Re-opening Schools?

[spanglechick]

My daughter's school has now had a confirmed case. Not in her 'bubble' but every teacher who taught in that bubble is now off for two weeks. The odd but is that those teachers would have also taught other bubbles, but somehow this doesn't count.
My biggest worry is that whilst they a doing a pretty decent job in the school, as soon as the kids leave the gates it's business as usual. Huge groups huddled together making their way home (I'm often out going in the opposite direction at kicking out time, and apart from a few isolated student, nobody is paying any attention to social distancing at all.

Ok. At our school teachers wouldn’t be off for that. And in most cases only a handful of kids (desk partners) would be sent home. Basically if it isn’t “under 1 metre for more than 15 minutes, indoors” our school considers you to be safe.

 

[sheothebudworths]

Two cases in my daughter's school now (not thought to be linked) - 90 kids self-isolating.
At both hers and mine, there are no adults SI because none of them were judged to have come within 2 meters of the pos. kids.

Do you not mean under 2 meters, spanglechick (I'm really hoping for a typo there)?!
That's just totally making it up as they go, if not - at under 1 meter it's 1 minute and I'd be straight on to your union if that's what they're following!

Either way, it looks like your girl's school is actually being pretty on it ATOMIC SUPLEX (as much as I understand why it still looks like a huge failure of logic).

 

[Edie]

Ok. At our school teachers wouldn’t be off for that. And in most cases only a handful of kids (desk partners) would be sent home. Basically if it isn’t “under 1 metre for more than 15 minutes, indoors” our school considers you to be safe.

Thank god for common sense.

 

[sheothebudworths]

Thank god for common sense.

My daughter's form tutor spent all of lockdown shielding because her husband is in the vulnerable category.
She has come back to work (because she had to) and wears a mask for the whole day (obvs not one that has been medically fitted though). She taught one of the kids who tested positive and sent him to medical a few days ago because he was coughing - and they sent him back to the lesson.
My girl is in year 11 and I'm as worried as I know you must be about what's going to happen to them - and that's way more frustrating for you when your boy's school have been pretty much shut down no sooner than they reopened - but it's pretty shit working in schools, atm, tbh.
I hope it's obvious Eids that I appreciate you have already been working under massively stressful conditions for months already, too, but there's really not much that looks or feels like 'common sense' going on in schools right now, afaic.

 

[Edie]

My daughter's form tutor spent all of lockdown shielding because her husband is in the vulnerable category.
She has come back to work (because she had to) and wears a mask for the whole day (obvs not one that has been medically fitted though). She taught one of the kids who tested positive and sent him to medical a few days ago because he was coughing - and they sent him back to the lesson.
My girl is in year 11 and I'm as worried as I know you must be about what's going to happen to them - and that's way more frustrating for you when your boy's school have been pretty much shut down no sooner than they reopened - but it's pretty shit working in schools, atm, tbh.
I hope it's obvious Eids that I appreciate you have already been working under massively stressful conditions for months already, too, but there's really not much that looks or feels like 'common sense' going on in schools right now, afaic.

But mate the alternative is sending them all home. Repeatedly. I think some degree of rules (within 2m for 15mins plus) needs to be in place.

 

[sheothebudworths]

But mate the alternative is sending them all home. Repeatedly. I think some degree of rules (within 2m for 15mins plus) needs to be in place.

Well yes, I agree, tbf - but the post you quoted was re spangles school changing the rule to under ONE meter for 15, which is just... y'know moving goalposts somewhat, at the cost of people's safety and any peace of mind, really.
I just think it's really important that you at least see your employers are following the rules as far as they reasonably can - it's makes the chaos feel so much worse otherwise!

 

[Edie]

Well yes, I agree, tbf - but the post you quoted was re spangles school changing the rule to under ONE meter for 15, which is just... y'know moving goalposts somewhat, at the cost of people's safety and any peace of mind, really.
I just think it's really important that you at least see your employers are following the rules as far as they reasonably can - it's makes the chaos feel so much worse otherwise!

Agreed.

 

[spanglechick]

Two cases in my daughter's school now (not thought to be linked) - 90 kids self-isolating.
At both hers and mine, there are no adults SI because none of them were judged to have come within 2 meters of the pos. kids.

Do you not mean under 2 meters, spanglechick (I'm really hoping for a typo there)?!
That's just totally making it up as they go, if not - at under 1 meter it's 1 minute and I'd be straight on to your union if that's what they're following!

Either way, it looks like your girl's school is actually being pretty on it ATOMIC SUPLEX (as much as I understand why it still looks like a huge failure of logic).

Hmm. No. All the dry run cases we’ve been doing, has asked about 1 metre for 15 mins. I’ll have another look at the policy.

 

[Thora]

Test & trace just asked me about any contact under 1m, skin to skin contact or face to face conversation, or 15 minutes within 2m.

 

[wtfftw]

Guidance for full opening: schools

www.gov.uk

The advice service (or PHE local health protection team if escalated) will work with schools to guide them through the actions they need to take. Based on their advice, schools must send home those people who have been in close contact with the person who has tested positive, advising them to self-isolate for 14 days since they were last in close contact with that person when they were infectious. Close contact means:

• direct close contacts - face to face contact with an infected individual for any length of time, within 1 metre, including being coughed on, a face to face conversation, or unprotected physical contact (skin-to-skin)
• proximity contacts - extended close contact (within 1 to 2 metres for more than 15 minutes) with an infected individual
• travelling in a small vehicle, like a car, with an infected person

 

[spanglechick]

Guidance for full opening: schools

www.gov.uk

Ok. That squares up. Less than a metre from a kid would be rare. I don’t like them that much and they often smell of Lynx/BO/both, I’m not going to be doing that for as long as a minute and not at all by choice. Between 1-2 metres is much more common - but then the time goes up to 15 mins.

 

[weepiper]

Over 50 kids self isolating at my kids' school now, mostly as close contacts of the confirmed positive case, but others because they have a family member that's tested positive.

 

[Sue]

I was talking to my sister last night. She's astounded there've been no cases/self-isolation at my nephew's school -- it's a large primary in centralish Glasgow, near the university and one of the big hospitals (where a lot of the parents work). She's only heard of one confirmed case -- a father who's a nurse was confirmed in the summer holidays. They're now on their October holidays, not that there's much to do...

 

[gaijingirl]

Ok. At our school teachers wouldn’t be off for that. And in most cases only a handful of kids (desk partners) would be sent home. Basically if it isn’t “under 1 metre for more than 15 minutes, indoors” our school considers you to be safe.

yes - us too (within 1 to 2 metres for more than 15 minutes) with an infected individual. When a colleague received a diagnosis only one other member of staff was sent home who met that definition.

 

[Edie]

Over 50 kids self isolating at my kids' school now, mostly as close contacts of the confirmed positive case, but others because they have a family member that's tested positive.

Sounds like it’s ramping up in Edinburgh now

 

[Red Cat]

We had door to door testing yesterday, that was a bit weird. My eldest said, there loads of people standing outside our house, so I looked and there were 3 people, 2 in Council high viz and a soldier. They left a test, I did it and B, but the kids declined. R had one just a fortnight ago and wasn't keen to re-do it. The soldier came back to pick it up an hour later. Really strange times.

 

[weepiper]

Sounds like it’s ramping up in Edinburgh now

Student city.

 

[weepiper]

We had door to door testing yesterday, that was a bit weird. My eldest said, there loads of people standing outside our house, so I looked and there were 3 people, 2 in Council high viz and a soldier. They left a test, I did it and B, but the kids declined. R had one just a fortnight ago and wasn't keen to re-do it. The soldier came back to pick it up an hour later. Really strange times.

Shitting hell. That seems like quite a jump from where we've been.

 

[Edie]

We had door to door testing yesterday, that was a bit weird. My eldest said, there loads of people standing outside our house, so I looked and there were 3 people, 2 in Council high viz and a soldier. They left a test, I did it and B, but the kids declined. R had one just a fortnight ago and wasn't keen to re-do it. The soldier came back to pick it up an hour later. Really strange times.

Woah that sounds strange

 

[spanglechick]

yes - us too (within 1 to 2 metres for more than 15 minutes) with an infected individual. When a colleague received a diagnosis only one other member of staff was sent home who met that definition.

Are you Lambeth?

 

[gaijingirl]

Are you Lambeth?

Southwark now.

 

[spanglechick]

Southwark now.

Sounds like the same policy.

 

[sheothebudworths]

yes - us too (within 1 to 2 metres for more than 15 minutes) with an infected individual. When a colleague received a diagnosis only one other member of staff was sent home who met that definition.

No.

Sounds like the same policy.

You said -

Basically if it isn’t “under 1 metre for more than 15 minutes, indoors” our school considers you to be safe.

It's not the same policy. The policy is under 2 metres, not under 1.
I think it's important to get it right, so that you can object to it being wrong.

 

[sheothebudworths]

What I did get spanglechick was you saying, a few short weeks ago, that you'd made your peace with going back to work, despite being vulnerable.
I know it's all very confusing, at best - even with no vulnerablities, I have definitely found being back at work has been surreal, in the normalness of it, iykwim - but let's get it right, it remains wrong that anyone is put at risk, too.

 

[planetgeli]

Could easily go under the general pissed off thread but, you know, schools.

Today I had a raging argument with one of my managers. I have a risk assessment that forbids me doing certain things and today I was asked to do one of those things. Kinda complicated and boring to go into detail so I won't. But, crucially, in the midst of this argument I was unfairly accused and insulted by my manager, heavily implying (wrongly, obviously) that I hadn't done my job over lockdown. As this could not be further from the truth I stood up to the manager (who isn't used to this) and it developed into a full scale row, in front of others, which was my manager's choice.

Somehow I managed to stay until the end of the day. On coming home I thought 'fuck this' and will be seeing my GP to get signed off until half term with stress. As suggested by others here and by people at work. My goodwill has run out.

I am now prepared to escalate this into a full blown union issue. I am not prepared to be insulted as I was. On a wider picture, this involves other staff too who I also will be standing up for. I am not prepared to have my physical and mental health toyed with in this way. Or my risk assessment so blatantly ignored because otherwise what is the point of that assessment.

My school has a weak to non-existent tradition of fighting on union basis. I intend to change that.

 

[existentialist]

I've got no numbers, but I am hearing anecdotally of lots of individual positive tests on kids in Pembrokeshire schools...some primary, some secondary. I fear that we are beginning to see SARS-Cov-19's vanguard encroaching into our previously safe and isolated part of Wales. This will be, I think, a game changer.

 

[existentialist]

Could easily go under the general pissed off thread but, you know, schools.

Today I had a raging argument with one of my managers. I have a risk assessment that forbids me doing certain things and today I was asked to do one of those things. Kinda complicated and boring to go into detail so I won't. But, crucially, in the midst of this argument I was unfairly accused and insulted by my manager, heavily implying (wrongly, obviously) that I hadn't done my job over lockdown. As this could not be further from the truth I stood up to the manager (who isn't used to this) and it developed into a full scale row, in front of others, which was my manager's choice.

Somehow I managed to stay until the end of the day. On coming home I thought 'fuck this' and will be seeing my GP to get signed off until half term with stress. As suggested by others here and by people at work. My goodwill has run out.

I am now prepared to escalate this into a full blown union issue. I am not prepared to be insulted as I was. On a wider picture, this involves other staff too who I also will be standing up for. I am not prepared to have my physical and mental health toyed with in this way. Or my risk assessment so blatantly ignored because otherwise what is the point of that assessment.

My school has a weak to non-existent tradition of fighting on union basis. I intend to change that.

I am regularly appalled by how often that terrible scourge of schooling - namely, bullying - seems to be so embedded into the entire management hierarchy. It's utterly fucked up - how are you supposed to show kids not to bully each other when the very foundation of your employment is a bullying management culture? Argh.

 

[Dogsauce]

Not aware of any cases at my school (400 pupil primary). They’ve sent 20 or 30 kids home with suspected symptoms since reopening for key workers etc., but none tested positive. There are a large number of cases in surrounding areas, but these include a lot of student halls of residence, so kind of expect that they’re focused in those sort of places.

There seems to be a growing number of parents wearing masks at drop-off, and I’m also seeing more outdoor mask use generally, I think people are getting more cautious.

 

[Edie]

Not aware of any cases at my school (400 pupil primary). They’ve sent 20 or 30 kids home with suspected symptoms since reopening for key workers etc., but none tested positive. There are a large number of cases in surrounding areas, but these include a lot of student halls of residence, so kind of expect that they’re focused in those sort of places.

There seems to be a growing number of parents wearing masks at drop-off, and I’m also seeing more outdoor mask use generally, I think people are getting more cautious.

Where are you? I got this today:

 

[Dogsauce]

Where are you? I got this today:

Bristol. The city has had quite low figures, but quite a few cases now in some areas, particularly parts where students live.

The school is fairly close to university and hospitals so there are quite a few pupils with parents that work at those places (as well as those in the local catchment) which could be a pathway for infections.