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Covid

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Original poster

School Closures

51 replies

allthatIcando · 09/02/2022 13:44

Hello,

My oldest will be at home for the rest of this half term as there are too many cases in school (too many teachers isolating) and whole year groups are shutting down. Just wondered how much this was happening to others as have not hears locally that other schools have had to close whole year groups

OP posts:

TheYearOfSmallThings · 09/02/2022 13:47

It hasn't happened here, and one day last week 22 kids and both teachers were off in DS's class.

Blubells · 09/02/2022 14:25

It hasn't happened here either. No school closures at all and hardly any staff absences.

flumposie · 09/02/2022 14:28

Our Year 9s are working from home today. Staff absence is currently 36 teachers off with covid and other illness. It's been averaging 20 up until this week.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 09/02/2022 14:35

DS's primary has been fine. We are in Derbyshire.

StrangeAddiction · 09/02/2022 15:22

DD's year (year 9) has to do remote learning this week as 18% of staff are off with covid as well as loads of kids. Even using supply teachers hasn't been enough to be able to keep them in school. It's taken until now that there has been this kind of disruption, the most we've had was when class isolations was a thing back in 2020.

HallieLA · 09/02/2022 15:53

Loads here too and have been for weeks. Schools are struggling with staffing and children are struggling due to interruption to their learning.

Supply teachers are, if possible, now being covered by supply teachers as they are infected once they start in the school . In many cases just no supply available. SLT covering, children at home. KW priority in school.
Schools also closed where SLT are the safeguarding leads, without them a school cannot open.

It is an unrecognised ( by government) mess.

SellFridges · 09/02/2022 16:10

Happened here a few weeks ago, but passed within ten days. We now haven’t had an email about cases in school for two weeks. It’s burned out.

HereComesYourMam · 09/02/2022 16:15

My DS's school is open, but each year group is taking it in turns learning from home this week, to spread the teachers out.

clarkkentsglasses · 09/02/2022 16:25

Thankfully this will all end next month.

Karma1981 · 09/02/2022 16:29

Year groups are being taught in the school hall so to keep them in.
We were warned that or the school will have to close.

itwasntaparty · 09/02/2022 16:39

None here - there were loads out in December but school carried on. They did close for a day a couple of weeks ago because of a massive norovirus outbreak though.

SockFluffInTheBath · 09/02/2022 16:43

Not yet, but 20 teachers off at the moment according to DD.

MarshaBradyo · 09/02/2022 16:44

No closures here and cases declining so looks like we didn’t get hit with them

Rainuntilseptember · 09/02/2022 16:48

@clarkkentsglasses

Thankfully this will all end next month.

Covid? I assume you are referring to restrictions ending. It won't end people (children or staff) being off sick with Covid though. I suppose it will show how many are actually asymptomatic. The people (adults) I've know to have Covid, I can only think of one who was asymptomatic.

Mumofsend · 09/02/2022 16:57

Ours are really struggling for staff. Both my children have 1-1 TAs who are off with covid and the interim arrangements have been interesting to say the least. I know some classes are only open by merging remaining children and having a TA supervise. Hanging on by a thread

Nidan2Sandan · 09/02/2022 17:02

All good here, no issues at all. Schools have remained open throughout the pandemic whether it be just keyworkers kids or the whole school.

FoamBurst · 09/02/2022 17:08

Dds pre school has closed twice since Xmas.
3 other primary locally have all closed 2 weeks ago for a week.

Adarajames · 09/02/2022 17:57

I work for track and trace in the north west, spoken to a few people today where their kids are off or the class, and in at least once instance, school are closed due to too many teachers off ill, and for many, it’s not the first time they’ve been off I’ll with it

lumpofcomfort · 09/02/2022 17:59

We have had a couple of intermittent class closures (primary school) due to staff sickness.

Howshouldibehave · 09/02/2022 18:00

Yes-things are bad round here as well.

Even if the isolation rule changes mean people don’t have to isolate if they are well-if people have it and are ill, this won’t stop.

Dancingqueen202 · 09/02/2022 18:11

My daughter was taught history by a member of the medical room last week 😂

Clearly our school are trying their best to avoid closing but that’s a bit ridiculous.

Orchid876 · 09/02/2022 18:17

@clarkkentsglasses

Thankfully this will all end next month.

No it won't because the staff are off ill, they're not just off because they need to isolate. I'm a teacher, I'm currently off ill with it, and out of every teacher I know who has had it (and that's almost all of the teachers in my school), only 1 wouldn't have had any time off work. It's bad enough covering lessons in a normal winter, with Covid it's been an absolute car crash. I honestly don't know why people are so blind to this, teachers are leaving in their droves, it's a nightmare in schools atm and it's not going to get better. I know so many teachers who are so sick of it they're quitting this year, or retiring early. The impact that Covid has had on schools, and will continue to have on schools, is catastrophic.

lumpofcomfort · 09/02/2022 18:24

Agree with Orchid. In the last couple of months my small primary school has had at least 10 staff members off with Covid. Only one was relatively mildly affected and would have felt able to come into school of she hadn't needed to isolate. All the others were poorly in bed for several days. All vaccinated and boosted other than one who was double-vaccinated but had not had the booster.

It has been suggested that due to the high viral load and prolonged close contact with infected people has led to teachers having a higher viral load and therefore being more likely to suffer symptomatically.

We usually have very low rates of staff sickness. I can't remember ever having a staff member off with flu, for example.

SchrodingersUnicorn · 09/02/2022 18:25

It's going to be worse next month. I know several children who have been asymptomatic. They will be in school spreading it under next months rules, therefore more teachers will get it.
Of the dozens of teachers at our school who have had it, only one has been mildly l and able to work throughout. The rest have been too ill to work online at all for anywhere between 4 days and 3 weeks. Regardless of isolation rules, they would have had to be off.
Therefore next month more teachers catching it from covid positive pupils = more teachers off sick = more closures. Seems pretty obvious to anyone working in schools right now.

DrunkenKoala · 09/02/2022 18:41

The primary has somehow muddling through by the skin of its teeth. The secondary was ok until last week. DS year group has had two days out this week, the school isn’t fully closed they’re rotating the year groups.

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