With the largest chunk of the Islanders testing positive being the under 19s, thank goodness for Matthew Parr-Burman and his understanding of how important it is to be open with the public.
He’s the Head Teacher who oversees Medina, Carisbrooke College and the VI Form Campus and spoke freely earlier this week about Covid rates over the three sites and their clear plan to deal with things if they were to increase.
He told News OnTheWight that this week Carisbrooke College has around six per cent of students absent with a positive Covid-19 PCR test, whilst Medina College is slightly lower with five per cent absent. The VI Form Campus has a negligible number of Covid positives.
See age breakdown of positive Covid cases across the Isle of Wight below.
Positive tests, but not unwell
The good news is that very few of the students, who have tested positive from a PCR test, are unwell with it. Mr Parr-Burman explained,
“It’s far more a technical case, they’ve tested positive, but say they feel fine. However, they know they can still pass it on to someone else who may get very ill from Covid.”
In terms of staffing, Mr Parr-Burman told News OnTheWight that staff absences due to Covid was a rolling thing, with around three to four per cent of staff affected.
Levels of Covid measures
The Head Teacher explained they have set their own levels for when to introduce more stringent measures, clearly delineated if the percentage of pupils testing positive for Covid increased. Eminently sensible. He said,
“We’ve created our own levels to let staff, parents and students know that as numbers increase the measures change.
“At Carisbrooke for example, we’ve changed all our chairs and tables so they are facing the front, there’s hand gel in and out of lessons, hand gel at the start of lunch, hand gel at the end of lunch, all the windows open and teachers staying two metres away from students for more than one minute.”
Variation through year groups
Levels of infection also varies widely between the year groups.
The rise is not unexpected given pupils are no longer in separate year group bubbles, as they were in the last school year. Now students mix in the canteens and social spaces together.
Ryde School
Ryde School told NewsOnTheWight that they wrote to parents of Year 10 and 11 pupils on Wednesday last week asking them to keep their children at home until (Monday 4th) as a precaution due to a number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in those Year groups.
The affected pupils and staff switched to online learning.
Head Master Mark Waldron added,
“We are closely monitoring the current situation and this was not an instruction to isolate, merely a precautionary measure to allow a four day break for those Year groups.
“Parents, staff and parents have, as always, been asked to remain vigilant in protecting our School and the wider community.”
The other schools were less than forthcoming.
Cowes Enterprise College
A spokesperson from the national office of the Ormiston Academies Trust who run Cowes Enterprise College told News OnTheWight they would not share numbers of students who were absent after testing positive. When we suggested sharing percentages instead they said they would consider it, but failed to provide them. They added,
“The situation with regards to Covid at the school is consistent with the wider national and island picture, and we are continuing to work closely with the relevant public health authorities.
“As always, the safety of our students and staff is of paramount importance, and the school continues to have robust safety measures in place.
“Additionally, we are providing thorough support to those who are currently accessing their learning at home, due to their period of self-isolation.”
The Bay
A spokesperson for The Bay CE School in Sandown told News OnTheWight,
“We are seeing a rise in absence, similar to that reported nationally. This is due in part to Covid-related issues, but also to seasonal colds and coughs that are not related to Covid.
“In line with government policy, pupils with Covid are being offered remote learning, and this is arranged on an individual basis as needed.
“Hygiene measures are being closely monitored and stepped up if required, in line with guidance from local health protection teams.”
Those who failed to respond
News OnTheWight asked the same question to all senior schools, but we were told by Christ the King that they would I will get back to us if the Head Teacher “wishes to respond”. Ryde Academy, the Island Free School and Priory School all failed to response, despite us following up with them.
Age breakdown
The tables below show the last three weeks of positive Covid tests here on the Island. It’s only up to 1st October as there is a lag in the Government making the data available.
To help compare where the rising trend is, we’ve broken down into age groups of children and young people, and adults. The two right hand columns show the totals for young Islander and adults.
| Date | 0-4 | 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-9 | 0-19 | 20-90+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct 2021 | 1 | 18 | 26 | 9 | 54 | 37 | |
| 30 Sep 2021 | 2 | 7 | 37 | 10 | 56 | 64 | |
| 29 Sep 2021 | 2 | 9 | 33 | 10 | 54 | 51 | |
| 28 Sep 2021 | 1 | 14 | 32 | 10 | 57 | 48 | |
| 27 Sep 2021 | 2 | 8 | 43 | 22 | 75 | 64 | |
| 26 Sep 2021 | 0 | 6 | 29 | 18 | 53 | 36 | |
| 25 Sep 2021 | 1 | 6 | 25 | 7 | 39 | 33 | |
| Totals | 9 | 68 | 225 | 86 | 388 | 333 |
The week before
| Date | 0-4 | 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-19 | 0-19 | 20-90+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Sep 2021 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 15 | 32 | 42 | |
| 23 Sep 2021 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 11 | 30 | 54 | |
| 22 Sep 2021 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 21 | 42 | 53 | |
| 21 Sep 2021 | 2 | 4 | 26 | 10 | 42 | 40 | |
| 20 Sep 2021 | 1 | 6 | 38 | 9 | 54 | 40 | |
| 19 Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 20 | 22 | |
| 18 Sep 2021 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 16 | |
| Totals | 6 | 26 | 127 | 76 | 235 | 267 |
Two weeks before
| Date | 0-4 | 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-19 | 0-19 | 20-90+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Sep 2021 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 21 | 16 | |
| 16 Sep 2021 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 18 | 17 | |
| 15 Sep 2021 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 17 | 19 | |
| 14 Sep 2021 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 15 | 20 | |
| 13 Sep 2021 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 5 | 31 | 36 | |
| 12 Sep 2021 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 19 | |
| 11 Sep 2021 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 25 | |
| Totals | 8 | 23 | 66 | 30 | 127 | 152 |
Image: Evgeni Tcherkasski under CC BY 2.0
