Outbreaks in schools

[Trustisamust]

Since schools have returned there have already been major outbreaks in both my child's secondary and the primary I work at.
The majority of school staff remain unvaccinated.
For how many other schools is this already the case?
I just don't know what to think any more.

900 kids at our school since going back last Monday there have been 5 cases. That's the highest yet.

You can't ban children from school if they won't test. In dds large secondary school, 97 per cent are. The 3 percent mat well be for genuine reasons.
The bubble has to be the entire year group.

@TheOneWithTheBigNose Thank you, that's good to know. I wonder if all schools do the same?

[quote motherrunner]@HereComesATractor Of course as a teacher I hear of other school cases through the gravevine. As a parent I wouldn’t know if there was a case in my children’s school unless their bubble closed.[/quote]
I was answering your question as someone who had said I knew there were no cases. You didn’t specify that only parents had to answer. As it happens, all the schools I am aware of notify parents of cases.

But it's just a guidance. At our dc's school, teachers are wearing masks/visors since Sept, and school made mandatory for children. (secondary)

I have 3 children at 3 different schools (in 3 different areas!) - 2 secondary, 1 primary (but a prep, so has yrs 7&8 as well)

Since September, there have been 4 cases of Covid, across all 3 schools, pupils and staff. None at all this year.

Eldest had to isolate for the last few days of term before Christmas due to a classmate testing positive. Middle child had one day of isolation in November, while PHE sorted out which pupils should be sent home, and there was one further case in the school the following week (different year group), and youngest has had no days off (but there was a case in the year above him).

So far this term, none of the schools have had a positive test result from the testing regime.

@Blueappletree I know face shields etc are a no from government website. Re masks - I know kids are exempt but are all teachers in primary now wearing them in lessons?

[quote Trustisamust]@Blueappletree I know face shields etc are a no from government website. Re masks - I know kids are exempt but are all teachers in primary now wearing them in lessons?[/quote]
at our school no but they do at the beginning and end of the day when mingling with the parents.

@Itsalonghaul

Not a single case. School of nearly a 1000 teens. Every child tested now three times. Every member of staff ditto. I find the testing procedure extremely comforting and it has given me confidence to send my child in safely and without worry.

Same here

@Trustisamust

Should schools be reporting all positive cases to parents/carers though? If not, how do we know if there are cases or not?

Ours does and has since last Sept

Both my kids in 2 different year grps have been sent home for 10 days because of one case in each year. Thats 240 kids at home

My nephew was sent home to isolate yesterday. He’s 13. And another year in his school have popped.

Another school in the area sent a load of kids home on Monday.

[quote Trustisamust]@Blueappletree I know face shields etc are a no from government website. Re masks - I know kids are exempt but are all teachers in primary now wearing them in lessons?[/quote]
Ours are wearing masks and visors in lessons (teachers)

Like I said in my comment, my dc is in secondary. I don't have dc in primary so no clue.
But in my native country, everyone wears masks even in primary/kindergarten, there's only short period of school closure in April last year.
I don't understand why the teachers/school take initiative and do best for them when it's not against the law for them who wants them to wear masks.

@TheOneWithTheBigNose Your school sounds fab.

@Oioioioo

Both my kids in 2 different year grps have been sent home for 10 days because of one case in each year. Thats 240 kids at home

Does the school switch back to remote learning, same as before going back?

In the autumn term one teen had six isolations and Covid. The other, who goes to a different secondary, had three.
Each class had around 20% of Covid cases. The schools had pupils sent home several times a week.
I'm expecting this to start up again as they are in an area with poor vaccine take up and many kids aren't testing.

The schools I work with, one secondary has had three cases this week, another has one case and a primary has had one case.

Aaah been back at work a week and wanting things closed again.

Sept -> December - one bubble closed in my kids' primary. Generic email to all parents that "a bubble" has closed, specific email to affected class that "you've got 'em at home for the duration guys". Playground gossip = everyone knew which class it was within a nano second.

Couple of other cases of parents getting the virus, household isolating and child developing symptoms during that period so nothing crossed back over into the school (one was my kiddo's best mate so if anyone would have been picked up as a contact she would have).

Nothing since then - apart from kids so distressed at the disruption to their lives and mental health so shot we have about 4-5 having to be bodily grappled into the gates each day and my own child veering toward being selectively mute in school now through anxiety. None of that matters though - just fuelling the "want schools closed" agenda.

Foster kids have been going in since September.
No cases yet.
Fingers crossed.

my nephew (in primary) had to isolate as there were a handful of positive cases in his year group, he & my dad have both since tested positive (in same household)

It will come to your school for sure. A more infectious virus remember. Also the more it spreads the higher chance of mutations.

Cases are rising now here in every LEA.

Media silence on schools as per usual.

It’s already been a rough return for my two, one is in Y4 primary and the other in Y8 secondary. My Y8 initially was terrified of test and wanted to refuse but I arranged for a private testing session so he could try without peer pressure from other students. This truly worked and he’s now very happy to test. But we have already been sent out an email to self isolate due to positive cases in Y8, a risk assessment that was later changed due to the students not being in his friendship circle. I don’t feel completely reassured to be honest.

My Y4 child’s school has a different approach. They do what they need to “on paper”, but the staff look the other way when children are mixing with other year groups, quoting mental health of children being equally important. There’s lots of hand sanitising and reminders of good personal hygiene though.
My daughter’s already self isolated “due to case in her class” three times since covid began.
What’s also worrying is that there are three children in her class in class with bad colds. I’m pretty sure they haven’t been tested (ASD in one case) and it does really annoy me. A cold is a cold usually but I’m clinically vulnerable and due my vaccine on Saturday. I really don’t want to fall on the last hurdle!

I’m not confident OP but I also see how my children’s mental health has been damaged by the constant changes and I’m just doing all I can to keep us safe in terms of washing uniform, good hygiene etc.

It’s a horrible situation.

Large number of one year group sent home.

I particularly don't understand why teachers and parents volunteering to do / supervise lateral flow testing are not vaccinated. If they have to wear PPE then they should be vaccinated.