9 out of 20 students in my class are apparently exempt from mask wearing

[Workyticket]

Taught them in a small room with a slit of a window for 1.5 hours

6 of those 9 had chosen not to take a lateral flow test because their Mum said they didn't have to

Schools and colleges are safe though. Apparently

Sorry to hear it OP. In my DC's two US schools - one public and one private - mask wearing is non-negotiable. If you don't wear one, you don't attend in person, no exceptions for any reason. This is for children age 3 all the way up to 18 btw.
As a teacher AND a parent, I wish the government had the balls to do this and not bow down to snowflake parents.

I work for the NHS and have been wearing masks full time at work since April. I'm also asthmatic, have ADHD & Autism. There is no excuse for the children not to wear masks unless they all have severe respiratory issues/learning disabilities.
The lateral flow testing is another matter. It's pretty useless, not accurate enough, impossible to do on yourself and it's not even compulsory for NHS staff so it won't be for school/college children.

I think it does come down to money a lot of people can't afford to isolate and the risk of false positives from the lateral flow tests is a couple of percent.

"Strange how no-one had all these conditions preventing face covering wearing reported in this thread when I was in Germany?"

There are exemptions in Germany.

Very selfish of them and the parents. It’s like they want schools to shut again!

@Sleepyblueocean

"Strange how no-one had all these conditions preventing face covering wearing reported in this thread when I was in Germany?"

There are exemptions in Germany.

As there are here in Spain, but they're not abused and you rarely anyone out without a mask except babies and toddlers. Mostly because they understand the risks, I guess.

@Sleepyblueocean so in that case no-one in Germany is faking them because their parents believe Covid is a hoax, or because they are little snowflakes supported by their parents. Most of those with real genuine difficulties in wearing a face covering probably have a diagnosed condition that was known about before the pandemic, and advised to the school.

@Evvyjb

My school (while REALLY difficult on other things, especially teacher workload) has taken this line since September - every SINGLE person in the school wears a mask. Absolutely no exceptions. If you cant then we have a small isolation centre where you can be beamed into lessons remotely. One student did that for a week and then decided they could wear a mask.

We have a specialised ASD centre on site, numerous students with severe PD, and 1500 students. They ALL wear a mask, they are all temp checked every day and on monday they all did their LFT simultaneously at the beginning of the day.

We have had relatively few cases. And 0 positives in that mass test.

🙄

Whilst in the real world I can’t get my autistic son to keep his underpants on never mind a mask!

And no chance of a covid test, or a temperature check, he won’t let the dr ANYWHERE near him with a thermometer even when he’s really poorly.

Your story does not represent all autistic children.

Think you are just going to have to get over it OP. My friend works in FE & says over half her students are refusing or not bothering or wearing them under their noses. She’s just resigned to it & accepts she might get covid. It is extremely rare for a 30 year old to be in ICU. Not unheard of but almost always with underlying conditions. Your colleague was extremely unlucky, I hope she gets better soon. She has every chance of doing so, thankfully the death rate in the 30’s in absolutely tiny.

I actually think if you opt out of testing and masks with no reason then you shouldn’t be allowed in school. Why should these children benefit from others compliance and sense social and moral responsibility

I’m so sorry.

I’m in South Africa and our kids from Reception upwards have had to wear masks the whole time at school since they went back in July last year...there are no exemptions...I believe that this is the same at all schools here..if you won’t wear a mask then you can’t go to school..

My 6, 8 and 11 year olds have had no issue with this nor have the hundreds of other children at the school. They have their temperatures tested and are sanitized every morning.

I really hope something can be done about your situation as it is not fair that you and thousands of other teachers are being put at risk...

I didn’t die from covid at Christmas but I am left months later with lots of lasting symptoms and was very poorly ( not hospitalised) when I had it. The bar shouldn’t be “ you probably won’t die if you get it so suck it up”

My child has asd and is in a specialist unit, he doesn’t have any learning difficulties so does understand reasons for wearing masks. He’s not really gone anywhere where he had to wear a mask since it was enforced except the hairdressers and he was ok wearing one there as it was short time. He’s primary age anyway so doesn’t have to wear one to school. Not sure if he’d be able to wear one all day if it was enforced, maybe, maybe not. What I do know though is that he can have big meltdowns so we like to try and keep him calm. We could have the situation where all day mask wearing meant he was less calm so had a meltdown where he was screaming, spitting, biting etc which would be more risky than not wearing a mask and being calm. It could also go the other way and he would perhaps feel more calm and safe wearing a mask so be fine, it’s really hard to generalise with Sen kids

@LadyPenelope68

Sorry to hear it OP. In my DC's two US schools - one public and one private - mask wearing is non-negotiable. If you don't wear one, you don't attend in person, no exceptions for any reason. This is for children age 3 all the way up to 18 btw. As a teacher AND a parent, I wish the government had the balls to do this and not bow down to snowflake parents.

I totally agree with this.

There are some very valid reasons as to why people cannot wear masks or take lateral flow tests. But they are the minority and by the sound of it don’t apply to most if not all of these youths.

The government seems to be able to stand up to the public only when it suits them.

People give such extreme examples in defence of non-mask wearing.

I lived in a country where women have their faces covered all the time, even in 50 degree heat. Never saw anyone faint or have an asthma attack or panic attack or any of these other things that apparently masks can cause.

They SHOULD make it mandatory to wear masks or face shields in public, except for very extreme exceptions.

Agree no chance in FE. I taught in FE for a while.......It was like the Wild West with no Sheriff.

I totally agree with you. I work in a primary and it is business as usual within the classroom. You wouldn’t know we’re in the middle of a pandemic if you just looked into the classroom. It is baffling considering there are at least some restrictions in all other work spaces such as mask wearing, reduced numbers, social distancing etc.

I am pleased mask wearing and LFT are being offered to all secondary students and staff as the transmission and case numbers were higher than primary in the autumn term. My secondary age child didn’t really want to do either but we explained the importance of complying. All who can wear a mask and take a test when offered should do so. ‘I don’t like it’ and ‘I don’t want to’ shouldn’t even come into it.

I am an HLTA and run a support base. I pointed out to my Manager last term that 5/6 15yr olds in the room refused to wear masks. Not exemptions, just refusals.

I was told that beyond giving them a single reminder I could do nothing more about it.

@HolmeH

Think you are just going to have to get over it OP. My friend works in FE & says over half her students are refusing or not bothering or wearing them under their noses. She’s just resigned to it & accepts she might get covid. It is extremely rare for a 30 year old to be in ICU. Not unheard of but almost always with underlying conditions. Your colleague was extremely unlucky, I hope she gets better soon. She has every chance of doing so, thankfully the death rate in the 30’s in absolutely tiny.

The fact is she shouldn’t just have to get over it. It is wrong. The blame here lies squarely with the government and the DfE guidance for schools. It didn’t help at all when Nick Gibb said LFT and mask wearing are optional the day after Boris released the road map.

I hope any member of school staff / FE sector who gets Covid doesn’t rush back to work and takes time to get back to full health before returning. The students are important but their needs should be met alongside the staff not at a potential huge personal cost to the staff which is what happens if someone gets very ill with covid due to people not following the rules.

DS tells me in his school that no one wears a mask but they’ve all (to his knowledge) been tested. School guidance said both not compulsory but they very strongly asked you to test, but basically said evidence for mask wearing was flimsy. The children seem to have followed that sentiment.

@Nandocushion

Sorry to hear it OP. In my DC's two US schools - one public and one private - mask wearing is non-negotiable. If you don't wear one, you don't attend in person, no exceptions for any reason. This is for children age 3 all the way up to 18 btw.

Schools should do this here. If parents had to keep their kids home because they didn't want then to wear a mask, you would have 100% take up. There is definitely a correlation between no masks and stupidity

The teachers hold a powerful tool in their hands. It should be emphasised that without exams just teacher assessment, it is the pupils own best interests to keep on the right side of the person doing the marking

The tests aren’t useless fgs

We’ve been using them all pandemic and the correlation of a pos lat flow to pcr pos is near perfect (pos predictive value)
What is dodgy is the negative predictive value - meaning that a negative may not be a true negative - because they pick up protein vs the pcr test that picks up mRNA. This means they become positive later in someone’s illness. There will be a window where lay flow is negative and pcr is a late pos.

Absolutely doesn’t mean they aren’t fit for purpose as a screening to allow someone to go to school/work with vulnerable people.

It’s understandable that families don’t want to agree to lateral flow testing while there is still not enough financial support for them when they need to isolate.

A £500 payment for the poorest families isn’t going to help the other low or middle income families that still have to earn a living to be able to pay their bills.

Masks are different and it would be good if more students were agreeable to it, but at the same time, I think it’s a lot to ask them to take their lessons while doing something that is uncomfortable, when it has no benefit to them and they are in the age group that has been screwed over the most by the governments decisions. While not all of those students will have genuine exemptions, some of them will have, and it’s not fair to label them as inconsiderate refusers, so it’s best not to judge any of them.