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?

Every time there’s a case in our school we have to submit our seating plan from that class and they work out close contacts.

So primary school kids sit in the same places every day?

Probs not in reception; I imagine that’s a free for all!

We've just had a letter from our nursery explaining this. I don't see how it can possibly work. They're two year olds, and because of lockdown and staggered handovers, etc. I don't really know any of the other parents (I don't have their contact details) and I don't know any of the other children's surnames. So I'm not going to able to help Test and Trace identify contacts from nursery. But the nursery say they're not going to do contact tracing.

So presumably we're just giving up on isolation for kids now, and it will officially end 18 August?

@Bryonyshcmyony

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

no primary children will have the app!

@Morred

We've just had a letter from our nursery explaining this. I don't see how it can possibly work. They're two year olds, and because of lockdown and staggered handovers, etc. I don't really know any of the other parents (I don't have their contact details) and I don't know any of the other children's surnames. So I'm not going to able to help Test and Trace identify contacts from nursery. But the nursery say they're not going to do contact tracing.

So presumably we're just giving up on isolation for kids now, and it will officially end 18 August?

There won't be any contact tracing of children in the nursery, only if you met them outside of nursery eg your child had a sleepover party.

this is quite shockingly badly thought out. Or is it that some government numpty assumed all schools closed from 19th?

@Frazzled2207 it is as well thought out as the rest of the Government guidance for Education through the pandemic has been!

This is also quite concerning as it takes away the choice of the parent. If littlejab has been in a class with a case, which we are currently notified about we avoid grandparents for 10 days even if we don't have to isolate, under this new regime we wouldn't know

@zoeydollie But for nursery-aged kids, their main contacts are going to be their friends they are all over every day. (Nursery do their best, but toddlers are hard to social distance!)

I'm not particularly upset or wound up about it, but it is basically giving up on one of the main places contact will occur. I can of course tell them if we've been with granny or friends for a BBQ or whatever.

Going by previous occurrences I imagine they will publish new guidance for schools (involving a hundred pages of new protocol for HT and schools) at around 5pm on 2nd September....

@Pinuporc

Going by previous occurrences I imagine they will publish new guidance for schools (involving a hundred pages of new protocol for HT and schools) at around 5pm on 2nd September....

You give them more credit that me, I was thinking 11pm

And then revise it at 11.30pm when they realise there is a mistake in it!

@Whichjab

This is also quite concerning as it takes away the choice of the parent. If littlejab has been in a class with a case, which we are currently notified about we avoid grandparents for 10 days even if we don't have to isolate, under this new regime we wouldn't know

you'd hope the setting would still let you know even if your child not sent home. But perhaps not.

Honestly this is so ridiculous they should just either close all schools now (round here most are hanging by a thread) or otherwise cancel close contact isolation.

Letting them basically interpret the rules themselves and the stress that that involves is just not fair on any of them.

I’m assuming a setting wouldn’t be able to tell you who has tested positive as they aren’t meant to now, but I suppose they could say there has been a positive case and test and trace will be in contact if necessary, so you then get a heads up to modify your behaviour eg not see grandparents

[quote Morred]@zoeydollie But for nursery-aged kids, their main contacts are going to be their friends they are all over every day. (Nursery do their best, but toddlers are hard to social distance!)

I'm not particularly upset or wound up about it, but it is basically giving up on one of the main places contact will occur. I can of course tell them if we've been with granny or friends for a BBQ or whatever.[/quote]
I think that’s the point though - there’s not going to be any contact tracing or isolating for children, they’re letting it run its natural course in under 18s.

Covid will be treated the same way as chicken pox - the sick child will stay at home and the school/nursery may let parents know it is going around, but the expectation seems to be most children will now catch it.

On the other hand, we’ve just had a letter from Gateshead council via schools and nurseries telling us that rule change or no rule change, they are going to keep bubbles and isolations going until the end of term…