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Thread: School Illness in These Times

  1. #1

    School Illness in These Times

    So my teenage school heads back to school. Immediately half the school (including my son) picks up some cold, cough and/or sore throat because they haven’t mingled in months.

    My son picks up a cold and by Monday had a persistent cough. Ok, we’ll keep him off school and get him a COVID test. No chance of that over the 2 days we try.

    His cough goes away, so he goes back to school on Wednesday. He comes home and tells me there are kids in the class snorting, coughing and spluttering.

    Then his cough comes back again. You can’t get a test, so you either have to keep your kid off for 2 weeks, or send them back to school.

    We’re trying our best, but it is no easy.


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  2. #2
    Grand Master JasonM's Avatar
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    It’s mad isn’t it, my wife has a cold, coughing and sneezing and sniffing but nothing out of the ordinary and in past times wouldn’t think anything of it, she is only scheduled to go to the office one day a week but was told not to come in as it ‘would freak the
    other people out’ according to her boss.
    Cheers..
    Jase

  3. #3
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    Same experience here only we did manage to get a test surprisingly, which was negative (which I would have bet on).

  4. #4
    Same here, picked my lad up Thursday - (he’s 11
    on Sunday) - terrible cough all night, slightly elevated temp.

    Managed to get him tested Friday and result came back negative today

    we were fortunate to get a test and results so quickly otherwise following he’d have been off school, I’d have been self isolating as would my partner

  5. #5
    Grand Master oldoakknives's Avatar
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    Can’t really see the point you’re making here to be honest? What would make these scenarios better for you?
    Perhaps if there was no virus then everything would be easier. But there is.
    Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by oldoakknives View Post
    What would make these scenarios better for you?
    The ability to get a symptomatic son a test might be quite good.

  7. #7
    Master murkeywaters's Avatar
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    Same situation with my son, although he sneezed and was sent out of class to the medical room, there he sat with lots of other kids coughing and generally looking rough, school called me and I picked him up..

    Couple days off and no chance of a test we call the school, they say sneezing isn’t a sign of COVID so he shouldn’t be off school, I say you sent him home for sneezing!!
    They just palmed it off and I get the impression they don’t really know what to do.

    Crazy times..

  8. #8
    Grand Master wileeeeeey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by noTAGlove View Post
    The ability to get a symptomatic son a test might be quite good.
    Not too much to ask is it?

  9. #9
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    Both of ours have been off with colds, sore throats and coughs but nothing that would seem to be Covid. Someone in my son’s class has tested positive though so the whole class is off for two weeks anyway. Kids are going to be in and out of school all year unfortunately as their policy is you’re not allowed back in to school for two weeks even if you test negative when someone else in the class has tested positive.

  10. #10
    Cold rips through school easily. How reassuring lol. They have no chance VS Covid which as far as i can tell is so infectious that if someone has it and farts they infect everyone within a square mile

  11. #11
    Master jukeboxs's Avatar
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    I must be reading the OP wrong that the lad returned after 2 days, given guidance is to self-isolate for 10 days. Agree it's a farce when ready testing unavailable. This school year will be wasted for many.

  12. #12
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    School Illness in These Times

    Colds are ripping through my daughters class at the moment. It’s that season. Teachers should be tested each week not every sneezy kid.
    The kids missed out on 40% of the teaching last year too. Parents became teachers whilst teachers topped up tans. I’m surprised they went back in September as I presumed the teaching unions were going to step in again and block it.


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    Last edited by Stilgoe1972; 26th September 2020 at 01:05.

  13. #13
    Grand Master oldoakknives's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by noTAGlove View Post
    The ability to get a symptomatic son a test might be quite good.
    Fair enough, if you need a test then you should be able to get one pretty quickly, perhaps there is a high demand at the moment. I guess the only other option is to isolate for 10 days according to guidance.
    Last edited by oldoakknives; 26th September 2020 at 00:24.
    Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by oldoakknives View Post
    perhaps there is a high demand at the moment.
    I think that is an understatement. Have you been watching the national news?

  15. #15
    Grand Master oldoakknives's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by noTAGlove View Post
    I think that is an understatement. Have you been watching the national news?
    Yes, but you seemed surprised about the difficulty in getting a test.
    Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.

  16. #16

    School Illness in These Times

    Quote Originally Posted by oldoakknives View Post
    Yes, but you seemed surprised about the difficulty in getting a test.
    Perhaps there is high demand at the moment.


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  17. #17
    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
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    This school year will go down in flames. What you all write for about your kids, goes for the teachers as well. In the same classroom with the same coughing and sneezing kids. Hence, >12% of the teachers is at home with this sort of symptoms. And... they are forced to stay at home when one of their family members has a cough etc as well. One of my colleagues who's still working, has installed a camera in the back of his classroom and teaches 'hybrid': live, in front of pupils in his class and on Teams at the same time! Guess what, he got slapped on his fingers for privacy rules!

    Then: 'proper ventilation'. In my school building, opening windows will allow in a lot of free air. It will cause draft and that will cause new cases of cold, coughs etc. Last few winters weren't really cold, so perhaps, we should thank global warming when winter 20/21 is mild again. I can't see how schools can ventilate with sub-zero outside temps! Heating costs will go through the roof.

    Basically, your kids, my world wide teaching colleagues and I are subject to a social and medical experiment. Let's take a step back an observe. Everybody is urged to work from home etc. Here, bars and restaurants are closed again due to the fact that people are too close. Still, we cram people together in a (class) room with the idea that youngsters won't get caught by Covid, leaving teachers out of the equation, leaving kids with physical problems (asthma etc) out of the equation. Leaving blank that your kid can be caught by Covid (no symptoms) and spread it in your family at the dinner table.

    What to do? Every single lesson should be done irl and on Teams/Zoom. Your kids can follow those lessons at home - provided he/she's not too ill. Older/vulnerable teachers should be allowed to teach on Teams from home. Mouth masks should be mandatory in schools, all day long. I wear mine all day. The hypothetical moment my boss tells me to take it off is the moment (which he won't - he wears his the moment he steps out of his office) I walk out the door.
    Last edited by thieuster; 26th September 2020 at 08:00.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by noTAGlove View Post
    Then his cough comes back again. You can’t get a test, so you either have to keep your kid off for 2 weeks, or send them back to school.
    Plus everyone else in the household must also isolate and stay home; don’t forget that. I know of at least one set of self employed parents being ruined by this.

    Apparently only 1 in 10 people who are told to isolate actually are isolating. Another reason to wear a mask and touch nothing when out and about.

    PS, don’t start a post or a sentence with ‘so’ (you’re spending too much time around teenagers!!)

    PPS https://www.gov.uk/government/public...n=backtoschool
    Last edited by ach5; 26th September 2020 at 07:56.

  19. #19
    Grand Master ryanb741's Avatar
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    My 6 year old son had a serious Epilepsy relapse earlier this month after no seizure for 3 years and ended up on a ventilator. He is going through various follow up tests and had an MRI booked for monday just past. The notification letter said to let them know if you developed any Covid symptoms. Anyway, right as clockwork my son had gotten a very mild cough and runny nose everyone in his class has and had inevitably given them to me, and I was more afflicted by it then him (he had a runny nose for half a day and a mild cough at night when lying down). I was pretty sure they were a cold (particularly as we almost certainly had covid in May) but being responsible we called the hospital and said we had some symptoms and what do they advise.

    They asked straight away if we had runny/stuffy noses and sneezing. I replied that yes we did and the response was that was totally non Covid-related and to come in (with mask of course) as long as the illness wasn't severe (it wasn't - my son had not been ill enough to require not going into school and I had a mild cold).

    When we arrived the doctor answering the phone said that it was driving them nuts that every slight sniffle was being treated as Covid and creating a bottleneck in the testing process and that the easiest way to rule out Covid was that if you were sneezing or had a runny nose it was improbable that it was Covid and that it would be a cold. Symptomatic Covid pretty universally followed the following symptom development:

    1. Onset of fever
    2. Lack of taste/smell and frequently accompanied by a cough that you would notice, not a 'I'm coughing a bit here could that be Covid'? cough but rather 'if I don't stop coughing I am going to pass out' cough
    3. Extreme fatigue. Not 'I feel a bit down' but 'it is difficult to get out of bed' fatigue.

    Obviously people have different experiences and not everyone gets all (or any) of those symptoms however sneezing and runny noses were used to rule out the infection as a symptom.
    Last edited by ryanb741; 26th September 2020 at 07:58.

  20. #20
    Grand Master JasonM's Avatar
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    I guess it’s possible to have a cold and COVID at the same time?
    Cheers..
    Jase

  21. #21
    Master Lammylee's Avatar
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    School Illness in These Times

    My daughter was in school for 2 weeks before the entire year 11 and 10 were sent back home to isolate for 2 weeks because a pupil in each year had been tested positive. At home it’s like looking after a caged tiger!

  22. #22
    One girl in my daughter’s year 8 class tested positive after being off since Monday. On Thursday we got the call that her class now has to self isolate for 2 weeks (backdated) and had to pick her up. My daughter was one of 8 identified as having no close contact but because there was PE lesson during the period the school decided to send the whole class home. At least they are well set up to teach via Teams. My daughter had school work to do within a couple of hours of getting home.

  23. #23
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    This must be going on nationwide at the moment. My son came home with a high temperature around 10 days ago. He also had a stuffy, runny nose and sneezing. We were sure it as not COVID, but he is too young to be tested. The next development came last week when we were told a teacher in the next class tested positive, so the particular 'bubble' she came in contact with would isolate. I don't think they have isolated the whole class but not 100% sure as my son is not in that class.

    The next 3-4 months are going to be tricky for all families with children in school, university, etc. There is no easy solution!

  24. #24
    Grand Master JasonM's Avatar
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    I presume that parents who both work, not from home, are going to run into problems at work if they have to stay at home because their kids are isolating.
    Cheers..
    Jase

  25. #25
    Grand Master Onelasttime's Avatar
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    I give it to October half term before the whole thing collapses and we're back to teaching at home. It's an absolute joke at the moment.

  26. #26
    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Onelasttime View Post
    I give it to October half term before the whole thing collapses and we're back to teaching at home. It's an absolute joke at the moment.
    I've aired the same thoughts. Schools will try to stay open, but the government can decide differently...

  27. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by JasonM View Post
    I presume that parents who both work, not from home, are going to run into problems at work if they have to stay at home because their kids are isolating.
    Those in contracted employment will be mostly protected, but will likely have to use up their annual allowance of annual leave, unless they have *very* generous employers.

    Self employed parents are going to be in big trouble.

  28. #28
    Master Alansmithee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Onelasttime View Post
    I give it to October half term before the whole thing collapses and we're back to teaching at home. It's an absolute joke at the moment.
    Universities will not last for more than a couple of weeks - too many staff already having to self-isolate and too many students already self-isolating.

  29. #29
    Grand Master ryanb741's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alansmithee View Post
    Universities will not last for more than a couple of weeks - too many staff already having to self-isolate and too many students already self-isolating.
    TBH makes no.sense to shut unis if the students are in student accommodation as we know they dont tend to get bad disease so if they get their disease separated from the vulnerable then that may be a safe and effective way of building up herd immunity

  30. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by ryanb741 View Post
    TBH makes no.sense to shut unis if the students are in student accommodation as we know they dont tend to get bad disease so if they get their disease separated from the vulnerable then that may be a safe and effective way of building up herd immunity
    Common sense Sir? How bloody dare you! We have mass hysteria to maintain don’t you know

  31. #31
    Master village's Avatar
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    It seems my son & daughter’s school is taking a pragmatic and sensible approach (at the moment) and not running round in a blind flap the moment a pupil sneezes or has a little cough. It’s a big comprehensive and therefore the traditional September cold spike that happens every single year when kids go back to school is currently running through the school.
    If we return to home schooling then the current year 11 pupils (of which my son is one) are going to seriously suffer as a result. I’m not entirely convinced that even though there are plans to reduce the content of some exams that there may not be any next year anyway, and that grades will be awarded as they were this year.

  32. #32
    Grand Master ryanb741's Avatar
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    TBH I know a now retired chap who used to be a Partner at KPMG specifically working with the government and he still has some contacts at Whitehall. His take from what he hears is that schools will be the last places to shut. They'll shut everything else first.

    Obviously this is anecdote but thought I'd share anyway.

  33. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by thieuster View Post
    This school year will go down in flames. What you all write for about your kids, goes for the teachers as well. In the same classroom with the same coughing and sneezing kids. Hence, >12% of the teachers is at home with this sort of symptoms. And... they are forced to stay at home when one of their family members has a cough etc as well. One of my colleagues who's still working, has installed a camera in the back of his classroom and teaches 'hybrid': live, in front of pupils in his class and on Teams at the same time! Guess what, he got slapped on his fingers for privacy rules!

    Then: 'proper ventilation'. In my school building, opening windows will allow in a lot of free air. It will cause draft and that will cause new cases of cold, coughs etc. Last few winters weren't really cold, so perhaps, we should thank global warming when winter 20/21 is mild again. I can't see how schools can ventilate with sub-zero outside temps! Heating costs will go through the roof.

    Basically, your kids, my world wide teaching colleagues and I are subject to a social and medical experiment. Let's take a step back an observe. Everybody is urged to work from home etc. Here, bars and restaurants are closed again due to the fact that people are too close. Still, we cram people together in a (class) room with the idea that youngsters won't get caught by Covid, leaving teachers out of the equation, leaving kids with physical problems (asthma etc) out of the equation. Leaving blank that your kid can be caught by Covid (no symptoms) and spread it in your family at the dinner table.

    What to do? Every single lesson should be done irl and on Teams/Zoom. Your kids can follow those lessons at home - provided he/she's not too ill. Older/vulnerable teachers should be allowed to teach on Teams from home. Mouth masks should be mandatory in schools, all day long. I wear mine all day. The hypothetical moment my boss tells me to take it off is the moment (which he won't - he wears his the moment he steps out of his office) I walk out the door.
    Yes I agree with what they should do in your post. Instead what actually happens is they spent 8 weeks doing nothing. Then they simply used Teams but still drew from online course and did registration in the morning. What a hard day. They did no teaching what’s so ever. My daughter is 8. Luckily she’s not doing exams. The lighthouse affinity trust who unfortunately run lots of the schools in Somerset should get their eyes opened with some piss ridden fingers so as the twats that run it might see what a shitty standard of education they are giving. Key workers. What a joke.


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  34. #34
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    The government position is that children are less likely to get infected, and that they are not as infectious. Is this correct? From what I read, this is despite viral loads in children are similar (if not higher) to levels in adults. Does anyone have links to papers that give definitive proof that children are just as infectious?

    I've kept both my kids out of school since the start of the new school year. My daughter has a heart & lung condition which though not on the official list of medical exemptions, we feel it best to err on the side of caution and continue homeschooling. Today we received a written warning that this cannot go on indefinitely and if we don't come into school and see how 'safe' the school is and send our kids back into school, there will be legal consequences... which presumably means fines/court orders.





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  35. #35
    My youngest was in school 2 days before being sent home with a runny nose. I’d just got to work and had to leave to look after the poorly child.

    School said they’d twice checked her temperature and it was fine but as a precaution they send her home anyway. The following day I sent her back to school as she’s fine.

    This week it’s cold and pissing down and the kids aren’t allowed to do PE inside, so they get piss wet through and cold, and then go inside but can’t get warm because all the doors and windows have to be open. So it’s fine if they get hypothermia and pneumonia as long as they don’t spread Covid.

  36. #36
    Master Alansmithee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ryanb741 View Post
    TBH makes no.sense to shut unis if the students are in student accommodation as we know they dont tend to get bad disease so if they get their disease separated from the vulnerable then that may be a safe and effective way of building up herd immunity
    That does not solve the logistical problems under current government regulations:

    1) Within a couple of weeks there will simply not be the staff to teach them as they are required to self-isolated - yesterday three of my staff got notifications to self-isolate and had to turn around and go home. A fourth got a notification while on the premises and simply had to leave. That's before you get into many academics are much older so a significant number have medical evidence that does not allow them on campus.

    You simply cannot operate the time-table because you have no idea from day to day who is available to teach or even allowed onsite.

    2) As students self-isolate, they request accommodations to have an online equivalent - not enough slack in the system to do it.

    That is why it will fall to pieces - student complaints will start to stack up shortly because of the number of cancelled classes.
    Last edited by Alansmithee; 26th September 2020 at 14:33.

  37. #37
    Confirmed case of covid in my kids school. The whole of nursery and reception years have to stay home for 2 weeks. Won't be long before it spreads to other year groups due to siblings etc

  38. #38
    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KingKitega View Post
    The government position is that children are less likely to get infected, and that they are not as infectious. Is this correct? From what I read, this is despite viral loads in children are similar (if not higher) to levels in adults. Does anyone have links to papers that give definitive proof that children are just as infectious?

    I've kept both my kids out of school since the start of the new school year. My daughter has a heart & lung condition which though not on the official list of medical exemptions, we feel it best to err on the side of caution and continue homeschooling. Today we received a written warning that this cannot go on indefinitely and if we don't come into school and see how 'safe' the school is and send our kids back into school, there will be legal consequences... which presumably means fines/court orders.





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    As a teacher and school's vice-principal, I'm absolutely on your side when it comes to homeschooling a child with a heart & lung condition! Those 'who can come in vs who stays at home'-rule is only a rough guideline. Not a personalized one. What does her doctor say about this? When her doctor's advice tips the balance towards you, there's less chance that you'll be fined. Authorities aren't medically schooled.

    Apart from that: I was homeschooled when I was young. My parents moved a lot from town to town and my parents didn't see a good reason why I should visit a school and then move on within 9 - 12 months to another spot. When I remember correctly, I moved between Flanders and The Netherlands 6 times in 5 yrs. Ultimately, when I started visiting a 'normal' school, I hadn't missed anything. Homeschooling appeals to parents' responsibility for proper education. My mom had to come up with a curriculum that she'd figured out herself. Nowadays (Dutch situation) one can apply for online support. E.g. expats with children wanting to return to the Netherlands during the school year can start a 'Dutch' school year before they return, giving the kids a 'soft landing' once they start on a Dutch school. Same goes for parents + kids wanting to travel the world with a yacht.

    When you make sure that your child is eductated by you and prove it in court, things will be easier for you as well. Make sure, that when the school is reluctant to help you with homeschooling (because they think you should bring her to school), to keep record and a dossier over what has been said and written. Don't get cornered by the system.

    Menno

  39. #39
    Master Alansmithee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KingKitega View Post
    The government position is that children are less likely to get infected, and that they are not as infectious. Is this correct? From what I read, this is despite viral loads in children are similar (if not higher) to levels in adults. Does anyone have links to papers that give definitive proof that children are just as infectious?

    I've kept both my kids out of school since the start of the new school year. My daughter has a heart & lung condition which though not on the official list of medical exemptions, we feel it best to err on the side of caution and continue homeschooling. Today we received a written warning that this cannot go on indefinitely and if we don't come into school and see how 'safe' the school is and send our kids back into school, there will be legal consequences... which presumably means fines/court orders.


    The law allows homeschooling but your problem is it does not allow it both ways - you need to deregister them from the school - as it legally stands them, you are not home schooling them, you are keeping them from school. The school currently is obligated to follow this up.

    (There is a slightly more complex route around flexi-schooling but most headmasters will not agree to it).
    Last edited by Alansmithee; 26th September 2020 at 14:52.

  40. #40
    When your kids are told to self isolate is that a requirement for the whole family?

  41. #41
    Master village's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mr.chef View Post
    When your kids are told to self isolate is that a requirement for the whole family?
    Not in the first instance but then if they develop symptoms,yes.
    The exception to this is if your child is the one who has tested positive and triggered the instruction for other kids in the school to self isolate. In this case the whole family has to self isolate.
    Quote from the Government guidelines:

    "Self-isolation means staying at home and not going outside your home at any time. If you live with other people, they do not need to self-isolate, but they should avoid contact with you as far as possible and follow advice on hygiene.
    "If you go on to develop symptoms, anyone you live with must then self-isolate and you must report your symptoms and get tested."


  42. #42
    Master mindforge's Avatar
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    My five year old son is having to self isolate which is clearly a nonsense as you cannot distance from a small child you are looking after. Siblings can continue to go to school apparently. So it is just an inconvenience and I cannot see how it really helps contain the virus without the whole household isolating.

  43. #43
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    We got the alert today – our son's school Year 11 is already shut down and now his Year 9 group is being told not to come in tomorrow and Tuesday because they have too many teachers self-isolating or waiting for tests.

    I'm not sure why the school thinks they'll suddenly have enough teachers on Wednesday? More supply teachers maybe? He's had pretty much 50% supply teachers since he started back anyway. They are at least running a full timetable on Classrooms for the two days so fair play to them.

    We're going to pull him out at half term if the situation doesn't improve, but as I said earlier, it can't go on like this for much longer. He's currently not getting an education of any note and the only reason he goes in is to see his friends.

    The whole situation is untenable for children, parents and teachers.

  44. #44
    At my sons school, within the first 2 weeks of starting there was a child who tested positive in year 1. He had a sibling in year 2, so both entire years had to isolate for 2 weeks.

    Heard from another friend earlier in the week, her daughter had coughed whilst choking on some crisps in the canteen - guess what, 2 weeks isolation.

    This is not sustainable.

  45. #45
    Email from my son's school this morning. A pupil has tested positive for Covid so the whole year has been excluded from school for today and until PHE determine they are safe to go back. And this is in a relatively low Covid infection part of the country. God only know how anyone in Manchester, Liverpool, Bolton etc. with very high rates are going to get much education this year.

  46. #46
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    It's been said many times in the school newsletter and on the Parents App, that anyone collecting a child must wear a face mask, but at a rough guess id say 50% of parents aren't, and then you get some who moan when the year group has to isolate due to a confirmed case, its just baffling.

    Last week i saw two parents chatting outside the gates (waiting for them to be opened) and they were not distancing, wearing masks or visors etc, and then as soon as the gates opened they both put their masks on..... i remembered corona only operates on school grounds and not outside

  47. #47
    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by noTAGlove View Post
    Email from my son's school this morning. A pupil has tested positive for Covid so the whole year has been excluded from school for today and until PHE determine they are safe to go back. And this is in a relatively low Covid infection part of the country. God only know how anyone in Manchester, Liverpool, Bolton etc. with very high rates are going to get much education this year.
    My youngest had symptoms last Sunday. We were judging: covid or a cold? To be sure, we asked for a test on Monday. First chance? Tomorrow, Friday morning. Luckily he's getting better so he has cancelled the test. At the same time, 3 kids in his school tested positive. 4 classes X 25 pupils are sent home in quarantaine until Monday.

    Online lessons are a farce. I've sent my collegue of my son's school a nasty email telling him that he should get his staff in line with the school's policy about online lessons: "When you're at home, you'll be expected to join the online lessons on Teams!" Yeah right, only his maths teacher sends him an invite.

    My day was mostly spend trying to explain a mother my school's policy about wearing a face-mask. This week it's only an advice to wear one (we want to learn the kids to wear it) - as from next week it's mandatory. The mother came in, all guns blazing, why her -supposedly asthmatic- son has to wear a facemask. "He can't breath, and a facemask is against the personal freedom!" I first reacted that I did not have the idea that her son's asthmatic, since he burns a pack of fags per day... 15 yr/old and a cigarette addict. No response... About personal freedom: I told her that being in high risk group, I hate coming in school every day, being afraid to get infected. I then suggested (very bad...) how her son would feel when he realizes that he's responsible for my death. That was a show stopper.

    Then I suggested a plastic mask. "He's not on Mars, is he!? Who's responsible for these rules?" As if she didn't know. It took me the best part of two hours to get her outside again. Result: she's going to find another school for her boy "Where the rules aren't like the Nazi rules during the war!" I absolutely agreed with her I am more than willing to help her.

    Menno

  48. #48
    Grand Master oldoakknives's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Estoril-5 View Post
    It's been said many times in the school newsletter and on the Parents App, that anyone collecting a child must wear a face mask, but at a rough guess id say 50% of parents aren't, and then you get some who moan when the year group has to isolate due to a confirmed case, its just baffling.

    Last week i saw two parents chatting outside the gates (waiting for them to be opened) and they were not distancing, wearing masks or visors etc, and then as soon as the gates opened they both put their masks on..... i remembered corona only operates on school grounds and not outside
    We live 100 yards from the village primary school. Every day the parents all crowd together around the gates. No masks.
    Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.

  49. #49
    Half term this week, so I've used the last of my spare holidays to take the week off, have some nice days out.
    Email today, confirmed covid case in my sons class, he has to stay home and isolate for 2 weeks. Bloody great.
    Guess we'll be taking it in turns to take his sister out, while the other stays home with him all week. Xbox gonna take a pounding

  50. #50
    Grand Master ryanb741's Avatar
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    Reading back through this thread and the predicted 'it'll all collapse by half term' hasn't (yet) happened although there is noise from some science-types that having classes of some age groups conducted remotely could be an option.

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