Schools

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Everything I’ve read suggests that children who have come in to contact with a child with Covid at school, will be contacted by Track and Trace and told to get a PCR test. However, my child’s school just keeps reporting on positive cases in a particular year group and reminding people to regularly take lateral flow tests. I can only presume that T&T would have contacted the school for details of who a child came into contact with and they haven’t passed it on.

My child has just tested positive and has just told me that he was sat next to someone on Tuesday that had a headache and didn’t come into school on Wednesday. Presumably they tested positive so why weren’t we told to get a PCR? It was only because my daughter had symptoms yesterday that we tested but otherwise we might have just done a lateral flow and risked it not being reliable. When people have vulnerable family members, surely they should be informing parents when children have come into contact with someone?

Another question is that my daughter is positive so needs to isolate, I’m not jabbed because I’m unable to have the jab so I’m isolating, but my son is under 18 and can go to school as normal. How do I take him to school on Monday and walk him into the playground when I’m supposed to be isolating? It seems ridiculous to not isolate the whole family at least until they all have a PCR test, yet our school said my son doesn’t need a PCR unless he has symptoms....despite him living with a positive case. Am I supposed to isolate at all times but be allowed to walk through the playground twice a day? He’s only small so cannot go into school alone and I’m not prepared to send him with my parents and put them at risk as they’re elderly.

Keep him off. Its the only way.

If you can't get him there then you can't!

Schools are not involved in track and trace at all anymore.

I believe track and trace relates to Royal Mail. Test and trace, however, will ask for minute details of a positive cases life in the run up to positive test. If the person testing positive is a school child the people they are I’m contact with will not be told unless the parents identify them to test and trace. Given parents are not in school to see who their children are in contact with this is ridiculous.

Everything I’ve read suggests that children who have come in to contact with a child with Covid at school, will be contacted by Track and Trace and told to get a PCR test.

Yes, this is not happening. I was a close contact of my TA and at least 9 children who have tested positive in the last two weeks. No close contact notification. None of the children have had close contact notification. We have to give carefully worded 'suggestions' to parents, but mostly it doesn't get us anywhere.

I think the children do give the names of their close contacts but those under 18 years and 6 months are exempt from self isolating so will not be contacted.

@GreyGardener

I believe track and trace relates to Royal Mail. Test and trace, however, will ask for minute details of a positive cases life in the run up to positive test. If the person testing positive is a school child the people they are I’m contact with will not be told unless the parents identify them to test and trace. Given parents are not in school to see who their children are in contact with this is ridiculous.

Why be so pedantic? It was obvious what OP meant

If you've been advised not to have the jab for medical reasons then you're exempt from isolation

@Yellowarmy no one is exempt from getting a PCR if they are a close contact, whatever age. That said I think it is just advice to have a PCR. It would be nice if people were given the information, they might choose not to see their vulnerable relatives if they know their child was sat next to a child all day in class who then tested positive.

@Yellowarmy

I think the children do give the names of their close contacts but those under 18 years and 6 months are exempt from self isolating so will not be contacted.

Would be useful for parents to know though. Children have been sent in with:

Headaches
Coughs
'Sniffles'
Aching legs
'Bad night, feeling ill'
Nausea

All of whom have tested positive after we sent them home. Because they are not the main 3 symptoms, and because parents don't know where exactly the cases are in a school, they aren't testing them.

Advice on schools is shockingly bad. As it has been since March 2020.

In general, no contact in school is regarded as close by Test and Trace, and schools play no part in identifying anyone who has been close to a child any more.

So if a child has contact with another at a sleepover, that’s a close contact. In school, no.

And whatever happens, with delta, nobody of school age has to isolate due to contact - a pcr is recommended but the child can attend school regardless unless they do do a pcr which turns out to be positive.

[quote GreyGardener]@Yellowarmy no one is exempt from getting a PCR if they are a close contact, whatever age. That said I think it is just advice to have a PCR. It would be nice if people were given the information, they might choose not to see their vulnerable relatives if they know their child was sat next to a child all day in class who then tested positive.[/quote]
Yes. Also parents need to know not to test on day one of being an actual named contact via a household or otherwise. Day 4 would be much more useful. At the moment they are negative on day 1, then according to guidance, can come back to school. Sniffles or a tummy ache on day 3 aren't considered an issue, but are actually covid.

a pcr is recommended but the child can attend school regardless unless they do do a pcr which turns out to be positive

But not everywhere. Some local authorities are advising to isolate until a negative PCR result - which is where my point in my post above applies.

@GreyGardener Exactly, that’s what I mean. I visited my elderly parents last weekend and my kids could have been right next to a positive child but we wouldn’t have been forewarned. I’m barely seeing my parents anyway due to their health but this just seems totally irresponsible when schools can certainly say if someone has sat next to them or partnered another child with covid.

My daughter had apparently been touching hands with this child in class who had a thumping head but was allowed to remain in school until the end of the day and no one thought to isolate her from others given she was sick! When questioned, the head said that a headache wasn’t technically a sign without a cough or temperature but this seems to be something most kids are having. Then after doing that and knowing my child had been touching hands with them, they didn’t forewarn us that this child was positive and ask us to test.

We're not allowed to anymore.

I’ve had covid cases in my class since September, last week was my first week without a case. I’ve never been contacted by T&T about any of them. I also haven’t been asked to do a PCR- probably as I had covid in September (caught from one of my early cases) so would quite likely test positive again. We are so short staffed that we wouldn’t cope if I needed to isolate again.

I'm literally saying to parents 'there is covid in the community... this school is a community (raised eyebrows), as is a classroom... '

One parent said "I would never have sent her in if I even thought it could be covid" - she had a headache and aching legs. She sits next to the girl who came in without a PCR despite being a close household contact. But I couldn't say anything specific. I mean, that parent had clearly been under a rock for 18 months, but still.

I've drawn a diagram of transmission in my classroom. Day 1 was the first case. The crosses are children, circles are ill children, the numbers are the days on which they had symptoms and were sent home. The 'non covid' ones labelled. Sorry it's a bit out of focus.

Mmm, the prevalence of covid in the community now is such that you're best assuming your child has been a close contact and act accordingly.

What are the actual rules now for schools? There are children in the school where I work whose sibling currently has covid. There are employees in my school whose entire families have covid. I will ask, "Where's X?" to be told he's down with covid. X breathed all over me two days ago, but I wasn't even told by the school that he's got covid. I sat next to R six days ago in the staff room and she is down with covid-I was not informed. I've been wondering if there are any rules any more.

@SquirrelFan
Didn't you know schools are magical places where you can't catch covid?! 🙄

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot Wow, it must be so difficult to teach with children constantly off or feeling unwell.

I’m frustrated that the line is still to test if you have symptoms but the list of symptoms hasn’t been updated. It seems that lots of kids suffer with headaches and muscle aches as a result of Covid. I couldn’t believe that they allowed a child to remain in school with a bad headache until the end of the day and allowed to to touch her peers as usual, despite the fact they must have suspected Covid. Coming up to Christmas, when people want to spend time with family and may have caring duties, this doesn’t help families to remain well and not have to isolate.

I don’t understand why head teachers aren’t having to provide details of who the child was in contact with when adults are asked this so they can inform their colleagues. Children may not be at great risk of severe illness but they spread it around to those who are and especially at this time of year. You can understand why some people are getting fed up of towing the line when the government rules don’t make sense and they can be bent to suit.

Schools aren't involved in test and trace anymore.

Covid doesn't spread in schools sure. Only on sleepovers and playdates. It is an absolute disgrace that this is the case with schools. There are unvaccinated cev young children in these schools who can't risk assess as they are completely in the dark about cases in their school/class.

The government decided (probably rightly because it took hours) that HTs were no longer responsible for T&T. However they haven't come up with a better system.

I have covid cases in every class I teach. I only find out from the register. I'm lateral flowing almost daily at the moment.

@VikingOnTheFridge The issue is that unless you lie, you’re not supposed to be getting a PCR test because you suspect you might have been near someone or your child might have. My children do a lateral flow twice a week but they’re not foolproof and it didn’t pick up my child’s case this week.

I know of people that have had covid and haven’t provided details to T&T of those they were in contact with because they didn’t want them to have to isolate. This is wrong but when you have schools not informing staff and other children, you can understand people getting sick of it.