School closure

[Picklesandbeans]

So dc school sent out a message today to say its struggling to staff itself and may have to close on safety grounds as staff absence so high. There ate year groups closed already. My ds just went back after covid and dd still off with it. I've been off too. Anyone else having issues ?

We were within a whisker of closing a class on Monday. Cases are on the upturn and the data for the infection rates in our county and for primary age children is horrendous.

@Shitfuckcommaetc

Everyone I know currently know isolating are either asymptotic or just mild cold symptoms. Strange that all the teachers known on this thread are all so unwell they couldn't possibly work

Teachers will receive a massive viral load from sharing a classroom with covid positive people for several hours.

Teachers also have to stand for six or seven hours and project their voice for most of that time. It's an extremely physical job. It's not difficult to understand why that might be a challenge if they've been ill.

@Shitfuckcommaetc I am a TA (had Covid twice already). We've had 11 children accross the 2 classes I work in test positive since Friday. Every day I hear of a child/children positive and I think - I sat next to that child helping with maths for 20 minutes. Cuddled that child who was crying etc. So my viral load is high everyday at the moment. Except medical staff not many jobs have that close contact with positive people day in day out.

My son’s teacher, who is probably only in her 30s, has been off since Christmas with covid, including a hospital stay. When my DH (triple jabbed) had it in a much less physically demanding job than a teacher he couldn’t work at all for 2 weeks, and had 1 week after on short days. It’s not always mild.

I work in a secondary school and we had to send two year groups home for the last two weeks before Christmas. We just didn't have the staff and supply staff were unwilling to come to such a covid hotspot right before Christmas.

I should add that my anecdata is made up from colleagues (& myself), all frontline nhs, so probably a similar level of viral load

We are very close to sending year groups home. On average I've got 5/6 pupils per 30 in each class missing. 5 classes a day. Staffing is spreading like wild fire and there is zero supply. I work part time abs have already been begged to work on my day off. I can't I don't have childcare abs can't send my child to nursery an additional day as they have nearly closed due to staff shortages too!

@Shitfuckcommaetc

I should add that my anecdata is made up from colleagues (& myself), all frontline nhs, so probably a similar level of viral load

That’s really interesting. Do you wear ppe, and do those you treat? School staff can’t, and children don’t, so it is interesting if people with similar viral load but where poe is worn are getting covid more mildly than those without.

Our Belgian secondary school is completely shut this week, and we had more mitigations in place than in the UK, including masks all day long. I think Omicron is just too contagious for anything to work.

We currently have very high levels of kids off (secondary) but not TOO many staff. I mean, it's not ideal, but it's just about manageable. However the teachers who have got Covid are ranging from feeling ill for a day or two and being back after 5 days to feeling really pretty awful and still off after 11/12 days. If you pick it up from the children in a classroom that you can't ventilate effectively, you are going to have a higher viral load than someone who picked it up from a brief interaction in Tescos. Furthermore, it's not the sort of job where you can quietly answer emails, keep hydrating etc. You're basically in performance mode all day long, on your feet, walking corridors and in a state of high alert for bad behaviour/lessons being derailed etc. And you can't drink much because there's rarely a chance to get to a loo. And your classroom is freezing cold because you have to keep the windows open. It's not a job that you can do while feeling shit.Yes, we all have to occasionally - I felt shit yesterday (not Covid-related) and my lessons were really dull and suffered from bad behaviour because I couldn't be my usual buzzy, alert, funny, enthusiastic, 'on it' self. The lessons were a bit dull so the usual suspects got bored and kicked off because I just didn't have the energy to defuse/steer away/distract/cajole etc. If I felt worse than off colour there's no way I would be able to teach. But I have only had a sick day about 3 times in 10 years before someone starts thinking I am wuss!

@Shitfuckcommaetc

Everyone I know currently know isolating are either asymptotic or just mild cold symptoms. Strange that all the teachers known on this thread are all so unwell they couldn't possibly work

Same with my work, I work in a factory so it's very physical and there is only one person who was very unwell and ended up in hospital. He was unvaccinated by choice. Everyone else has been fine.

@Shitfuckcommaetc Do you deal with the same set of patients all day long on a ward, or do they come in for a 20 minute appointment and leave again? Imagine being a primary teacher in the same classroom and air as maybe 3 or 4 kids who are infectious but don't know it yet all day long. They're little, they don't understand personal space, they sneeze on you etc. I think this is why teachers are going down in such numbers. I am secondary but we have a primary attached, and their teachers and TAs are going down and being properly ill far more than we are in secondary - because at least we get to change rooms or classes every hour!

Most people are probably working in environments where the majority of people are vaccinated. Teachers (and other educational staff) are not, particularly in Primary School, so as others have said the viral load they are being hit with is going to be higher.

I am not a teacher but my friendship group is full of teachers. Every single one of them who has tested positive have had symptoms (and they test regularly so are more likely to pick up asymptomatic cases) and many of them have been quite poorly. Two needing hospital treatment. They are not sitting at home twiddling their thumbs isolating, they would not be able to work

@Shitfuckcommaetc

I should add that my anecdata is made up from colleagues (& myself), all frontline nhs, so probably a similar level of viral load

Obviously being an SEN primary teacher isn't the same as frontline NHS but it would be interesting to know how the respective viral loads compare. I'm with the same group of children from 9am until 3.15pm and get 30 minutes for lunch if we have enough staff. No masks or PPE whilst with the children, including when working with them very closely, being bitten etc. No hot water in the classroom to wash hands should we need to and no ventilation possible because it's not safe to have the windows open.

@toomuchlaundry

Most people are probably working in environments where the majority of people are vaccinated. Teachers (and other educational staff) are not, particularly in Primary School, so as others have said the viral load they are being hit with is going to be higher.

I am not a teacher but my friendship group is full of teachers. Every single one of them who has tested positive have had symptoms (and they test regularly so are more likely to pick up asymptomatic cases) and many of them have been quite poorly. Two needing hospital treatment. They are not sitting at home twiddling their thumbs isolating, they would not be able to work

Yes, good point about vaccinations.

@Shitfuckcommaetc

I should add that my anecdata is made up from colleagues (& myself), all frontline nhs, so probably a similar level of viral load

I assume that none of you wear any PPE then. Also that you spend 6 hours with the same patient only a few inches away from your face the entire time.

My DDs' school has about 18% of kids off and about 50% of teachers. They are closing classes as a last resort, with everyone who can be redeployed to sit in front of a class doing so. DD1's class has been close for 2 days. It's been really hard for them to plan as staff might be able to come back, depending on lateral flow tests and the staff member earmarked to cover a class can just as soon test positive themselves.

We have had to close two classes at my primary school this half term. Both the teacher and LSA in the affected classes had Covid. We also had other adults in the school off with Covid so it wasn't possible to find enough cover. It is also difficult to get supply cover for a class with an outbreak of Covid!
We have had 6 members of staff with Covid in the last 3 weeks (there are about 25 staff in the whole school). All have been poorly enough to need to stay in bed for several days, even though most have been fully vaccinated.

Teaching means being on your feet all day dealing with 30 children. It's not the same as logging on and preparing something on a computer or logging on to a zoom meeting.

By "help" Blubell, do you mean help to spread yet more covid around this increasing illness, long covid and hospitalisations for some CEV and or unvaccinated folk?

But isolating won't "stop" people from getting Covid, the most it will do is slow the spread of infections

I assume that none of you wear any PPE then. Also that you spend 6 hours with the same patient only a few inches away from your face the entire time.

Surely you have to make your peace with being surrounded by dozens of snotty children when you decide to become a teacher!

In my work with office work, most people who have had covid have not been well but managed to work as they had easy days doing what they could.

Surely you have to make your peace with being surrounded by dozens of snotty children when you decide to become a teacher!

Yes, of course. We are just explaining why teachers - when they get Covid - may be more severely ill than others who are less exposed to the virus, whether that lower exposure be through dealing with vaccinated people; wearing PPE; having fewer infected contacts for less time; having social distancing etc etc.

@Shitfuckcommaetc

I should add that my anecdata is made up from colleagues (& myself), all frontline nhs, so probably a similar level of viral load

Do you not wear masks then, in your frontline nhs jobs. I was at the hospital last week with my son, and it was still being very strictly managed, masks, spacing in clinic, asking everyone to lft before they came in. Nothing like the conditions in school at all.

Catching omicron doesn’t stop you from catching it again, so I’m not sure where this idea of building immunity has come from.

Have you got evidence that people catch omicron twice?

Wow, our schools (one primary and one secondary) have very few cases despite high community numbers. Primary has 450 dc and 3 cases.