If your child has a +ve lateral flow test in school they will have to isolate even if they later pass the full PCR test

[CatOnAHotTinHoof]

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/mar/06/school-covid-tests-pupils-in-england-very-likely-to-get-false-positives
I would have thought that if they pass the full PCR test that would supercede the lateral flow test and they could return to school.

@MrsAukerman as I understand it, parents of primary aged children are being recommended to test themselves twice weekly. You should be able to collect tests from a local site or order online if there isn't anywhere local. I don't think they're recommending that you test young children twice weekly (I definitely won't be doing that!) You're right, the communucation about this has been terrible. We haven't had any guidance from our dc's primary school either.

No indeterminate result on the ones we have. We tested a blank swab. Came back negative.

@aleC4

I work in a primary school. One of our teachers hadn't positive LFD test. Her bubble was closed while she went for aPCR test. The PCR came back negative. The headteacher rang PHE who confirmed the bubble could reopen and the teacher could return to work.

This isn’t the case for children testing themselves at secondary school. They have to isolate even with a negative PCR. Which is ridiculous!

[quote Springhere]@MrsAukerman as I understand it, parents of primary aged children are being recommended to test themselves twice weekly. You should be able to collect tests from a local site or order online if there isn't anywhere local. I don't think they're recommending that you test young children twice weekly (I definitely won't be doing that!) You're right, the communucation about this has been terrible. We haven't had any guidance from our dc's primary school either.[/quote]
Yes. Secondary pupils and adults in primary school homes are being asked to do twice weekly home tests (my daughter will have 3 tests at school). If she gets a positive we are (I believe) being asked to get a PCR test done

We tested about 250 students on Friday, and two came back invalid.

Hmmm this is bat shit... I wasn't going to refuse the test but this makes me think I should.

I agree that a positive LFT should be followed up with a PCR. The children are testing themselves, even in school, just that someone is watching. I don’t see how it is different to testing at home.
I thought that it was the test itself that was more unreliable than a PCR - not the environment that the test was done in?

@Olivia333

The kids are doing it themselves, which is even less reliable in my opinion.

I've been helping with tests in school this week. The kids are doing the swab part themselves but we're doing the testing and processing part.

I presumed, rightly or wrongly, that any swabs done incorrectly or inconclusively, would show as "void" on the test itself rather than falsely positive or negative.

If your child tests positive on school lateral flow then there is nothing to stop parents taking the child for a confirmatory pcr test and our school is still advising that despite the fact technically its not necessary. If the pcr is negative then school will phone public health for advice and most likely outcome is isolation ends.
My worry is that the normal wave of colds and other viruses will pass through the children as they all get back together again and parents won't get pcr tests done because they are having regular lateral flows. The chance of false negatives, even if you have symptoms is higher than false positives. Covid ripped through my friend's office because people continued to come in with symptoms because they were getting negative lateral flow.

@3teens2cats

If your child tests positive on school lateral flow then there is nothing to stop parents taking the child for a confirmatory pcr test and our school is still advising that despite the fact technically its not necessary. If the pcr is negative then school will phone public health for advice and most likely outcome is isolation ends. My worry is that the normal wave of colds and other viruses will pass through the children as they all get back together again and parents won't get pcr tests done because they are having regular lateral flows. The chance of false negatives, even if you have symptoms is higher than false positives. Covid ripped through my friend's office because people continued to come in with symptoms because they were getting negative lateral flow.

This is incorrect, if you read the guardian article it states you still have to isolate. When the LFD test is taken at an “assisted test centre” such as a school, the Department for Education confirmed that children who “falsely” test positive – ie they subsequently take and receive a negative PCR test – are not allowed to stop self-isolating and return to school.

If they want parents to continue lateral flow testing at home, it seems mad to insist on isolation even after a negative PCR test. Given the level of inaccuracy of lateral flow tests seems widely accepted.

I'm not sure I'd consent to home testing if that's the case as I don't want my kids to have to isolate with a negative PCR test which is the more accurate test.

Public Health do have the discretion to advise schools on individual circumstances though. In my professional experience when dealing with positive cases from both pcr and lateral flow they have been really helpful and sensible. I hope that is the case across the country.

At the secondary school my DD goes to, they’ve said if the pupil gets a positive LFT, they’ll be given a PCR test to confirm it. If the PCR is negative, they’ve said they can come back to school. Are they just arranging PCR tests in addition to the official guidance then?

It would seem to make sense to take a PCR test after a positive LFD. Kids should only continue isolate if that is positive too.

I’m more concerned about the false negatives with the LFDs

Less likely to get a false positive than false negative anyway though. 0.1-0.3% rather than 50%

Except of course your chance of being positive in the first place is currently ~0.3%, which if only half our picked up means the actual chance that a positive test is actually positive is about 50/50 since only 0.15% of people will be positive and test positive, and 0.15% will be false positive.

It is utterly stupid that a 50/50 screening test will cause entire households to isolate.

As cases drop further, it will be more likely that a positive LFT is a false positive, but 50/50 is really not good enough.

Except of course your chance of being positive in the first place is currently ~0.3%

That’s your current chance of being positive. It is not likely that chance will continue to be that low. Pupils aren’t vaccinated, most teachers aren’t vaccinated and most parents aren’t vaccinated.

It’s going to be at least a few more months before teachers and parents get vaccinated. My headteacher is seriously concerned that he may have to send pupils home if he can’t staff the school due to illness.

I agree it is daft to insist pupils isolate in the light of a negative PCR test. But I am really worried about this virus spreading in schools.

They’ve just spoken about this on the Andrew Marr show and somebody from public health England has confirmed that it’s not recommended to get a PCR test with positive results from the LFT in secondary schools

@Olivia333

They’ve just spoken about this on the Andrew Marr show and somebody from public health England has confirmed that it’s not recommended to get a PCR test with positive results from the LFT in secondary schools

That seems odd. I’ll bet the advice changes on that one.

But, yes, once they're doing home testing.

It's very clear.

@Wandamakestoast

We tested about 250 students on Friday, and two came back invalid.

What happens here do they do them again?

What if they get an inconclusive result? I imagine a lot of the kids won’t actually do it properly
I wonder if all the inconclusives will be sent home?

@3teens2cats

Public Health do have the discretion to advise schools on individual circumstances though. In my professional experience when dealing with positive cases from both pcr and lateral flow they have been really helpful and sensible. I hope that is the case across the country.

We (PH) can’t advise anything that goes against the DFE guidance for school testing, it’s a DFE testing scheme, we don’t have any discretion with this locally

The ones our school has don't give inconclusive or void. Just P/N. The negatives cannot be trusted that much.

In that case I feel it would be more sensible for DS to test at home, rather than school! At least we can then request a PCR test! I’ve ordered some of the LFT and might then refuse the school tests!

A friend of dh is having this very issue with their child.

Child tested positive on LFT at school so sent home to isolate. Whole family go into isolation.
Pcr test result comes through next day as negative.
School state that child must still self isolation and have recorded it that way and informed all family they must isolate for 10 days.

This is meaning the dad is having to cancel emergency vet procedures and operations and mum is having to cancel seeing clients, including some with important and quite urgent legal issues.

I teach and have to do LfT twice weekly. We are told that a confirmatory negative PCR overrules a positive LFT result.

However, his School state that the LFT result was positive so that's what they go with.

Whole family now are isolating, child's return to school is delayed as is his sibling and important and urgent pet/animal treatment is having to be postponed, The family daren't ignore the school as it's a fairly small community so they are concerned they'd be reported.

I always through an lft should be followed up with a confirmatory pcr. And that the results of the pcr determines whether they have to continue isolating or now 🤷‍♀️

They are now considering whether to withdraw consent from the school lft process, and just have a stock of their own at home to use (both parents can access them) and only isolate in future if any of them test positive until a pcr confirmatory test is done.