Tracking, Tracing And Ten Minute Tests - The Isle Of Wight School Adapting To Coronavirus

An Isle of Wight school has gone the extra mile to stop the spread of coronavirus - and its headteacher is positive the results speak for themselves.

Mark Waldron, from Ryde School, has revealed the struggles of balancing health and safety with education. 

Like most schools across the country, Ryde School has been forced to adapt to the challenges posed by COVID-19.

Staff have implemented a range of new safety measures, including social distancing and class bubbles. But it was delays in teachers and pupils getting coronavirus results back which forced them to think outside the box.

The private school has invested £6,000 in a coronavirus testing machine, allowing students and staff to know whether they have the virus within ten minutes.

Mark Waldron

It has meant that, while some schools on the Island and across the country have been left without pupils to teach or teachers to teach them, the Queen's Road site has remained largely unaffected.

Since the start of the pandemic only "a few" Ryde School teachers have had to self-isolate.

Speaking exclusively to Isle of Wight Radio, Mr Waldron said:

"When you work out the cost of cover and supply teachers an the impact on education because of teachers not being in school, it doesn't take much to work out that it's worth a bit of an investment in the machine initially to speed things up.

"We were having a situation like most schools where a teacher would feel the need to isolate, not because they have tested positive because someone had symptoms, and they would have a test on the Monday and perhaps not get a result until Friday.

"That's the whole week you've lost, where as what we can do now is test them, confirm it's a negative test hopefully and get them back in school."

The Blok_Bioscience Rapid Covid Antigen testing kit can only be used by qualified nursing staff. Its sensitivity for positive rates is 94%, whereas its sensitivity for negative rates is said to be 100%.

At Ryde School, school nurse Sarah operates the technology. Isle of Wight Radio's Oliver Dyer went to see how the machine works...

Isle of Wight Radio has asked the Isle of Wight Council whether other Island schools will be getting the testing technology.

Ryde School has had one confirmed case of coronavirus, which came in October - as Isle of Wight Radio reported.

At the time, a group of year 8 students were told to stay home - and Mr Waldron assured parents that "measures were in place to contain the outbreak". 

No cases have been recorded since.

The year 9 common room.

As well as a testing machine, the school has also implemented its own test and trace system, temperature checks upon arrival and has provided extra space for pupils.

The measures are certainly rigorous - with the school even installing a Perspex screen in preparation for Isle of Wight Radio's visit.

"We've had the temperature tests in place since May, it's a first alert for us, Mr Waldron said.

"We've got a member of staff who is keeping a daily record of who has been where and who they've been in contact with so that when we did have that one case before half-term, we could very quickly identify the pupils that that pupil had been in contact with... so within a day we were able to say to pupils in Year 8 all of you can come back apart from this group which we have identified as being particularly affected, so that's allowed us to keep the numbers down. 

"Of course we've got all the kind of things that everyone has got, the one way system, the social distancing, the masks in communal areas. What's been tough is the areas where we have to create these classes... where everyone is together we have needed more classrooms. For our teachers, it has been a much more solitary existence... most of the time our teachers are in their own classroom, they're not really seeing each other at lunchtime, they can't mix in the classroom. I think it's been tough for staff probably initially more than for students."

A temporary common room has been erected in the school's playground for year 9 students.

The Pavilion at the back of the school is also being used as a dining room.

Mr Waldron says the pandemic has been challenging for pupils, with many left "exhausted, tired and emotional". 

He said:

"I think they [students] have been remarkably resilient. Something that happened in the Summer term was that they started to appreciate the value of school. It is not often that you find 15 year olds, 16 year old boys excited to come back to school but we definitely saw that when we returned in June.. and that was really exciting to see.

"It's much tougher now - longer nights, darker days. People are spending a lot of time in their bubbles. They don't see anyone outside their year group in their common room or outdoor space. In particular, up to year 9, that means you're having all your lessons with the same people all day. 

"I think what we're seeing now is pupils can't just walk away when someone is irritating you and that's starting to take its toll I think."

More than 20 schools have now had a confirmed case on the Island. At least seven have had more than one case.

Mark Waldron said he recognises staff cannot make Ryde School "entirely secure" from coronavirus, but he said they can make it safer.