Is anyone planning on refusing to allow their children to have the lateral flow tests.

[Witchcraftandhokum]

I'm really not looking to start a bunfight. Just tying to better understand the reasons if you are not planning on allowing your child to be tested.

I am nearly 60 and have never pushed anything up my nose ever and hope I never have to. yes I have had vaccinations as a child but they are a few, not very regular things.

You do know that vaccinations and lateral flow testing to test for infection are different things though?

Our school has the tests that are just a quick nasal swab around the entrance or the nose. Hardly torture.

I don't know what what tests other schools will have. However even that nose and throat ones are really not as bad as people fear. I was very surprised when I did one.

We haven't yet consented, my child has said no for various reasons and I respect that but I was waiting for the deadline to consent so I had time to find out further information about how this will all impact my child at school. However, we've already had another letter from the school insisting we sign the consent form and agree because it is their expectation all parents engage positively. The tone concerns me, I will be very disappointed if the school try to put pressure on my child or give their opinion about his decision once he is on school grounds.

@earthyfire that is exactly why I did not give my consent. So that the teachers couldn't pressure my kids if they say no when there.

The school have told me it is easy enough to change to give my consent if my kids change their minds and decide they want it done. So that is what I will do.

@Whatisthisfuckery

I won’t be giving consent to test my child, and as far as I’m concerned I don’t owe anybody any justification for my decision.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Ditto! DC will not be wearing a face mask all day, either.

Both my kids are in primary and I had this discussion with their teacher for if they bring in home testing for primary schools. My older son should be fine with it, I don't know as he hasn't had one yet, my youngest no chance, he is autistic and had it once because he had symptoms even though i knew it was unlikely he had covid, I ended up black and blue, bust lip and nearly with a chair smashed over my head so no chance, and all that for an invalid result too. Also won't be testing if he has possible symptoms either as pointless and dangerous to do a test thats unlikely to work so will just isolate when he has symptoms.

Consented ages ago for my 13 year old to be tested... I currently have covid... we must all play our part to protect

Tina you sound quite exceptionally selfish. Think of all of those who have died who would have not had the chance to be tested and find out their loved ones are asymptotically positive. It is these cases that keep it going round. Much better to find out and isolate than infect those in school.

I read with some horror in the paper about a kid off a key worker that took cv19 home and infected the whole house... now one is dead and two are in hospital...

I wouldn’t consent. It’s not compulsory - so if you’re even the tiniest bit unsure, don’t consent. Same with face masks.

@Awalkintime

babbaloushka

Completely agree....1 dead in my school. My colleagues best friend dead. 8 parents dead at my other friend's school. No underlying conditions in any of them.

2/3 of the staff in my school are ECV or CV - not one is eligible for the vaccine. ECV/CV kids on site - none of which will be vaccinated.

We should be trying our hardest to protect everyone where possible and reducing the chance of it spreading and shutting schools again. Kids need to be in school and not playing yo-yo games of in and out and people need protecting. It really isn't much to ask from people who can.

Why are the ECV/CV staff in your school not eligible for the vaccine? We are now at group 6 which includes all those who are CV. ECV were in a higher group. I have had my vaccine and I am group 6.

Luckily my children are in primary but if they tried to insist on it then I will happily homeschool. Like a pp said, if there are symptoms then I will test but I won't subject my kids to this every week. It's not how I want to live, and I'm sick of being told I'm selfish for not wanting to live in a police state of curfews, being told who I can see and denied access to services that my taxes have been paying for (like GP's and dentists) .

@Galena I'm ECV but not been called about a vaccine could it depend on area I live in? Had lots of pressure to get flu vaccine which refused but no contact on this one. Before you ask, I'm severely allergic to ingredients in flu vaccine.

No!

I work in a SEN school and have them all the time. We’ve been open throughout all the lockdowns. We’ve had them for a while now and they are absolutely painless and easily done by children.

@earthyfire

We haven't yet consented, my child has said no for various reasons and I respect that but I was waiting for the deadline to consent so I had time to find out further information about how this will all impact my child at school. However, we've already had another letter from the school insisting we sign the consent form and agree because it is their expectation all parents engage positively. The tone concerns me, I will be very disappointed if the school try to put pressure on my child or give their opinion about his decision once he is on school grounds.

You may find in the end your child is the one to put pressure on you. If all their peers are having it done. They will stick out quite a lot. Secondary school kids don't tend to appreciate that much. Plus other kids could get quite verbally aggressive questioning why they would want too. Much like mumsnet some kids feel very aggressively about these things. Not nice but a reality of the situation you may encounter.

Ill throw the hand-grenade in for the deluded here....

There is minimal evidence if any at all that asymptomatic carriers transmit Covid

There is minimal evidence if any at all that children, particularly the under 12s, transmit Covid

Enforced medical procedures, either by diktat or coercion (eg no test, no in-school teaching) are immoral, unethical and against the Nuremburg Code (to which the UK is a signatory)

The Government had stated that testing is not compulsory (for all the above reasons) and children will not be deprived of an in-school education if there is no consent.

Why would you want to test (unpleasantly) your children for something that, as the Government roadmap statement makes clear, is little more than a mild flu for the vast majority of people.

If we are going to plunge into the abyss lets start with TB, measles, polio, mumps, chicken pox etc and all the other more serious viruses/diseases that children may get, test for those and ban the positive ones from school.

*wouldn't

I've just spent a week in hospital with my 5 year old.... They carried out 3 covid tests on both of us....i can't understand anyone who objects if their child doesn't have disabilities.

We are not in this position as have primary school children but my main reservation is that mass testing is just keeping the numbers up.

As there is no evidence of asymptomatic transmissions (source: WHO, Dr A Fauci) and there are questions over false positives, I think over testing will keep the pandemic alive even when it is dead. And people will be scared of the numbers, despite them being near meaningless.

My DD has been tested at least twice weekly at school since last October (part of a trial). It causes her absolutely no issues. It is a really easy procedure, with a very rapid result. Why would anyone NOT want this? It has been absolutely fab. When someone is found to be positive (in all that time less than 10 have been positive), that child is asked to go home and self isolate, but all the other kids continue to go school and all who have had contact in the same bubble are tested daily for 14 days. No-one is missing education. My DD is so happy about it.

I will be saying no. I think the whole scheme is badly thought through.

False positive rate is 0.38%. So in a secondary school of 1000 testing twice a week there will be six false positives a week.

Given last time they sent lots of the year home after a positive result that means a substantial number of the students will be off self isolating even if there are no cases at all.

It wouldn't seem quite so crazy if there was a requirement for a follow up pcr test but there isn't.

I feel like the government must have an expensive contract for the supply of these tests and is actively looking for uses so it won't look like they have wasted money.

Unfortunately they will cause disruption to our children's education with no benefit. I won't be joining in the waste.

Would reconsider if they had to be followed up by a pcr test.

I'd actually like to be wrong about this.

No test= stay at home
It's totally pointless if not all pupils attending will do it. I appreciate some will have additional needs so wouldn't cope but they shouldn't be putting others at risk by still being able to attend

@thenovice my understanding sadly is that isn't how it will work going forwards. Looks like the positive lateral flow will trigger contact tracing.

@readyornot22

I wouldn’t consent. It’s not compulsory - so if you’re even the tiniest bit unsure, don’t consent. Same with face masks.

You don't have too but then don't complain if your child is isolating alot because cases in the school are running wild. Definitely don't grumble if the whole year group or school needs to close again because of high cases. Public health England will do that to a school if the have too.