Schools won’t pop bubbles from Monday

[Yellowmellow2]

Not sure if this has already been covered, apologies if it has! From Monday, schools no longer have responsibility for track and trace. If there’s a positive case, NHS Track and Trace are responsible and will just contact close contacts who will have to isolate. Trying to get primary children to identify close contacts will be interesting!

Yes, parents aren’t aware of this change.

The guidance says that T&T will only contact school if it’s deemed an outbreak.

Goodness know how asking the positive child for close contacts will work in practise. T&t might be on strike by Tuesday!

Our local council has advised that schools in our district will be continuing to do T&T until end of term (23 July). This us due to the fact that we are now at 700 per 10000 cases

Our LA has asked schools to keep existing procedures in place for the last week. Rates are very high here though

@OliveTree75

Our LA has asked schools to keep existing procedures in place for the last week. Rates are very high here though

Wonder if you are in same LA as me. G?

Yes, in my very large LA bubbles and isolation are continuing.

Yes, in maintained schools the headteacher and chair of governors are responsible for the delicious to close based on their risk assessments. The LA may want to 'check' their decision making but it would take a lot for them to over rule.

How are track and trace going to contact children directly. My children have phones but the school don’t have the numbers and they don’t need to as they have they have parents number

T&T aren’t allowed to talk to kids, they have to talk to the parents.

Schools mainly don't break up until July 23 rd here

@Yellowmellow2 we have had a letter from the head of public health for Gateshead from both primary schools and nursery telling us that schools will still send pupils home to self isolate, not track and trace until the end of term.

I’m not sure how much legal weighting it has based on the new guidance, but the letter was pretty categoric that that was the way it was going to be and we, as parents, are expected to enforce the isolation.

This is doing my head in... our school breaks up on 23 July and our head is maintaining the bubble system. For the week after, I have my lo's signed up to holiday camp then we go on holiday in the uk. Do I send them in and risk a positive case igniting the whole isolation system (just coming out of our second consecutive KS1 10-day isolation). Or, do I keep them home, kill my productivity for work and deprive them the needed socialisation. DH and I are besides ourselves with the decision 🤯

@NoGoodOptions we’re in a very similar situation.

@NoGoodOptions me too. I’m a secondary teacher but break up on Wednesday. Trying to work out whether to pull 3 DC’s out for the last 2 days just in case…

I'll be glad when all these stupid expressions like "bubbles bursting" and "bubbles popping" go away!

Another important point is that, even if schools do decide to continue with track and trace, they can’t enforce that people self-isolate, only NHS Track and Trace can enforce.

@OliveTree75

Our LA has asked schools to keep existing procedures in place for the last week. Rates are very high here though

Same here too. Our LA have also advised our school to stick with bubbles & continue contact tracing until the end of term. Ours are about to go back for the last few days of term after a full school closure & I’m so worried this could mean a 3rd period of isolation for DS, he’s just done 2 almost back to back

@Yellowmellow2

Another important point is that, even if schools do decide to continue with track and trace, they can’t enforce that people self-isolate, only NHS Track and Trace can enforce.

Presumably school can advise T&T which parents needs calls.

Schools have only been told that they will need to help T&T in exceptional circumstances.

Test and Trace have no hope of getting and contacting the close contacts of kids. Most schools have either broken up or are about to though and by the time they go back isolation of under 18s will have ended altogether so this is a very temporary thing anyway.

How will test and trace know the contact details of close contact school children - the majority of primary school children are not going to know contact details of their friends? Surely schools are not allowed to pass details onto test and trace unless they have permission from parents? I think schools will be doing a lot more than what the guidance suggests.

Test and trace do not have the resources to follow up anything like the numbers the UK has going on at the moment.

My sons school texted this morning to say his entire year group must isolate due to a positive case they have just had reported. So no school this final week. I'm so fed up with it all. His education is so disrupted and he is bored and frustrated. I'm so tempted to just ignore it. This is his 4th isolation period via the school plus all the lock downs. It's a ridiculous system.

Hothammock

I'm so tempted to just ignore it.

Can you explain what you mean by this?
If you send him in they will just send him home.

@Nix32

No, not all schools. Some have decided to follow the rules until the end of term.

Our local authority has advised us to keep to current rules until the end of term- 23rd July.

Our nursery is keeping the bubbles for now.. 🤷🏼‍♀️ However, on 16th August children legally do not have to isolate on close contact so it’ll be interesting to see what nursery do with that. As I’m not paying to keep my child at home when legally, they don’t have to be!

@Bobholll

Our nursery is keeping the bubbles for now.. 🤷🏼‍♀️ However, on 16th August children legally do not have to isolate on close contact so it’ll be interesting to see what nursery do with that. As I’m not paying to keep my child at home when legally, they don’t have to be!

Yes, most settings are keeping bubbles for now but it’s the test and trace arrangements that change tomorrow. No longer the school’s responsibility.