DFE tells schools prepare for the worst.

[3asAbird]

www.tes.com/news/covid-schools-told-plan-more-remote-learning

Feeling so cross why allow schools to stop masks on may 17th.
When Hancock knew the delta varient was present in April 2021.

School outbreaks my councils 46 this week and a fair few in neighbouring county with some schools fully shut.
Lots senior transition days and inter sports tournament cancelled.

We know from Kent alpha varient took a few months get really bad.
Some say 6 week break act as firebreak.
I am bot so sure as people will travel and mingle and in some cases School maybe mirror community transmission which is on the rise.

I wish having would go for starters.
They said they making education a priority back in march.
This term has been rubbish for many.
I have no faith that autumn term be any different.

No mitigation measures on ventilation
No masks or compulsory testing.
No smaller class sizes.
No vaccines for under 18s.

@sirfredfredgeorge

We want to keep children in school. Help us achieve that!

Then we need to close pubs etc., close the places there are community spread, it's not possible to have schools open if there are any appreciable number of cases in the community.

The accepting of community spread, but isolating entire schools and groups is the problem.

Actually, we need to spend money on making schools more Covid-safe, so it isn't an either / or, more a 'both, safely'.

HUGE delivery of LFTs in school last week. Boxes took up an entire corridor.

Nit sure anyone is still using them though...

Actually, we need to spend money on making schools more Covid-safe, so it isn't an either / or, more a 'both, safely'

Bigger classrooms, windows that aren’t painted shut? Better/bigger social areas and dining facilities, smaller classes?
Not going to happen.

Other countries managed to improve ventilation in their schools, it just took government initiative and a bit of funding.

It didn’t happen here because our government don’t want to give schools any money.

They should have prioritised students 16+ over 20-30 group for vaccine given variants were always going to spread in group settings and that it would have been easy to vaccinate this group in school / on campus with a high uptake. Also vaccinated 12-15 as other countries have done to minimise disruption to education. The situation in uni's is pretty bad just before thousands of students all head home over next 3 weeks to get jobs in hospitality! They are all socialising like crazy as its been the first opportunity all year and exams are over. I have relatives in USA and all their kids 12+ are double vaccinated already with a normal summer to look forward to. The only good thing if schools have to shut again in July may be pressure will grow for 12-15 to have vaccine.

DS uni has asked all students to do LFT and one PCR a week and to PCR before leaving for home. But its all voluntary.

I’m in a secondary school in Lancashire and we’ve never got rid of masks. Still wearing them now. It’s getting harder and harder to teach in it though and the kids are getting less compliant by the day. I’m sick to death of telling them and adding behaviour points onto class charts. It’s really starting to affect lessons and relationships between teachers and the kids.

DDs school never gave up masks. Shes fine with that, she just wants to be in school. She's already missed so much of years 9 and 10 and now it looks like 11 is going to be rubbish for her as well.

I hope they close all pubs, shops and non essential offices before they touch the schools. Yes I know there may be occasional times year groups or classes are sent home but f*cking up the entire school system is not the answer

As for DS he hates home learning with an absolute passion. Most of the time he wouldn't even sit down let alone listen... he absolutely loves school and apparently behaves brilliantly when he's there

What's the point?

I can't bear anymore of this. Fucking Tags have nearly finished me off and there's no let up. Tags marks go in- summer exams start. Then data entry and setting. Masks back with a vengeance. Kids starting to isolate in little clusters.

But hardly any kids testing, which they're happy to tell you. But then, lots of parents are terrified of having to stay off work. I kind of thought yr10 and 12 might manage to get through with a few adjustments to exams next year, but I'm not sure they'll be able to.

I hope they close all pubs, shops and non essential offices before they touch the schools.

They wouldn’t need to bloody close anything if they managed the situation in schools properly in the first place.

Why no mitigation measures up front like improving ventilation? The hot weather last week really highlighted just how poorly ventilated classrooms are. This just leads to constant fire fighting with more severe measures.

If you make children isolate in schools due to another child in the school being positive, it's completely irrelevant if the spread was in the school, changing anything about the school environment does nothing to prevent it - indeed it actually increases the chance of repeated isolations.

If you want to keep children in schools, you have to stop community spread, your arguments for school restrictions were very meaningful when there were lots of other restrictions and schools were the main spread, but when a child is more likely to catch it from their 20 year old cousin / aunt / friend who's been in the pub, minimising school spread does not stop isolations.

They should have prioritised students 16+ over 20-30 group for vaccine given variants were always going to spread in group settings and that it would have been easy to vaccinate this group in school / on campus with a high uptake. Also vaccinated 12-15 as other countries have done to minimise disruption to education. The situation in uni's is pretty bad just before thousands of students all head home over next 3 weeks to get jobs in hospitality! They are all socialising like crazy as its been the first opportunity all year and exams are over.

Should certainly try to give 1 jab to 16+ before holidays and then a second jab at beginning of autumn term.

but when a child is more likely to catch it from their 20 year old cousin / aunt / friend who's been in the pub, minimising school spread does not stop isolations.

Er, minimising school spread minimises the risk that the kid who caught it from their auntie gives it to the rest of the school, causing them and their families to isolate. That’s obvious. And one kid getting it doesn’t close the school, so unless they have got a lot better at isolating the kids who have actually been in contact with that case zero (the close contact thing is bullshit) then minimising school spread will minimise the need for isolations as it spreads outwards in school from that case zero.

Besides, I’m not sure the data backs up your claim that a kid is more likely to catch it out of school than in.

5 cases in one week in my son's year group - he is one of a handful left in, I'm on constant alert for the call.

Why are schools being advised to prioritise, among others, years 11 and 13? They’ve all left now anyway. Or do they mean in the autumn?

In DH's school masks have continued to be worn but its not stopped cases and after a big rise in positive tests the whole of year 7 will be taught online from Monday. Could see it coming a mile off and will now spread through siblings, families and community groups. They will let schools struggle on until the summer break leaving headteachers to handle it as best they can and asses again over the summer. Schools are just the most perfect spreading ground and always will be in their current form.

Testing is being done in school as parents aren't doing it, probably due to childcare issues if their DC has to isolate as lots of people are no longer working from home.

They need to follow the US lead and ditch LFT. They are not good enough to use/ even The Torygraph is publishing stuff like this
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/17/scrap-covid-tests-schools-says-oxford-vaccine-pioneer/
False positives are far too high

The FDA didn’t suggest binning LFTs because of the false positives, but because of the false negatives. That doesn’t suit the Telegraph narrative though. www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/11/us-health-agency-gives-innova-lateral-flow-covid-tests-scathing-review

Noblegirraffe are there no windows?

There's still inconsistencies in the way schools are handling positive cases too. We just send home kids who've been in close proximity to infected kid. Wales are sending home entire year groups-250 kids for one case.

With the gov encouraging appeals and rule changes around cv, slt are going to have a shit summer.

Besides, I’m not sure the data backs up your claim that a kid is more likely to catch it out of school than in

A child is more likely to catch it from a close contact who is in the 20-24 age group, than a close contact that is in the 11-18 age group - case rates are simply much higher in the 20-24 age group, adults are more transmissive etc. There's complete evidence for this.

Now of course, that's different to if an individual child with covid was more likely to have caught it from outside or inside school as that hugely depends on their close contacts. But given your desire to isolate people based on a single case, it doesn't matter where that case got it.

@listsandbudgets

Noblegirraffe are there no windows?

We have some classrooms that have no windows (drama rooms for example that need to be dark and others that are slightly below ground level) and some classrooms have broken windows (handles came off years ago) or are painted shut. Other classrooms have windows that open but are restricted to only a few inches so children don’t jump out (which did use to happen years ago hence the measure).

@listsandbudgets

Noblegirraffe are there no windows?

Not in some classrooms.

One classroom I teach in has broken blinds so they are permanently down covering the open windows rendering them useless.

Another one has the sun streaming in so the choice is to lower the blinds and cover the open windows or have kids sat in direct sunlight, unable to see. Or sun shines on the board so it can’t be read.

Another classroom I teach in has open windows, and a propped open door, but due to lack of air movement is still unbearably hot and stuffy.

So the government shouldn’t be relying on ‘open the windows’.

[quote noblegiraffe]The FDA didn’t suggest binning LFTs because of the false positives, but because of the false negatives. That doesn’t suit the Telegraph narrative though. www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/11/us-health-agency-gives-innova-lateral-flow-covid-tests-scathing-review[/quote]
www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4848

It been known that LFT is not good enough for detecting asymptomatic cases since last year www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4848

We are being pushed this narrative that LFT are keeping everyone safe when they've clearly bought too many from a "friend" without even checking accuracy. All that money wasted on PPE that doesn't work too.

Main fails - what gov arent/werent doing

Masks in all school all ages
Need to pcr close contacts
Saliva testing postentially whole school when theres a case
Test when people have any symptoms not just the 3. So include sore throat runny nose etc
When someone in the house had to quarantine for travel then noone should have been allowed to leave. (Especially school kids).

Overall the r cant cope with schools open and pubs. 2 year groups are now out 11/13 so that should be helping. Not sure about unis? Plus private schools must be soon?

The issue is probably mainly cities so having 18+ vax sites is helping them.

Also as cases may be about to rise a lot f2f extracurricular inside does seem silly.
But also dc said their pe was inside - it wasnt even raining.
Weve been blocked from sports day- outside but they have gone ahead with preschool - yr r transition. And are going ahead with rest of the school ffs!!!

It is this lack of logic that doesnt help.

@WaverleyPirate

I'm not a teacher or in education, but anyone with eyes or ears could see this building up.

unfortunately various posters on here have repeatedly proved that this is not the case.