Sunday Times just reported that all schools in England will be back on 8 March

[LimitIsUp]

This quote from the article:
"All schoolchildren will return to the classroom on March 8 under plans to start lifting the lockdown, Boris Johnson will announce in a national address next week.

Under the government’s blueprint to reopen society, adults will initially have only small new freedoms so as to prioritise the return of schools — a move ministers know will raise the coronavirus R number for infections.

Adults will be allowed to sit down outdoors for a coffee or on a park bench with one friend, or with members of their own family — a slight relaxation of the current rule, which permits outdoor meetings only while standing up.

The decision to reopen both primary and secondary schools goes against the advice of some government scientists. But the prime minister was swayed by faster than expected reductions in hospital admissions and infections."

I can link to the article but for those of you without a subscription, there is a pay wall

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/back-to-school-on-march-8-as-johnson-starts-lifting-lockdown-0v5zbz5bt

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• Title edited by MNHQ (it said October, we've changed it to March as reported) *

It's absolutely insane to keep repeating the same mistakes. We will be back in this situation in 3 wks. Why don't they learn from experience, indeed. I'm so pissed off. I want my children to go back, but this chuck em all back in approach as before will end in disaster again. So bloody cross. There will be another lockdown or crisis.

I can’t speak for everyone’s kids but I know that 3 weeks would make a HUGE difference to my children.

They are absolutely desperate to get back to school and see their friends. Their behaviour has gone way downhill, less and less effort with homeschooling, one is having nightmares.

I’m thankfully not trying to work as well as home school but I know many who are and they are on their knees trying to juggle home school and work.

They don't mix freely at school they are all in class bubbles and not allowed to mix at all!!

This is nonsense. At my son's school they are in year group "bubbles" which in his case is 90 other children. And if they go to after school club they are not kept within bubbles- they mix freely.

That's not even counting the fact that many have siblings in other year groups etc.

@Thislittlefinger123

Good. About time education was prioritised.

Are you serious?

To people who care about things other than when schools open, it feels like education is the only thing that is prioritised. They talk about when schools are going to open all the time, but there’s nothing about universities or the industries that have been forced to close.

Why isn’t this story being reported on the BBC news site? I can see no mention of it anywhere,

Education is not being prioritised in any case. What is being prioritised here is a vocal section of the tory party.

@fastwigglylines

I could cry. Yes, I'm desperate for my DC to get back to school but this will extend the pandemic yet again and mean our freedoms will be curtailed for longer.

I'm also.scared about getting it. I have any underlying condition but not on any kind of priority list for the vaccine.

If we had a decent track and trace system then that's be different. Or free testing on demand without symptoms and the schools getting proper support to manage this crisis e.g. by being able to have pupils back part time to minimise numbers inside, or education about covid being airborne and the role of air con in spreading it.

But instead, we'll have a situation like last time where DS's friend's mum tested positive for covid, but because his friend didn't have symptoms his friend continued going to school. The school were unaware the mother had covid as they would only be informed by track and trace if the child tested positive.

The parents were unwilling to lie about child having symptoms to get a test. (Probably because they didn't want to have to keep him at home). So child officially did not have covid and continued coming into school. School said nothing they could do.

It's a fucking farce. This government still don't have a grip on the pandemic. And the longer we carry on with half measures and ineffective T&,T and testing, the longer we'll be in tiers.

I just hope the vaccines do turn out to fight infection after all, not just make symptoms less severe.

All of this.

I want this all to be over, of course I do... but opening up stuff too early is most likely prolonging it. Half measures will just end up with more deaths, and more lockdowns, as far as I can see.

it feels like education is the only thing that is prioritised.

after a year of school closure? (minus 2 months before Christmas).
Hardly.

@Tangledtresses

Great news if it's true! I don't understand why people are writing "freely mixing at school" not fair stamp stamp. They don't mix freely at school they are all in class bubbles and not allowed to mix at all!!

HA! My son has a cousin in an older year and they ate lunch together various times last term. When covid did enter the school, it shut it down in 4 days with all bubbles eventually bursting on the 6th day due to positive cases.

and again... people are willingly ignoring the fact that primary schools are half-opened already!

We are not going to 0 to 100% in 2 weeks.

Losing a parent to Covid - and worse still, thinking/knowing you probably bought it home to them - can't see that's tremendous for kids' mental health, to be honest. And if mutations occur because of a lack of caution/patience/sense/science, well, let's hope that doesn't threaten their physical health, too.

And bubbles are bursting regularly @SteveBrexit

I teach in a large secondary. I've been delivering a full timetable on line this term - I do my v best and I'm a VG teacher. Nonetheless, the online stuff is shit compared to face to face teaching - even with all the limitations and worry we faced in December.

I want to see the kids back. But we really can't have them all in and cross our fingers - that would be madness when vax are nearly getting us there.

If I had the ear of Gavin Williamson (hah!) I would propose:-

Only children where there are no parents at home (inc working from home) get a f/t school place. No others.

Every other year group gets p/t schooling and booklets sent home for non-school days.

Year R and KS1; Ks3 and y12 - in mon and tues.
KS2, year10 in Thursday and Friday.

Sorry posted too soon...

Weds - schools close for deep cleaning except for years 11 and 13 who get to come to school weds through Friday.

This till Easter. Then take stock.

The catastrophising on this thread’s insane. Almost a quarter of the population has been vaccinated now, it will be almost all of the nine priority groups by 8 March - that’s everyone under 50.

Get the kids back to school and give them some normality, ffs. I’m being vaccinated next Thursday, I’m more than happy to stay at home as advised to give school kids and students their lives back. Some of you seem to want to live this half life for ever.

Enough! I’ve spent quite enough of my already limited lifespan locked away.

SteveBrexit

I am not discussing every school in the country, but I know the numbers of local schools, why is it so hard to understand?

Because you are saying "schools", not "local schools" or "my child's school" etc.

I am not dismissing the vulnerable children!

I haven't mentioned any, why bring it up in a response to me?

It is going to be far more disruptive and worse for children if we continue with this on/off race back to normal teaching.

Somebody in power has to start to learn from the past and put the political groups and their shills in their place.

@SteveBrexit

and again... people are willingly ignoring the fact that primary schools are half-opened already!

We are not going to 0 to 100% in 2 weeks.

Spot on

@SteveBrexit

it feels like education is the only thing that is prioritised.

after a year of school closure? (minus 2 months before Christmas).
Hardly.

Are you not in the U.K.? Schools have not been shut for that long! Or maybe you are referring to periods of isolation?

I know this would be awful for parents of small kids trying to work from home for those 3 week. But it might just avoid bubbles bursting all over the place and means teachers and rooms can be spread around the chn in school as no teaching needed of those at home.
So smaller classes, more space.

There is no new news. The most that has been said is that they 'hope' for 8 March but it depends on the numbers and they need to be cautious. That's not new. Everyone 'hopes' but it doesn't actually make it any more or less likely.

Please can the people who are scared this will cause another wave remember that millions of the most vulnerable have now been vaccinated. So it’s not going to be the same as the last time restrictions were lifted.

The Telegraph on the same article, is going on about "Australia style lockdowns' of 'areas with just a few cases' a bit confusing...

@VinylDetective I can’t see the remainder of the 9 groups being vaccinated in the next 3 weeks and you need 3 weeks after the jab for the immunisation to be effective

It makes so much sense to open schools (secondary have been mostly closed to all but a handful) in the SPRING when this virus appears to be seasonal!
Yes, it might mutate, viruses do. It's not going anywhere, covid will always exist. What should we do, keep schools closed all spring and half the summer, then it's the summer holiday and then, ooops, it's Autumn and cases go up..Spring is the time.
We are vaccinating at a steady clip, why do some people seem to want this to go on and on? I know so many people who may not have died but their lives have been utterly destroyed, lost their careers, their businesses, their marriages even their homes. And the impact in children will be felt for years to come.
( Obviously I have lost people to actual death in my time too but wasn't covid so no one cares! )

If 1-4 have mostly been vaccinated and 5-6 are getting called now, I don't see why school reopening would be the disaster some predict?