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Re-opening Schools?

I’ve not really posted because it feels like our luck can’t hold, but for balance, we’ve had next to no covid this school year. No staff Covid at all. Currently about 6-7 kids in a school of just over 1000. It’s been like this since we came back in September. No omicron cases as yet in Lambeth.

One of the first cases was in Lambeth. It's now in every London borough.
 
Totally this. There seems to be many more who are experiencing panic attacks in our place. It's a hard world for many of them…
I have gone from personally never seeing student have a panic attack in over a decade in schools to 4 students just since September. The intensity of some of the panic attacks is so worrying. I really do feel for teenagers especially with such long waiting times for services like camhs
 
Lots of it about. Not enough healthy staff. Not just covid either; two years into this pandemic shit and sheer burnout is really starting to kick in for many teachers.
I’m not a teacher but after just a year of working in a school during the pandemic (maternity leave for the beginning of it) the burnout is real! It’s so overwhelming trying to keep up with the ever changing isolation rules, dealing with understandably worried parents, not knowing how many people’s jobs you’re going to be helping to cover or something like the amount of time lateral flow testing takes at the beginning of the term. My original work load remains the same if not more except that it continues to pile when redeployed to covid related work or staff cover what makes it even more frustrating is some managers who find this hard to accept, that some roles in schools are having to change to make sure covid stuff gets done and gets done properly
 
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I went to see the Health and Safety dept at college to confirm the official policy on mask wearing given the staff have again been "instructed" by the Principal that we need to wear masks in all communal areas unless medically exempt.

Official line is we can only request students wear masks. We cannot demand, we cannot punish or impose any sanctions for refusal to do so. Actual quotes from the H&S manager: "We have to be seen to be doing what we can", "Don't beat yourself up about it".

Yet they're not allowed to bring in a whole range of things; knives, alcohol, fireworks, baseball bats, etc

I do not feel safe at work.
 
I have gone from personally never seeing student have a panic attack in over a decade in schools to 4 students just since September. The intensity of some of the panic attacks is so worrying. I really do feel for teenagers especially with such long waiting times for services like camhs
My middle boy is one of these. Probably ASD. I've been told CAMHS won't even take referrals from the school at the moment unless kids are immediately at risk of suicide.
 
Schools across the UK say they are prepared to switch to online learning if they have to next term, as more children stay at home because of Covid.

Some children are being asked to take laptops home with them before Christmas in preparation.

More than 30 local authorities told the BBC that some classes had moved online at local schools.

The government says it is committed to ensuring that schools in England stay open in January.

 
My middle boy is one of these. Probably ASD. I've been told CAMHS won't even take referrals from the school at the moment unless kids are immediately at risk of suicide.
I’d ignore that. Not sure if this is helpful as guidance: https://www.thirdspace.scot/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ASD-Leaflet-for-Diagnostic-Teams.pdf

I’d go to GP and request a referral to Community Child Health and CAMHS (who say they coordinate assessments for >7y in Edinburgh).

Alternatively (and prob better) see if his Dad will fund a quick private diagnosis? In leeds most ASD diagnosis is done by a private firm called Clinical Partners, funded by the NHS. They have offices nationwide inc Edinburgh. You don’t even need a GP referral. Don’t know how much it’ll cost but they’ll gladly tell you I’m sure.

I’m not sure you’ve got time with your middle to wait. He needs a quick diagnosis then educational and social support.

sorry if you know all the above but it’s not possible for myriad of reasons.
 
I'd be ok with kids being at home for first half of term, but then we've got older kids, space, devices and schools able to deliver a fairly full timetable. So I appreciate the total panic the mere suggestion will be causing to others. :(
 
Meant to break up next Tuesday but...school closed from tomorrow afternoon AND meant to go back on the 4th but that's been put back to the 6th. Four extra days out of the minefield.
 
From the Guardian:


Schools, however, have said high numbers of teacher absences as a result of self-isolation could mean they are forced to send whole year groups home. The education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, has called on retired teachers and those who have left the profession to help fill the gaps.
yep, send in the pensioners. What could possibly go wrong there?
 


I‘m not sure how vaccinating more children plus “multi-layered mitigations” would have made any difference to the current situation, given that all staff currently off sick due to Omicron would have contracted it during the Christmas holiday.
 
I‘m not sure how vaccinating more children plus “multi-layered mitigations” would have made any difference to the current situation, given that all staff currently off sick due to Omicron would have contracted it during the Christmas holiday.
That statement shows an incredibly short term and narrow take on the situation
 
I‘m not sure how vaccinating more children plus “multi-layered mitigations” would have made any difference to the current situation, given that all staff currently off sick due to Omicron would have contracted it during the Christmas holiday.
Well, perhaps if the mitigations had been done in a timely manner, that wouldn't have been the case. And, at least, if they do the mitigations now, future problems are mitigated against. Or do we just ride off into the sunset saying "no point doing anything, it won't have an immediate effect"? :rolleyes:
 
Well, perhaps if the mitigations had been done in a timely manner, that wouldn't have been the case. And, at least, if they do the mitigations now, future problems are mitigated against. Or do we just ride off into the sunset saying "no point doing anything, it won't have an immediate effect"? :rolleyes:

I’m not sure that Gurdasani’s criticism of the government measures is well-founded. For example, requiring child contacts of cases to stay home certainly wouldn’t decrease disruption.

Given that Omicron spread sufficiently during the school holiday to cause disruption of schools now, it can be surmised that it will continue to spread sufficiently outside of school to cause continuing disruption, and that mitigation measures targeted at schools would not mitigate this disruption.

The primary objective should therefore be to mitigate the disruption itself, rather than try in vain to stop the virus causing said disruption.
 
I’m not sure that Gurdasani’s criticism of the government measures is well-founded. For example, requiring child contacts of cases to stay home certainly wouldn’t decrease disruption.

Given that Omicron spread sufficiently during the school holiday to cause disruption of schools now, it can be surmised that it will continue to spread sufficiently outside of school to cause continuing disruption, and that mitigation measures targeted at schools would not mitigate this disruption.

The primary objective should therefore be to mitigate the disruption itself, rather than try in vain to stop the virus causing said disruption.
Rubbish. It's strategies like that which have left us lurching from crisis to crisis.

I now begin to understand what makes your take on all this so weird :hmm:
 
Rubbish. It's strategies like that which have left us lurching from crisis to crisis.

I now begin to understand what makes your take on all this so weird :hmm:

Go on then, explain how the impact from Omicron on school staff absences can be reduced from it's current level which arose entirely when schools were completely shut.
 
You realise you are saying the present situation arised entirely during a period the schools were shut?, everything that happened before that including lack of school measure is just out of the picture?..and making any new mitigations from here on in is pointless because of this?

You've lost me matey
 
You realise you are saying the present situation arised entirely during a period the schools were shut?, everything that happened before that including lack of school measure is just out of the picture?

Lack of in-school mitigations in early December has not driven the current Omicron case rates, I don't see how that can be a reasonably-held view.

..and making any new mitigations from here on in is pointless because of this?

No, I said the primary objective should be mitigating the existing disruption that this terms begins with. This means reduced isolation times for staff, no isolation for kids in contact with positive cases etc - the things that Gurdasani criticizes. Swerving these measures and focusing on trying to drive Omicron cases down via in-school mitigation is unlikely to be successful and will cause increased disruption.
 
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