Corona Virus: How Are We Doing?

[vickster]

Our two daughters are in Y7 and Y9, Y7 have their induction test in the 10th, back on the 11 if negative. Y9 have their induction on the 15th and back on the 16th if negative.

I have holiday left which I need to take, so we are ok to ferry them, but the disruption to many parents is going to be significant.

Surely less disruptive than having to home school and work full time as plenty of my friends and colleagues are trying to do!

 

[lane]

That sounds like excellent organisation.

The local school here won't start testing until Monday 8th, so one of my children can't go in until Wednesday, and the other one on Thursday.
Oh, but they're abandoning online lessons after Fri 5th. Not very impressive.

Yes it is, don't know of any other schools where they are all back on the 8th. View is they have lost enough school time already which I can't argue with.

 

[C R]

Surely less disruptive than having to home school and work full time as plenty of my friends and colleagues are trying to do!

Not really. For people like us who work from home and have flexible employers it is easy to work around this sort of thing, but in the grand scheme of things we are a fortunate few. For many people this way of doing things will disrupt planning that they had in place and which they can not easily change. If nothing else, the impression that was given was that schools were back on the 8th, but in reality they are not.

 

[fossyant]

Most of my colleagues are desperate for the kids to back as they can't work efficiently - one looking after kids/home schooling, then swapping round. They can't do a full day's work. Fortunately, my employer is flexible. Certainly those with younger kids are struggling.

 

[johnblack]

Most of my colleagues are desperate for the kids to back as they can't work efficiently - one looking after kids/home schooling, then swapping round. They can't do a full day's work. Fortunately, my employer is flexible. Certainly those with younger kids are struggling.

I just want mine to go back because it's better for them than being stuck at home, they need to see their friends and have some actual interaction.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Here is an edited version of our (secondary) school plan (mainly for those without the pleasure of offspring at home):

. . plans for all year groups to be back in school by Thursday.
staggered return, starting from Monday, will enable all students to be tested before they return to face-to-face lessons. All students will have three COVID-19 lateral flow tests upon their return to school; during the first two weeks back there will be two tests in addition to the initial test , and these will all take place during the normal school day. Students will then need to test themselves at home twice a week.
Along with the other protective measures we are taking, these tests will help staff and students to remain in school safely. Up to one third of people who have COVID-19 experience no symptoms. By testing, we will help to stop the virus spread and help to keep our school open as safely as possible. Although testing is voluntary, we would encourage everyone to participate to help break transmission links and protect every member of our school community.
Consent Lateral Flow Testing is not mandatory but optional and we have already asked for consent to conduct a test if your child is under 16 years old (over 16 can provide their own consent) in previous communications. The test may not be mandatory, but it will better protect the school community and your family and wider community. This is the time when our core values of serving others can be put into practice.
Testing schedule Students will be tested in their tutor groups: Years 12 and 13 on Monday, etc (see schedule). Students will have to be dropped at school . . . and will await their test results before moving to lessons (if the test is negative). [Best] if students create an account with the NHS https://access.login.nhs.uk/enter-email .
In school, the key change (from December) will be that students will need to wear a face covering at all times whilst inside (under a roof). We recommend that they bring spare coverings to school and change them at least once per day. Rules on who is exempt from wearing a face covering have changed and the list is:

• people who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability
• where putting on, wearing or removing a face covering will cause you severe distress

 

[lane]

Daughter just back from testing. She said that out of her form of 30 plus she only saw about 10. Bit worrying if parents aren't bothering - but neither the tests nor masks are compulsory.

 

[C R]

Here is an edited version of our (secondary) school plan (mainly for those without the pleasure of offspring at home):

. . plans for all year groups to be back in school by Thursday.
staggered return, starting from Monday, will enable all students to be tested before they return to face-to-face lessons. All students will have three COVID-19 lateral flow tests upon their return to school; during the first two weeks back there will be two tests in addition to the initial test , and these will all take place during the normal school day. Students will then need to test themselves at home twice a week.
Along with the other protective measures we are taking, these tests will help staff and students to remain in school safely. Up to one third of people who have COVID-19 experience no symptoms. By testing, we will help to stop the virus spread and help to keep our school open as safely as possible. Although testing is voluntary, we would encourage everyone to participate to help break transmission links and protect every member of our school community.
Consent Lateral Flow Testing is not mandatory but optional and we have already asked for consent to conduct a test if your child is under 16 years old (over 16 can provide their own consent) in previous communications. The test may not be mandatory, but it will better protect the school community and your family and wider community. This is the time when our core values of serving others can be put into practice.
Testing schedule Students will be tested in their tutor groups: Years 12 and 13 on Monday, etc (see schedule). Students will have to be dropped at school . . . and will await their test results before moving to lessons (if the test is negative). [Best] if students create an account with the NHS https://access.login.nhs.uk/enter-email .
In school, the key change (from December) will be that students will need to wear a face covering at all times whilst inside (under a roof). We recommend that they bring spare coverings to school and change them at least once per day. Rules on who is exempt from wearing a face covering have changed and the list is:

• people who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability
• where putting on, wearing or removing a face covering will cause you severe distress

That's somewhat better than ours. We have to go at a given time during the day, wait for their induction to finish and take them back home. No school transport or provision for the children to wait at school.

 

[AndreaJ]

Daughter has had her test this morning ready to go back to Sixth Form on Monday. All Year 13 tested negative. They’re all happy to be going back and get on with their A Levels.

 

[Julia9054]

If nothing else, the impression that was given was that schools were back on the 8th, but in reality they are not.

Try to think of the logistics of testing up to 2000 people. The government initially said all back on the 8th without thinking about how schools were going to manage to do that (no surprise there, when do this government ever actually consult). Only recently were schools told that they were allowed to begin the testing on the Friday before (today). We had already sent our schedule out to parents, decided to change it and re send the altered one. I can understand some schools reasoning that parents would find changing it more disruptive and sticking with the original start Monday schedule. Like most schools, we are having children in at a certain time in form groups, sending them away and then that year group starting the following day (dependent on testing negative). Whilst this is disruptive for parents who don’t live close enough for their children to walk/cycle by themselves, I can’t think of another way to do it. One smallish secondary school I know of have decided to start a year group on a particular day, hold them in the hall, test them and release them to lessons in batches. Less disruptive for parents but the consequences of someone testing positive is that everyone sitting within a certain distance of them in the hall will have to self isolate for two weeks.
I completely take my hat off to the teams in schools that have had to get this up and running. (In my school, the business manager, catering staff, technicians, site staff and admin staff). In a large school, it is a logistical nightmare.

 

[DCLane]

Son no. 2's in for testing next week - they've scheduled the years across the week, with pupils arriving outside in batches of 30. They'll then be taken individually for a test, have to wait for 15 minutes and - if negative - can go to class. That seems sensible.

What seems less sensible is if they're had a positive test in the past 90 days they can just go to lessons. So, the stupid ones will arrive having tested positive the day before and go into class still contagious

 

[lane]

Try to think of the logistics of testing up to 2000 people. The government initially said all back on the 8th without thinking about how schools were going to manage to do that (no surprise there, when do this government ever actually consult). Only recently were schools told that they were allowed to begin the testing on the Friday before (today). We had already sent our schedule out to parents, decided to change it and re send the altered one. I can understand some schools reasoning that parents would find changing it more disruptive and sticking with the original start Monday schedule. Like most schools, we are having children in at a certain time in form groups, sending them away and then that year group starting the following day (dependent on testing negative). Whilst this is disruptive for parents who don’t live close enough for their children to walk/cycle by themselves, I can’t think of another way to do it. One smallish secondary school I know of have decided to start a year group on a particular day, hold them in the hall, test them and release them to lessons in batches. Less disruptive for parents but the consequences of someone testing positive is that everyone sitting within a certain distance of them in the hall will have to self isolate for two weeks.
I completely take my hat off to the teams in schools that have had to get this up and running. (In my school, the business manager, catering staff, technicians, site staff and admin staff). In a large school, it is a logistical nightmare.

My daughter's school tested everyone this week and all 1,300 at the school will be at their desks on Monday morning. So it can be done.

 

[alicat]

The doctor thinks that I may have 'Covid toes'. I hadn't heard of it but my left foot did look similar to the pics of red and swollen feet a few months ago. It's most likely to be 'just' Reynauds, which I probably already have but it does sound more exotic to have long Covid.

 

[rockyroller]

The doctor thinks that I may have 'Covid toes'. I hadn't heard of it but my left foot did look similar to the pics of red and swollen feet a few months ago. It's most likely to be 'just' Reynauds, which I probably already have but it does sound more exotic to have long Covid.

I had 1 covid toe for a cpl days. it was blackish & didn't bend as well as it's neighbors. I showed it to anyone who would look & I took a photo (on my home computer) I took baby aspirin for a cpl days. it cleared up, but I have no idea how or why. it still doesn't bend as well as it's neighbors. maybe it never did. never really noticed until it turned blackish. good luck!

 

[alicat]

I had 1 covid toe for a cpl days. it was blackish & didn't bend as well as it's neighbors. I showed it to anyone who would look & I took a photo (on my home computer) I took baby aspirin for a cpl days. it cleared up, but I have no idea how or why. it still doesn't bend as well as it's neighbors. maybe it never did. never really noticed until it turned blackish. good luck!

Eek! That sounds more scary than mine. I'm glad that it's mostly cleared up @rockyroller