To think we are heading for a full 2 week national half term lockdown

[Midlifelights]

DS’s school ramping up the preparation to teach on MS teams & making sure they can all use it & have the tech in place.

Teachers indicating that it’s going to be half term plus another couple of weeks after.

Given the rising numbers, it’s seems more likely that’s what’s coming - and maybe even a full lockdown this time & not the half arsed one we had before.

Aibu? I am worried as my kids really hated it last time but with so many new cases, it just seems the likely path

They did say the Army was on standby- maybe to enforce it. You needed permits etc to go anywhere in France, Italy etc & it was enforced on the streets by the army - maybe that’s the answer here (I don’t agree with it though as it’s borderline martial law)

I feel sorry for those with kids in small flats with no/little IT available. Not everyone can afford all the kit and connections.

Outdoors with social distancing = very low risk of transmission. Indoors, crowded, lack of ventilation, no masks, no social distancing= very high risk of transmission.

I would have thought it might be a good idea.

What would be an even better idea would for the government to warn everyone in advance. Like now - so everyone can prepare for it. And to pay everyone on benefits a decent amount of extra money to cover those two weeks.

@noblegiraffe

It'll be tough selling a nationwide lockdown to the South East and West were infections are much lower.

It was alright back in March when it was rice in London and practically unheard of in he North though...

@SoUtterlyGroundDown I’m not here trying to have an argument- but a general discussion.

There was a lot of confusion about the rules the last time - about what was ok and what wasn’t- and it changed a lot too. And who was exempt & who wasn’t etc. Who was a keyworker etc.

As is said on all these threads half term is different across the country so you can’t have a lockdown based on 2 weeks half term plus 2 more weeks.

What about the GCSE exams which are taking place in the weeks after half term. My DD is taking one which she couldn't get a grade for in the summer as an external candidate. The cancellation of them for a second time would break her and I'm sure many other students who weren't able to have them awarded. These are not resits for many.

Well yes half term does vary but only normally by a week or so generally

It could happen, I hope if it does exercise is still allowed. We have two small children in a small house with yard so walks were our saving grace.

For those saying it wouldn’t be fair to low risk areas- I think compliance in high risk areas would be much lower if they knew elsewhere everyone was going about their business. If it was nationwide then everyone would feel in the same position but if lower risk areas were less cautious it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I say this as someone stuck in lockdown and horribly jealous of everyone else allowed up to 6 people in their homes.

I will be very surprised if the schools do not have at least a two week shutdown. The schools themselves know no more than any one else (certainly not the classroom teachers) but as I see in the news one school after another having cases then closure becomes inevitable. It just will not be possible to get in enough supply teachers to cover staff who are testing positive or awaiting results.

How will a two week lockdown solve anything in the long term when the last one was months and here we are again

It should be two weeks only though and the week before and half term week (so last two weeks of October).

Also there are plenty of cases in the South East and South West. Just not as many as the North. And the cases are rising which is more relevant.

I also think we should have a 2 week lockdown just before Christmas.

The army currently has about 80,000 people. This includes all of those on sick leave, downgraded, living overseas and on operations. Then there's all those in training for immenent operations. There's not a lot of the Army available to check whether people are popping into Tesco for a chocolate bar or for a weekly shop.

School being prepared for the possibility does not mean it is going to happen. Remember, this government has no real idea about what to do and when.

I would support the Queen dismissing the Prime Minister as the Royal Prerogative allows, in the hope of the competent Conservatives (or a National Government) taking over, but that sadly is not going to happen.

You sound like you are looking forward to it, OP, like you would look forward to a holiday

It was alright back in March when it was rice in London and practically unheard of in he North though...

We didn't really have a clue back in March due to very low testing capacity though.

It will be no holiday! Preparing and marking online work is very, very time consuming.

I do read threads like this and think some people are almost wishing for people being locked in their houses, soldiers with rifles
On the streets , and a public flogging for anyone who dares breach a "proper" lockdown
They almost wallow in the misery

@WhentheDealGoesDown1 huh? When have I said anything even remotely indicating I was looking forward to it? I am having an general discussion based on some stuff I have read/heard.

Jeez, the stuff people read into on these threads is amazing. My DS ended up in counselling after the last one as he got depressed so i can assure you I am not fucking looking forward to any kind of lockdown. 🙄

Half terms normally only vary by a week. If you had a two week lockdown starting on the 19th October you would catch the vast majority of half term holidays in state schools in England.

A circuit breaker lockdown before those November GCSE and A Level exams might also minimise the chances of kids having to miss them as a result of self-isolation.

The more I think about it the more sensible it seems, which means it almost certainly won’t happen.

Schools have no more idea than anyone else what is going to happen. We know we have to be prepared for bubble/year group/full closure at a moment's notice and we are making sure that we are ready to switch. Our instructions from SLT are that we should be able to transfer seamlessly to online teaching for the following morning if we go into unexpected lockdown. But in no way do schools have any information that the rest of the public don't have.
Personally, I am hoping that we can get a lot closer to Christmas before losing any in-school teaching time, but our area is relatively low in cases at the moment so I appreciate that schools elsewhere may feel under more pressure.

Our instructions from SLT are that we should be able to transfer seamlessly to online teaching for the following morning if we go into unexpected lockdown.

Not only that, the DfE have made it a legal requirement from 22nd October that schools can do this.

I really don't think we will.

One school I know of has decided that they will shorten the term by a week to give the teachers an extra week off (their words, not mine) and not even have the year 11s in for the extra week.