Covid-19: NHS Test and Trace must improve for schools to reopen safely, say researchers

Wise, Jacqui

doi:10.1136/bmj.m3083

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…More could be done to reduce school transmission, such as reducing crowding to improve social distancing (eg, using other community spaces) and introducing effective school COVID-19 testing. [30][31][32][33] These actions are even more vital as the pandemic progresses and family and staff opinions about the benefits of schools remaining open may shift. Even with the implementation of such measures, as demonstrated in the UK in early 2021, stopping face-to-face teaching may be a necessary last resort to reduce COVID-19 transmission.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing COVID-19 risk in schools: a qualitative examination of secondary school staff and family views and concerns in the South West of England

Lorenc

Kesten

Kidger

et al. 2021

bmjpo

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ObjectiveTo investigate student, parent/carer and secondary school staff attitudes towards school COVID-19 mitigation measures.MethodsRecruitment used school communication, community organisations and snowball sampling in South West England. Audio recorded online or phone individual/group semi-structured interviews were conducted in July–Septtember 2020 and lasted 30–60 min. Interviews focused on views towards social distancing, hand hygiene and testing. Framework analysis was performed on interview notes/transcripts.ResultsParticipants were 15 staff, 20 parents and 17 students (11–16 years) from 14 diverse schools. Concerns about COVID-19 risk at school, especially to vulnerable individuals, were outweighed by perceived risks of missed learning. Some staff felt guilt around being a potential ‘spreader’ by teaching multiple classes. Findings highlighted a wide variety of school COVID-19 mitigation measures being deployed due to ambiguous government guidance. Participants generally saw mitigation measures as an acceptable and pragmatic solution to the perceived impossibility of social distancing in crowded schools, although anticipated challenges changing habitual behaviour. Participants supported school COVID-19 testing but identified the need to consider data security and stigma around COVID-19 diagnosis. Staff were concerned about unintended consequences of risk-reduction strategies on student behaviour, learning and pastoral care, particularly for those with Special Educational Needs or mental health issues who may find the measures especially challenging, and resultant widening inequalities.ConclusionFamilies and staff supported COVID-19 mitigation measures in schools and would welcome the roll out school COVID-19 testing. Clear messaging and engendering collective responsibility are important for compliance and success of COVID-19 mitigation measures. However, schools and policy-makers should consider unintended consequences of measures, providing extra support for vulnerable students and those with additional needs, and consider ways to avoid widening educational and health inequalities. Findings demonstrate the acceptability of school COVID-19 infection control measures is likely to be influenced by the balance of risks and benefits to students.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing COVID-19 risk in schools: a qualitative examination of secondary school staff and family views and concerns in the South West of England

Lorenc

Kesten

Kidger

et al. 2021

bmjpo

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…While most modeling endeavors have not necessarily discussed artificial intelligence applications to school testing, a few have conversed with pertaining concepts such as optimization towards desired performance means [73] and rule-based models [79][80][81][82].…”

Section: Ai In Simulation Modeling For School Testing Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing SARS-CoV-2 Testing in Schools with an Artificial Intelligence Model and Application Developed by Simulation Data

et al. 2021

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Research on SARS-CoV-2 and its social implications have become a major focus to interdisciplinary teams worldwide. As interest in more direct solutions, such as mass testing and vaccination grows, several studies appear to be dedicated to the operationalization of those solutions, leveraging both traditional and new methodologies, and, increasingly, the combination of both. This research examines the challenges anticipated for preventative testing of SARS-CoV-2 in schools and proposes an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered agent-based model crafted specifically for school scenarios. This research shows that in the absence of real data, simulation-based data can be used to develop an artificial intelligence model for the application of rapid assessment of school testing policies.

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Reducing Covid-19 risk in schools: a qualitative examination of staff and family views and concerns

Lorenc

Kesten

Kidger

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background The Covid-19 pandemic has necessitated schools implementing Covid-19 risk-reduction measures. Methods We investigated young people, parent and school staff attitudes towards secondary school Covid-19 mitigation measures. Recruitment used school communication, community organisations and snowball sampling. Audio recorded online/phone individual/group interviews lasted 45 minutes. Interviews focused on social distancing, hand-hygiene and testing. Team framework analysis used interview notes and transcripts. Results Participants were 13 school staff, 20 parents and 17 young people. Concerns about Covid-19 risk at school, especially to vulnerable individuals, were outweighed by perceived risks of not returning to school. Some teachers anticipated guilt around being a potential spreader. Participants saw school mitigation measures as an acceptable and pragmatic solution to the impossibility of social distancing, although anticipated challenges in changing habitual behaviour. Participants supported school Covid-19 testing but identified the need to consider data security and stigma. Staff were concerned about unintended consequences of risk-reduction strategies and widening inequalities. Conclusion Families and staff supported Covid-19 mitigation measures in schools. Clear messaging and engendering collective responsibility are important for compliance and success. However, schools and policy makers should consider unintended consequences of measures, supporting vulnerable individuals and those with additional needs, and avoiding widening inequalities.

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Covid-19: NHS Test and Trace must improve for schools to reopen safely, say researchers

Cited by 3 publications

References 2 publications

Reducing COVID-19 risk in schools: a qualitative examination of secondary school staff and family views and concerns in the South West of England

Reducing COVID-19 risk in schools: a qualitative examination of secondary school staff and family views and concerns in the South West of England

Managing SARS-CoV-2 Testing in Schools with an Artificial Intelligence Model and Application Developed by Simulation Data

Reducing Covid-19 risk in schools: a qualitative examination of staff and family views and concerns

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