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.

How can schools improve ventilation in classrooms?

Are you suggesting new windows throughout every school in the country?

If there was sufficient money forthcoming from government (ha ha) what, exactly, would your like to see happen to make next year as close to normal as possible? Not just 'improve ventilation! Mitigation methods!'.

ICECream821

With vaccine rates high and low hospital admissions they really need to push to the end of term.

They have "pushed" to the breaks in schools twice now.
It did not help in anyway.

We are already ready (secondary teacher) and already plan for pupils in and out of school. Luckily my school is great and we tell pupils to do their lessons a day later so we can upload at the end of the day (so they are up to date and any changes made in the lesson can be included, plus you are not pushed to do first thing)

The contingency plans the government had last year were sensible but never used. We all want to be in school (kids need to be in school!) safely and I can’t stand the thought of more remote learning that could possibly be avoidable with proper planning.

I know so many people say we’re all making sacrifices but imagine being 16 and losing all of the things you have lost in the last year - proms, driving, holidays witr friends, 18th parties. It’s awful.

I can’t bear out incompetent government. They have failed all of us and especially our kids

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.

I’m not sure your data is correct, particularly about adults being more transmissive. Anything that talked about children being less transmissive usually referred to under 10s. We know at Christmas that SAGE said the most likely index case in a household was a school child and that they were much more likely to pass it onto family members than adult to adult family member.

Test and trace certainly had educational settings as the highest risk last week. As for case rates in 20-24 year olds, are you just talking about this week?

@TotorosCatBus

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 thing about that is that it’s people changing behaviour because of negative LFTs that led to the FDA issuing a class 1 recall. That’s what’s causing the risk to health & life. In the U.K. it’s the government virtually encouraging people to change behaviour based on LFTs.

Are you suggesting new windows throughout every school in the country?

No. Germany purchased machines that would improve ventilation for their schools and public places.

CO2 monitors in classrooms would identify which classrooms needed urgent intervention. Some are much worse than others.

@noblegiraffe

Are you suggesting new windows throughout every school in the country?

No. Germany purchased machines that would improve ventilation for their schools and public places.

CO2 monitors in classrooms would identify which classrooms needed urgent intervention. Some are much worse than others.

Ok that seems reasonable. Our primary school has massive opening windows and an external door in every classroom which have all been open since the schools went back, every class also has its own garden which they use daily for outdoor lessons. Plenty of ventilation there, they are lucky. the secondary is a 60's building with more dubious windows, especially on the upper floors.

Hmmm....I'm a teacher. My school has done amazingly well, we still can't quite believe how we've got this far with what feels like the minimum of fuss. However, we have 2 year groups out at the moment and an unprecedented number of diagnosed cases (unprecedented for us, low compared with what I have read is happening in some schools). We are still using masks (private school) as well.

My children's school lost a member of staff back in November but has otherwise also done very well for infections. I have lost count, however, of how many 'we have had a confirmed case in school' letters I've had this week.

As a parent of a child with type 1 diabetes, the whole thing is depressingly worrying.

Reachersloveinterest

Are you suggesting new windows throughout every school in the country?

Even if were being suggested, it is unlikely that the windows would be allowed to open more than about three inches.

CO2 monitors in classrooms would identify which classrooms needed urgent intervention. Some are much worse than others.

Wouldn’t be any use in our school.
What would the intervention be? Close the classroom? Windows open a fraction of at all.
No spare or vacant classrooms for classes to move to.

@4PawsGood

And I’m not seeing ‘plan for the worst’. It says

“Covid: Schools told to plan for more remote learning

DfE also asks schools to draw up plans to bring back virus testing sites and to reintroduce face masks.

The DfE have told schools to prepare to restrict attendance, reintroduce testing and bring back masks in classrooms in case it is decided this is needed in their areas
Schools have been told to ensure they have plans in place to be restrict attendance and reintroduce asymptomatic testing sites in case this is needed in their local area to combat Covid.“

Yes I agree, this thread title is misleading and designed to provoke anxiety.

Schools have always planned for the worst in things like fire drills, what was previously known as lockdown (as in staying inside in case of an outside threat), a pupil or member of staff dying. Planning for them doesn't mean that they will inevitably happen, but should they do, then the members of a school are kept more safe, than if planning is not in place.

Or are you suggesting MLT replace windows in classrooms identified as being a problem?

Wouldn’t be any use in our school. What would the intervention be?

Machines to improve ventilation such as those purchased by governments in other countries.

Don’t know where MLT came from! 🤣

TheSunShinesBright

Noble also posted

Germany purchased machines that would improve ventilation for their schools and public places

Since I started reading this thread, I've actually had an email from DC's school telling me that he needs to self-isolate!!!!!! There was me thinking 'Ooh, wonder what the rates in my area are like? Haven't heard much about a hotspot here...oh.'

Also since had a follow-up email about remote learning from Mon. Poor, poor, bloody teachers. So close to the end of term too.

I 100% blame the DfE and the Government for the utter shambles they have created in schools. And have the utmost respect for the actual schools & staff holding it together despite the totally unhelpful 'advice' from DfE and lack of decent funding to actually DO something instead of just sticking their fingers in their ears and blaming everyone else for their cock-up.

@noblegiraffe

Wouldn’t be any use in our school. What would the intervention be?

Machines to improve ventilation such as those purchased by governments in other countries.

Cheaper to replace windows surely?

Masks wouldn't stop it though. They are on and off and some dirty and the 2 children in one of my children's school got it from a family gathering at half term.

2 other schools have lots of children isolating as close contacts for similar reasons, none of which would have been prevented by mask wearing in school.

Cheaper to replace windows surely?

Depend on if replacing the windows would actually solve the problem. See my post about the classrooms I teach in where open windows aren’t helping.

I understand though for our area at least it is younger people and children that are infected and not serious cases which is good at least.

It makes sense to have plans in place, surely?
Im a key worker, but DH isn't, so my DC's stayed at home all through the school closures. DD is starting yr7 in September. Assuming it's allowed im going to send her in. She really struggled with homeschooling, so i'm going to take the opportunity that must of my friends did last time around and take up a key worker space.

But every measure has some preventative effect and some children were wearing them properly.

It was completely mad abandoning safety measures before the population was vaccinated. Truly, we are led by donkeys.

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.

But a child of (say) 15 is in school in close contact (social distancing impossible) with many others of their own age - in the tens and hundreds - for six or more hours a day, five days a week, in the classrooms we have heard described with no adequate ventilation and in some cases no face coverings. Also in crowded corridors and canteens. And the adults they are in regular contact with in school are in the same unsafe environment.
It’s pretty clear that child is more likely to get infected in school.

The ventilation extractors should be a priority to be installed where classrooms have poor ventilation as a start.

The contingency plans in a situation of high rates, would be a terrible idea in my infant school as we’d be jammed packed in, whereas the junior school up the road would be standing completely empty!