The Independent SAGE report 3 was released yesterday on the opening of schools. Here's a link: https://twitter.com/IndependentSage/status/1265977278317592582?s=20 and here's a little thread if you want a TL:DR report: 1/n

-No compelling evidence that the agreed conditions to enable opening have so far been met across the country. Until they’re met, it’s not safe to open
-Locality matters – some areas safer than others/some areas will benefit more by remaining closed
2/n

-Re. infection in kids- There are still some questions about the epidemiology of COVID-19 in children
-Current UK data suggest that they are as likely as adults to become infected and carry the virus but they may be less likely than adults to transmit the virus
3/n

-Kawasaki is v rare
-It is difficult to tell whether opening schools will push up the R value. Evidence from around international contexts is varied – also it’s important to consider context (eg Denmark opened with stringent measures – small classes and lessons outdoors) 4/n

-Mathematical modelling shows how delaying the opening of schools by 2 weeks will halve the risk that a child will be infected (page 9 and visual representation on page 10) PLEASE NOTE that is Page 9 on the Adobe PDF Page numbering - not the Sage numbering.
5/n

-Risk to staff: factors such as age, being male, coming from a low income background, underlying health conditions (e.g. diabetes, high blood pressure) and BAME backgrounds may make staff more vulnerable to death – this, as well as other needs must be considered before opening 6/

-There has been a serious deterioration in pupil-teacher ratios in the past 10 years – esp. compared to Euro. It was therefore easier for Denmark and Germany to reduce to classes of 10. Even reducing to 15 will be a challenge here without using LSAs etc to supervise. 7/n

-The Rights of the Child – Advisory note given: reopening should be tailored to each community and requires the Government to apply a non-discriminatory approach, so that children from disadvantaged backgrounds do not suffer from school closures. 8/n

-The SAGE group are concerned by the decision to open to YR and Y1 – who are regarded as too young for school and who are still in kindergartens in much of the rest of Europe. They cannot simply ‘sit at desks’
9/n

-There are also particular features of English secondary schools which will make a return to school more difficult – eg we use sets (vs.common core curriculum in many European countries. New arrangements are needed to keep them in one place with one teacher.
10/n

-Page 16 for table comparing the International Policies on Schools Reopening
-Page 17 for outlines of social distancing and other ways to reduce transmission once schools reopen
-Pages 17 and 18 for guidance on reopening including risk assessment
PG NUMBERS ARE FOR THE PDF
11/

-Hygiene: Children should be given designated equipment including stationery to reduce the risk of contagion spread. The treasury needs to take responsibility for the cost of cleaning and hygiene arrangements – esp where PFI contracts make this more complex/expensive. 12/n

-Summer catch-up: local authorities and civil society groups should be mobilised to provide summer schools and camps to help with educational “catch up”, particularly for those most disadvantaged by the lockdown, and also to provide some respite for parents and carers.
13/n

-Provision of midday meals for vulnerable children out of school and during the summer months is essential, supported by government/LA etc
14/n

-Recent data= children are as likely as adults to become infected & carry the virus & also be asymptomatic in many cases. They may be less likely than adults to transmit the virus. The impact of placing many children in one place could =schools “institutional amplifiers” 15/n

-Will opening schools trigger a second wave? There’s no clear answer. Evidence suggests that it could increase the spread of the virus by up to 0.3 on the R value, but other evidence from Asia shows only a small impact on transmission.
-Special note on the Human Rights Risk p31

-School staff also have the right to safe and healthy work conditions.
-Children are certainly not enjoying all of their rights while schools are closed. However, that does not set at nought or outweigh the human rights risks posed by a rushed reopening.
17/n

-It is important to balance transmission risks against the potential harm to children of prolonging school closures (page 1, WHO advice, 10 May), but there are different ways of doing this, including increased support to parents and children and enhancing school resources.
18/n

-In secondary schools, different curricular arrangements may be needed to keep children within the same group of 10-15 throughout the week rather than shuffling between multiple teachers and classes.
-Deliberate measures should be taken to overcome disadvantage.
19/n

-Apart from families who can afford holiday schemes and longer holidays away, there is very little provision for children during the long summer holidays in many parts of England. Priority should be given to planning holiday schemes...particularly in disadvantaged areas. 20/n

-Careful planning is needed to trace and prevent transmission, using a variety of interventions and intelligent contact tracing. We cannot assume, for example, that children should be expected to undergo painful testing with nasal swabs.
21/21

And I really recommend that you read the appendix on Human Rights - I'd destroy its essence by trying to put it into a 280-unit thread. And rather than unrolling, I have also typed it into bullet points (was doing it for my own understanding). Here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/atkbyxcdj13j3rk9zajla/SAGE-report.docx?dl=0&rlkey=s65944fyj1a72k1xnkdyle1hi

Sorry that attachment is the thread, basically. Not the Human Rights appendix.