Schools in meltdown. Put your kids in masks

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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.

We're quite nearby, we're located in Bedford, some of the highest covid rates in the country at the moment.
Yes it's spreading, yes this variant is killing people even those who are double jabbed)

My DDs school has never stopped wearing the masks because we were hit with high rates just before they were due to stop the kids wearing them in school.

The school isn't having massively high cases, despite the catchment area for the school being where the highest amount of cases are. I certainly haven't heard of any of the children having high covid.

Now, onto practicality, are parents actually saying they can't afford masks? If so, if there's a school address, I'd be happy to buy several boxes of masks from Costco to be distributed to families in need.

There's a huge difference between people feeling unable to provide their children with masks, and those not wishing to make their children wear them.

I'm not really going to argue how people should and shouldn't be acting, but I'd definitely want people to have help to access something they may well want to use.

Oh and, if its helpful, boots are selling these family protection kits at £2

My Dcs secondary school had masks available for children who came without them, when they were compulsory.

4 positive cases this weekend in our school, and school still not asking for masks to be worn. They have asked the whole class to self isolate for a week.

@Getawaywithit

Most of them probably have underlying health issues - it's sad for them

It's sad for them? We've had thread after thread after thread about poor children losing their childhoods, education and their mental health. Schools must stay open at all costs because children aren't affected. Well yes, some of them are. Some of those children - mine is one of them - are CV. My CV child can expect to live a long life. He should be an economically active member of our society. He should be able to make a contribution, not just be someone sat at home on disability benefits. But not one fuck has been given on this forum about vulnerable to covid children. Not one fuck given how this might be affecting them and their families and friends. Not one fuck given about how their education is being affected or how they might be bearing up with their mental health.

FFS. People with underlying health conditions are people too, who live in the same world as the rest of us, with the same expectations, hopes, dreams and desires. How do you think they feel in school at the moment with people refusing them even a basic level of protection with masks? Try a bit of empathy for a change rather than ignorance.

I cannot imagine how you must feel reading all the disgusting and heartless comments. You have put far more eloquently what I was trying to say.

We've not had a single case in our school since September

@NeverForgetYourDreams

We've not had a single case in our school since September

Where abouts are you? Count yourself fortunate and lucky so far...

The south.

I think we had one case last autumn in DS school.

As an area we were hit pretty hard in the first wave last March . I knew so many people who were ill. Kids didn’t seem too badly hit but this was before testing (adults all had classic symptoms and antibodies later). Children either had a day or two of a temp or cough or no symptoms.

I read someone else saying the same. That their school was hit quite hard first time around and then much less so subsequently.

I think the South was worse in the first wave? Just a theory but could partly explain the discrepancies...
May also explain why the one case we had last autumn didn’t translate in to any further kids or adults testing positive.

@Delatron

I think we had one case last autumn in DS school.

As an area we were hit pretty hard in the first wave last March . I knew so many people who were ill. Kids didn’t seem too badly hit but this was before testing (adults all had classic symptoms and antibodies later). Children either had a day or two of a temp or cough or no symptoms.

I read someone else saying the same. That their school was hit quite hard first time around and then much less so subsequently.

I think the South was worse in the first wave? Just a theory but could partly explain the discrepancies...
May also explain why the one case we had last autumn didn’t translate in to any further kids or adults testing positive.

I know two people who have had Covid confirmed. One in Wiltshire and one near reading. I don't know anyone else since start of pandemic. Lucky I guess.

First wave here wasn't too bad either

Yes I’m sure luck/ population density etc all play a big part.

@Getawaywithit

Most of them probably have underlying health issues - it's sad for them

It's sad for them? We've had thread after thread after thread about poor children losing their childhoods, education and their mental health. Schools must stay open at all costs because children aren't affected. Well yes, some of them are. Some of those children - mine is one of them - are CV. My CV child can expect to live a long life. He should be an economically active member of our society. He should be able to make a contribution, not just be someone sat at home on disability benefits. But not one fuck has been given on this forum about vulnerable to covid children. Not one fuck given how this might be affecting them and their families and friends. Not one fuck given about how their education is being affected or how they might be bearing up with their mental health.

FFS. People with underlying health conditions are people too, who live in the same world as the rest of us, with the same expectations, hopes, dreams and desires. How do you think they feel in school at the moment with people refusing them even a basic level of protection with masks? Try a bit of empathy for a change rather than ignorance.

What youve done there is take my response to an article about hospital admissions and edit it to make out I dont give a shit. It was posted in response to hospital admission data. I was simply pointing out that unfortunately there are ill children in society and unfortunately they will, from time to time, need admitting to hospital. It wasnt in relation to the risk of death. Personally, if my child was CV they would be unregistered and I would home school them. Because sadly thats part and parcel of having a child with extra needs. You do what you need to to protect them. Sadly, the issue isnt lack of empathy or ignorance - it isnt my fault the Gov have messed this up (I didnt vote for them) - we need to look out for ourselves as best we can now. If schools are saying no masks, we need to choose - do we send our kids in or not? Do we get our children vaccinated or not? Whats right for one person isnt right for the next. I dont think you should snip parts of sentences out though and take them out of context. FYI my daughter has always worn a mask when required in school, I have had both jabs and in spite of being a key worker I homeschooled my children in each lockdown to help protect others.

@riveted1 😂😂 found you on here too! Please do us all a favour and stop posting pro lockdown comments...nobody wants to see them

Our school have sent us a letter today saying the council have stated masks are to be reintroduced in all classes and communal areas due to a rise in cases (we're in the West Mids).

Whole secondary near me closed this week Bristol over 19 confirmed cases multiple year groups and staff.
Heard today couple local primaries also affected.
Bit worried about dd2s school as its a feeder school to closed senior school.
If could be bad at local primaries as they generally don't lft test primary kids just the staff.

We are up to 8 cases now in one group of friends. One whole year group and 2 busloads spanning all years all self isolating.

The originators went up north to visit family . We are rural SW and have escaped quite lightly up to now.

This shows how quickly it spreads. All mild cases though, some don’t have symptoms even.

They are wearing masks again.

Any vulnerable teacher got vaxxed months ago

I must have missed that. I only got my first a couple of weeks ago. Heavily pregnant, suspected gestational diabetes (NHS trust not doing GTTs atm) and working full time in a classroom with one automatic Velux window that locks in the event of moisture or strong breeze.

Let’s avoid generalisations. Not all schools are rife with covid. Not all children are at serious risk. ‘Any’ vulnerable teacher was not ‘vaxxed months ago’.

Why haven’t the vulnerable been vaccinated then?
I’m not vulnerable and I’m about to get my second?

Because, despite third trimester pregnancy rendering you CV or CEV, vaccines still only occur in your age range.

A huge proportion of school staff are women, many of those of childbearing age. Therefore, not all vulnerable teachers have been vaccinated.

Our school had no new positive cases since Christmas but in the last ten days we've had 10 positive results and half a year group has gone into isolation along with several staff members.

Every single year in my DHs school had been sent home

My daughters secondary school has three year groups out for two weeks. The headteacher informed us that he has a meeting with PHE to discuss what happens moving forward. Face masks are now compulsory again.

There are now daily positive LFTs and cases at our secondary. Every day I wait to see if my DCs will be sent home.

Well I was worried about wrong school.
School 3 had its first ever postive case this year so class and staff sent home.

Dd2 freinds are off to their new secondary school to visit.
One of local secondary schools completely closed due to over confirmed cases
Freinds nursery same postcode as the closed senior school has 2 cases.
Local covid infections for both councils on a steep rise the last 7 days.

No cases at eldest senior school surprised a self isolating as parents postive.
Looks like no sports day activities week or trips end term.
2.5 weeks left for eldest school
Mocks this week.
I believe some sort year 11 party is happening no idea what.
Year 6 transition day last few days of the term.

Massive jump in cases today.

I think this will start happening at more schools as unfortunately mitigation measures have not been great.