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) *

@Dustyboots

No they have been cancelled but that’s about all they know!

There’s no plan in place for GCSEs yet is there?

There's a consultation, I was a bit confused by that comment in the Times (article under discussion) it said something about awaiting the results of this and might have a chat with them about what 'grades they aspire to'

Ours are doing mocks as soon as they go back apparently and been doing formal assessments under lockdown at home...

@Dustyboots

Where is Gavin Williamson?

Good question! Hiding in a fridge maybe?

@FrippEnos - ‘it’s not a deadline, it’s a review date’ - ok wrong choice of words I however I don’t think it detracts from the rest of my post?

@FrippEnos - and I wasn’t implying that the posters I was referring to were all teachers!

I do think socially it has been very stressful for some dc.

Even though teens can communicate online, it’s totally different than being face to face with social interaction.

Age 13/14 I formed a totally different friendship group and made lifelong friends. I think socially this has definitely affected lots of children, possibly for many years to come.

I do think MH support needs to be prioritised too once schools re-open, there will be many who need it more than ever!

With respect to GCSE the consultation is closed. I think we will get the results from that next week

@Inastatus

I don’t think some posters on here will ever be happy to see school’s re-opening! Their goal posts are constantly moving. Whenever there is talk of schools going back there is outrage. They didn’t want kids back last summer when case rates were low, they didn’t want them to return in Autumn. They didn’t want them in when we had the last lockdown.

Now here we are with a vaccine which has already been given to 15 million of the most vulnerable and a deadline of March the 8th but noooo, it’s tooo soon, let’s wait until after Easter. Then it will be let’s wait until the whole adult population has been vaccinated, then, no wait until the kids have been done. Makes me wonder what would have happened if an effective vaccine hadn’t been developed! Schools closed until 2025!

Well said. We have long ago established that the children are not off school to protect them it's the greater community. There has to come a point where when the elderly & vulnerable have been vaccinated the children go back to school for them. It's time we thought of them & there mental health not to mention the academic side. I heard something recently that I agree with, there is only so far anyone will go for a stranger when they see the ones they love start to suffer.

@Rosesaresweet

Now here we are with a vaccine which has already been given to 15 million of the most vulnerable and a deadline of March the 8th but noooo, it’s tooo soon, let’s wait until after Easter. Then it will be let’s wait until the whole adult population has been vaccinated, then, no wait until the kids have been done. Makes me wonder what would have happened if an effective vaccine hadn’t been developed! Schools closed until 2025!

Well said

yeah why listen to the scientists? why not make up stuff instead, it's more fun! Then we can all act shocked when it doesn't go well.

Inastatus

My mistake, you didn't mention teachers.

@AnniversaryScaresMe

lootraw1 Many adults have some contact with others through work for a start, and at least get to go out of the house for essential shopping supplies. My children have been isolated in their home since 18th dec having had three weeks at school , and previous to that since October due to Nov lockdown. Home is like a prison for them now.

They're not isolated in their home, they have each other and you. Their closest loved ones.
Many adults live alone and so are separated from their loved ones entirely, bar one support bubble. And were placed into solitary confinement for months last year, plus almost a year of isolation in general, including when children were back in school.
Going out for essential shopping hardly equates to being surrounded by loved ones like your children have been the entire time. I'd rather be under house arrest but have people around! Also many adults are working from home.

You're speaking from a privileged place of having a family. Why should your kids be in school mixing freely when adults are only allowed to see one person? We should be opening things up equally.

I'm sick of being treated like a second class citizen for being unlucky enough to have no family. Actually get flashbacks of early lockdown and the isolation.

Surrounded by loved ones? People around?

My 6 year old is an only child. She has only seen her father and me for the past 2 months. She hasn’t seen her grandmother, who she adores so much, in person since August, and even that was for 30 minutes in a garden. Her life has been turned upside down and she can’t even fully comprehend it. A sixth of her life has been corona filled.

Trust me, she isn’t ‘mixing freely’ in school. I am sympathetic to your plight but don’t be so dismissive of children in this situation.

ineedaholidaynow

With respect to GCSE the consultation is closed. I think we will get the results from that next week“

As is the A level consultation. Had a conversation with the head of our youngest’s College about 10 days ago. Wasn’t able to tell me when announcements would be made though.

@Dustyboots

Where is Gavin Williamson?

Precisely - absolutely the worse Education minister we have ever had. The fact that most teachers would rather have Gove says a lot about his incompetence

"The fact that most teachers would rather have Gove says a lot about his incompetence"

😂😂😂😂😂😂

I would NOT rather have Gove. I'll never forgive him for what he did to students by changing the goal posts half way through their exams. I'd rather have a 5 year old than either of them. They talk more sense. And normally quite like their teachers and would rather they didn't get sick unnecessarily.

Gove’s curriculum is the reason so many primary parents are now worried their children are behind and will never catch up. The standards are arbitrary and generated by the DFE.

There many be many year 4 children who have missed their introduction to adverbial phrases, but does that mean the child will always be ‘behind’ in their writing - no. Behind on the government tick box for year 4 - possibly. But it means nothing in the long term.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if this was taken as an opportunity to review the curriculum for the next few years and give schools the flexibility they need to do this. I lead English at a primary school - we could absolutely still ensure the children are good readers and writers.

@SteveBrexit

you do know the definition of "house arrest"?

^house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in
modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all.^

An adult claiming they are on house arrest are ridiculously over dramatic, I agree

a child (or worst a teen!) who are building their life? we are not far.

Pottering around the house, working, d-i-ying and going for a daily run is good for an established adult - who has probably been moaning that they were so "busy" in the past. It's a terrible punishment for a kid.

Schools should open after half-term, it's outrageous to wait until March.

Indeed. April would be more sensible

Every weeks piece of writing work for this yr 4 has had the reminder to add "fronted adverbials" and that "every word must be joinednup." A tick list of what to include and yes completely different to creative writing as I knew it. A lot of planning and structuring and very tedious. The teachers ar e fab and have made it fun but gosh yes can see why they're drilling when they literally have to for sats.

Primary education has changed so so much and not nec for the better.

As a previously shielding teacher, I'm beyond disgusted. No protection for us? It's so wrong. I'm meant to go back into a classroom with no mask, no protection?

What pisses me off more than anything is all the talk about how 'children need to get back'.

I think people need to stop and think that ADULTS run schools.

Adults who can get sick and die from this and we're not allowed to teach with masks on in primary schools

@TryingNotToPanicOverCovid

The grammar SATs test has a lot to answer for! You also end up with children who can use every technique in the book but their writing is poor and in some cases doesn’t even make sense.

@purplebatbear - if you were previously shielding haven’t you been offered the vaccine yet?

I agree purplebatbear.

And I don't understand why the numerous posts by people whose children are struggling, need to be with their friends, are losing their education, suffering with their mental health, etc aren't actively campaigning for teaching staffs to be vaccinated and for other protections so schools can be opened safely.

@mywifi

This is ridiculous. They need to vaccinate school staff before they even consider sending pupils back in as getting a whole school to do the quick tests will be difficult and in school bubbles don't work at preventing the spread no matter how hard the staff try.

Thank you.

Us school staff are being completed thrown under a bus. There are so many teachers who are older or CV or previously shielding who won't be vaccinated for months

@SchrodingersUnicorn

I really hope they add:

• Masks to be worn in classrooms for secondary
• ECV parents and CV parents who havent been vaccinated can choose to keep children at home without risk of fines
• ECV teachers not in school until two vaccines, and escalation of first vaccine for CV teachers so they have some protection before 8 March
• Return to isolating whole bubbles not just the child sitting next to the positive case
• Make it a criminal offence to send a child who should be isolating to school
• Secondary schools on a rota (blended learning) to enable social distancing and reduce transmission between year groups

Then we might have a chance of it working.

I nearly cried when I read this.

This is exactly what should happen