending their kids in, because they can't homeschool and their kids would be sat in front of tv all day!

Can you link to that? All the posts I've seen recently have been from teachers who haven't applied for KW places for their own kids, because they know how risky it is to be in school.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4130830-If-you-didn-t-send-your-kids-to-school-in-the-summer-term-but-are-sending-them-now-please-explain-why

There you go!

My teacher friends in secondary have kept their kids at home as they can teach from home. Likewise I have kept my secondary dc at home. Hoping they get on with their work whilst I am at work.
But some of my primary colleagues have had no choice but to use kw provision as they are expected in school full time looking after our kw / v children and teaching online to those at home.