1 in 10 students with COVID

[catchingzzzeds]

The secondary school I work at now has 1 in 10 students and 10 teaching staff at home with COVID. We started the week with 65 cases and today we have over 100.
Why are the government not helping us? If we could bring back masks and bubbles we could at least stand a chance of containing the spread. I also think advising that whole households isolate if a family member tests positive would help too.
We are finding that siblings are testing positive a week after the first household case.
Roll on half term, here's hoping it acts a bit of a circuit breaker.

[quote Treblebass]@herecomesthsun

Oh okay, that confirms it then because someone’s kids teachers aunties friends are all CEV teachers .

Thanks for clearing that up . You also have a medical degree too .

Gotta love mumsnet. A CEV medical degree person with plenty of experience with teachers.

Lol.[/quote]
I have children (why I joined mumsnet) who are at school (why I was speaking to their teachers, about lockdown work arrangements etc). 3 out of 6 of the teachers I was speaking to about the kids' work were also shielding, like me.

I am just flabbergasted you think the milder mitigations will protect these “CEV” teachers. They’ll still catch covid working in a secondary school for sure.

I am absolutely sure you’re stretched to the limit, but that’s an underfunding in education issue not a covid one. Although of course covid exasperates this when teachers are off self isolating. (But then they would still catch covid with the lighter mitigations and the bubbles popping repeatedly must not return, as that’s even more disastrous for the likes of GCSE students).

It does get rather boring discussing the efficacy of masks and bubbles though, you’re just spreading out the inevitable.

Well, I'm not a teacher for one.

I broadly support having some mitigations in school though.

@Treblebass

I am just flabbergasted you think the milder mitigations will protect these “CEV” teachers. They’ll still catch covid working in a secondary school for sure.

I am absolutely sure you’re stretched to the limit, but that’s an underfunding in education issue not a covid one. Although of course covid exasperates this when teachers are off self isolating. (But then they would still catch covid with the lighter mitigations and the bubbles popping repeatedly must not return, as that’s even more disastrous for the likes of GCSE students).

It does get rather boring discussing the efficacy of masks and bubbles though, you’re just spreading out the inevitable.

I wish you would stop with the "CEV" nonsense, there are CEV staff in schools and by the sounds of it you think they are either lying or should quit their jobs?!

And after half-term your school should be much more normal as Covid has swept through. That was the plan... It's inevitable Covid will pass through schools at some point. You're about to be through to the other side

There is a fatal flaw with this plan and that's in how individual schools are impacted and therefore exam year students. All fine if all teachers are back in school 10 days later. Not so fine if your chemistry/physics/maths/mfl teacher is unable to work for 6 months and a replacement can't be found through supply (increasingly this is the case). Not forgetting that many schools can't even afford supply already. Timetables will need reworking to move staff to teach exam groups - leaving some teachers with double their usual exam workload and potentially lower school students being taught in larger groups. And that's a best case scenario. In one school local to me, two staff from the same department ended up in hospital a year ago - both have not yet returned to the classroom. Other schools were already teaching 70+ children together in the hall in shortage area subjects before this even began.

We can't know which schools will be impacted in this way. The majority won't, I guess. But if it's your child in a crucial year with no teacher expected to perform in an external exam alongside thousands of students who haven't been so unlucky, I guess you'd have something to say about it. It really does need parents to see that whilst being in school might be better than being at home from an educational perspective, there are still many gaps in that education which are unable to be plugged. Please use your vote wisely the next time you get an opportunity to do so.

@catchingzzzeds

They can do what they like, but it’s not my responsibility or anyone else’s for that matter to protect CEV people. The virus is doing what it’s doing.

We all have choices in life, is working in a hotbed environment for infections a wise one for someone who is truly CEV? No, it’s not.

[quote Treblebass]@catchingzzzeds

They can do what they like, but it’s not my responsibility or anyone else’s for that matter to protect CEV people. The virus is doing what it’s doing.

We all have choices in life, is working in a hotbed environment for infections a wise one for someone who is truly CEV? No, it’s not.[/quote]
Except that it wasn't nearly as much of a problem before covid.

We do need to protect CEV teachers and students.

Do you think kids with vulnerabilities should have an education? Or would that be an "unwise" choice for them too?

@herecomesthsun

I believe individuals and families should take responsibility for themselves and their own circumstances.

If I was CEV then choosing teaching as a career wouldn’t be a wise choice. Also, if my child was CEV then I would do my upmost to protect them by homeschooling.

Not an economically wise decision but one that would be the safest in the current climate.

I would also have the sense to know mitigations in school would still NOT be enough to protect my child from covid.

[quote Treblebass]@herecomesthsun

I believe individuals and families should take responsibility for themselves and their own circumstances.

If I was CEV then choosing teaching as a career wouldn’t be a wise choice. Also, if my child was CEV then I would do my upmost to protect them by homeschooling.

Not an economically wise decision but one that would be the safest in the current climate.

I would also have the sense to know mitigations in school would still NOT be enough to protect my child from covid.[/quote]
It does however remain the government's responsibility to provide a safe workplace for employees and students; that responsibility is still there in a pandemic.

@herecomesthsun

Schools are safe for employees now they have been vaccinated. By your definition schools have never been “safe” for children what with the whole spectrum of infections that they can pick up (which also are very dangerous to CEV kids).

You’re quite clearly not going to be happy until a China style lockdown is implemented (wishful thinking) so we will have to agree to disagree. You can state you just want mitigations but deep down you still wouldn’t be happy as kids still wouldn’t be “safe enough”.

[quote Treblebass]@herecomesthsun

Schools are safe for employees now they have been vaccinated. By your definition schools have never been “safe” for children what with the whole spectrum of infections that they can pick up (which also are very dangerous to CEV kids).

You’re quite clearly not going to be happy until a China style lockdown is implemented (wishful thinking) so we will have to agree to disagree. You can state you just want mitigations but deep down you still wouldn’t be happy as kids still wouldn’t be “safe enough”.[/quote]
No, there are specific issues with covid, which are different to people coming into contact with, say, the common cold. That is why we have had the palaver with lockdowns and such.

No I don't want a China style lockdown if it can be avoided at all, there are a lot of mitigations we could introduce without having to do that.

Yes, I would be happy with more mitigations in schools.

@Getawaywithit

And after half-term your school should be much more normal as Covid has swept through. That was the plan... It's inevitable Covid will pass through schools at some point. You're about to be through to the other side

There is a fatal flaw with this plan and that's in how individual schools are impacted and therefore exam year students. All fine if all teachers are back in school 10 days later. Not so fine if your chemistry/physics/maths/mfl teacher is unable to work for 6 months and a replacement can't be found through supply (increasingly this is the case). Not forgetting that many schools can't even afford supply already. Timetables will need reworking to move staff to teach exam groups - leaving some teachers with double their usual exam workload and potentially lower school students being taught in larger groups. And that's a best case scenario. In one school local to me, two staff from the same department ended up in hospital a year ago - both have not yet returned to the classroom. Other schools were already teaching 70+ children together in the hall in shortage area subjects before this even began.

We can't know which schools will be impacted in this way. The majority won't, I guess. But if it's your child in a crucial year with no teacher expected to perform in an external exam alongside thousands of students who haven't been so unlucky, I guess you'd have something to say about it. It really does need parents to see that whilst being in school might be better than being at home from an educational perspective, there are still many gaps in that education which are unable to be plugged. Please use your vote wisely the next time you get an opportunity to do so.

@Getawaywithit

There is a fatal flaw with this plan and that's in how individual schools are impacted and therefore exam year students. All fine if all teachers are back in school 10 days later. Not so fine if your chemistry/physics/maths/mfl teacher is unable to work for 6 months and a replacement can't be found through supply (increasingly this is the case).

Firstly, what percentage of vaccinated teachers are off for six months with Covid? I don't know the answer, but it must be a very small percentage. You're catastrophising.

Secondly, unless you institute draconian suppression measures, you're not going to be able to stop Covid passing through schools in the months ahead. Besides Cambridge Uni is estimating that 76% of 5-14 year olds have been infected to date, and my prediction is that Covid school cases will steadily decline between now and Christmas.

[quote Treblebass]@herecomesthsun

I believe individuals and families should take responsibility for themselves and their own circumstances.

If I was CEV then choosing teaching as a career wouldn’t be a wise choice. Also, if my child was CEV then I would do my upmost to protect them by homeschooling.

Not an economically wise decision but one that would be the safest in the current climate.

I would also have the sense to know mitigations in school would still NOT be enough to protect my child from covid.[/quote]
You do realise many cev teachers will have been teachers before the pandemic started? They did not chose the job knowing the situation. Should they just give up their careers? What happens to teacher numbers if lots quit due to virus concerns?

And homeschooling cev children - how do these parents have money to feed, cloth and house their children if they quit their jobs to homeschool? Not everyone can afford that. Do you just they claim benefits to be able to do so? I'm sure plenty with your attitude would then tell them to get over it and get a job!

Look, the OP is just explaining the situation in schools is impacting on students learning. She's right, the impact on GCSE students in particular will be huge. And a level. No teacher wants school closures. She's just highlighting that fact the gov claim to care about education but no mitigations impacts learning. They just want to say 'schools are open' without really considering the impact of covid on education currently.

There are no easy solutions. But doing nothing isn't working.

@ArthurTudor thank you