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.

I sympathise OP, I really do.

BUT since this began, a year and a half ago, my 3 dcs, at 2 different secondary schools, have not been sent home once for Covid.

The number of cases at both schools has been tiny. The only cases they had was in december, and there were literally one or two cases.

They stopped wearing masks when gov said they could. They are still in year group bubble and doing all the other things.

There have been no staff off or self isolating since Christmas.

Not every area is the same.

I agree, TheKeating (I never bother with that annoying tag function I wish this site didn't have).

@shewalkslikerihanna

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

Who is Dr Samuel White and what are his virology credentials? Besides being one of the NHS’s c.125,000 doctors?

What credibility does he have over the many specialist doctors and virologists who recommend mask wearing as a way to reduce transmission?

Totally agree, Delatron.

I'm puzzled by the contrast. We don't have any cases at all. All pupils test twice a week or learn at home. Masks worn on school bus and in corridors but not in class rooms. Each year is an isolated bubble during school hours. Policed hand sanitising twice a day.

I hope it all gets better soon.

@palacegirl77

My daughters school hasnt had one case since they stopped wearing masks. Maybe theyre not the be all and end all we thought? As long as deaths stay low and hospitalisations are manageable life should continue as we are.

My son’s school has, maybe they are?

@Mintjulia

I'm puzzled by the contrast. We don't have any cases at all. All pupils test twice a week or learn at home. Masks worn on school bus and in corridors but not in class rooms. Each year is an isolated bubble during school hours. Policed hand sanitising twice a day.

I hope it all gets better soon.

Testing is voluntary, is it not? Mine have never tested. Nor have I. I'd do it if I had symptoms, and to go abroad, but that's it.

@0None0 do you know how many of your cases were in-school transmission?

DS’s secondary school had quite a few cases last year, but no in-school transmission. His school have been militant about mask wearing at all times except eating and PE. I was very skeptical about it, but was somewhat won over.

That said, another local school have had the bare minimum of mask wearing and also no cases of in-school transmission, so a lot of it is probably just down to luck and the community the school is situated in.

@carryblue Did they have cases when they were wearing masks too? Our did. But none since.

Oh I tell u what. You’re right. Nothing I can do anymore. Same as you, I don’t even care anymore. It’s easier, it’s calmer. Let’s just lockdown and take it all on the chin. I don’t care.

Promise I won’t swear. Don’t want to upset anyone or any precious kids

Ours are wearing masks but we are in Scotland where I think it’s still a requirement. Personally, I think it makes sense for children to continue to wear them with cases of the Delta variant rising, but you cat blame parents for following current guidance.

Cases are starting to seep in where we are as well.

@WuhanClanAintNothingToFuckWith

Oh I tell u what. You’re right. Nothing I can do anymore. Same as you, I don’t even care anymore. It’s easier, it’s calmer. Let’s just lockdown and take it all on the chin. I don’t care.

Promise I won’t swear. Don’t want to upset anyone or any precious kids

Lockdown? That won't be happening again, because people won't comply with it anymore. It's here to stay, learn to live with it or stay indoors, the world's always been full of flying glass.

Ours have only had one week were they were told not needed in the class room. Then a feeder primary school with lots of siblings got a few cases. After that the kids were advised to start wearing them again. Plus we now report twice weekly covid test results straight to a school app. Even if negative. That way the school know which kids are getting tested regularly.

@murbblurb

the refusal of women (assuming most replying are women ) to accept facts is terrifying. And that most of them have bred so the stupidity and arrogance has been passed on.

It's a pandemic. It is shit. Suck it up, buttercups.

And you are saying we are arrogant? Oh ok, buttercup.

@0None0

You might have had no cases in your school. But it only takes one case of Delta variant in an uncontrolled environment to put your school less than 2 weeks from complete closure. There is no room for complacency.

That will be the same for life.

The UK and other countries need to get used to it.

A country only needs one case, in the whole of the UK.
Months past time that people need to accept this.

@murbblurb

the refusal of women (assuming most replying are women ) to accept facts is terrifying. And that most of them have bred so the stupidity and arrogance has been passed on.

It's a pandemic. It is shit. Suck it up, buttercups.

Thoroughly misogynist post.

osberr ds is at a small independent. They made twice weekly testing compulsory. Ds grumbles but I think it's helped so far

And you are saying we are arrogant? Oh ok, buttercup.

And stupid, and breeders, Arrowheart. That poster is quite the charmer, eh?

@murbblurb

the refusal of women (assuming most replying are women ) to accept facts is terrifying. And that most of them have bred so the stupidity and arrogance has been passed on.

It's a pandemic. It is shit. Suck it up, buttercups.

🙄 not sure this post counts as high intelligence however

@strangeshapedpotato

It's quite incredible.

Despite TWO previous waves, so many 's still don't get how this thing works.

The delta variant has just started spreading. Most schools in the UK won't have experienced a single case ..... yet! But that's going to change very quickly if everyone keeps walking around with blinkers on.

You cant stop the tide. Why on earth do people think they can? Covid started with one person [or whatever ] in one place[or whatever]. Once it is here or whereever, it has arrived. And wont be leaving anytime soon[50 years??]

Unless everyone becomes a hermit forever more, covid is going to have to go through everyone.

Hardly anyone seems to get it twice[cue lots of people trying to persuade me otherwise].

No point anyone being alarmist. Accept. Sorry, it cant be stopped by a person, no matter if they wash their hands 100 times, and wear multiple masks, and never cuddle anyone ever again.

OR….we could just STOP testing these poor kids every five seconds and let a few cases just naturally go around so they can acquire a natural immunity instead of being stuck in a claustrophobic unhygienic mask and asked to take an experimental vaccine causing worrying numbers of serious side effects in the very tiny trial groups involved in testing. The huge majority won’t suffer any serious illness or ongoing problems and all over 50’s and vulnerable teachers working at the school are protected themselves by the vaccine.
Let these kids be kids for gods sake and let them have a few sniffles and carry on like we did before all this madness. Utterly sick of all this now and it needs saying.