Covid and education

[JustAnotherRandom]

With the covid inquiry taking place and discussing pandemic preparedness, I thought I'd share a thread on the impacts of current covid policy on education https://twitter.com/natebpanic/status/1674342348740866049?s=46&t=G9BWOZlYGPa11_pR7aKkbHQ

Mental health does need addressing and there were many kids who suffered due to lockdown. Covid itself also doubles the risk of mental health issues. Kids dealing with any of the horrid impacts of covid directly in them or family members is not going to help either. I would think the cost of reducing the level of covid in schools would more than outweigh the negative impacts of doing nothing on mental health alone.

NHS waiting times were at their highest pre-pandemic, but obviously have been exacerbated by both the pressures of high levels of covid and lockdown.

www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/chart-of-the-week-how-has-the-waiting-list-changed-over-the-years

Definitely.
My "worst" class has 7 students (class size is 24) all with personalised programmes and adjustments implemented over the past 2 years. They were 14 when COVID hit.
We could say that these issues (anxiety, eating disorders) would have surfaced anyway, and truth is, we'll never know.

I remember my own daughter, who I thought was OK (and compared to many, she was) having an absolute rant during online lessons one day and saying to me "I never gave my teachers permission to come into my bedroom". Sounds a minor thing looking back, but it really brought it home to me as a teacher, that that's what we were doing. Invading a space that we should never have been in, but which an exceptional situation forced us into.

It is certainly something that will be looked at and analysed for years to come. Could we, should we (returning to education and leaving aside GFery) have done it differently.

Hopefully there won't be a next time!

@Jamiejones44

Things a person needs for optimum health:

You missed one: Not catching a virus in a pandemic in its deadliest phase, ie. before any vaccinations are available

Andrew Bridgen, author of the tweet above has been expelled from the Conservative party for his behaviour and the lies he spread about COVID.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-65402195

Yeah, Andrew Bridgen isn't a reputable source, he's dodgy as fuck. I think anyone looking to argue with @WhenIWasAFieldMyself and the peer-reviewed scientific data she has linked to, is going to need to come up with something more authoritative than a twitter feed 😂

Given the long term effects of even mild covid infection I’d suggest not catching covid after vaccination or at least catching it as few times as possible ought to be on that list.

And anyone that thinks there would have been easy and timely access to healthcare if we hadn’t tried to control the spread of covid is having a laugh. Or is at least so badly informed that it calls into question whether the rest of their argument is similarly badly informed.

Stop over-exaggerating the impact of Covid. For the vast majority, even pre-vaccine it was a very mild illness. Personally I know no-one who had it particularly bad, vaccinated or un-vaccinated. So some pandemic eh? And yes, 'post viral syndrome' can be common with any viral infection, even before it was re-branded as long-Covid.

Hmmm did you have all this hindsight before Covid?

Also you know it makes not a dot of difference that " you, personally " know no one anyway.

Small percentages make big numbers across a population.

*Loneliness unleashes excess stress hormones, causing an elevated heart rate, and increased blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Loneliness also reduces the number of antibodies we produce to fight infection and may make us more susceptible to cancer. Even vaccine response has been shown to be less robust in socially isolated individuals".

Perhaps try the same with stress, vitamin D etc?*

Not much lonelier than have someone die on you.

And yes I knew two that died of Covid.

You mean more than likely died 'with' Covid?

sorry? You knew them?

They died of Covid.

And that's indescribably lonely for the people who have been left behind.

Please don't lecture on loneliness.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/excessdeathsinenglandandwalesmarch2020todecember2022/2023-03-09

Useful data on excess deaths since 2020. It helpfully also gives the figures when there was no mention of COVID on the death certificate.

TL:DR the month in that period with the highest number of deaths citing COVID was April 2020 while January 2021 has the highest BELOW AVERAGE excess deaths.

*Except small percentages did not increase excess mortality. Excess mortality in 2020 was nothing that out of the ordinary - in the worst Pandemic year. Hmmmm.

Meanwhile now in 2021, 22 and 23 excess mortality is far from normal. Wonder what changed in early 2021?*

Did you not read those ONS stats?

@sunglassesonthetable sorry for your loss.

Thank you. The deaths were my best friend's mother and the husband of my retired neighbour. I know how much they have been affected.

Of course. I hope nobody said 'of or with' to them - frankly an ultra-shitty phrase reserved solely for covid deaths.

how do teachers/educatiors feel
about the cancellation of GCSEs and A Levels? Did youse want exams to continue? Or did you support the government’s decision to cancel them? And the whole centre determined grades
system?

It was what it was. There was, in 2020, no viable alternative. I do think something different could have happened in 21.

And what we've seen (from a school's point of view) has been kids going to university unprepared both mentally, and academically in some cases. From a purely anecdotal point of view, more of our kids went, dropped out, or did their first year then didn't go back, or changed courses then ever before. I've also heard parents whose kids didn't receive offers from universities say it's "because of the COVID deferrals" I don't know enough about that to say, but I suppose there could have been far more deferrals than usual if people were concerned about lectures not being f2f.

The biggest thing I've noticed is the social immaturity of the new intakes. Not this year- thankfully we're back on track, but the 21-22 intake and the 20-21 intake seemed so much younger mentally than previous years.