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) *

I’m sure like many many others dealing with homeschooling and homeworking that my fuel tank is running very low now.

In fact, the light has come on. I can just about make it to the 8th but any longer and I will be joining all other likeminded people with daily protests to open the petrol stations schools.

Channelling my inner JVT there with a transport metaphor.

• “They should vaccinate police, prison officers, teachers as next priority groups after the current list is completed.“

I can see the sense in both arguments. My daughters best friend is a teacher, 26, fit, healthy, no underlying conditions. I’m 56, reasonably fit, reasonably healthy, veinous insufficiency and arthritis here and there. I still have a dependent. She would much rather I was vaccinated first 🤷‍♀️ Tbh, so would I.*

But you will be vaccinated first You are 56 and so would be vaccinated in this current schedule which vaccinates all adults over 50 (and those above 16 who are CEV).

We are talking about vaccinating front line workers like police, prison officers and teachers ahead of the under 50s.
How can that not make sense?

We keep reading that Scotland is starting their phased return on the 22nd but in the same bbc article is says this:

However, she said only between 5% and 8% of any school's roll should return.

Is that figure even vaguely correct it has it been mistyped or misquoted?

I can't see how that would work?

Many schools here have far more than this in already during lockdown.

@Abraxan

We keep reading that Scotland is starting their phased return on the 22nd but in the same bbc article is says this:

However, she said only between 5% and 8% of any school's roll should return.

Is that figure even vaguely correct it has it been mistyped or misquoted?

I can't see how that would work?

Many schools here have far more than this in already during lockdown.

Is it that only 5-8% of secondary schools can go back at any one time, but 100% of the small ones, because, you know-childcare...!

@LongDistanceClaret

I’m sure like many many others dealing with homeschooling and homeworking that my fuel tank is running very low now.

In fact, the light has come on. I can just about make it to the 8th but any longer and I will be joining all other likeminded people with daily protests to open the petrol stations schools.

Channelling my inner JVT there with a transport metaphor.

Everyone's fuel tank is running low- homeschooling or not. If you open schools too early education will be more disrupted with teachers and pupils isolating all the time.

Currently average age of those in ITU with COVID is 30 - 50 and they are sicker than in the first wave. Many are left with permanent lung damage.

apple.news/AlGtIztheTGafOMfEpHgfLg

They are idiots. It won't be safe until the virus has gone and all are vaccinated.

That will never happen.

Schools and children need to be a priority- but that doesn’t mean opening them too soon and under pressure.
If I were them I’d push reopening back a few more weeks (possibly Easter) and look at relaxing the rules about children mixing outside immediately.

Every children's playground I've passed recently on my dog walks has been packed to the rafters with small children.
I sometimes twitch when I see people breaking lockdown rules, but I really can't object to this. Ditto during the recent snow - it was lovely to see and hear kids screaming with delight on sledges out in the fresh air and I really can't imagine there was much cross-infection going on.
Could outdoor mixing for kids not be the next step?

@Abraxan

We keep reading that Scotland is starting their phased return on the 22nd but in the same bbc article is says this:

However, she said only between 5% and 8% of any school's roll should return.

Is that figure even vaguely correct it has it been mistyped or misquoted?

I can't see how that would work?

Many schools here have far more than this in already during lockdown.

Primary plan is p1-3 (and nursery) Secondary no S1-3. S4-6 only 6-8% to do essential work eg practicals. Not confirmed either by the way until a decision later today in the Scottish Parliament.

no because we have a psychopath as PM

@Integrity7

A quote from that article re the mutated "UK Variant"

"She said that “40% of illness is in children, a higher percentage than their part in the population… We see a rise in infections in ages 6-9, which is exactly the age group that is supposed to go back to school” when the tightened lockdown ends at the end of the month. “We’re monitoring it.”"

Yes, isn't Israel putting off sending the children back to school, and pushing back reopening the airports because the U.K. Kent variant is absolutely burning through the kids? (Which -as we all know after a year of covid - inevitably filters up the age scale, and the more transmissible a variant is the faster it gets to people it can make seriously ill.)

And Israel are vaccinating on the proper Pfizer-BioNTech schedule too, so their vulnerable have as much protection as it's currently possible to give them.

@Integrity7

no because we have a psychopath as PM

Well he does have the Pro Covid "Let Her Rip" "We don't care how many of the nation's grandparents die" nutter wing of his own party hissy-fitting all over the media to contend with.

As PP have said it's time our country's leader led.

And told the ERG, Sunak et al to pipe down because enough British have died because he listened to them.

We have to do it right this time if we don't want to do it all over again in a couple of months.

@Wagamas

Oh ffs here we go again. Push for things to reopen when the goverment have been warned otherwise. Ignore the experts, do it anyways, a new variant will spread like wild fire, so many unnecessary deaths and then bam back into another 3 month lockdown.

Honety when will they break this cycle it's getting exhausting, at this rate we will be in and out of lockdown till the end of the year again. Other countries have it done it right what cant ours. If they had acted faster this time last year and kept it going we may of not been in such dire circumstances in the first place

This is how I feel.

We have family and friends in Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, and Hong Kong and they all think we're mental.

It's like^:
^
"Ooops our governments covid policies have killed 50,000 British people again. Oh but they're doing their best. No one else could do better"

^>LOOKS AROUND THE WORLD AT LITERALLY EVERY COUNTRY BUT 5 OF THEM DOING BETTER

Secondary no S1-3. S4-6 only 6-8% to do essential work eg practicals.
Not confirmed either by the way until a decision later today in the Scottish Parliament.

So the low percentage is only for secondary?

Don't make excuses for him - he could have and always has been able to tell them to bugger off and could have dramatically improved matters had he locked down properly and listened to the multiple highly skilled experts last March.

@Abraxan it's only secondary that are being asked to have 2m distancing. I don't think many secondary will be back on Monday at all. All of p1-3 in.

@Integrity7

Don't make excuses for him - he could have and always has been able to tell them to bugger off and could have dramatically improved matters had he locked down properly and listened to the multiple highly skilled experts last March.

I mean yeah...you're not wrong.

We could've been New Zealand.

Still could.

It's still possible that Britain could end up not having one of the Top 5 worst covid death tolls on earth if we get a grip and do it properly this time.

I guess it depends on whether we're prepared to put in the hard yard now so that we don't have to do months of Lockdown ever again

Or if we're going to be lazy, stupid and impatient for the third time - and set ourselves up to fail in a couple of months, and maybe kill off another 50,000 British people.

Most ridiculous thing of all is that many people cannot see anything wrong with Boris since they had their first jab.

StarCat2020

Most ridiculous thing of all is that many people cannot see anything wrong with Boris since they had their first jab.

Is that one of the side effects?
I’ve just had my first jab this morning. How long do I have left of think Mr Johnson is an incompetent wanker?

Brrrisland

Is that one of the side effects? wink
Maybe??

I’ve just had my first jab this morning. How long do I have left of think Mr Johnson is an incompetent wanker?
You might be OK but if you start feeling confident in Boris's abilities then do let someone know and hopefully they will be able to help you come to your senses.