Teenagers in Wales now getting Covid jabs call-up
TEENAGERS are now getting Covid-19 jabs in Wales as the vaccination rollout programme continues.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is now inviting 18- 29-year-olds for their vaccine.
Latest figures from the health board show that 29,222 people aged between 18 and 29 have received the first dose – 30.3% of that age group.
A spokeswoman for the Cardiff and Vale UHB said: “We are currently sending out appointment letters, so they should hear from us in the coming weeks.”
Latest information from Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in north Wales is that it has also started inviting people in the age group 18 to 29 for the first vaccination, and latest figures for that age group in the area show that 29% have had their first jab.
Swansea Bay University Health Board has opened its reserve list for those aged 18 to 29, while Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board has opened its list to anyone aged 25 and over.
Hywel Dda Health Board, which covers Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, said: “Please do not contact the health board if you are aged 18 to 49 to ask about your vaccine appointment at this time. You will be contacted as soon as it is your turn.”
One mum, whose 19-year-old son in Cardiff received his first vaccine on Tuesday this week, said: “I think it’s important they vaccinate the teens as they are more likely to be mixing, plus he’s working in retail and we need the shops open. Customers feel safer if the staff are vaccinated.”
Latest figures from Public Health Wales show that 28.8% of 18-29s have had their first vaccination.
Last week the doctor in charge of the vaccine programme in Wales said she is confident that the target of having all eligible adults vaccinated by the end of July is on track.
Dr Gill Richardson revealed that 90% of people over the age of 60 in Wales have been vaccinated, 95% of over-80s, and 70% of people aged between 40 and 49 have been vaccinated – some of the best rates in the UK.
On the subject of supply, Dr Richardson said there had been some bumps along the way, but “the supply is fairly steady”.
She added: “It is still a little on the low side until we reach the middle of May, when we will see some vaccines coming in. We have got enough for rolling out all our second doses because we started very early on that programme back in February and we have been doing that gradually at the same time as the first doses.”
The infection rate across Wales now stands at 10.1 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days up to April 28 – a drop from 10.5. The infection rate is now as low as it was at the end of August last year.
Across Wales, 1,864,400 people have had a first vaccine dose, while 772,527 people have had two doses.
TEACHERS are said to be having panic attacks and cancelling Covid-19 jabs because of the “overwhelming” extra work of assessments replacing traditional exams this term.
They have also raised concerns about pressure on pupils, warning the exam grading process is “unmanageable” and will be unfair again this year.
Teachers are setting, running and marking assessments for exam grades after traditional exams were cancelled by the Welsh Government for a second year due to Covid-19 disruption.
But critics have claimed the assessment system to replace them, only confirmed in the middle of last term, is unfair and causing an unacceptable extra workload for teachers and pupils. They fear it also creates grade standardisation by the back door, even without the standardising algorithm abandoned at the last minute last year.
Headteachers have reported “fractious Zoom meetings” about the workload with exam regulator Qualifications Wales.
One teacher warned: “The impact on pupils is unacceptable.”
Another told union NASUWT Cymru: “I’ve refused the opportunity of a Covid jab as I’ve heard it can make you feel ill the following day and I can’t afford a day when I can’t teach my children properly.”
An initial plan to run internal and external assessments to replace cancelled traditional exams was dropped by the Welsh Government after schools were told to close again in January.
The Welsh Government appointed a Design and Delivery Advisory Group, chaired by a former headteacher, then devised a system of Centre Determined Grades to arrive at GCSE and A-level grades.
These will be awarded by teachers, based on some internal sat assessment with past papers, coursework and past work and results also in the mix.
Exam board the WJEC and regulator Qualifications Wales are responsible for implementing the plans, with schools running, marking and grading assessments for results. Schools have also been told to tell learners their expected grades in June, to give time for any appeals ahead of official results days in August.
But teachers have said they are angry they are “doing the WJEC’s job”, with some estimating the work of assessing pupils’ grades will mean at least an extra week’s work which they will have to carry out in their own time, unpaid.
One told NASUWT Cymru: “The exam board has not provided any meaningful test questions for me to use to get authentic grades, they want all the setting, marking and grading done by teachers. They have sent out so much information on this onerous process that it is overwhelming and the administration they require for each pupil is frankly unmanageable.”
Another said: “The workload issue over the next few weeks is causing so much stress. On top of this I have to continue teaching lessons.”
One teacher detailed what extra work assessments meant in their school.
They said: “So far, teachers are completing all admin regarding the setting-up/assessment/ standardisation/moderation of assessments; attending countless meetings linked to assessments (I have attended four after-school meetings in four days this week alone); setting and marking the assessments; invigilating the assessments; having to deal with parental and student queries regarding assessments; being left to fend for ourselves against potential marking review requests; and the admin linked to marking reviews – and all while the WJEC gets paid for the privilege.”
One teacher said the exam grading process had made this term – the first time since Christmas that their pupils have been allowed to return, full-time, for face-to-face teaching – unacceptably stressful for teenagers in exam years at an already difficult time.
“In seven weeks we are expected to catch up students, teach new course content, administer assessments, mark and then quality-assure those assessments before attributing a holistic best-fit grade.
“Not only is this an overwhelming amount of work to expect from class teachers (some of whom have 70-plus exam students), the impact on the pupils is unacceptable.”
Although teachers are grading their pupils, if results vary between 3% and 7% on 2019, 2018 and 2017 results they will be asked to look at them again.
One person working in education, who did not want to be named, said: “Teachers are going to get caught between the exam board, that has set limits which if exceeded will lead to investigation, and parents who will expect the students to be awarded in line with the assessments they have done this term.
“Teachers are in a lose-lose scenario. Hence we feel that unless there are some alterations, the first phase of the appeals process will hang them out to dry,”
Lee Jarvis, headteacher at St Martin’s School, Caerphilly, said one piece of paperwork alone, an assessment decision-making form that the WJEC wanted completed for each child for every subject, would take teachers with four exam classes around 42 hours to complete.
Neil Butler, NASUWT national official for Wales, said: “NASUWT has been receiving concerning correspondence on the impact of the qualifications work falling back on secondary schools.
“The union is extremely concerned at the stress that is expressed in this correspondence, but what also shines out is how concerned teachers are for the impact this is having on the students as well as themselves.”
In a statement, the WJEC said: “The approach to grading this summer offers a high degree of flexibility for schools and colleges, who can use their professional judgement to decide which evidence to use to determine their learners’ grades in a fair and balanced way.
“Our teams have worked at pace to produce a comprehensive package of support which has included extensive training opportunities, assessment materials, exemplars and detailed professional guidance. The training has also included prerecorded sessions and guidance, which has enabled teachers to complete the training at a time which is convenient to them. All of these materials and support are optional for schools and colleges to use as appropriate.”
Asked about extra work and pressure on teachers, exam regulator Qualifications Wales said: “As part of the quality assurance process this year, schools and colleges will submit a rationale for their overall results for each qualification type (GCSEs, AS and A-levels) and a Head of Centre declaration. The rationale must explain the pattern of overall results presented by the centre.
“WJEC will identify any schools or colleges whose results are atypical and follow up with a professional discussion. Tolerances have been published. The tolerances are not targets to aim for. WJEC will not intervene to alter overall centre outcomes and may ask centres to revisit their results if the pattern of results is not justified by the rationale presented.”