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 would be terrible if we had to start vaccination from scratch because of a hasty return.

Yes it is. So we need to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible before opening up to limit further mutations.

Sorry, that was in reply to AllAroundTheWrekin

Lillith111

Teachers can stay 2m away with ventilation

Not in the majority of classrooms

but productive learning can't be done with everyone in a mask.

Schools around the world manage Ok.

[quote WouldBeGood]@cherryolives children should be protected: they should be back in school[/quote]
WouldBeGood
If you genuinely want children to be back in school and to stay in school, you need to protect the teachers by vaccinating them. If you don’t, even the young, healthy members of staff will catch Covid and be off sick, even if it is just for two weeks. No teachers = no school. Children should also be ‘protected’ by their own families, their neighbours, social services, health services, mental health services, the police and so on. I would also add that schools should only be a small part of the process and this needs addressing as soon as the worst of this pandemic is over.

I am happy to wait until the ‘old’ and ‘vulnerable’ have been vaccinated IF I can work from home but I do not think it is unacceptable to ask to be safe if I am expected to do my teaching in a place which is a ‘vector of infection’.

Personally, I would prefer they waited the extra few weeks until after Easter, as others have mentioned, so that there is a greater chance of them remaining open in the long term. The uncertainty of going back and then being sent home again is worse for the children. Plus better weather by then will make ventilation easier etc

Teachers can stay 2m away with ventilation but productive learning can't be done with everyone in a mask
More tosh.

Hey @BustopherPonsonbyJones!

I agree. To ensure schools stay open we need to open as safely as possible.

This is one of my biggest fears too. If they let it run riot in schools again, there is a seriously increased risk of vaccine escape. Imagine that whole vaccination programme having been for nothing and having to lock down and do it all over again in 6 months

Why is Boris OK with this? It will screw up the economy even more. Is he really OK with this?

@VinylDetective

How are children in care homes more vulnerable than those in schools?

Care homes are for old people. Care home workers were given priority to protect aged residents.

Children also live in care homes with care workers who are vaccinated. Care homes are not only for old people. I work in a school with children in homes with care workers.

Rates will rise as soon as schools go back, so, from what I can gather from today's news, at least three weeks between each lockdown measure that is lifted to truly test the waters. The new variants are very troubling, if they get of control, we may well be back to square one. The infection rates need to be very very very low before they open up society again, and whilst we are in lockdown, ventilation in work places, schools, theatres, venues, needs to be improved for now and the future.

Are they testing the efficacy of the vaccine by sending kids back now?

Maybe it's a test to see whether the vaccines really work ...

@WitchesBritchesPumpkinPants

Other papers reporting other options.

Apparently there's a dd ate about letting some go back MARCH 8th and seeing how it goes.

Others are saying all of them going back a couple of weeks later but 'big bang' style.

Lots of 'leaks' do god alone knows what will happen. They're busy slogging out how many deaths is acceptable.

No death is acceptable when it’s is utterly avoidable by listening to the scientists. The corrupt so called government needs to be sacked. Johnson is a mass murderer, now of what close to 200K people, at least 80%+ of that number could still be alive if experts had been listened to and decisions made in a timely manner.

Another issue with vaccinate the teachers etc is that basic services are being severely impacted as blood tests smears asthma checks and other clinics are reduced as there are only so many hours nurses can work. People are currently dying because diagnosis and tests are delayed.

I think this Sunday Times story is bullshlt, but if the government did send all the children back to school on March 8th without any additional mitigation to prevent transmission then that would be an obvious set up for Lockdown 4: This Time It's Summer.

I have read MOST of the thread.

Why is no-one talking about the second doses?

It is all very good to have had one dose but what happens if there is not enough vaccine to carry out the second doses in a timely fashion?

@StarCat2020

I have read MOST of the thread.

Why is no-one talking about the second doses?

It is all very good to have had one dose but what happens if there is not enough vaccine to carry out the second doses in a timely fashion?

It's my opinion that the vulnerable should be as well protected as they can be before we open up and increase transmission, but on March 8th about half of the 32 million in the JCVI 9 priority groups will have had their first jab, and about half won't have had anything. Hardly any will be fully protected with both doses.

My Great Uncle was given his first jab three weeks ago and he's in hospital with covid right now.

@Iseestupidpeople
What other people do when they have had the vaccine is out of my control but the threads on here suggest that many people will ignore social distancing, yes. That is why it is even more important for teachers to be vaccinated so we don’t suffer from other people’s thoughtless behaviour because of our jobs.

Teachers are human too so our blood tests, smears and asthma checks may also be delayed. No reason for that to be used as an excuse to not vaccinate a group of people who are already putting themselves at risk to work in ‘vectors for transmission’. As I said, I am happy to wait for my vaccine if I can continue to work from home. Would you prefer that option?

There is no way there can be communication and learning when wearing a mask for 6 hours a day in the classroom

I’m not sure why people keep attempting this argument, when countries like Japan and Hong Kong where mask wearing is really common (and has been for years and yes, even in schools), typically have very good educational outcomes. I think Japan is or was in the top 3 for completing college or University level education.

And it’s certainly not only the uk/England where children have been out of school/remote learning for nearly a year. I have students from Romania & Turkey, to think of two examples, who tell me that schools back home have been closed since March/April and remote learning only since then.

As a teacher, I am desperate to see my students in real life, so want schools open, but also remember the chaos of isolations and students worried about being in school/vulnerable friends and parents, so want schools to open safely so they can stay open with no more disruption for my students.

My Great Uncle was given his first jab three weeks ago and he's in hospital with covid right now
I am sorry to hear that.

I hope your family are coping OK

@StarCat2020

My Great Uncle was given his first jab three weeks ago and he's in hospital with covid right now I am sorry to hear that.

I hope your family are coping OK

Thank you lovely.

princess
Sorry I didn’t read your post until after mine posted. Sorry to hear your great uncle is sick and hopefully the vaccine will do its thing and limit the severity.

@BustopherPonsonbyJones

princess Sorry I didn’t read your post until after mine posted. Sorry to hear your great uncle is sick and hopefully the vaccine will do its thing and limit the severity.

Thank you.

We do too.

My point isn't about comfort it's that's with every occupant wearing a mask including the teacher productive learning cannot be done because there's no kind of communication which would be the whole point of returning to teaching.

Funny that productive learning appears to be happening in the many countries where masks are worn by all in schools then, isn’t it - and that perfectly adequate communication happens in the settings where masks are routinely worn in this country, ie hospitals.