A little tale for @nadhimzahawi from a parent supporter of #SafeEdForAll

“A child my son shares a couple of classes with (secondary school, yr 8) had finished his 10 day isolation after testing positive and was back in school on Monday…1 My son is the only child wearing a mask in lessons. The teacher was speaking to the child and it came out that although it's 10 days since infection, he is still testing positive but he has been told as he has finished his isolation period he now needs to return to school…2

Listen to one of our founders!

Show your support for #SchoolStrike2021 if you can.

How to be involved and demonstrate your support…

https://twitter.com/Sandyboots2020/status/1442420008227786763

1. On Friday October 1st (10/1) if you can please remove your children for one day from in person education.

2. Post a photo of your child’s school uniform (with a mask as this should be part of school uniform right now) hanging up on Friday October 1st

⭐️ Pleased to inform you that today we had a meeting with @KateGreenSU and @peterkyle to discuss the issues surrounding the lack of scientifically recognised mitigations in U.K. schools.

We are extremely grateful to be given the opportunity to speak to them both together We provided a list of key points that we felt @UKLabour should be able to support & push forward and are happy to say both @KateGreenSU and @peterkyle were engaged & interested and have confirmed they will take this forward with their work in covid recovery policy discussions.

SIMPLE STEPS THAT HTs CAN DO

Yes we know the @educationgovuk guidance document is dire and has NO SCIENTIFIC basis.

Following the guidance will not be sufficient defence when a parent or staff member legally challenged your school risk assessment. So, yep we get it no funding and no support from @educationgovuk means it’s difficult to do WHAT IS NECESSARY to prevent unnecessarily and knowingly exposing your staff, pupils and their families to increased risk of infection.

SHAME or PRAISE

1. Tell us your local authority

2. tell us if they are fining non-attendance (due to lack of safety mitigations)

3. Tell us if they are going above and beyond the unscientific @educationgovuk guidance

We’ll praise where praise is due

We’ll shame if necessary

https://twitter.com/sandyboots2020/status/1439919615220531200

If you wish to remain anonymous DM the details and we’ll share on your behalf.

Let’s expose this LOCAL AUTHORITY LOTTERY

Or indeed this HT lottery as sometimes different schools in the same LA are acting differently! Where’s the consistency? Where’s the transparency?

A FEW QUESTIONS

These are the top 10 questions parents and school staff ask us daily;

1. If my child has already had covid are they able to be reinfected?

2. If my child has had covid and does get reinfected how will their body react a second time? 3. If I deregistered my child to avoid threats of fines will I be able to reregister when mitigations are in place or cases are significantly low?

4. Why won’t my school accept my offer of a free HEPA filtration unit?

5. Why won’t my school accept my donation of a CO2 monitor?

FOI request regarding details of the ventilation trials not responded to by @educationgovuk

Reminder sent today (1 month on) and @ICOnews will be notified within 7 days if no acknowledgment or response to reminder is received.

#TransparencyIsKey to trust @drppalazzolo
@drredmile @ClaireCozler @CarolineLea13 @LeahBra_numbers @dmodoscutter @HoppySaul @AprilMay001 @Sandyboots2020 @dicpenderyn
@Emmy_ShieldUsNI
@MyVoiceYourVoi1
@Care_excellence

CALLING CHILD SOCIAL WORKERS

Worryingly SOME schools are referring parents who have refused to return their children to in-person education (due to the absence of scientifically recognised mitigations) to social services under ‘safeguarding’ reasons. These schools know that fining parents will not force them to return their children.

These schools know that punitive measures for truancy will not hold up in court and will be costly to pursue - parents have legal representation in place.

Latest FOI to the @educationgovuk

Let’s see how long a response takes this time, eh? The above maybe of interest to you
@mdbuckley
@GuardianEdu
@AasmaDay
@carolecadwalla
@GeorgeMonbiot
@warwickmansell
@JohnGRoberts
@ToryFibs
@BylineTV
@BylineTimes
@novaramedia
@TheCanaryUK
@skwawkbox
@SocialistTelly
@RareRevolutionM
@KateMcGough
@mrjamesob

Right now we’re discussing with one of our team of parents the absolutely agonising decision they have to make for Monday.

There are many many parents facing this right now in the U.K. They’ve kept their primary child remote learning and refused to return them to an indoor setting that has no scientifically recognised mitigations for an airborne virus.

The school already has cases.

TIME TO CLARIFY (AGAIN)

We are a grassroots campaign group, following the science and calling for in-person education to NOT unnecessarily and knowingly expose children, staff and their families to increased risk of infection.

🐝 We support all genuine calls for all scientifically recognised mitigations that reduce risk of exposure to infection.

We don’t have a hierarchy.

We don’t have or require funding.

We are outspoken.

We are often direct.

🐝🐝

Here is the letter we sent to the new Education Secretary @nadhimzahawi today, we look forward to his response.

#LetsGetThisDone @hivetosurvive
@ShieldUs1
@MyVoiceYourVoi1
@adamhamdy
@allthecitizens
@TheCosmosUK1
@kidsCovidGamble
@Cornish_Damo
@SocialistTelly
@mattprescott
@IndependentSage
@MichaelRosenYes
@reece_dinsdale
@yaneerbaryam
@ZeroCovAlliance

TIME TO TACKLE BRITISH EXCEPTIONALIST AND ABHORRENT ABLEIST RHETORIC

Increasingly it seems @educationgovuk , some paediatric professionals, some school leaders, most media journalists and even some parents spout the line that it’s okay for children to be infected because… 1. “Children mostly have a mild infection”

OR

2. “Very few children die”

OR

3. “Children who don’t return to pre-infection health swiftly have underlying conditions “

SEEKING GUESTS FOR FUTURE SafeEdForAll SHOWS

- a social worker to discuss non-attendance referrals

- University students to discuss last year’s shambolic return and hopes for this year

- doctors to discuss infection control, symptoms an treatments (& long covid on children) - @KateGreenSU and @peterkyle to discuss what the opposition have done to STOP children, school staff and their families being unnecessarily and knowingly exposed to increased risk of infection.

- @GavinWilliamson to defend the @educationgovuk guidance.

We need your feedback.

Have you watched the SafeEdForAll Show on @SocialistTelly ?

Have you tuned into a Hive Live?

Did you hear our chat with @ShuaibKhan26 on @teacherhugradio

Tell us what you think, what works? What doesn’t work? What else should we address? @cyclingkev
@NEUnion
@NEUindeSector
@NEUOrganisers
@Robin_Neu2
@MaryBoustedNEU
@DanielKebedeNEU
@karamballes
@SolihullNasuwt
@NASUWT_NI
@NASUWT
@PatrickR_NASUWT
@UNISONinSchools
@UNISONinHE
@EISUnion
@MPDNUT
@EduSolNW
@EdworkRSpeakout
@DrMaireadDB

“Today children, we’re going to talk about masks…”

No, just joking today we are going to discuss the use of a scientifically recognised mitigation against an airborne virus, like adults! Let’s establish the important facts here;
1. Covid is airborne
2. Not everyone who has covid is aware that they have covid
3. People who are infected (including children) can transmit their infection to other people via the air they breathe

Just as we expected!

Promised CO2 monitors are set WRONGLY and the guidance that accompanies them is also WRONG

The #massinfectionstrategy continues!

https://twitter.com/mishwoz/status/1435410293790806016

@cyclingkev
@NEUnion
@NEUindeSector
@NEUOrganisers
@Robin_Neu2
@MaryBoustedNEU
@DanielKebedeNEU
@karamballes
@SolihullNasuwt
@NASUWT_NI
@NASUWT
@PatrickR_NASUWT
@unisontheunion
@UNISONinSchools
@UNISONinHE
@EISUnion
@MPDNUT
@EduSolNW
@EdworkRSpeakout
@DrMaireadDB

You may remember that on the 6th of August we wrote to a number of politicians who have responsibilities that include education.
Here’s our original letter; Well today, a full month later, we have had ONE reply.

This one is from the DfE.

We’ll post each page of the response in the comments below, let us know what YOU think about this response.

Page 1 - mentions disruption but not unnecessary infections due to lack of mitigations

IMPORTANT THREAD

Today we were made aware of the situation facing parents in Northern Ireland, here in England we’re aware of how the process regarding non-attendance during the pandemic has been but the situation for parents in Northern Ireland is very different. Are you aware that Northern Ireland classes non-attendance as a safe-guarding issue and issues Section 47 procedures?

Withholding attendance of a child due to concerns about lack of safety measures is treated as child abuse.

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAMS

Are you ensuring that you have identified ALL risk regarding the transmission of an infectious airborne virus that currently has a high infection rate in our surrounding communities? If ALL risk has been identified, are you satisfied that all have been mitigated to the LOWEST PRACTICABLE LEVEL as required by H&S legislation?

Failure to do so leaves YOU and whoever signed your risk assessment personally liable in any legal challenge.

Many parents are sharing their letters that they’ve prepared and sent to their child’s school.

In an effort to help anyone struggling we’re sharing ones sent to us for other parents to use bits they feel may be relevant to their circumstances.

First one here is @Tall_Paul_05 Everyone’s circumstances are different.
One of our founders @HoppySaul has teenage boys who want to still attend school.