Schools not having to isolate when in contact of virus

[Baileysforchristmas]

There is hope this will stop after September.

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jun/28/ministers-set-to-end-automatic-isolation-for-pupils-in-england

I so hope this actually happens! We’re on our fourth period of isolation at the moment, and cannot keep doing this indefinitely.

Ditto, I hope it happens soon. If we are going to be opening up the country (I'm looking at you Euro 2020) and do away with masks, then kids can't keep being forced off school. Covid as a whole is @ affecting their education, social skills, and mental health plus the damage its also doing to their parents careers and income having to last minute arrange to wfh (if they can) or take time off unpaid if they cant wfh, employers are going to (or already have) become less understanding.

I’m just wondering as a teacher whether I’ll be allowed/expected to work if I contract Covid, and whether as parents they would be happy knowing their teacher could be potentially exposing 200+ pupils a day to the virus?

Have you thought about what WONT be happening at school to allow this to happen?
You wont be getting any science experiments, Food or D&T support, the library will be closed, the maintenance will be cut to bare minimum because those staff will be testing. The the inside halls will be closed.
It's not as straightforward as it sounds (currently in a school with 10% of Y10 having tested positive, I'm glad they have sent them all home).

Why would you be made to continue to work if you contracted covid?

They're going to test the children more regularly instead.

I knew those lucrative contracts would never simply end on July 19th.

Hopefully at that point self isolation for contacts can stop for everyone except those who actually have covid.

If they test in school that is dd losing her 6th Form Common room again.
Already lost her opportunity to take GCSEs and all end of year 11 activities etc. Plus a lot of year 12 teaching.
Damn you COVID

What are they going to do for primary aged children? My daughter was distraught having a PCR test done there is no way I could convince her to have daily tests or my 4 year old. I know of 3 primary bubbles bursting last week and we have had them bursting at our school throughout but testing for primary aged children is not an answer.
Once again they are treating schools with a blanket policy even though there are huge differences in how secondary and primary schools are run.

About damn time this was stopped! Most teachers must be vaccinated at least once by now and should mostly be fully vaccinated by the start of next academic year. I'm happy to test my DC daily if it meant they didn't have to isolate.

My DS primary school are fully prepared to go back to normal in September and my DD hasn't missed out on anything except having a locker. All her classes and sports clubs have been running as normal. Zero cases in either school for months.

I don't know how I feel about this. It's great for the children whose schools were sending whole year groups home. Our secondary was only sending close contacts home, I think a year group sent home for a day while contacts were determined once. DS has never had to isolate because of school. I'm concerned about the testing though, there is an horrible amount of waste in home kits and the looming environmental crisis is far far bigger than covid.

Testing in place of self isolation is much better for the majority though, surely? Test on x days during the isolation period, perhaps they could use a model similar to the green travel one.

Or perhaps move to the whole country only testing for symptoms or of a household contact/very close contact has covid?

Tbh once it's autumn term all adults will have been offered both vaccines so maybe we need to move to this approach for all, including for travel unless it's deemed a country with a very high rate (and have that rate actually written down so we know, rather than it appearing to be arbitrary) I know the vaccine isn't perfect for all CEV, but there will need to come a time when we move forward, and once the majority are double vaccinated and all adults have been offered it then maybe it's time to find the next way of managing it.

Testing children at home simply won't be done. The vast majority will say yes and won't do it. It is a laughable policy. I think we ate gearing up for a winter of denial.

Cansu - secondaries are being told to plan for in-school testing apparently, so not sure it would happen at home

No mention of primary in the report I read.

In all of it I do actually think it should be the same rule for all. I don't think it should be a different rule for children and a different rule for adults, especially when adults will be the ones who are fully vaccinated. If self isolation is scrapped for children then maybe it's time for it to be scrapped for all except the closest contacts or those who are positive.

It’s ridicules. I have two kids - 1 in primary - very bright - has had enough and absolutely refuses to do home schooling when we are told he has to self isolate. 2nd in secondary - has SEN - again refuses to HS. We did brilliantly in both the previous lockdowns- we all weirdly enjoyed it. But both have said enough, they want to be with their friends. And if I’m honest I’m PROUD of them for saying “I’m done with this rubbish”. Because so am I. I’m expecting a phone call from the schools and will say - politely - exactly this. I CANNOT reconcile that you can have big sports events, festivals and no school. The person who has it isnt even in their classes, both my kids have had daily lateral flow tests. Please let this change!!!!!!

At some point they need to drop the isolation rule for everyone. Once people are circulating normally it won't make any sense.

@motherrunner

I’m just wondering as a teacher whether I’ll be allowed/expected to work if I contract Covid, and whether as parents they would be happy knowing their teacher could be potentially exposing 200+ pupils a day to the virus?

I’m sorry but that’s a silly comment of course nobody would expect anyone who’s tested positive to carry on but those that are contacts shouldn’t need too keep isolating. I’m a bit disappointed in your comment I’ll be honest as a teacher you must have seen repeated isolation for the children and the negative impact on schooling ? .

@motherrunner

I’m just wondering as a teacher whether I’ll be allowed/expected to work if I contract Covid, and whether as parents they would be happy knowing their teacher could be potentially exposing 200+ pupils a day to the virus?

What a weird post , why on earth would you still go to work if you tested positive?

Or is this an attempt at sarcasm because you think all kids are carriers / spreaders / infectious and we should continue to do the full class and year isolations forever ?

I would probably be happier if the LFTs were fit for purpose.

Not being sarcastic. I misread the article. Thought it meant isolations to stop period if most people have no to mild symptoms.

@bonbonours

At some point they need to drop the isolation rule for everyone. Once people are circulating normally it won't make any sense.

Yes exactly, because everyone will be isolating and schools/businesses etc will not be able to function. Before when cases were rising like this we were in lockdown or looking at lockdown with lots of restrictions so a) it limited contacts and b) schools and lots of businesses were closed anyway.

Now were are looking at a situations of lots of people mixing, everything open and functioning and still having to isolate if you are a contact.

It's not going to work is it?

Seen a lot of panic about this. At the moment looking at hospital cases etc the risk of doing this is low, yes it could change but then surely we go back to full isolation? I get the worry but the rules now don't make sense anyway. Say DD is a close contact she isolates, the rest of the house carry on as normal? Meanwhile 60k people will be at the Wembley final?

Seventh period of isolation. Two jobs lost, third one about to go.

I am royally fucked off. In fact I’ve never been so fucked off in my whole entire life.

@motherrunner

More than happy knowing that. The problem lies in school cultures with SLT whereby staff are not allowed to have days off ill so it’s nothing new is it? Teachers have been going to school I’ll with various viruses forever. Now I don’t think that’s right but it is the way that schools operate. Covid will be no different in the end and you will not be the only infectious person in the school no doubt.

Parents want kids to be in school all the time even alongside covid. Vaccinations have changed the landscape now. People are not that frightened.

@Chillychangchoo that’s awful, women and children have suffered the most, adults going about there day but children constantly isolating, it’s madness, that’s why my daughter doesn’t test anymore neither do her friends, guess what no cases at my daughter’s school and no one’s ill. The school is fully open, not one case of Covid.