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.

@loulouljh

No, no, no. My child will not be wearing a mask again at school. End of.

Would you really rather schools closed again? I dont understand what your objection is! No one likes them, but people all around the world are coping. Exemptions are available too, for medical reasons

As far as I'm aware regarding my dc school there's been little to no cases since Easter in a school of around 2000 pupils

Oh shit here we go. Yes, same here in NW. BUT I think what OP is saying is ....

IT IS NOW STARTING AGAIN.

Same message has just come from our high school today. Everyone is worried due to just around 10 cases this week. The neighbouring highschool has more like 50. WE KNOW what happens next! Please everyone stop it. We forgot to do most recent test, but we’ll still do it late tonight after hearing this.

Regards the tales of bad cases in teens, I could tell you of one that ULTIMATELY beats those mentioned earlier (and I’ve not read whole thread) but it’s worse.

Come on let’s not have this again. We had it after xmas mixing, and now we’ve just had Eid mixing, new variant and many still unvaccinated.

LETS STOP THIS PLEASE NOW.

Would you really rather schools closed again? I dont understand what your objection is! No one likes them, but people all around the world are coping. Exemptions are available too, for medical reasons

No, no, they're not. Some places in the world have got rid of them entirely.

Can we stop with the shouty capitals pls? It doesn’t help anyone’s case.

@deathbypostitnote

Something to indicate people can trust you. Some link to current real world data that makes what you're describing credible. Right now, it isn't. What you're describing would make the evening news.

I don’t know where this is recorded, but PHE have visited the site, and done genome sequencing here, so presumably their data will be reflecting what’s happening. It isn’t in the news because it isn’t particularly unusual, I guess, it isn’t newsworthy. I don’t have a specific internet link because I’m writing about my real life not things I’ve found on the internet. I can only suggest look at what PHE are recording. I’m sure it’s reported somewhere

We are in Bolton and as the numbers are so high the LA has recommended masks in all high schools.
At my Ds college the head has said all students must wear a mask unless medically exempt.
The college had less than a fifth of students attending before half term so they're reviewing weekly.

Scottish schools are finished at the end of June anyhow.

@TheKeatingFive

Can we stop with the shouty capitals pls? It doesn’t help anyone’s case.

But it is mildly amusing .

We need to look around the world and see where restrictions have been lifted to see how the those places are now (not) affected. Florida has been open without masks etc since September. They had no new wave over the winter and now people are enjoying festivals, music and sport in massive stadiums. The also don't have the uptake of vaccines that has happened here.
Makes you wonder if all the restrictions are actually making things worse not better..

Can we stop with the shouty capitals pls? It doesn’t help anyone’s case.

Do u ever feel like you’re talking to a brick wall? This one is like double cavity breezeblocks, insulated, and rendered with Teflon coated steel fucking plates?

Bryony well three of those cases are in my household. Including double vaccinated DH.

There are zero cases where I live. Everyone is encouraged to test twice a week, masks really are very unpleasant to wear, no point when there's no cases

Zero cases in my daughter's school since April.

@deathbypostitnote

My friends kids school is closed, and closed early for half term, could be that one. She's not that far from Manchester.

@cptartapp

Bryony well three of those cases are in my household. Including double vaccinated DH.

Looks like vaccine stopped him going in to hospital. Result.

I don’t know where this is recorded, but PHE have visited the site, and done genome sequencing here, so presumably their data will be reflecting what’s happening. It isn’t in the news because it isn’t particularly unusual, I guess, it isn’t newsworthy. I don’t have a specific internet link because I’m writing about my real life not things I’ve found on the internet. I can only suggest look at what PHE are recording. I’m sure it’s reported somewhere

I had a quick search and there are reports of schools closed due to cases - I think it mentioned Rossendale and Merthyr Tydfil.

It seems to be in areas where cases are high in the community, which makes sense.

I guess there is wide variation throughout the country.

[quote motogogo]@deathbypostitnote

My friends kids school is closed, and closed early for half term, could be that one. She's not that far from Manchester. [/quote]
I’m not in that part of the country, but as I said, the situation in my school is nothing unusual. This is happening. There is a lot of denial on Mumsnet, which is why I posted my experience.

My friend is in Glasgow and her DCs school is closed to older pupils

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-57183799

but the OPs mentioned forms etc so must be England I think.

@osbertthesyrianhamster

Do u have high school kids?

The vaccines are effective, just not 100%. Plus, the first dose of the AZ vaccine is only around 33% effective against the Delta variant by all accounts, and there are a lot of people waiting for their second dose.

It isn’t expected that the vaccine will reduce Covid to zero cases. The virus will be endemic. Like with flu, where there are several thousand deaths every year even with a vaccine.

I have to leave for a while now but I will aim to return later tonight and try to answer any questions if I can

[quote WuhanClanAintNothingToFuckWith]@osbertthesyrianhamster

Do u have high school kids?[/quote]
Yes. I have a child who died a decade ago, too. My father died of Covid last year. What about it?

Could be Lancashire

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-57328208

@MothExterminator

WellBythebloodyhell, I never said all parents were vaccinated. I said everyone I had spoken to was.

I don’t ask that question the first I do, of course not. But it frequently comes up in conversation about Covid. We all had a horrid time managing homeschooling. And the gaps in learning are terrifying.

In our schools there is a sense of “how can we as a community make sure that our children remains in school” and vaccinations are a part of that. We have also had quite a few mums at the school gate who have complained about feeling poorly post jab - and then others chip in about their experiences.

Do you never discuss this at your schools?

I actually meant all the parents you had spoken too, not all the parents in the school. And no, actually, covid vaccine status is not the number 1 topic of conversation at pick up/drop off times funnily enough. I've had both vaccines it would never ever occur to me to ask others what their situation is, their private medical information Is just that, private.

Children should not be wearing masks
End of
Dr Samuel white who receive signed from the nhs as he didn’t like how that was going either said in his video that masks don’t work