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) *

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

Wait, what now? I'm not supposed to be sitting down at any point even if I go out with members of my own family? So every time I take my 2.5 year old for a walk or to the playground then if I sit down at any point (I'm nine months pregnant!) I'm breaking the rules?! Gosh, I won't be able to look those advert people in the eyes...

@MerryDecembermas

Well that was an adrenaline dump I didn't need

Ha made me sit up too

Will try not to rely on it before announcement

Well if this is a leak to test the water....why are they so STUPID? Have we been doing this for nothing? Why cram everyone back into the same unsafe spaces all at once? no info about How they will make schools safer just...hey you can sit down outside now. Thanks

As far as I’m concerned, until Robert Peston tweets about it, I take the headlines with a pinch of salt. He’s the one who always does seem to have an accurate line on everything.

Why wait until Easter?! They shouid be going back now rates are very low now - ridiculous.

Scientists can say all they want. Newspapers can report on covid safe schools and show pictures, but it doesn't work like that.
No room for 1m distance, let alone 2 in classrooms.
Kids huddling in corridors and on the yard.
Kids not staying in their bubbles
Kids refusing to wear masks
Kids ignoring cv because their dad said it doesn't exist or that kids can't catch it anyway
Kids not bringing pens, so you have to share
Kids not sanitising hands
Kids leaving tissues/sweet wrappers lying around for other people to pick up
Kids missing freely on the way to and from school and out of school.

For schools to work, the onus really needs to be kids to follow the rules too.

I think it’s time children go back to school. As has already been said, adults have been able to meet for a walk/run with another adult as many times as they have liked throughout this lockdown. This article highlights just one of the many terrible consequences we are going to see for our children. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/13/explosion-children-tics-tourettes-lockdown/

@PuppyMonkey

As far as I’m concerned, until Robert Peston tweets about it, I take the headlines with a pinch of salt. He’s the one who always does seem to have an accurate line on everything.

What! Even after his series of howlers when it comes to anything scientific?

There are several 'usual suspects' in terms of preferred recipients of leaks. When you get two or three of them (particularly the ones which are scientifically accurate) with very similar stories in a very short timeframe then it's either an idea being floated or an announcement about to be made

@poppycat10

This is ridiculous. Kids mixing in schools whilst adults still can't see even one person at home? They are torturing the population

What do you mean? I've been meeting friends for walks and runs since this lockdown started. Yes it would be nice to have a coffee indoors when it's cold, but it's hardly "torture" to go for a walk and a chat! Wrap up warm.

You got my hopes up with the 8th March start OP and now I see there's a delay for secondary according to the Telegraph, grrr. And as always sixth form colleges get ignored.

You're purposely misrepresenting what is actually happening. Imagine being separated from you family for a few months and placed in solitary confinement. Then for the next year, you're only allowed to see them outdoors from 2m away, bar one who's allowed inside. This is what has been done to single childless adults. Everything worth living for taken away. And yet we're going to send kids back to mix freely. Insane.

@ihearttc

If they are only planning on Secondaries going back a couple of weeks later, what on earth are they going to do with the Y11 and Y13 students? That’s another 2 weeks off the already very limited time they have left in school to do any meaningful learning. I assumed they’d be the first ones back.

Also the y10 and 12 - if they had a badly interrupted autumn term (as some schools did, at random owing to where requirement to SI happened) and have essentially all of this term online, that's 2/5 of the teaching time for 2022 qualifications buggered up.

It beggars belief, the very reason infections have plummeted is because dc are not in school mixing it between hundreds of different contacts every day.

I can't understand the logic of plunging them ALL back in? GENTLE staggered returns yes... Key years, yes but all back at once? Why?? What purpose does that serve, the spectre of a 4th wave is very real and I don't want that over summer.
I thought if we kept going a little longer, we had a real chance of almost... Total suppression, backed up with millions more each week vaccinated and then the real chance of track and trace working properly? And then proper localised lock down and testing?

We can see from the open in Victoria just how fast it takes root when allowed.

Schools will go back, rates of infection will go up but no-one will blame it on children spreading the infection, they'll be saying it's pubs or Sainsbury's or too much sitting down in the park....
Schools should be back SAFELY, my school (workplace) just isn't safe and they carry on as though they're all immune. And they'll only be back 2 weeks and its our Easter holidays anyway (private school).

Not RTFT as I don't believe it. Any reports of this needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. They seem to put out these 'leaks' as if they are testing the water on public feeling. If all the DC go back on the same day the teaching unions will be up in arms again.

If anything, it'll be Yr R, 1 and 2 plus secondary/higher exam years. I'd love my yr 5 and yr 7 DC to go back to school and they will as soon as they are allowed, but they just aren't important enough.

So that will mean the cases will start to rise again and we will never come out of lockdown

The moth... Can we add children... Sneezing and coughing without any attempts to catch it please.

Yes it will seed again, in time for a summer lock down...

Louise, did you realise that article is behind a pay wall? Can you copy and paste or paraphrase? Otherwise what's the point of posting an article we cannot see.

finally prioritising the ones who REALLy need it, children have to go back to school urgently.

@Remmy123

Why wait until Easter?! They shouid be going back now rates are very low now - ridiculous.

As someone who has taught exponential growth many many times please believe me it’s not Thant simple. Exponential growth is FAST! And the numbers seeded in primary schools at the moment aren’t that low either. We would be back to square one so quickly! Normal life would be lovely but this isn’t the way to get there sadly.

3 weeks later (less for private schools) and it will be the Easter hols. It would be much more sensible to wait until after Easter and give the vaccine programme/lockdown another 5 weeks to reduce cases.

My concern is that this will just lead to a longer lockdown as rates will inevitably rocket again.

I really hope they do all go back on the 8th.

This time round the vaccine should protect the most vulnerable groups so even if cases do rise then there shouldn't be a repeat of the excess pressure on the NHS.

@Snowsnowglorioussnow

Yes it will seed again, in time for a summer lock down...

Yep. Our family would benefit from a summer seeing family and friends. I can mitigate education but they miss their cousins and extended family. And trips out. And swimming.

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.
This is the bit that got me /like this is sone kind of major concession! Where I am people are doing this now anyway and rates are pretty much the lowest in the country.
I can’t believe how easily we’ve been disempowered

@Nappyvalley15

I really hope they do all go back on the 8th.

This time round the vaccine should protect the most vulnerable groups so even if cases do rise then there shouldn't be a repeat of the excess pressure on the NHS.

Long covid? Serious infection stopping short of hospitalisation? Poorly children? Deaths, lower but deaths, avoidable deaths. Vaccine dodging mutations. No thanks.

But your situation is not unique to anyone else even those with kids. Yes I’ve got children but I’ve not seen my parents for months and not seen my siblings for over a year.

As a single person you can bubble up with someone. As a single person you can go for a walk with people - I can’t as my child is too young to be left alone! As a single ADULT your education is not effected by the current situation.