English schools to do onsite covid tests again after Xmas

[noblegiraffe]

After the bodge job of the vaccine program, once again schools have been dropped in it. They have been asked at the last minute to do covid testing onsite after Christmas, with orders for tests needing to be in by Tuesday.

So expect more disruption to schooling. And why? Most of the kids have had covid, caught in school and the 'firebreak' of the holidays mean they are less likely to be infected in Jan than in December.

If they gave a shit about school infection rates, why is this their response?

From the article "“It seems to have forgotten that school leaders are educators rather than an ad hoc branch of the NHS. Their focus is on providing the teaching and learning required by their students, which is particularly important in the context of the disruption caused by the pandemic. The last thing they need is another huge responsibility which does not even fall within the remit of education.”

Ms McCulloch added: “It is hardly the greatest timing either that this has been communicated in an email late on a Friday afternoon, and that they have been told that they will need to order sufficient test kits for this task by Tuesday, which seems an incredibly short timeframe.”

inews.co.uk/news/education/schools-england-covid-19-testing-stations-return-class-christmas-1322134

I'm in Scotland and we never do testing in schools. The schools send home tests and ask for them to be done twice a week. I dont see why schools would need to be actively involved in the testing process

They did this in sept too but it wasn't mandatory and by then kids knew how to test at home so most kids at our school did that.

It’s not a big deal

My kids school never stopped doing onsite testing

All kids are tested weekly (year group per day) with years 10/11 tested twice per week on site (outbreak years)
This has been weekly since sept and has taken place during form - no lessons missed

Tbh though it’s made no difference to cases - still high

My son's school is restarting testing in school.

If on-site tests are needed, then waiting until after Christmas is pointless. It’s either done now, or it’s not that important, is it?

We already do testing at home twice weekly do they feel that children are fruit shooting the figures up?

My DC secondary school hasn’t stopped. They surge tested DC2s form only last week due to the high number of cases. Daily testing on site for 5 days.

What's the point? Most have been testing twice a week at home. We all know how to do the tests now. Our schools asks for volunteers to do the tests , mostly parents. So it's no different to doing the test at home. I just ignored it last time and did the tests at home.

Well, we want school to be as safe as possible so why not have on site testing?
Where I am I don't think any students test now bar the very odd few and certainly not staff.

Ridiculous. Yanbu.

😥😥😥
Much as I think regular (home) testing is one of the few ways to control spread of covid in secondary, I am now dreading the first week back after Christmas. More fecking testing because noone can be bothered to do it at home, whilst my proper work piles up, because I'm freezing in the sports hall. I reckon 10% of families at our school are testing at home. I'm known as having a stash of test kits in the lab and regularly get kids through the door because they are worried and home wont/cant test.
We probably have enough tests still in school from the last 2 rounds, plus unused home kits, to do the whole school the 2/3 times that will be requested. Are the kids going to loose more teaching days to do this?
Roll on January. NOT.

Well, we want school to be as safe as possible so why not have on site testing?

They haven't made any efforts to make schools safe up till now, so why this?

My school still hasn't received CO2 monitors, schools are now being told that they have to buy, with their own money, air cleaners from Tory chums, sorry, 'govt approved suppliers', no extra funding for turning the heating up so we can reasonably keep windows open.

One-off covid testing after a holiday seems like it should be way down the list. Particularly if it means staggered starts and more disruption to education, especially as it will fuck up our Y13 mocks which are supposed to be done properly in case they cancel exams again and need TAGs.

Very good point about mocks, be it Y13 or 11, noble.

Did they just think of this this morning and send a quick email??

We have pretty much given up home tests.

We last did one 10 days ago.. no real reson why just lack of motivation.

This is stupid. If anything the government central communication should be 'do an LFT on the Sunday after schools break up for Xmas, then again 2 days later, certainly before you do any visiting of family'.

@noblegiraffe

Well, we want school to be as safe as possible so why not have on site testing?

They haven't made any efforts to make schools safe up till now, so why this?

My school still hasn't received CO2 monitors, schools are now being told that they have to buy, with their own money, air cleaners from Tory chums, sorry, 'govt approved suppliers', no extra funding for turning the heating up so we can reasonably keep windows open.

One-off covid testing after a holiday seems like it should be way down the list. Particularly if it means staggered starts and more disruption to education, especially as it will fuck up our Y13 mocks which are supposed to be done properly in case they cancel exams again and need TAGs.

Agreed.

I had assumed it was to reduce any potential spread of omicron. Many people aren't actually doing the tests at home so maybe they think it will be more successful to have them done at school.

According to the BBC it's only initial return-to-schooling testing that will be on site. Some thoughts:

• It's really important to test after a period of mixing - people will be travelling up,and down the country, mixing with people they don't often see, and could be bringing home with them
• Mixing of this kind is likely to be at its greatest over Christmas
• It will include overseas travel for some (rates/variants may be very different )
• Going by MN threads, lots of people don't realise the ongoing importance of the testing regimes, compliance is faltering
• It's still the best defence at a times like the start of terms, but families can no longer be relied on to comply in sufficient numbers

-This won't get everyone (because you'll still be allowed to opt out) but it's going to get a heck of a lot more than just asking parents to do it.

• It wasn't needed at the start of last term because back then rates were lower and compliance better

Almost certainly sonnet, but when did schools become covid vaxx and testing centres? It now just seems to be a given.

Schools were literally told about this at 3pm ish on a Friday afternoon and told to order all the kit they need by Tuesday.

It wasn't needed at the start of last term because back then rates were lower and compliance better

It was done at the beginning of this etrm!

Term, sorry.

@Watapalava

It’s not a big deal

My kids school never stopped doing onsite testing

All kids are tested weekly (year group per day) with years 10/11 tested twice per week on site (outbreak years)
This has been weekly since sept and has taken place during form - no lessons missed

Tbh though it’s made no difference to cases - still high

It is a big deal for the school though. Running a test centre is not an incidental task.

This is a huge deal for us! There is no way anybody has capacity for this and our budgets are being cut. I did all the testing as the start of term, but there is no way I can do that again. It took massive resource for us.

The government should have supported schools to do them all autumn winter. (Yes, I realise the government never support the schools with anything). After Xmas is too late.

My eldests school is doing saliva tests twice a week and in masks in communal areas and they're in a better position than my youngests school that doesn't. We're doing LFT's at home but the schools don't ask for results.

Goodness knows where my DC will find to do this testing-they have Y11 and 13 mocks straight after Xmas!

Still no co2 monitors at my schools…!