School bubbles & procedures post July 19

[Laquila]

Has anyone seen anything definitive about plans for school procedures around PCR tests, bubbles and SI after July 19th?

I know most schools will have broken up by then but is the expectation that when kids go back in Sept, they won't need to isolate and PCR test for symptoms such as headaches, nausea etc? (Currently the case in our county)

Or are people expecting that only confirmed cases will need to isolate? Or their bubbles too? I know it's speculation really but I don't know whether I've missed anything about this in the news.

I really hope it's all gone by then. It's getting ridiculous now!

I'm really hoping isolation isn't needed in the new school year. Currently homeschooling 2 of my 3 as my year 2 needs to isolate - year 1, 2 and 5 bubbles have 'burst' at his school just today!
Annoying bit is, the school have contacted all of year 2 (not sure about the other years) saying they're close contacts but one of the children they've said that to in an email wasn't there at all last week so even the 'close contact' isn't ringing true.
Not our first, second or even third isolation since last September either!

I think it will continue as children aren’t vaccinated yet.

I can’t see them removing the need to isolate as giving the virus a free reign to spread will just cause more variations surely.

Until pupils are vaccinated I think isolating will stay. We had 10 positive cases over the weekend from one year group and 1 in another. The only time we had no cases in school were when masks were worn in lessons.. utter madness that we are back to this.

It will probably stay. In which case I need to find my kids a new primary school. One with better remote learning provision and not one with fucking worksheets!!!!!!!!!

God I’m mad. Sent home again with worksheets. One child just with 5 pages of maths. (Didn’t fancy giving out any literacy “worksheets” then no?)

Enough is enough.

I just heard someone on Radio 4's PM (Paul Hunter, Professor of Medicine, East Anglia 17.39), saying that by September the approach will probably be to just let kids get it for herd immunity in their age group.

"It will end when most children have had the infection and that will give them some short term protection from infections but long-term infection against severe disease [c. 5.37pm]". Then it dwindles off into being a cold, ultimately.

Which I was a bit surprised by but I guess we'll get used to the idea if that's what they do. It's kind of annoying that they have had to be off such a lot when the idea is they just get it in the end.

long-term protection, not infection...

I was wondering what will happen re isolating for a contact if 'all restrictions are lifted' - and if they're going to get rid of all isolating in 3 weeks' time, why are we enforcing children missing out on everything now?

The numbers of schools with closed bubbles round us is through the roof but I know of no one with children who are ill at all.

It seems like madness to deprive children of exercise, stimulation, eduction and social opportunities when in mere days we're going to jack it all in?

Exactly. It's going to make it a lot harder to stick to the rules when you know in a few weeks it's all off anyway. I guess that they want to vaccinate as many adults as possible before then.

I'm lucky that mine have escaped any isolations since they went back (touch wood!) – but both have had school events in the recent days that I'd have hated for them to miss.

@IceCreamAndCandyfloss

I think it will continue as children aren’t vaccinated yet.

I can’t see them removing the need to isolate as giving the virus a free reign to spread will just cause more variations surely.

Yes, I agree.

But requiring isolation of contacts is not 'removing all restrictions'. Locally to us this is not a minor disruption, it's causing extreme disruption to schools, working parents, sports teams and extra curricular activities etc. None of these kids are ill at all so there has to be a proper assessment of risk and benefit surely?

I'd hope they'd test everyone on return in September to nip any transmission in the bud. silly me being optimistic and wanting kids to be in school.

How I think they're going for a UK education variant next.

This is why they really need to put some more work into moving peoples mindset on vaccinating children, because otherwise the kids'll just cook up a new variant for us every year and it'll be the same old isolate, isolate, close, open, isolate.

@IceCreamAndCandyfloss

I think it will continue as children aren’t vaccinated yet.

I can’t see them removing the need to isolate as giving the virus a free reign to spread will just cause more variations surely.

I take your point but vaccines aren't licensed anywhere in the world for under 12's so what is the long term outlook for primary schools if vaccination is the goal here?

I'm really hoping they'll ditch close contact in favour of regular testing if you're a close contact. It makes no sense that child 1=close contact so has to isolate, no mandatory testing of them during their isolation to check if they're asymptomatic. Meanwhile their siblings remain in school and parents are going about their daily tasks, potentially also asymptomatic and spreading it.

If they changed the rules so that close contacts test with lft every day or every 2 days for the 10 days post-contact with a positive lft result necessitating isolation for the whole household until a PCR confirms either way, it would reduce the amount of time healthy children are imprisoned at home; and it'd also help prevent the spread. We just can't carry on keeping perfectly healthy children at home for weeks on end when there are other options, its barbaric.

Judging by the coughing that's going around all the children at DD's school I suspect people are just not testing so hopefully that means they'll get it within the bubble and that will put an end to it.

@siestalady

Agreed. My oldest is off isolating but my youngest isn’t. They’ve just had a kiss and a cuddle and share a bedroom.

Completely pointless endeavour!!!

Given their past form, the DFE will issue schools with guidance about September w/c 12th July if they’re lucky and during August if they’re not. If I were to guess, I’d say they’ll try to use testing (PCR ideally) as an alternative to self-isolation for close contacts, but I’ve given up hoping for a sensible approach from them now.

I’m hopeful isolating will change soon . Getting silly now we’ve got to isolate to stop the risk on passing it onto someone that probably not even get ill now if you’ve had the vaccine.

@Imnothereforthedrama

I’m hopeful isolating will change soon . Getting silly now we’ve got to isolate to stop the risk on passing it onto someone that probably not even get ill now if you’ve had the vaccine.

Exactly! I'd also be interested to see the data on how many cases have actually sprung up amongst isolating kids v the total no. of isolating kids.

Nice bit of anecdata for you- we've had three bubbles burst at our primary school so far (with a fourth looking likely tomorrow 😑) and not a single case stemming amongst the isolating kids in any of those instances. Thats 87 healthy kids, imprisoned for 10 days each, for absolutely no reason at all. In what fucking world is that ok?

@IceCreamAndCandyfloss

I think it will continue as children aren’t vaccinated yet.

I can’t see them removing the need to isolate as giving the virus a free reign to spread will just cause more variations surely.

There isnt an approved vaccine for under 12s nor is there any plan in the imminent future to vaccinate 12+ dc . Repeated isolation of dc is not sustainable in any way shape or form and could possibly be more detrimental in the long run that covid ever will be, mental health issues, loss of education, pushed into poverty if parents lose their jobs to having too much time off etc etc. There has to become a point where the beneficial balance tips away from isolating children personally i think were already at that point but hey ho

Agree totally with this. I think future generations will look at how children have been treated during this pandemic with utter astonishment and horror.

This cannot continue, I think they are just leaving it in place for now as it's summer but In September definitely not, I think Chris Whitty has already said as much.

They need to just let kids get it now, most of them have probably had it and been symptomless. It's mad that whole year groups have to isolate for one child having it - it's clearly being spread around the schools anyway, keeping the kids apart is just prolonging the agony!

Covid isn't going anywhere and kids aren't going to be vaccinated any time soon, once the adults are vaccinated we need to get back to normal.

Welcome to the autumn term

schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-tells-schools-to-prepare-for-return-of-on-site-covid-testing-in-september/

@IsThisJustLife

I just heard someone on Radio 4's PM (Paul Hunter, Professor of Medicine, East Anglia 17.39), saying that by September the approach will probably be to just let kids get it for herd immunity in their age group.

"It will end when most children have had the infection and that will give them some short term protection from infections but long-term infection against severe disease [c. 5.37pm]". Then it dwindles off into being a cold, ultimately.

Which I was a bit surprised by but I guess we'll get used to the idea if that's what they do. It's kind of annoying that they have had to be off such a lot when the idea is they just get it in the end.

I always thought that too. We delayed them getting it for adults which made sense, but doesn’t really anymore.