School guidance post 19th July

[JS87]

I’ve seen the government guidance for schools post July 19th. It states that contacts from school will only be traced by nhs test and trace where the positive case specifically identifies the individual as being a close contact.
For primary school age children I imagine they’d probably either name their friends or have no clue and name no-one?

Do you think this will work in practise?

What's step 4?

And will work how?

That will be interesting in ds's special school. No one in his class can talk. Although it will only apply until August for kids anyway.

Doesn't it just mean the app will do it?

I expect T&T will contact primary schools and nurseries to help identify any adults who have had close contact with the child.
Children won't be required to isolate anyway.

@Bryonyshcmyony

Doesn't it just mean the app will do it?

Most children won't have the app, and particularly not in school or early years settings.

Children are still required to isolate for ten days if they are close contacts of a positive case until 18th august.

Judging from the fact that my daughter tested positive over a week ago and I still haven't heard from test & trace (I have let her close contacts know) I don't hold up much hope of this working...

I'm imagining the conversation. Lilly age 5 tests positive, her mum takes the call.

Test and trace: could you tell us who Lilly has been in close contact with
Lilly's mum: she was at school so I'm not sure
Test and trace: can you ask Lilly?
Lilly's Mum: calls Lilly and asks 'who were you playing with yesterday at school?'
Lilly: Ben and Jessie and then we had a story with Miss Jones and sat on the carpet. Then I played with fluffy and we had tea in the kitchen and made sandcastles.
Test and trace: okay so Ben, Jessie, Miss Jones and fluffy?! What are there full names? Can we have contact details?
Lilly's Mum: I'm not sure they are all people, I don't think she has a friend called fluffy... It might be a soft toy rabbit from school? Miss Jones is her teacher but I don't have contact details for her, you could ring the school for that?

At this point test and trace will either have to ring the school or give up. I'd imagine for most infant children the person they are most likely to identify at school is the teacher...

I thought the schools were doing their own track and trace?

It is so confusing. There is no way children are likely to correctly identify close contacts yet guidance says school will only be asked to provide contacts in exceptional circumstances.
So does this mean in all likelihood no-one from school will be asked to isolate or will children and their parents name some random children in their class and they will be made to isolate.

@quiteathome

I thought the schools were doing their own track and trace?

Not from July 19th. Responsibility then moves to nhs test and trace.

But it's a world class test and trace system costing billions, surely it can cope!!!

I had missed that part @JS87. I suspect schools will carry on as they are to be fair. Test and trace will probably ask the schools.

One week and a day to go here.

Schools have been advised to carry on with current systems until the break for summer

@MediocrePenguin does that mean if children told to isolate as a bubble no longer need to from the end of term as the system has ended?

@ArianaG I don't quite understand what you mean. They won't be in a bubble as term has ended so they would just isolate as anyone else until the isolation rules change mid August.

@FlagsFiend

There was a webinar yesterday from DFE, that made it clear that they expect virtually no contacts to be identified in school, the example given was if a child had been to a sleepover , a very close and prolonged contact’. Contacts will not be defined as they are now , there I’ll be a new definition I imagine coming out school.

@MediocrePenguin Not all schools have broken up. Ours are due to do so on Weds, although there will be no children left at this rate with bubbles closing everywhere.

Changes from Monday are therefore very relevant for many.

@Passthesauce. Our local secondary school only has 1 full year in at the moment, they are due to close Wednesday as well.

@Mindymomo What a nightmare! We had been unbelievably lucky at my children's primary but it's all kicked off since half term. 4/7 year groups currently off (single form entry), including all of my three (although the cases aren't coming through siblings but from elsewhere from what I can see).

Poor kids.

Our schools don't close for the summer until next week on Friday.

Keeping fingers crossed they make it. Both my children want a proper end to the year.

My DS at age 5 would have waxed lyrical to the test and trace operative about what he had eaten for school dinners but would have forgotten who he had sat next to either at lunchtime or at any other time at school!

Seems the answer to this is that they won't do contact tracing in schools.