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Re-opening Schools?

Mattym said:
I am reasonably apprehensive about returning to school, not so much the classroom with 30 kids, but more the hall with 100 staff in it on Friday/INSET day.
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All of our inset and meetings are still via zoom. Doubt it will make any difference as once the kids start rolling in, everyone will have it, again.
 
Yes it does seem as the new term comes around some things will be new but the outright lies and gaslighting will be as it was all last academic year:

www.bbc.co.uk

Covid: Schools aren't infection hubs, says public health boss

Dr Yvonne Doyle seeks to reassure parents as pupils head back to classrooms across the country.
www.bbc.co.uk

Next up: Why the Pope has actually been Hindu all these years and In fact bears are fastidious is their use of flushing toilets.
 
Its not just the media eaither, its an area where 'the scientific community' fall out with each other. Partly because its one of those 'balance' things where a whole bunch of experts will downplay certain aspects because they believe that on balance, education and certain development and mental health issues are more important. Its tricky and messy and gets emotive quickly. I can see both sides point of view but I do end up thinking less of those who go too far with their reassurances.

As for the media its one of those days where on the BBC live updates page some contradictions can be found.

08:23 entry:

Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, has been offering reassurance to parents on BBC Breakfast.

“We understand, and I understand fully, that parents may be nervous but I would stress again that schools are not the drivers and not the hubs of infection,” she says.

Despite calls from teacher unions for tougher measures to prevent transmission, she says she believes schools have the “right regimes” in place, with extra cleaning, advice on ventilation and testing.

She says outbreaks are expected but there are “tried and tested” ways of dealing with them.
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11:08 entry:

Experts like Prof Calum Semple from the University of Liverpool and Public Health England's Dr Yvonne Doyle are agreed that school is the best place for children.

But vaccinating everyone else means that they’ll look more like “hubs” for infections than they did last year.

If your problems get smaller and mine stay the same, I start to look worse than you.
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Parents have to balance the risks of Covid with the risks of disruption to education. Health experts currently appear more worried about missing education.
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Contrast those with these bits from the 11:23 entry:

More than 12.4 million children have gone back to school in France despite warnings of a spike in Covid-19 infections fuelled by unvaccinated pupils under the age of 12.

The schools reopened on Thursday under new health measures that the French government hopes will keep Covid cases under control.

Students aged six and up will be required to wear masks indoors, social-distancing will be enforced, and vaccines will be offered to over-12s in schools.
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But not everyone shared the minister's optimism. Experts have warned of a steep rise in cases, potentially driven by millions of unvaccinated schoolchildren.

They have pointed to Scotland, where cases surged after classes began in mid-August, as a cautionary tale.

French doctor Hélène Rossinot told the BFMTV news channel that an “explosion” of infections was possible. More testing was needed to identify outbreaks, she said.
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As usual what is largely missing from the picture offered by the media and experts is that one of the reason why closing schools makes such a difference in pandemics is that it disrupts adult contact mixing patterns, not just children, and underlines the fact that things are not normal and routines wont be normal. And there is a relationship between that concept and the other thing that doesnt get much of a mention, which is that its not just education that authorities worry about, its the childcare angle and it knock-on effect on staffing levels and the economy.
 
my partner is SEN teacher. Her school operates some sort of a bubble system. My partner and the PE teacher are the only two staff who are not assigned to a certain bubble but hop between them. They teach every single child in the school.
 
NI update

Justin McCamphill from NASUWT accused Education Minister Michelle McIlveen of poor leadership and asked why several mitigations, such as classroom bubbling and self-isolation requirements, were being relaxed when the transmission of the virus remained so high in the community.

He said in the week prior to the start of the autumn term last year there were 421 Covid-19 cases recorded in Northern Ireland. In comparison, he said last week there were almost 11,000 in the regio n.
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www.irishnews.com

Northern Ireland ‘faces circuit break lockdown' if schools spread not tackled

Teaching unions have expressed concerns at moves to relax mitigation measures in schools.
www.irishnews.com www.irishnews.com
 
Spot the difference:

Salient points from an email from my daughter's school in response to my email asking for confirmation of the school's current COVID policies:

Bubbles – Educational settings are not currently operating bubble systems. This is subject to change if the local authority advises us that the threshold has been met to reintroduce the bubble system.
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and from the letter sent to all parents

As you know we have implemented lots of protective measures at the Academy to reduce the risk (hand washing, year group bubbles, remote learning) and we welcome these [recommended but not mandatory LFT] tests as an additional protective measure that will keep everyone safe.
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Hmmm. Bolded bit mine.

The email goes on to say:

Ventilation – We are fortunate that all our classrooms have windows which can be opened to provide adequate ventilation. We are also being provided with C02 meters to ensure adequate ventilation within the classroom.
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Bolded bit mine.

All the rest is government guidelines more or less to the letter. The email even links to the gov uk website.

I'm sorry but I remain unsatisfied.
 
Email from the Good Law Project

Schools are reopening and Government wants to pretend Covid is fixed. But this stance puts the lives of children, their families, and teaching staff at risk.

Even children and families with serious medical conditions that make them especially vulnerable to Covid are expected to return to school - without any protective measures. Government’s policy requires no contact tracing by schools, no bubbles, and tells families who are vulnerable to just “follow the same guidance as everyone else."

Parents who are frightened of what this means for their kids or vulnerable family members face fines or prosecution if they keep their kids at home until schools are made safe. And some schools and local authorities are bullying families into deregistering children.

We don’t think this state of affairs is lawful - and it is certainly not right. We commissioned written legal advice from leading educational specialists Fiona Scolding QC and Yaaser Vanderman - and promised we would publish it. It can now be accessed here.

The legal advice says (1) fines or prosecutions for not attending school could - depending on the facts - be unlawful; and (2) vulnerable children or children who belong to vulnerable families may have a legal right to be provided with an education at home.

We are now writing to Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, asking him to issue guidance that protects vulnerable children and families. We will make the same request of a sample of local authorities and schools. If those letters do not draw adequate responses we will begin court proceedings to ensure compliance with the law.

Plainly we want children back in school. But the transition to a world with Covid is complex. It will take time and sensitivity. And what we want in the meantime is for Governments, local authorities and schools to support the reasonable assessments of loving families of what is in the interests of their children and other vulnerable fami ly members.
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So we went back last week. 2 inset days then the kids on Friday.

After one inset day we had our first ever positive staff member. Everyone told to do lft tests. Over the weekend we got our second ever positive (we only have 20 staff, so that's 10%). The second one was from the person who has more contact with both kids and staff than anyone else. I don't think I've ever seen her in a mask.

Today I've tried to forget about it but am convinced the numbers won't stop at two. I haven't been in today because I had an urgent MRI in London. Am now coming back to Wales on the train. This train should have nine coaches. It's been given five. It's packed.
 
nagapie said:
Day 1 in the Big Covid schoolhouse, 3 staff off.
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2 here (inc me).

I was off for inset last week but the other teacher who tested positive mixed with the entire teaching staff. She'd seen someone the weekend previously who tested positive the day before the inset. She went for PCR the same day & informed the Head.

Head told her to come in for inset anyway while waiting for test results. She tested positive that evening. Part of the inset was 'speed dating'; lunch was a buffet. I'll be running the place only my own when I go back on Friday.
 
Sweet FA said:
2 here (inc me).

I was off for inset last week but the other teacher who tested positive mixed with the entire teaching staff. She'd seen someone the weekend previously who tested positive the day before the inset. She went for PCR the same day & informed the Head.

Head told her to come in for inset anyway while waiting for test results. She tested positive that evening. Part of the inset was 'speed dating'; lunch was a buffet. I'll be running the place only my own when I go back on Friday.
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'speed dating' in the time of Covid? Your head sounds a bit stupid. We are still doing our insets over Google Meet.
 
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