Annoyed that schools weren’t mentioned once in the press conference

[OnceuponaRainbow18]

So masks back in shops and on public transport, where most people are double jabbed and can distance, yet not in secondary schools where majority unvaccinated and unable to distance at all. But don’t fear we can open a window.

We have never stopped wearing masks in Scottish schools (or shops, buses etc) and our infection rate is broadly in line with other parts of the UK.

I hate teaching in a mask and it makes teaching (and learning) very difficult indeed.

@Yuledo

My supply agency has literally been begging me to work full time, rather than the part time I actually choose to do supply for. They just don’t have enough people to fill the demand.

I’ve done some extra but I’ll stop completely if they ignore the safety of teachers completely, in the face of an uncontrollable new variant.

I’ve had the same, including heads of my usual schools ringing me at home. It’s a desperate situation in schools, learning is fragmented and rudimentary. I’m doing a lot of ten day Covid cover as teachers isolate.

Same. I've emailed school and asked them to reinstate masks.
I'm not due my booster until after Xmas so it feels like a race against time.

Our school (secondary) announced on Friday that masks were back from Monday.

@Cismyfatarse

We have never stopped wearing masks in Scottish schools (or shops, buses etc) and our infection rate is broadly in line with other parts of the UK.

I hate teaching in a mask and it makes teaching (and learning) very difficult indeed.

Exactly.

No. So my son’s secondary have no masks etc. funnily enough rates have rocketed again in September/October with so many children off.

Funnily enough the same thing happened in Scotland where we wear masks. So it is not due to masks.

Haven't read through all replies, but I'm in Scotland where masks have been worn throughout and they've done absolutely nothing to help our infection rate, I don't believe they make a single bit of difference. If kids have been in school mixing for the last few months (as they are out of school), sticking masks on them now will be a complete waste of time.

"they've done absolutely nothing to help our infection rate"
Well, you don't know that. The infection rates could have been even worse without them.

"IF teachers are vaccinated then really why are we so terrified its ridiculous. Almost all will get cold/flu symptoms. Why are teachers so scared of covid? - no one i know in real life behaves like people (teachers) on here its madness."

Possibly because many of the people you know in real life don't mix to the same degree with hundreds of unvaccinated, likely asymptomatic students who are in each others' faces all day.
And I will not be told by anyone that I should (effectively) be OK to contract Covid because I have been vaccinated. It is entirely my right to want to avoid contracting it if at all possible. I don't care how badly you or anyone else might have had it, if you have. I would prefer NOT to get it.

@CallmeHendricks

"they've done absolutely nothing to help our infection rate" Well, you don't know that. The infection rates could have been even worse without them.

I think the fact that English schools returned without masks and didn't do any worse than Scotland answers this.

In any case, the situation in Scotland simply proves that masks in schools do not stop it spreading. Anyone trying to argue otherwise is clearly walking about with the mask over their eyes as well as their nose and mouth.

2 primary schools here. Both have been back to bubbles and staff wearing masks in communal areas and at pick up / drop off for a few weeks now. All Christmas activities cancelled as are school trips. Cases have been crazy in both schools and that’s just the ones we hear about via parents.

Be interesting to see how this close contact works. I’m assuming all household contacts now isolate until they have a result but surely every single PCR test will need to be checked for the new variant to ensure close contacts are traced?

I found this interesting from a study in the bmj examining studies into different protection options:

Another systematic review showed stronger effectiveness with the use of N95, or similar, respirators than disposable surgical masks,108 and a study evaluating the protection offered by 18 different types of fabric masks found substantial heterogeneity in protection, with the most effective mask being multilayered and tight fitting.109 However, transmission of SARS-CoV-2 largely arises in hospital settings in which full personal protective measures are in place, which suggests that when viral load is at its highest, even the best performing face masks might not provide adequate protection.51 Additionally, most studies that assessed mask wearing were prone to important confounding bias, which might have altered the conclusions drawn from this review (ie, effect estimates might have been underestimated or overestimated or can be related to other measures that were in place at the time the studies were conducted). Thus, the extent of such limitations on the conclusions drawn remain unknown.

Replace hospital with school and you pretty much have the reason why they don't make a difference for certain settings because its viral load and poorly ventilated environments. Hence masks is a way of being seen to do something but actually doesn't do a lot. It's far more important to fix ventilation than be blaming children or demand mask wearing.

Study here www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj-2021-068302

Don’t want masks back in schools. Detrimental to pupils education and mental health.

@IsThisIt2021

2 primary schools here. Both have been back to bubbles and staff wearing masks in communal areas and at pick up / drop off for a few weeks now. All Christmas activities cancelled as are school trips. Cases have been crazy in both schools and that’s just the ones we hear about via parents.

Be interesting to see how this close contact works. I’m assuming all household contacts now isolate until they have a result but surely every single PCR test will need to be checked for the new variant to ensure close contacts are traced?

I'm wondering about close contacts as well. Surely you need to isolate until you know if the positive case you've been in contact with is Omicron or not?

That works for families, but will that mean pupils / staff isolating until they know what variant the positive person has? If so then schools and nurseries are going to be closed more than they're open. However, if you can continue to go in until you know that the positive was Omicron, then isolating seems pointless.

My children go to an independent school. Small classes, good ventilation, each classroom opening onto the playground. Most parents in professionals that had early jabs (NHS) or can still work from home to an extent. Huge percentage of parents jabbed - only a few numpties with the ‘have had Covid so I’m fine’ mentality. We have had no Covid in school until last week. Now it’s whipping around the school at lightening speed. There’s just too much Covid in the general population to stop it spreading wildly now. It’s such a shame we didn’t strive to keep cases at a lower level. That would have been the right thing to do if we cared a jot about children’s education and not just about getting them off somewhere so our lives aren’t disrupted. People are selfish twats.

@AntiMaskersAreTwats

My children go to an independent school. Small classes, good ventilation, each classroom opening onto the playground. Most parents in professionals that had early jabs (NHS) or can still work from home to an extent. Huge percentage of parents jabbed - only a few numpties with the ‘have had Covid so I’m fine’ mentality. We have had no Covid in school until last week. Now it’s whipping around the school at lightening speed. There’s just too much Covid in the general population to stop it spreading wildly now. It’s such a shame we didn’t strive to keep cases at a lower level. That would have been the right thing to do if we cared a jot about children’s education and not just about getting them off somewhere so our lives aren’t disrupted. People are selfish twats.

We are finding the same at our small state primary. Hardly any cases until now and suddenly half of two classes are out with it and this is spilling into sibling cases throughout the school too.

I understand that people do not want schools to close, but there is no point in ignoring the current situation. Cases are exploding in schools and this has a knock on to parents and grandparents.

And also, the not isolating family members of positive cases is absolutely fueling the spread. Every single sibling of every single case in our school has come down with Covid a few days after the original family member….after spreading it silently in school for a few days an absolute nonsense policy.

Replace hospital with school and you pretty much have the reason why they don't make a difference for certain settings because its viral load and poorly ventilated environments. Hence masks is a way of being seen to do something but actually doesn't do a lot. It's far more important to fix ventilation than be blaming children or demand mask wearing.

But you can't replace hospitals with schools - there are some very important differences in terms of infection control - fabric face coverings are not the same as hospital grade coverings, they are not changed frequently across the day and when they are taken off they are not discarded. Indeed there is good reason to suggest that face coverings in school may increase infection through cross contamination.

@Lovelyricepudding yes PPE is far better in hospitals alogg with all you have listed. That was my point, it doesn't make a difference in settings which have them so why have it in schools.

Teachers and unions should be applying pressure for ventilation improvement not mask wearing which doesn't do anything given the settings.

@Watapalava

Thank god they didn't mention schools. You can see some schools now already making their own rules up - forcing pcrs for contacts even though they are not mandatory

IF teachers are vaccinated then really why are we so terrified its ridiculous. Almost all will get cold/flu symptoms. Why are teachers so scared of covid? - no one i know in real life behaves like people (teachers) on here its madness.

If you are double vax (never mind boostered), giving covid second thought really is irrational

Its all the bloody testing causing the disruption, the sooner parents cotton on and stop testing the better.

I’m not scared of it. I’m vaccinated. But if I get it I can’t go into school for 10 days. We have three staff off with it at the moment. Small primary school. We are one adult away from having to close because there simply won’t be enough staff to keep the kids safe, never mind educate them. Far more disruptive than a few measures to try to prevent the spread.

My DD has tested positive with no symptoms because I regularly test. At least she’s not in and spreading it round, leaving more teachers to get it and have to go off and therefore disrupting education for loads of other children.

@BoredZelda

They're more likely to be harmed by the cold than covid.

Bullshit.

Well we can open a window - but the kids will close it. Or whinge that it’s cold.

Then you have a behaviour management issue.

*

Being physically uncomfortable is a barrier to learning

I’m not scared of it. I’m vaccinated. But if I get it I can’t go into school for 10 days. We have three staff off with it at the moment. Small primary school. We are one adult away from having to close because there simply won’t be enough staff to keep the kids safe, never mind educate them. Far more disruptive than a few measures to try to prevent the spread.

Like what? Mask wearing? makes no difference they have to take them off to eat . Windows open? too cold to learn

Possibly because many of the people you know in real life don't mix to the same degree with hundreds of unvaccinated, likely asymptomatic students who are in each others' faces all day.
And I will not be told by anyone that I should (effectively) be OK to contract Covid because I have been vaccinated. It is entirely my right to want to avoid contracting it if at all possible. I don't care how badly you or anyone else might have had it, if you have. I would prefer NOT to get it
That's the job now! get used to it or quit

That's the job now! get used to it or quit
What an absolutely ridiculous statement.