Schools

[Tranquilitybasehotelandcasino]

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.

Sorry OP reading back I look unsympathetic. It's just the frustration that parents have no idea (still) that the government policy changed.

At secondary we don't even send home ill students. I had a student hand me a positive test mid lesson last week.

professionally bound not to comment on or confirm any teacher or student having covid. I have had parents ringing up and shouting at my as to why I didn’t tell them the child’s friend or someone they sit next to had covid, but simply I’m not allowed

Yes. This. We don't even get told who. When I was in the office to start the logistics of our outbreak, the head turned the list of positives over so I couldn't see it. I said I'd name them if she liked. I 'guessed' and was 100% right. Based on seating plan.

I've been a close contact more times than I can count now at the school I teach at. Never been contacted by anyone. My kids have been close contacts. Also not contacted

I didn’t know headache was a symptom until after my child tested positive. Just read someone on here mention sore legs and my child had that too.

@Hercisback It’s ok. It’s an emotive subject and lots of us are finding things difficult in various ways. I appreciate the information as parents don’t always know what goes on behind the scenes 😊

Surely with covid this prevalent and higher risk relatives, your kids would need regular tests regardless OP? Because even if the school tried to do what you want, they're never going to be able to identify every chat in the bog, classroom interaction, composition of each line into assembly etc. If you aren't even getting warn and inform thats bad. But this is what I mean when I say I think all parents just need to assume DC in school are close contacts and act accordingly.

@VikingOnTheFridge Lateral flows aren’t super reliable though and PCR testing isn’t supposed to be used without symptoms, so I don’t know if you could get away with keep doing them. Ultimately it is what it is and we’ll just plod on as we were before. I just thought that a bit more info might help those with really vulnerable family, but the government aren’t forcing schools to narrow it down for parents and clearly some schools are more transparent than others.

@Yayayaya20

I didn’t know headache was a symptom until after my child tested positive. Just read someone on here mention sore legs and my child had that too.

I only knew it was a symptom because it had been MY main symptom. The child sat next to my first child case and had felt s bit rubbish the day before too. Mum phoned to say she couldn't do PE. When the office rang to tell me why, I asked them to call the parent back and send her home. The mum was really surprised and said 'i would never have sent her in if I thought it could ever have been covid'. Erm....

We have quite different groups of parents in our school, I doubt there are useful WhatsApp groups.

I don’t know what you’re all complaining about.

SCHOOLS ARE SAFE. THEY ARE NOT VECTORS OF TRANSMISSION AT ALL.

There’s a whole different variant of Covid which only exists in schools, knocks before entering, takes its shoes off at the door, and behaves completely differently to the Covid outside schools. Got it? Ok. Good, we’re all clear then. Covid doesn’t spread in schools.

Jeez.

@SonicBroom

I don’t know what you’re all complaining about.

SCHOOLS ARE SAFE. THEY ARE NOT VECTORS OF TRANSMISSION AT ALL.

There’s a whole different variant of Covid which only exists in schools, knocks before entering, takes its shoes off at the door, and behaves completely differently to the Covid outside schools. Got it? Ok. Good, we’re all clear then. Covid doesn’t spread in schools.

Jeez.

😆🤣🙄

[quote Tranquilitybasehotelandcasino]@Soundofshuna I have severe allergies and have suffered anaphylaxis previously as a result of a component in the vaccine. I’ve consulted with my GP and been advised not to have it.[/quote]
I would contact the booking line and ask them to put you into contact with someone who can advise as the vaccines have different components or ask for a referral to secondary care.
We still get notifications of close contact from school, they involve a lot of children. If it’s a friend we’ve heard from child or parent. I’m not sure if there are any schools left with zero covid, personally I just presume my kids are at constant risk of contracting it! If not at school from somewhere else I don’t think it’s avoidable with current numbers. Could you wear medical masks to see parents?

You do t have to lie to get a PCR these days you can book one as a contact

[quote Tranquilitybasehotelandcasino]@VikingOnTheFridge Lateral flows aren’t super reliable though and PCR testing isn’t supposed to be used without symptoms, so I don’t know if you could get away with keep doing them. Ultimately it is what it is and we’ll just plod on as we were before. I just thought that a bit more info might help those with really vulnerable family, but the government aren’t forcing schools to narrow it down for parents and clearly some schools are more transparent than others.[/quote]
I know. I said 'tests' not just LFTs. Could be either.

Ultimately, I think if you're in a position where you feel you need school's best assessment of who your DC have been in close contact with, that best assessment isn't necessarily enough. Because it would be far from foolproof even if schools resources weren't stretched so very thin. I can see that it would make your life a lot easier if this weren't the case, but you seem to need more than even a close contacts policy could reliably provide.

In my sons primary, if a child in the class tests positive, there is announcement on the school app to say which year group is affected and the whole affected class is encouraged to get PCR tests. But of course school can’t insist on that or ask for proof or anything so it’s completely down to parents discretion.

No idea what happens at my eldest secondary, we’ve not be notified of any cases as yet - he’s in yr7 - but I can’t believe there haven’t been any, so they must only notify when it affects your child, not just cases in the school as a whole.

“PCR testing isn’t supposed to be used without symptoms”

NOT TRUE.

PCRs are specifically designed to be used with OR without symptoms.

LFTs are not supposed to be used without symptoms.

I find it utterly frightening how completely unaware people are. Not by their own fault, why should they know, but because the messaging from govt has been so utterly abysmal.

I think secondaries on the whole don't notify you at all. After all, either the ending of bubbles, most children are in more than one class/set/grouping.

We don't notify of cases at all.

SORRY - LFT ARE NOT MEANT YO BE USED WITH SYMPTOMS!!! Terrible typo!

@SonicBroom I’m just stating what the gov website says about PCR’s being for those with symptoms or those who know they’ve been in contact with someone with Covid. If my child doesn’t have symptoms and school won’t/can’t confirm if they’ve been near someone with it, I’d presume we’re meant to just use a lateral flow. I’m not a scientist and like a lot of people, just going on what I’ve read, but these don’t appear to be that reliable. My concern was if I keep ordering PCR tests, I’d have to lie online and say that my child either has symptoms or has confirmed contact with someone, which they don’t have. I didn’t know if this would be monitored after I’ve ordered one every week for 18 months? 😂

This may all be incorrect as I’m just going on the gov websites and don’t really know what’s what.

If you’re a potential close contact without symptoms you get a PCR, so they are designed to be used without symptoms. If you have no reason to suspect you’re a close contact and no symptoms then you have no reason to assume you’re at risk so you LFT just in case. But any reason to assume you’re a close contact is ok to PCR. In care homes, staff are still doing PCRs every week without symptoms in order to pick anything up early.