This is absolute nonsense

[infinitemadness]

I have a son in Year 3 at Primary School. They are operating in year group bubbles but there are 2 classes in each year. This is the 4th time this year his year group 'bubble' has burst and we've really had enough now. 4th time this year of self-isolating for him. He plays for a football team but has had to miss so many training sessions and matches due to having to self-isolate. 4th time this year of not being able to socialise with any of his friends. 4th time this year I've had to take time off work. Each time it's been a child from the other class who's tested positive so chances are he's not even been anywhere near them anyway which is even more annoying. He's spent all afternoon crying. When does this end? It's ridiculous. I hate seeing him so upset and there's nothing I can do about it.

The answer was zero covid borders shut in Feb last year. This doesn't happen in Australia or New Zealand anywhere near as much.

He could join the Scottish football team, then he can do as he pleases without having to isolate 🤷‍♀️. Just make sure he deletes any photos of close contact with the infected person of his Insta and he’s good to go!

My 2 children are in secondary school and have both had to self isolate this term (at different times). There are 1400 pupils at the school, approx 300 per year 'bubble' so at the moment, with the indian variant, if one pupil tests positive, the whole year has to self-isolate. They may not even know or have been anywhere near this pupil.

We are told they have to do LFT's twice a week but they are irrelevant if someone in their year has tested positive so what's the point?!

Walking to school and back is the only exercise they get (teenagers who don't like sports) so being cooped up in the house for 10 days at a time just isn't good for them (or me)!

I am counting down the days until the summer holidays and praying that we don't get any more "your child must self-isolate" messages between now and then.

I don't even know who they are protecting any more as surely most staff in schools will be vaccinated and those who don't want to be - well that's on them. The students aren't getting ill with it so surely they should just be able to get on with their education now.

OP
If you don't have T&T on your back, I'd ignore it. The child who tested positive is clearly not a close contact.

I have stuck to the rules so far as well, even though the latest pupil to test positive (sending the whole year group home) was apparently out and about with their mates during those 10 days so makes me less likely to continue!

**“It ends when people stop complying with rules and guidelines that overstep common sense.”
————
Or in other words it ends when more people die including possibly someone you know. Long Covid is not pleasant either as these forever evolving variants also hit children badly.

Basically if you want sustainable openness pre 2019 style then test test test and take risk mitigation seriously along with vaccination for the older population 18+ and hope there are no new mutations of vaccine escape!

So test test test to separate and treat the ill away from the healthy who can keep life moving along and so less impacting on health and wealth and general wellbeing including in person schooling when even formerly superficial risk mitigation like some masks are now unmasked etc. Splash of hand sanitiser on entry to school is not going to cut it if there is constant weak link “inadvertent” asymptomatic Covid tag shared hop on hop off mass public transportation and with everyone self declared “mass exempt”? Schools with no or lack of (optional non mandatory?) testing are still open until someone is actually symptomatically ill with Covid so tested to confirm and hence the whole bubble who are possibly all negative are disproportionately also asked to hibernate too! Possibly not only no testing but some parents disregard lateral flow positives ie perhaps the usual ones who drug (with prescribed or over the counter medicines) their child when ill with colds and bacteria infections and still pack them off to school selfishly and with no regard for their child’s or others health and safety. It’s not rocket science just basic medical science. If you are constantly tested negative with confirmative PCR negatives too then why need to self isolate unless no one takes risk mitigation seriously?

A bit off point, but why are the school operating in year group bubbles? Surely class bubbles would make much more sense, that’s what they are doing at DD’s school.

@GromblesOfGrimbledon

It ends when people stop complying with rules and guidelines that overstep common sense.

I'm so sorry your son is struggling. I know a lot of kids like him going through the same. It's pathetic. More and more parents are simply ignoring instructions for their children to isolate.

YES! Exactly this ..... people need to wake the fuck up and stop complying to this utter tripe.

It ends when people stop complying with rules and guidelines that overstep common sense.

This.

It ends when people stop complying with rules and guidelines that overstep common sense

True but this when it comes to school, you are stuck. If they say the bubble has to isolate then there's nothing you can do. It's impossible to break the rules, they literally won't accept your child into the building

Your poor son. My little one has had to isolate 7 times since September but he didn’t have any organised sports to miss out on. We still took him for walks etc but just drove a bit further away so we were less likely to see anyone we knew.

Can you do some lovely days out with him? He’s unlikely to be able to train at the coach will be hamstrung by the rules as well. Can you go to a local theme park/RHS garden/beach? Somewhere normally packed you wouldn’t touch with a barge pole in the weekend or school holidays could be really lovely and accessible now.

@Retrievemysanity

A bit off point, but why are the school operating in year group bubbles? Surely class bubbles would make much more sense, that’s what they are doing at DD’s school.

It could be to do with lunch and playtime-probably not enough space for each class to have its own area in the playground at this particular school.

Schools operate their own track and trace and are told not to pass on to NHS Track and Trace to deal with. It’s why staff had to work over Christmas as they were still having to do their own track/test and trace. PHE and the Dept for Ed will have been informed and guided at the OP’s school.

Please ignore some incorrect advice on here OP.

I do hope that those contributing on this thread are finally acknowledging what thousands and thousands of children and young people have had to do since self isolation last September and why education staff have been desperate for better funding and guidance on how to keep more children physically in school, rather than being told to pipe down and get on with it.

These poor children and staff, I am so sorry OP.

It’s crazy. Email your MP. Stop complying when that’s possible. There has to be better management than this.

I would stop complying. Who does it benefit him suffering longer? The elderly and vulnerable are jabbed.

@ChloeDecker ah, thanks.

In France hardly any parents test their kids anymore for this exact reason. It is detrimental to the children and they can’t afford the time off work. Even the teachers and assistants are the same and it’s common for parents to know about families with positive cases still sending other children to school. And look where France is with case numbers, better than the uk!

I agree, the way forward it to stop testing and wake up to this bollocks for the sake of our children.

The powers that be will have to base their decisions on actual hospitalisations and deaths then, which currently don’t justify any of this carry on.

How do you stop complying though when school won't let your children in if their year has to self-isolate (secondary so no 'class' bubbles) and then send you numerous messages threatening you that if your child is seen outside their house during those 10 days, they are breaking the law?

@Sunshineandflipflops

I have stuck to the rules so far as well, even though the latest pupil to test positive (sending the whole year group home) was apparently out and about with their mates during those 10 days so makes me less likely to continue!

God that’s insane isn’t it. A child with no symptoms isolating while a child who’s tested positive is out and about.

I reckon the rules will change for September. The gov just can’t be bothered to do anything about it for the last few weeks before the end of the school year. Just like 2020, when they couldn’t be bothered to get all year groups back in for a bit of time each to make it fair. There’s no economic benefit to them so they couldn’t give a monkeys.

It’s not right op and four times is horrendous

I was on the other thread too. It’s absolutely crazy, my DD(13) is currently at home having to self isolate after someone tested positive on her school bus last Tuesday. Despite doing 2 negative tests she can’t go back to school until Monday. She wasn’t even sitting anywhere near the positive case and was only on the bus for 20 mins. I am so sick of it now, there has surely got to be a better way of managing this in schools!

You have the Us For Them twats to thank for this. Instead of campaigning for better mitigations in schools such as air filtration systems they campaigned for no masks. Well done!

Cases are being allowed to increase in community as hospitalisation/ case link weakens yet we have to keep every known single case out of a school through isolation

It really is ludicrous children are bearing this through repeated isolation

If you take him to football when he should be isolating they may well ban him. Plus i imagine there could be a fine as school notifying you is in place of t&t

I'm also tearing my hair out trying to work from home now while constantly up and down sorting him out and the mountain of homeschooling he's been given. It's bollocks.

I want to write to MP but they’re Labour. Not sure they’re more help than hindrance these days. Cons probably just dismiss