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

A petition has been started for ventilation if anyone is interested.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/595205

with double vaccinations on both sides of the teacher-pupil divide, with boxes of LFTs at home that we are willing to use, that's not enough for some apparently

The vast majority of teaching staff will be working with a population of people that, bar a very select few, will be unvaccinated. Lots of parents are not willing to use lateral flow tests, let alone get a child with obvious symptoms actually PCR tested. Many parents are not willing/able to stay at home with a child for 10 days who had a temperature for 4 hours on day one and a once a day cough. Calpol can cover up a whole host of issues first thing in the morning. No masks will be worn in the majority of secondaries and assemblies - several hundred people sat in unventilated rooms right in the middle of schools - are back. We still don’t have ventilation even when/if we get our Co2 monitor that will tell us we need ventilation. Most of us are unable to maintain 1 metre distance in classrooms, let alone 2.

The bottom line is we want children to have the best school experience we are able to provide. Part of that includes them not having to get sick and for teachers not being off sick for short, medium or extended periods of time. Supply is hard to come by, even assuming a school can afford it. There is nothing in the above that is going to support us to keep children in school. Like last year, we haven’t been consulted and there is an assumption that we will just get on with it, regardless of the detrimental effect we believe current policy will have on your child’s education for a 3rd year let alone the risks we personally take for our health and that of our families every time we set foot in a classroom. So no, it’s not enough. It doesn’t even touch the sides, love.

I agree wholeheartedly with you @Getawaywithit

There is going to be a lot of disruption between now and Christmas with the vast majority of children and teachers contracting covid.

The best situation is this is borne out in schools with minimum impact on the wider community. The worst is that rising community transmission abs disruption including lack of teachers leads to closures, overwhelmed hospitals abs ultimately more restrictions… not to mention illness abs death

Even in the best case, it won’t be long til schools can’t function as norma due to impending staffing crisis

@Getawaywithit

with double vaccinations on both sides of the teacher-pupil divide, with boxes of LFTs at home that we are willing to use, that's not enough for some apparently

The vast majority of teaching staff will be working with a population of people that, bar a very select few, will be unvaccinated. Lots of parents are not willing to use lateral flow tests, let alone get a child with obvious symptoms actually PCR tested. Many parents are not willing/able to stay at home with a child for 10 days who had a temperature for 4 hours on day one and a once a day cough. Calpol can cover up a whole host of issues first thing in the morning. No masks will be worn in the majority of secondaries and assemblies - several hundred people sat in unventilated rooms right in the middle of schools - are back. We still don’t have ventilation even when/if we get our Co2 monitor that will tell us we need ventilation. Most of us are unable to maintain 1 metre distance in classrooms, let alone 2.

The bottom line is we want children to have the best school experience we are able to provide. Part of that includes them not having to get sick and for teachers not being off sick for short, medium or extended periods of time. Supply is hard to come by, even assuming a school can afford it. There is nothing in the above that is going to support us to keep children in school. Like last year, we haven’t been consulted and there is an assumption that we will just get on with it, regardless of the detrimental effect we believe current policy will have on your child’s education for a 3rd year let alone the risks we personally take for our health and that of our families every time we set foot in a classroom. So no, it’s not enough. It doesn’t even touch the sides, love.

Well said.

I only teach years 7, 8 and 9 this year of whom none will be vaccinated and none required to wear masks or isolate even if their parents have covid and they live in a two bed flat together.

It's not rocket science really to say that there are going to be very high levels of transmission in school and that even double vaccinated people who also have had covid are testing positive currently even with schools closed, lots of outdoor socialising and reduced use of public transport.

All of us want to believe that everything will be fine but we also have to be prepared for what do seem to me to be fairly obvious and likely outcomes of current policies.

People also need to understand that for secondary schools we can't just switch back to 'bubbles' easily and quickly. There are massive timetabling and rooming issues for that and it requires massive movement of equipment, resources etc that we worked our arses off (well I certainly did and did my shoulder in in the process of) to get in place during 'training' days last September.

We couldn't have staggered starts or finishes because we have goodness knows how many buses coming from and to all over the county and the logistics just weren't viable. We did have staggered breaks which required a lot of extra staffing (catering, supervision etc) and again that can't be sorted overnight with a change in guidelines.

I honestly, for all our sakes, hopes this 'return to normal' approach can work - god knows we all want it and it would make all of our lives easier but I wouldn't want to gamble more than a fiver on it iyswim.

The reality is that schools have never been a priority in this crisis and school leaders and teachers have never been consulted and had their expertise utilised and guidance and procedures have consistently defied all logic. I just hope that if things we had no input into deciding or controlling do go to shit we don't have to take all the abuse and blame for it again because this year two of dealing with this and personally I'm tired - that may sound lame but I've dealt with so much over the last year and done so much extra time and work and things way outside of my contracted duties and that's ok, we generally do have goodwill and want the best for our kids and whilst moaning crack on and do our best but I don't know how much 'spare' energy or resources or goodwill many of us have left and I should imagine people's thresholds for stress related illness are seriously reduced by now.