Schools and Covid 19 (part 5) **Mod warnings in OP**

Because schools are a politically sensitive topic.

One of Micheal Martin's core issues on taking office was the reopening of schools and keeping them open.

Therefore he will resist closing them again unless he has no other political option. What else has he achieved after all.

This... when this all started my (then 8 year old) son was having nightmares that he was going to kill his nanny with Covid.

That we're resorting to using young kids to cover HSE incompetence and placate fearful adults who should just stay home if they are that concerned is a new low IMO.

My 14 y/old daughter said to me this morning "I can't really remember a time before COVID".

She's in 3rd year now but didn't even get one normal year in secondary school before it all kicked off.

But, as a physician, Holohan's statements are motivated by concerns for health (physical and mental) rather than politics, aren't they?

Perhaps the discomfort that is caused to children who get nits or chickenpox and which justifies informing parents in general doesn't arise in most Covid cases. Even the Delta variant might not be as contagious as nits or chickenpox!

Maybe the numbers of cases will fall low enough by February to justify the lifting of the mask mandate in primary and secondary schools.

PH decide what is a notifiable disease / condition in a school context not the school. Staff have raised the issue of headlice etc being notifiable and covid not on numerous occasions over the last 2 years - standard response has been PH do not want individuals identified. It is only within the last week or so that parents are being advised to let principals know of a case - prior to this there was no onus on parents to inform the school of a positive case.

Schools ask parents to inform them if your child tests positive but won't return the favour. It's got nothing to do with severity of nits v covid it's the department not wanting to acknowledge the risk of going to school and intentionally hiding behind GDPR as a phony excuse. There are 13 kids out of my kids class today, some of that has to be covid. So telling us won't identify any child.

I get the kids need their education but there are ways for me to mitigate the risk of bring it down to my mother. Think we'll have no choice but to assume there is always a case in their class. I wonder will many parents take their kids out from the 10th of December so that they are safer to see the grandparents for Christmas

Doesn't the possible risk to grandparents depend on whether or not the grandparents live in the same home as the children?

Have there been many incidences of non-compliance with the mask rule in secondary schools so far? If I remember correctly, someone on this forum said that some teachers at a school were not wearing masks.

I agree with you on this. One of my boys has chosen to wear a mask at times too but I would never ask him to.

completely against masks in schools. I’ll be getting my lads vaccinated asap though. They are just about to turn five.

Primary school kids had to deal with enough crap over the last 18 month. They're clearly not much at risk getting seriously ill from Covid so they should be left alone.

Parents are still protected from the vaccine and their grandparents can avail of booster shots so I don't see the point to go after young kids now.

That's exactly my point.

Ive heard of a school in Dublin sending primary school children home yesterday due to them not wearing masks.

This was a suggestion by NPHET only! I would be flipping mad if my schools started this carry on!

Second level teachers and principals are already enforcing mask wearing.

Yes to a certain degree but it that their role? Also, it's a lot easier to enforce in a secondary setting that it would be in primary.

I mean, should it be down to the teachers to enforce in the first place?

Also, how can you really enforce it? You can't deny a child education based on their willingness to wear a mask, It's a recommendation at the moment so the decision is left open.

There's also the fact that teachers have been repeatedly told that it's safe to work in a classroom with 'unmasked' children, now that's being challenged, have the board been putting teachers into a dangerous work environment for the past year?

I think the teachers are being scapegoated through this, I feel for them, despite all the concerns they were assured it was safe time and again, now something has changed???

It's not a rule though and it's certainly not like any other rule that I'm aware of, it's cruel and it shouldn't be down to the teacher to enforce.

I'm not making it out to be a big issue, just stating that it shouldn't be down to the teacher to enforce such a silly thing, especially if the government won't actually back them up by making it a requirement instead of a recommendation, again they're being hung out. There's also very little to demonstrate that it would actually mitigate against the spread either.

Most of the issues you highlight re lunches,PE, SEN exemption etc are already dealt with at second level. I assume primary will follow suit. I'm unaware of any child being denied their education for not wearing a mask properly. Are you?

I find your language very emotive, you are obviously greatly concerned. I also fear you are ignorant of the affect of the current covid situation in schools as you seem very concerned about loss of education yet don't approve of a factor that can help students miss LESS education by lessening their chance of catching covid and their teacher's chance. SEN students are currently bearing the brunt of this impact on their education due to the reprehensible decison to use their resource teachers as sub cover. Why is no one concerned about this deniel of education?

I am interested to hear how mask wearing correlates with longer wait times for SLT assessment and diagnosis? I don't see the link.

There is no need for it at all. They got rid of contact tracing in primary schools and let numbers sky rocket and now bringing in mask wearing because it’s easy option to be seen to do something. In primary schools there are many children whose speech isn’t always clear etc and how exactly is mask wearing going to help with that? I know from wearing them myself that they get hot and uncomfortable and kids are low risk. It’s not up to kids to protect adults. But more importantly we are taking about bits of cloth not masks. Children will touch them on outside without then sanitising their hands affect. If there is covid in the room then what’s to stop it spreading during lunchtime etc. It’s like restaurants where you don’t have to wear mask at table but you do going to the bathroom. It’s a measure being brought in for show. Adults have vaccines and boosters and if they are really paranoid they can invest in N95 masks for themselves. This virus is low risk to younger age groups.

Masks from 3rd class to be mandatory.