Schools contingency framework released

[noblegiraffe]

The contingency framework guidelines for childcare settings, schools, colleges and universities has been released.

Not much to see except that schools should seek public health advice if:

For most education and childcare settings, whichever of these thresholds is reached first:
• 5 children, pupils, students or staff, who are likely to have mixed closely, test positive for COVID-19 within a 10-day period; or
• 10% of children, pupils, students or staff who are likely to have mixed closely test positive for COVID-19 within a 10-day period

Additional measures might be onsite testing or reintroducing masks but is much more likely to be simply:

At the point of reaching a threshold, education and childcare settings should review and reinforce the testing, hygiene and ventilation measures they already have in place. Settings should also consider:
• whether any activities could take place outdoors, including exercise, assemblies, or classes
• ways to improve ventilation indoors, where this would not significantly impact thermal comfort
• one-off enhanced cleaning focussing on touch points and any shared equipment

Interestingly, 'mixing closely' includes students who have shared a classroom, not just those who sat within 2m of a positive case.

No reassurance for CEV pupils.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1011704/20210817_Contingency_Framework_FINAL.pdf

So do all five /10% have to have mixed with all of the others? This could get very complicated at secondary level, especially with options.

Off to read it.

I wonder what extra ventilation might be offered that won’t impact thermal comfort!?

Interesting new definition of outbreak in this.

OK so in the examples it gives it suggests they all have to be in the same subject group. Odd that no mention, as far as I read anyway, is made of friendship groups.

It does however seem to give license to local directors of public health, eg

“A director of public health or an HPT (health protection team) may give settings advice reflecting the local situation. In areas where rates are high, this may include advice that local circumstances
mean that the thresholds for extra action can be higher than set out above.”

I'm guessing it would be 5 kids where there's a conceivable chain of transmission? So if you had Jim and two kids from his maths class and two kids from his geography class, that should count. But if you had Jim, two kids from his maths class, one from his geography class, and 4 kids from an entirely different year group, that would be nothing to worry about.

@Appuskidu

I wonder what extra ventilation might be offered that won’t impact thermal comfort!?

Hot air blown from the DfE.

Friendship groups are mentioned.

Note the lack of mention of buses.

To be fair says 'could include' so I guess they are examples...

Yes piggy, just realised my mistake there. Good.

But noble, doesn’t it imply only one group:

“Identifying a group that is likely to have mixed closely will be different for each setting. Below are some examples......

For schools, this could include:
• a form group or subject class
• a friendship group mixing at breaktimes
• a sports team
• a group in an after-school activity“

Sorry we’re all quoting the same bit.

Whatever our interpretation, we’ll have to wait and see. But I’m heartened by the apparently strengthened role for local health teams.

Jan, the power to local health teams is to increase the threshold for intervention, which isn't much comfort.

So if covid is rampant in the community, they can say 'it now needs to be 20% of pupils before you get to consider opening a window if it's not too cold'

Well, OP, I did think “which way round does that go”, and concluded it must be the ‘right’ way, because why on earth wouldn’t you specify the other way???

I guess you’re right though - going on previous experience.

Do you think the pink box saying that if anyone’s hospitalised DfE need informing is a Good or a Bad Thing?

Lots of mention of possible new variants.

So if there are 10 cases in every year group but each of those 10 aren't all closely mixing you ignore and wait until (in our case) 120 kids test positive within 10 days and then you can have a think about whether maybe you could have assembly outside?

There may be trouble ahead.....

What additional ventilation measures will be there be? Surely, schools will be maximising their ventilation from the first day of term

Or open a window @TheHoneyBadger!

“Let’s face the music, and dance...” to end your quotation, honey.

Yup, I fear you’re right

Ventilation seems utterly at the whim of a) heads and b) whoever is in control of the window catch, ie the teacher in the classroom

Oh and the painters ten years previously.

It seems like a nod to 'making schools safe' but without any teeth.

That threshold with 'close groups' seems woolly and then what happens it that is met? As you say PHE can just increase the threshold.

I am in a high case area (even before the isolation rule change and back to school mixing) so heaven knows what will happen.

I am usually a glass half full kind of person but I feel a sense of impending chaos.

We appear to have gone from
one case = everyone home
to
loads of cases = nothing to see here just run along.

@ineedaholidaynow

What additional ventilation measures will be there be? Surely, schools will be maximising their ventilation from the first day of term

Yes I thought we were supposed to be maintaining existing ventilation measures (an open window), not abandoning ventilation measures unless 5 kids have covid in which case we open them so long as it's not cold.

It looks like we're only cleaning touch points (as a one-off) if there's rampant covid too.

So completely back to normal (filthy, stuffy schools) unless a poorly defined threshold is met in which case we can open a window and clean the door handles.

@ineedaholidaynow

What additional ventilation measures will be there be? Surely, schools will be maximising their ventilation from the first day of term

That was my first thought. Surely any staff will be wide open windows and doors If possible Are they really expecting us to sit in a stuffy room with windows and doors closed, just so we can have better ventilation should we reach the magic 5 cases?

That ‘thermal comfort’ but is pathetic, especially when you consider that the Institute for Air Quality (iirc their name) have written guidance on how to open combinations of windows and scheduling it for break times etc to make it feasible with freezing everyone’s protractors off!

What could possibly go wrong @noblegiraffe

I imagine it's going to sweep though schools in the Autumn. I really can't see any other realistic outcome. In DS's school, at the end of the summer term, 14 dcs tested positive in one year group and that was after sending home over half the year in two different stages days apart. If they hadn't been sent home, I think many more DC's would have got it. I'd be interested to hear what teachers think will happen.