Schools in meltdown. Put your kids in masks

[0None0]

Long story short

First case May 10.
By May 17 th, half of all year groups at home. Many staff sick. Some departments have no staff at all. Some students sent home for lack of staff, rather than quarantine.
20th May. School closed. Half term brought forward one week
31 May. Reopen.
1 June several more cases identified
3rd June. All lower school sent home. Year 10 and 12 kept in only. Masks, which had been optional, are now made compulsory again. Too late
7th June. School closed again. I am now teaching online

So in the last few weeks, I have spent 3x longer on COVID related activities than on teaching. Including trying to get students home when classes close, and they can’t use public transport. Teaching doubled up classes, 30 online, and 30 in front of me, because there are hardly any staff in. Administering tests. Taking students to and from the testing site. Recording results. Cramming information in subjects I know nothing about, but have been told I am about to teach. Much of the time students have just been told to read in silence, while we get on with our main business, as a covid testing site.

So please put masks on your children. There is no reason for a secondary aged child not to have a mask on their face, and a spare in their bag, and a spare spare.

And please support what’s schools are trying to do to enforce masks.

I see so many posts of mothers up in arms about masks. We are desperately fighting to keep education going, and we need your support

I belong to a MAT composed of 3 large secondary schools. Within our 3 schools we have:

A 15 year old boy who developed type 1 diabetes when he caught Covid

An 18 year old girl who lost most of her hearing through covid

A 14 year old boy whose heart has been left so damaged by covid he might need a transplant.

It’s heartbreaking.

@AmIPeriOrAreYouJustAnnoying

Where are you?

Hertfordshire

@herecomesthsun

My DC is wearing a masks voluntarily and so are most of his mates. They are also testing regularly. school is working fine.

Thanks. That’s great to hear. I know masks are optional in many classrooms now, which is why I am trying to talk to parents about it. You are the ones who can make it happen

[quote palacegirl77]@CarrieBlue completely agree. As has my been my point with masks on kids from the whole time. So much anecdotal evidence or "they might work" but no consideration for all the kids that dont use them properly, not medical grade, being reused etc. No research done on how effective they are with all those things considered.[/quote]
Anecdotally, in our school, it’s clearly been spreading freely between the non mark wearers, and less freely between the mask wearers. Masks were optional in. Lass rooms for a while. They have gone back to being compulsory on the back of this

So around a quarter of our children were regularly wearing masks in lessons, and this group accounts for around 12% of our cases

Anecdotally, in our school, it’s clearly been spreading freely between the non mark wearers, and less freely between the mask wearers.

But we can’t take anecdotal evidence as gospel. The previous poster is absolutely right, there’s not much solid evidence they make any difference.

And I’m not anti mask at all. They’re cheap and simple and that’s clearly a positive. But I’m not someone who struggles with them, so it’s easy for me to say.

My child's year group closed a week early before half term due to escalating cases, as did another secondary in our area (West Mids).
Many schools I work with have had several cases again.

This parent tracks known closures and cases
mobile.twitter.com/DmodosCutter

It's only the half of it. The schools I work with have avoided being in the media, so it's not known among the wider public and they only write to affected parents.

Here's the link to her list of closures
safeedforall.com/covid-19-weekly-school-updates/

YABVU. If the government isn't telling schoolchildren to wear masks you don't get to insist on it.

There is no reason for a secondary aged child not to have a mask on their face, and a spare in their bag, and a spare spare.

If you are a teacher you will know that for some families who cant afford food, masks are just another unwelcome expense that there is no spare money for. Am surprised a teacher would say this unless youve only ever taught in affluent areas.

Seems your schools have been extremely unlucky

@edwinbear

We've had not one single case since Easter in DC's age 3-18, London based school - amongst staff or pupils. So I'll follow our HT's guidance thanks, which is not to wear them. If he changes his guidance then of course we will comply.

We hadn't either, until half term. A week later, 13 have tested positive and are isolating along with many close contacts.

@HandsOffMyRights

This parent tracks known closures and cases mobile.twitter.com/DmodosCutter

It's only the half of it. The schools I work with have avoided being in the media, so it's not known among the wider public and they only write to affected parents.

There’s a good reason for that. Gavin Williamson and two infamous days at the end of term before Christmas. When Greenwich council closed all their schools for safety reasons, and Gavin Williamson forced them all to reopen.

The only secretary is state for education in history to deliberately and cold heartedly kill school staff.

Hated beyond words.

And the main reason schools do t want to be named in the press as closed. Tbf, much of the press avoid naming them too. Several journalists were deeply traumatised to see the results of their reporting unfold, and fell complicit in the resultant deaths.

Unfortunately, the result of this reluctance to name closed schools is a huge underestimate of the problem among parents, many of whom now simply have no idea of what’s going on.

However there is nothing y to o stop them reporting numbers. 9 days ago the guardian asked for data from PHE and were told there were outbreaks in 140 schools. This was 9 days ago, and I would expect this to have more than doubled since then

However this is the only news story I can find. I can’t link, but if you Google ‘guardian 140 schools’ you will find the report

@BonnieDundee

YABVU. If the government isn't telling schoolchildren to wear masks you don't get to insist on it.

There is no reason for a secondary aged child not to have a mask on their face, and a spare in their bag, and a spare spare.

If you are a teacher you will know that for some families who cant afford food, masks are just another unwelcome expense that there is no spare money for. Am surprised a teacher would say this unless youve only ever taught in affluent areas.

Seems your schools have been extremely unlucky

Personally, speaking as a single mother who in the past lived through more than a decade without enough money for food, I would certainly prioritise masks well above 3 meals a day right now. And no, I have never taught in an ‘affluent’ area

@TheKeatingFive

Anecdotally, in our school, it’s clearly been spreading freely between the non mark wearers, and less freely between the mask wearers.

But we can’t take anecdotal evidence as gospel. The previous poster is absolutely right, there’s not much solid evidence they make any difference.

And I’m not anti mask at all. They’re cheap and simple and that’s clearly a positive. But I’m not someone who struggles with them, so it’s easy for me to say.

Masks don't so much protect the wearer so much as stop the wearer infecting others I think. So you would expect wearers and non-wearers to get ill if there are non-wearers who are infectious.

@0None0 out of control as in numbers in schools ?

Do you know how that is translating to serious illness? It looks like it's not translating generally which is less concerning compared to other periods of the pandemic .

Numbers in schools out of control is worrying in terms of education I agree and would warrant masks as and when schools see outbreaks until we can get children vaccinated . Once they have been vaccinated masks must come off though.

Hopefully we can get all secondary kids vaccinated during the summer hols and have a normal autumn term

You'd prioritise masks over food? I wasn't sure about this thread but I'm now inclined to think you're on a wind up to be honest. Catching Covid might be bad for kids (though it's still mild for most of them). Being malnourished is definitely bad for them.

It's the title of your OP that is everything I hate about people in this pandemic. There is not a meltdown I schools. Lots of schools are functioning without issues. And for you to insist we put masks on our children?! Would you like to inform me of your authority on this? You sound deranged.

The distribution of school outbreaks is interesting. I wonder why there are so many in Hampshire.

Personally, speaking as a single mother who in the past lived through more than a decade without enough money for food, I would certainly prioritise masks well above 3 meals a day right now. And no, I have never taught in an ‘affluent’ area

You over-egged the pudding OP. I was half believing you until you said that. As if the people who can't afford masks are eating 3 meals a day.

And you lost whatever credibility you had (very little) when you said you'd prioritise masks over food. What's for dinner mum? A mask kids, a mask. You will be hungry but at least you will have a teeny weeny bit of protection from a virus which will probably not really do you much harm to you anyway. Tuck in kids!

Why are people still engaging with this??

OP writes long posts in the middle of the school day and says he/she prioritises masks over food.

I would certainly prioritise masks well above 3 meals a day right now. And no, I have never taught in an ‘affluent’ area

😱😱😱. Ok this is completely nuts and says it all.

@Bizawit

I would certainly prioritise masks well above 3 meals a day right now. And no, I have never taught in an ‘affluent’ area

😱😱😱. Ok this is completely nuts and says it all.

Yup. NOONE IN RL THINKS LIKE THIS.

@110APiccadilly

You'd prioritise masks over food? I wasn't sure about this thread but I'm now inclined to think you're on a wind up to be honest. Catching Covid might be bad for kids (though it's still mild for most of them). Being malnourished is definitely bad for them.

Don’t be ridiculous. You can easily save the cost if a mask out of a food budget without anyone becoming malnourished.

You pushed it too far OP. Too far. shakes head sadly