When are your secondary DC going back? (England)

[MNnicknameforCVthreads]

Due the mass testing required, we've already been told ours won't be back in on 8th. More details to follow from school.

I'm annoyed!

MN...fair enough. I guess he was headline grabbing, and trying to make clear there was a difference to what Wales, NI and Scotland are doing.

I heard the extra detail about testing when I listened to him at 3.30 and I saw it on the BBC site and Sky News, and understood the return would be across a several days for many schools, so I wasn’t disappointed.

I think lots of people were thrilled last night to hear secondaries are going back that week. Some might feel a bit surprised like you, when they realise it won’t necessarily be 8.30 on Monday morning and full steam ahead like a usual Monday after a weekend. Others, will have thought about social distancing, getting lots in and the testing requirements and thought it might not be quite so simple, but most will have the detail from their schools within a couple of days and many schools will have posted something on their websites to indicate the return for many won’t be on the actual Monday, although they might be in that day for their testing.

I’d imagine most people will think ‘oh another 2 days’ when they get the detail shortly. They will still be glad it’s that week and not after Easter. Others might be more like you and feel cross that they can’t yet say to their child that it will be Wednesday or Thursday that week and wish an exact date that applied to everyone had been mentioned.

He could have made the fact testing was required before the return clearer in his 7pm speech. I expect people in the pub industry, in tourism, in the workplace, in hairdressers, in theatres and nightclubs all have similar gripes too about broad messages and lack of detail, or things which were presented too simplistically.

Hope you hear from your school soon and have certainty for your children.

Testing should be as close as possible to the date they go back. There’s no use testing two weeks before they go back. That’s wasting a test.

Testing should also be 3-5 days apart, so can't have them weekly

DS had testing slots for this Friday, following Wednesday and then following Monday, so they’re five days apart?
We got the email with his appointment times this evening so obviously the school still thinks they can go ahead.

If he’s been going into school anyway, as a key worker child or vulnerable child, he will have been tested twice weekly anyway.

Has he been going in or would be in next week anyway?

All schools should be able to get those who are in next week anyway, out of the way, as it were. It’s those that have been learning at home that can’t be in before 8 March, in my understanding of it.

If they are going to rely on parents for twice weekly testing, why not ask every parent to test their child on the 8th?

Pupils that are in school at present are being tested in many areas of the country already. So schools know how easy or hard it is to implement already.
At our local secondary they test each week on a Monday. The first week back after the Christmas holiday they tested twice. All negative tests for students there so far.

Can anyone link to the bit of guidance that says no testing before 8th? As my school is planning to get some students in end of next week to start testing. We have so many students & limited testing capacity it will be pretty much impossible to do it in a week.

@Floobydo

This is the operational Guidance, issued yesterday.

age 5 says - "From 8 March, all pupils should attend school. Secondary pupils will be offered testing from 8 March. "

and page 30 -

"Secondary schools should offer pupils testing at an on-site ATS from 8 March. Testing and return of pupils can be phased during the first week to manage the number of pupils passing through the test site at any one time. You should offer 3 tests, 3 to 5 days apart. You have the flexibility to consider how best to deliver testing on a phased basis from 8 March, depending on your circumstances and local arrangements, but you should prioritise vulnerable children and children of critical workers, and year groups 10 to 13. "

Don’t ask me what page the stuff about testing is on, but here’s the source document:
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/963541/Schools_coronavirus_operational_guidance.pdf

Y7 DD is being tested on Tuesday 9th and negative Y7 pupils can return from thurs 11th. Her school are starting with the year 11's.

Not sure what's happening at 14yr old DS's school yet.

DS and DD1 go to two different secondary schools.

DSs school emailed the other week with consent forms for tests and also a link to say when the child can get tested. DS was due to go in tomorrow and Monday to be tested. Today we had an email to say to not send in any children for tests and we would hear more shortly. So thanks to this thread I now know why.

DD1s school we had heard nothing until today where they were asking for volunteers to help with the mass testing and will get back to us later.

DS goes to a much smaller school than DD1. His only goes up to GCSE level and the year groups are much much smaller. DD1s school has a 6th form too and each year group is massive. I don't know if this is the big difference between the two. DSs school could get the mass testing sorted earlier due to being a much smaller school.

Personally I'm just happy that DD1 and DD2 are going to be able to have a break from each other soon once DD2 starts again on 8th (primary). They are really having too much of each other (as I'm sure all siblings are ATM)

Has he been going in or would be in next week anyway?

No, he’s been at home. I know the school have been testing the staff and students that have been in. They were all set up and ready to go back in January, we completed the consent form during the Christmas holidays.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

What happens if a pupil/parent refuses the test?

You can’t make a child have the test, it will have to be assumed they are negative. The tests aren’t compulsory so you can’t send them home, you can only send them home if they test positive or have symptoms

My DC’s school is testing 4,5 and 6 March so that everyone can go back on 8 March. However, it’s an independent school.

Even if a parent has consented you can’t make the child have a test if they don’t want it. So if you have a nervous child who on the way to school was willing to have the test but changes their mind on arrival, there is nothing the school can do

Independent schools have to follow Government guidance like other schools

With our key worker/vulnerable kids (about 200) 40% refused the test. Add to that parents that won't consent ...

Wonder what they would do if test residual meant they could not attend school?

@NovemberR

I just hope they scrap masks after the Easter holidays

I don't. I have vulnerable friends who teach. They have no date for a vaccination and I'd rather they had some protection from the 150 teenagers a day that they will spend their day with.

Me neither.

I don’t want the children or staff at more risk than they have to be. Other countries have had masks in schools for a while and it’s unlikely many staff will have been vaccinated by Easter and children aren’t even currently on the list.

Where does it say that schools cannot test before 8 March? I can see the following in the guidance:

“Secondary schools should offer pupils testing at an on-site ATS from 8 March.”

There is a big difference between should and must.

Well, there's a Stay At Home order in place until 8th March for a start, by law.

@BunsyGirl

Where does it say that schools cannot test before 8 March? I can see the following in the guidance:

“Secondary schools should offer pupils testing at an on-site ATS from 8 March.”

There is a big difference between should and must.

I think it’s just that it’s not wise for schools to be going against the guidance. Eg parents could object.

If they should do something then it means they should!

“You have the flexibility to consider how best to deliver testing on a phased basis from 8th March.”

Not you have the flexibility to start testing earlier if you can.

There is also this, from the (still in place) "Restricting
attendance during the national lockdown: schools Guidance for all schools in England":

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/958906/Restricting_attendance_during_the_national_lockdown_schools_guidance.pdf

"During the period of national lockdown, schools, alternative provision (AP), special schools, colleges and wraparound childcare and other out-of-school activities for children should allow only vulnerable children and young people and the children of critical workers to attend (recognising that the characteristics of the cohorts in special schools and alternative provision will mean these settings continue to offer face to face provision for all pupils, where appropriate). All other pupils and students should not attend and should learn remotely until 8 March at the earliest. "