+ve parents, -ve children, school

[breatheinskipthegym]

In our house, the adults have tested positive for covid, and the children (primary school age) negative. Since the guidance is that children no longer have to self isolate, the school say the children should attend. But we can’t leave the house to take them. Our only support here is grandparents, who’ve also tested positive.

One daughter’s at special school and is taken by taxi. The other is a 20 minute drive away as local school oversubscribed. The taxi collection point is a 15 minute drive away, so it’s not as though they could join a passing family on the way to school. It seems my choices are either keep them off school and accept the school’s unauthorised absence stance and whatever consequences come, or drive them to school, hover at the gate in the car and let them directly out. Neither of these seem correct/fair/appropriate.

It's only a matter of time before DC test positive unfortunately. In the meantime, whomever is making this silly rule, wants to ensure that DC spread it to the rest of the school!

Dont send them in. Think of the other kids/ families that their class could infect.
I really wouldn’t care about authorised attendance. Its going to lose them a week or two. It’s nothing compared to a class getting Covid/ long covid.

@bobholll
Why would you take youngest child to childcare when sibling is positive? If the youngest spreads to childcare staff you wont have child care.

I don’t know why any school would want the children of two parents who tested positive on their premises.
I can’t see how schools are going to avoid school disruption and staff isolation at this rate. It’s just utterly ridiculous.

@Covidworries - Because I’m allowed to send my youngest child into nursery as she tested negative, as did I and my husband. You have no idea our personal circumstances, I can’t work with my children at home, my 17 month old would kill herself while I’m on the phone taking 60+ calls a day. And covid has caused me to take so much annual leave due to pointless close contacts isolations & home schooling that any leave I now take between now & next April is unpaid. Risking my mortgage, bills, food on the table. Therefore I’m following the rules as they currently are. You can judge & shoot daggers all you want.

She never caught it (she had it last December) & they had no cases in nursery. So she’d have been isolating for no reason for 10 days.

My eldest’s best pal is in school this week while Dad isolates with covid. Mums taking her school. It is what it is, we’ll all catch it again at some point so 🤷🏼‍♀️ I’m sure she’s not the only one to be honest!

I'm in this situation and my two are like the OPs - either in each others pockets or wrestling with each other. DD test + Monday, DS and DH negative, I tested positive Tuesday. School say DS should have been in since Mon (reading between the lines they don't want him but have to say that). Kept DS off on the basis that I now can't get him to school as I am isolating. He has now developed symptoms today and seems likely to test + tomorrow - it clearly would have been bonkers to send him in to spread it round his primary school. I am sure this is what the Gov wants but no way am I having that on my concience. My FinL died due to Gov policy of discharging + patients into care homes, as a PP said I'm not being complicit in a gov policy to let this rip through schools. (I didn't send them for q day in Jan either). I give it 2 weeks before schools are in total disarray.

I think I can hear your DC coughing OP...?

Nope they’re not.

You have discretion for individual circumstances and must use it.

You would be liable if health and safety law was flouted - reasonable precautions to protect staff, students and families etc as you sign the risk assessment.

The government obviously wants mass infection and some herd immunity and they don’t sign the risk assessment.

You’ll find their shoulders are very slippy if you are actually taken to task over it especially if it’s on the other side of a public inquiry.

Guidance is not law, they can’t guidance away your discretion and LEGAL responsibilities to fulfil your obligations re Health and Safety, human rights and best interests of children (every decision must have them at the centre).

Above hasn’t shown as a reply - replying to the poster who said they’re a headteacher and that their hands are tied.

It’s a really stupid bollocks rule that says the parents can’t go in a self contained car to drop the kids off as it’s risky, but send the kids to school to potentially spread asymptomatically for 3 days! Bonkers

The failure to insist on household isolation is madness imo (I do agree with the change to close contacts). There is no way I'd pick up children from a household where someone has covid. No.
Op I agree you are in an impossible situation. It's all very well people telling you to do the responsible thing and keep children at home, but will they pay the fine you will get (unless the school bends the rules)?

The lack of household isolation is bonkers. My friends child caught it off of a child at school whose parent at home had it (he tested negative then tested positive by which point friends son had it). My friend was going to work as usual but has tested positive now so imagine some colleagues may go down with it. And on it goes. Household isolation should still be a thing I think. Maybe they should thing that back before circuit breaker lockdown 🙄

Who did the PCR test?

I think they'll be brewing the virus and you've tested too early - not having a dig, you're just following guidelines after all.

This really worries me.
I want to keep mine home if one if us has covid.
Have 1 primary, 2 seniors.
I also don't want then day next to kids who have household contacts postive..
Its so wrong and would love see case like this tested on court

I don't see how can be safe working environment for teachers with zero infection control on a notified virus that can kill, create long covid and be as transmissible as chicken pox.

This rule is madness. My DP is primary school teacher. If me or any of our 3 children test positive then he can still go in to work, where he may pass covid on to the 30 children in his class. Although they're primary, they're 4 form entry and have sets for maths and English so those 30 children will mix with others.

In the scenario that I tested positive but either of the two school age children didn't, I wouldn't feel ok about asking either set of parents to take them to school, and that's before we get to the risk of them being in school and the risk to the other children.

A household isolating was frustrating and disruptive, but at least it made sense.

I think there are two very different scenario’s here that should be in place and differentiate between parents who can isolate away from the children and those who can’t

It’s very different if dad is isolating, away from everyone else, and mum doing the school run, to single parent who can’t isolate.

There are isolation rules that aren’t being followed because many parents don’t have that luxury. Plus they won’t get paid if they are off work looking after children.

As a parent I’m sorry but I wouldn’t offer to take a child to school with known covid at home.

Schools are human too, they follow polices, but they don’t have to like it

Don't send your child to school. You will be potentially spreading infection through your children. They may be negative now, but that may not be the case in a few days time. Tell the school whatever you have to. The whole thing is a disgrace.

@breatheinskipthegym

All of the above, is my point! The schools feel their hands are tied over how the absence is recorded due to directions from above. Ultimately, I will keep them home as it’s the responsible thing to do in terms of spread, and I’m bound by the “do not leave home” rules. But it’s another glaring hole in policy, isn’t it? I just don’t see how people are supposed to navigate this stuff.

I asked this question before. What would we do to get dc to school if we have Covid? I don't think any other parents would be happy to take them and it wouldn't really be sensible to ask the grandparents 🤷‍♀️

We (both parents) have covid now and DC still testing negative. Told school that we had no one to take them to school and we can’t as we have covid. School said they should be in school if they are testing negative on an on LFT each morning before school. They said if we don’t have anyone else who can take them in for us (we don’t and they are too young to walk alone) then we can drive them in to the school car park and drop off / collect each day as long as we are well enough to drive and we don’t get out of the car. So I had to do that today.