So are they preparing schools for LFTs for close contacts?

[Regulus]

It's been said that U18 and the double jabbed won't have to isolate if they are a close contact from 16 August.

This has been taken at face value.

This new report from Oxford says testing for close contacts is a successful way to avoid isolation and that

Prof Paul Hunter, from the University of East Anglia, said schools would probably still need some controls on their return

"At least daily testing... will have less harm on children's education than the current exclusion policy, whether or not it has real benefit in controlling the epidemic,"

So what is the plan, close contacts of primary get tested daily?
Senior school children get tested daily but if they don't agree/can't will they still need to isolate (and therefore will teachers still need to be prepared with online work?)

Why tout the idea of normal school in September when this is not possible?

Do you work in a school @palacegirl77?

@palacegirl77
If theyve had 2 vaccs, they shouldnt get that ill. If they do, once theyre better they will have antibodies and it wont happen again. Funny how teachers are in such a perilous situation yet somehow theyve not caught it in the last 18 months (Thought schools were riddled?)

Crikey, you are very certain about Covid and the vaccines. You didn’t answer the question about your job. Perhaps you are a scientist? When you state teachers haven’t ‘caught it in the last 18 months’, are you referring to the whole teaching profession? So you believe that not one teacher has ‘caught it’. Interesting. Are you quite sure about this?

In simple words (yet again), being doubly vaccinated will stop most people dying (which is fantastic). It does not stop people getting ill. Being ill means you can’t work. A ‘mild’ case of Covid might mean you can’t work for days. If teachers can’t work, schools won’t open as classes are taught and supervised by adults. This means parents will need to stay at home with their children. Children will not have ANY work to do as ill teachers won’t set work, not even worksheets. As I suspect you are a parent of a non-vulnerable child, I won’t even begin to mention the impact on CV children but staff sickness will affect the asymptotic, non-vulnerable children who are barely affected by Covid too

Basically, parents will be the ones picking up the pieces next term. I hope your job pays you to stay at home so you can supervise your children. I hope your children are motivated enough to work independently. Good luck.

This is absolute nonsense. If this actually happened it would be front page news!
Believe what you want. However it wouldn't be of any interest to the press; there are far to many cases for this to be news.

Funny how teachers are in such a perilous situation yet somehow theyve not caught it in the last 18 months (Thought schools were riddled?)
It isn't just teachers in a perilous situation, it is everyone - jabbed or unjabbed, already had covid or never had it. Many schools were riddled with it but now mist of the country is. As cases rise, so will hospitalisations and deaths (albeit at a lower rate than previously). Letting close contacts back to work/ school will increase everyone's risk.

@lonelyplanet

This is absolute nonsense. If this actually happened it would be front page news! Believe what you want. However it wouldn't be of any interest to the press; there are far to many cases for this to be news.

Funny how teachers are in such a perilous situation yet somehow theyve not caught it in the last 18 months (Thought schools were riddled?)
It isn't just teachers in a perilous situation, it is everyone - jabbed or unjabbed, already had covid or never had it. Many schools were riddled with it but now mist of the country is. As cases rise, so will hospitalisations and deaths (albeit at a lower rate than previously). Letting close contacts back to work/ school will increase everyone's risk.

Not to mention the school children who are expected to catch it, although the word that comes to mind is criminal.

@mrshoho

I'm of the opinion now that school staff should now just switch off from it on here and avoid expressing our valid concerns about September. As we found from last Summer our point of view was disregarded and derided and we had no control over our expected working conditions.

mrshohoYes, you’re probably right. They will reap what they sow. Unfortunately their children suffer too.

You know parents have absolutely no control over teachers working environments so how exactly will they reap what they sow?? What a strange thing to say.
An opinion on MN has absolutely no bareing on RL, if it did I'm sure the who covid pandemic would have been sorted and rectified over 12 months ago

I beg to differ. I refer you to the comments posted by palacegirl77 as a perfect example of strange things to say’ and someone who thoroughly deserves to reap what she sows.

She is happy to allow school staff and children (who may be more vulnerable than her own) to be infected, I am happy for to take her chances with her job and financial position if schools have to close because of staff shortages. She has her viewpoint and I have mine. As I wrote previously, good luck - to us all!

I agree @BustopherPonsonbyJones. The casual disregard of the concerns of school staff for themselves, the children in their care and the wider community has been a constant theme by many posters.

I am still amazed by the arrogance of anyone who tells school staff that they are wrong when they share concerns whilst they themselves are working from home or in a socially distanced office.

I beg to differ. I refer you to the comments posted bypalacegirl77as a perfect example of strange things to say’ and someone who thoroughly deserves to reap what she sows.

Point being, whatever comments or opinions are made by a random on MN has no actual relevance or impact on what's happening in your RL so she won't be reaping or sowing anything, they are just words not actions.

No, I don’t understand your point, I’m afraid. Her words are unkind and thoughtless. She has posted them so that’s an action. Being on an anonymous forum doesn’t mean words have no impact.

Have you not had the vaccine?

A number of double vaccinated ex-colleagues have contracted Covid (one quite badly) in the educational setting where I used to work, which makes me think that my decision to leave at Easter was the right one.

The decision around post-Sept testing in schools will be made later in the summer, but it hasn't been ruled out. I suspect it will continue until at least Christmas, but reviewed on a monthly basis. They won't be charging schools (or staff/ students) for LFDs. Definitely not.

So, at my child's school, Y12 were sent to isolate on the Monday due to a handful of positive cases.
Ds tested negative. On Wednesday Ds started to get a sore throat. He still tested negative. He continued to test negative until Saturday.
But would he have been contagious all that time?
Other kids also tested negative until the thur or fri, but many had no symptoms.

How would something like this work when it all varies so much?

@BustopherPonsonbyJones

No, I don’t understand your point, I’m afraid. Her words are unkind and thoughtless. She has posted them so that’s an action. Being on an anonymous forum doesn’t mean words have no impact.

But her thoughts or opinions have no actual impact on what will or won't happen in schools in September will they. Just like my thoughts or opinions won't and probably like your thoughts and opinions won't. It's understandable to feel upset or hurt by someone's thoughts but they are just that, thoughts, not actual procedures or rules or mitigations ( or whatever you want to call them) being put into practice

@SpinningJenni

So, at my child's school, Y12 were sent to isolate on the Monday due to a handful of positive cases. Ds tested negative. On Wednesday Ds started to get a sore throat. He still tested negative. He continued to test negative until Saturday. But would he have been contagious all that time? Other kids also tested negative until the thur or fri, but many had no symptoms.

How would something like this work when it all varies so much?

That is a good question. All of the children that tested negative but later got a positive could have been infectious for at least 24 hours prior to symptoms. You son possibly for a number of days. In September children like these will be sitting in multiple classrooms, on buses, trains etc., up close and infecting huge numbers.

But her thoughts or opinions have no actual impact on what will or won't happen in schools in September will they. Just like my thoughts or opinions won't and probably like your thoughts and opinions won't. It's understandable to feel upset or hurt by someone's thoughts but they are just that, thoughts, not actual procedures or rules or mitigations ( or whatever you want to call them) being put into practice

People's words affect other's behaviour and opinions.

Exactly. Luckily he was already self isolating, so didn't infect anyone, but just relying on LFTs doesn't seem very reliable.

The y5s at our primary had to close with positive case on Tuesday and others are still testing positive today - 9 in total so far!

People's words affect other's behaviour and opinions.

You honestly think someone's rambling on Mumsnet is going change how schools operate in September? God this site gets stranger by the day

Of course words impact people’s behaviour. You are angered by my words and are reacting because of them. Case in point.

@BustopherPonsonbyJones

Of course words impact people’s behaviour. You are angered by my words and are reacting because of them. Case in point.

I'm angered at nothing flower however your words mean absolute jack shit to my real life. Case in point.

Why would it be front page news? Whole classes and year groups have been isolating on and off for weeks now. In my kids large secondary by the last day there were more kids at home than in school. Newspapers aren't interested, they stopped reporting on school closures ages ago and moved onto the next topic.

Sorry, that was meant to quote palacegirl

Your continued posting suggests otherwise, though. 🙂

I'm sure Gav and the DofE are hanging off @palacegirl77 every word and checking in regularly to get some pointers from her ready for September. Bizarre

@Wellbythebloodyhell
Again, not sure why that is relevant on a forum where the whole point is viewpoints are discussed and she made her viewpoint known and therefore up for discussion. But if you want to go down that route, she seemed to think she knew a lot about the vaccines and schools and never confirmed where she worked. Her attitude is such she would fit in very well with Gav and other Tory ministers. It is very bizarre that any parent condones actions which will lead to further problems next term. Very bizarre.

@sherrystrull

Do you work in a school *@palacegirl77*?

Both my children go to school. I work in dental laboratory - we are classed as critical workers. We are dealing with patients mouths (you know - where the coughs come from?) and working in a busy laboratory. So no, im not "working from home" - why what I do is relevant to this discussion I dont know but there you go. Key worker.