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.

saraclara That sentiment is all well and good if you don't have an anxious child. For those that do, or a child with additional needs, it's not that simple.

Of course children with additional needs may not be able to do this, because it's not the most pleasant thing. But I can't see a reason to refuse testing for children without additional needs.

A small discomfort and inconvenience for us in return for not worrying about my child spreading covid around without knowing it? Of course I'll do it.

What do people want? Sustainable full opening of in person facilities with simple scientifically proven beneficial risk mitigation measures or stay away isolated and do nothing?

I would want the former but we are not being offered that, sadly. We are being offered 'full reopening with high circulating rates of virus without much risk mitigation at all'.

@Sleepthief how is is trampling the disabled to keep all that won't/can't test at home? Surely your child's right to refuse shouldn't be trampling over my child's right to be safe at school? Funny how that works too isn't it? I also believe that teachers should be vaccinated and that school staff, and medical professionals that refuse testing should stay home too.

@Vallmo47

I’d welcome the school refusing my son entry. He doesn’t feel safe there, he’s worried about catching virus, he’s constantly cold due to increased ventilation, his hands were cracked and hurting due to so much sanitising, and the teachers were clearly stressed out and beyond annoyed all of the time. He also gets a bit panicky after a while wearing a mask. It produces a rash on his face that he finds embarrassing because kids are horrible bullies. I could go on. Homeschooling should remain an option for those who have genuine concerns about going back at the moment.

It is always an option. You have the legal right to deregister him and educate him at home.

tbh part the problem with kids not wanting the test might be people saying how awful the test is over the last year building kids worries up over it when it really isn't that bad. I kept seeing it over social media and people just generally talking about it. I didn't want to do mine when I was told I'd need to do a test as a precaution and was really stressed out over it which seems daft now but at the time I did get myself worked up over it and I'm an adult. When I did it I thought what is all the fuss over. I'm now trying to convince a friend it's not that bad too if she needs to do one but shes adament she won't and their awful without ever having one. Obviously I'm not talking about special needs kids here.

No one (especially a child) should be forced to do a LFT if it causes them distress.

What I cannot stomach, is the large number of posters who seem to want to refuse LFT testing for the sake of it. This viewpoint tends to go hand in hand with those thinking masks shouldn't be worn and SD isn't necessary.

We have a novel virus circulating, schools will increase transmission, and on a population-level, these measures will help keep infection down. This means we can hopefully keep schools open, avoid another national lockdown, and carry on opening other aspects of society.

Also why aren't they giving parents a choice if for the time being they want to continue with the online learning if they are engaging with it, that would at least reduce the numbers a bit in schools and make it easier for schools to manage the kids that are there. It's not something I'd be doing but at least it gives parents who do a choice as I've seen on many threads a lot of people wanting to do this.

Also schools won't force the test they will encourage it and try and reduce worries around it but not force it. They have to get parents consent but then they also have to get the childs consent.

@wildchild554

Also why aren't they giving parents a choice if for the time being they want to continue with the online learning if they are engaging with it, that would at least reduce the numbers a bit in schools and make it easier for schools to manage the kids that are there. It's not something I'd be doing but at least it gives parents who do a choice as I've seen on many threads a lot of people wanting to do this.

This million times ^ It will not cost anything, resolve or at least mitigate many problems and make so many lives much easier. Is this why they are not doing it? To keep us arguing about masks and tests and to make sure that we forget about their incompetence?

It is always an option. You have the legal right to deregister him and educate him at home.

Yes, but this isn't the same as this is a long term choice. Wales got the choice. England didn't. Because the government are arsewipes not child-centred.

@oldegg123

No one (especially a child) should be forced to do a LFT if it causes them distress.

What I cannot stomach, is the large number of posters who seem to want to refuse LFT testing for the sake of it. This viewpoint tends to go hand in hand with those thinking masks shouldn't be worn and SD isn't necessary.

We have a novel virus circulating, schools will increase transmission, and on a population-level, these measures will help keep infection down. This means we can hopefully keep schools open, avoid another national lockdown, and carry on opening other aspects of society.

Agree we need masks and SD.

LFTs really don't work very well. If they worked if be crying out for them.

Would prefer proper tests for school kids with sore throat, headaches, diarrhea etc.

@PracticingPerson
This is the problem. People who have spent a whole career studying this stuff are dismissed out of hand.

Ask any teacher how careful pupils are about risk there the experts I listen to

Our whole family had Covid last month. You can come up positive for 90 days afterwards, so I will not agreeing to testing for a few months. No issue after that time as DD 6 was fine getting her test and if it means that schools can stay open then I’m all for it. DD has missed going to school and I don’t want her to miss anymore.

@Coldbrewsandamumbun someone mentioned earlier thread that tests won't be done if positive test in last 3 months anyway ;)

@wildchild554

Also why aren't they giving parents a choice if for the time being they want to continue with the online learning if they are engaging with it, that would at least reduce the numbers a bit in schools and make it easier for schools to manage the kids that are there. It's not something I'd be doing but at least it gives parents who do a choice as I've seen on many threads a lot of people wanting to do this.

I presume because of the additional workload for the teachers? Once they are back in school and teaching normally would they have the time to be also setting online work? I don't know, as I'm not a teacher, but I assume there's quite a lot of time and effort involved in producing the online content which is fine when they aren't in school but would be very difficult once normal teaching resumes.

@MrsAvocet They end having to do it for kids isolating anyway and there's almost always someone off in primary school. Kids are very good at sharing bugs lol.

Mine are 15 and 14 and I have let them decide for themselves
15 year old said no, they don't want too
14 year old has said yes, they do

I'm very torn on this. I really want my kids back in school. Their education, their mental health and their mother's sanity are all suffering from being locked down, but...this virus has not gone away and I'm massively skeptical of this Government motivation and processes.

I feel that rushing children back to school is a political decision being made against scientific advise, and that mass testing is a salve to give an illusion of safety and make us all feel better that something is 'being done'.

From the BMJ "The quality and processing of the specimen are determined to a large extent by who carries out the tests. Public Health England’s evaluation of the Innova test showed that its sensitivity was 79.2% when used by trained laboratory scientists, 73% when used by trained healthcare staff, but only 57.5% when used by track and trace centre staff employed by the pharmacy chain Boots

So it may pick up some positive cases, but if potentially over 40% are being missed, what's point of doing it at all....other than to justify using the millions of tests being stockpiled in warehouses, bought at vast expense from the public purse.

I completely agree with everything you’ve said.

As a parent then teacher I personally believe that schools needed to reopen but they have been opened too soon.
The only way they can open is by trying to make it as safe as possible by doing these tests and wearing masks.

It’s frustrating to hear parents point blank refusing to do the tests as that will cause more lockdowns/school closures.
I either want tests/masks to be mandatory (unless exempt) or schools closed for longer.

If schools are safe to open like they say, then why do the measures need to increase with longer mask wearing and increased testing.

And if they're not safe then why are they opening up before all of the vulnerable have had their first vaccine when we are so close. Along with claiming tests and masks are only optional in schools.

It definitely seems like they're putting us in a position to fail, with a specific group to blame other than themselves.

TheChip
I completely agree.

[quote rwalker]@PracticingPerson
This is the problem. People who have spent a whole career studying this stuff are dismissed out of hand.

Ask any teacher how careful pupils are about risk there the experts I listen to[/quote]
You are missing the point. This issue will worsen after they are told an LFT is 'negative'.

The behavioural scientists listen to teachers, that is who they will be working with.

How do people think scientific research is done? Academics don't sit in an actual ivory tower. They'll be researching in schools.

People just don't understand how we get information. If you don't understand that I guess you can question anything, because you think other people are just pondering in their own mind like you are?

[quote wildchild554]@Coldbrewsandamumbun someone mentioned earlier thread that tests won't be done if positive test in last 3 months anyway ;)[/quote]
But it's 180 days in some countries like Singapore.
Why?

Fair point @wildchild554. I was assuming you meant secondary as the main topic of this thread isn't really relevant to primary, but you're right, it would probably be comparatively easy for a primary teacher with one class all week to provide both "real" and online teaching.
I think it would be unfair to secondary teachers with multiple classes across years 7 to 13. When my year 13's "bubble" burst we got proper online lessons for that period but not for individual self isolation. Then he just got emails from the teachers telling him what chapters in his books to read and the homework assignments etc. The full online curriculum has included live interactive lessons, videos, powerpoint presentations etc - I don't think it would be reasonable to expect the teachers to do that for multiple classes and be in school full time.

@ MrsAvocet yeah I don't think it would work for secondary tbh