What is your schools covid isolation policy?

[Girlmama3]

Dd has just said a girl in her year was in school yesterday and got a positive last night 😩 Only her bus has to self isolate.

I thought it was the whole year? I can’t find anything for our school online and am waiting for a response.

Nope, normally just close contacts, unless local PHE advises differently.

At the start it was the whole year but for a while now it's been just close contacts, even though my son said that although lessons have been sorted so you're only with your bubble, break and dinner times they can go where they want and hang around with who they want so not sure how they can keep a track on close contacts!

Here it's anyone who they've been in close contact with (friends etc), plus anyone who sits close to them in the classroom, social space at lunch, plus anyone sat near them if they take the bus

Thank you. There are actually two cases in the same year both from the same bus.

Fingers crossed that’s it…

Ours is part of a trial where they test instead of isolation. Close contacts.

At our primary school one positive case means whole class teacher/TA have to isolate for 10 days.

I’ve just been talking to dd (year 10) and it’s only close contacts at her school. Apparently a message went round today to say that any student who had been close to a particular student in the past couple of days Was to Put on a mask and go to the office immediately. I don’t know how I thought they would be deciding on who close contacts were, but I didn’t think they would be asking the students (but as dd said, the school actually have no idea who socialises with who out of school, so they need the students to decide this themselves).

The school doesn't set the policy.

Once a positive test is reported, public health are alerted and make the decision as to what is deemed a close contact and has to isolate.

@Girlmama3

Dd has just said a girl in her year was in school yesterday and got a positive last night 😩 Only her bus has to self isolate.

I thought it was the whole year? I can’t find anything for our school online and am waiting for a response.

Ours is just close contacts too. Has never been a full year group

Our PHE advice is within one metre for one minute or two metres for 15 minutes.

PHE are only interested in lesson seating plans, not lunch nor break times. We don’t even isolate buses. We have to calculate two metres head to head.

We have been told up for 4 cases in a bubble is just close contacts isolate, once you get 5 cases in a bubble, you close the bubble.

We have had a lot of cases in the last few weeks. Sent 30 kids home today from one positive test and awaiting three PCR test results from other students who have been poorly without normal covid symptoms.

Some kids have had negative LFT but positive PCR. Others have had positive LFT and then they have a confirmatory PCR.

We isolate students based on an LFT but if the PCR is negative we contact families and revoke the isolation.

Beyond disruptive though and incredible time consuming. Today needed about 25 hours of staff time to deal with one case

I have just received an email saying 32 students have tested positive in the last ten days. They said its to difficult to do all the contact tracing of all the children so have shut the school all next week. With advice to keep them at home.

Sal

Ours is sending home the entire class.. we have two classes home at the moment. It was close contacts before so unsure what changed.

The primary school whole class has to isolate

The secondary it I'd only close contacts. So the official line is anyone that has been sat in class within 2 metres. Plus close friends if necessary

However it seems to unofficially work out to be:

Children that have sat next to the child. Then anyone know not to wear a mask or register a twice weekly LFT with the school who has been sat within two metres

This has worked very well so far. Less kids isolating and we have only had a couple of positive tests since Easter.

Ours is now just close contacts but I wish they would just close as its spreading like wildfire still and some kids are on their 4th 10 day isolation period.

Close contacts only.

It has been the whole year on one occasion when they couldn’t be 100% sure who all the close contacts were.

We have no self isolation.
Positive child stays home, close contacts do a LFT every day for 10 days.

Its a trial scheme apparently.

The trial scheme doing LFTs sounds so much more sensible to me than kids having to constantly isolate, some who haven't actually even been that close.

Our kids have to adhere to strict seating plans and if we have a positive case those sat close are SS t home to isolate. Funnily enough - never the teachers ...

Wow it’s always been the whole year group at our school! My kids have had to isolate 6 times due to having 3 kids in school!

@BarefootHippieChick

The trial scheme doing LFTs sounds so much more sensible to me than kids having to constantly isolate, some who haven't actually even been that close.

It is sensible until you realise the tests being used have been the subject of a class 1 recall by the FDA and the MHRA don’t approve of the trial due to the LFTs not being sensitive enough to pick up cases.

Somewhat helpfully, the DfE decided that consent wasn’t needed by all the students and failed to ensure that schools’ liability insurance covers this. Who knows who is actually responsible if this goes wrong.

I really hope they allow the children's vaccine soon, especially if they start doing the daily lfts rather than isolating close contacts/closing bubbles

At my school (Key stage 1) a class is a bubble and classed as close contacts. Social distancing isn't possible and masks aren't worn. Year groups mix at play time but that is outside. Intervention groups are now single class only groups.

Only a small number of staff cross bubbles - I am one of them. Not sure what happens if I tested positive now as I can be in 3 or 4 different classes within a day or two - I am double vaxxed and have antibodies (tested last month) from when I had the virus in the autumn term.

Reception is a bit different as the classrooms are open and interlinked with one another, and the staff move between classes more. In the past PHE has advised the whole year to be classed as one bubble.