I actually agree with @forfucksakenett that England's recent rise isn't a back to school spike because the timing doesn't add up. But I wouldn't call it a 'spike' either, not yet anyway. England has had a few gentle increases and decreases since freedom day but nothing very dramatic, and in fact looks relatively stable to me. Consistent with a kind of endemic equilibrium actually, with new immunity balanced by waning immunity. Some experts like Tim Spector seem to worry that this has settled at far too high a level because they expect it to surge over Winter and crash the NHS. Others are more optimistic that boosting the vulnerable will be enough to minimise hospitalizations to manageable levels, and point out that recent spikes in school age children haven't actually bled through to older age groups that much.
I also think it's obvious that cases in Scotland falling in recent weeks has nothing at all to do with measures, as these have been the same for a couple of months now. Cases started to rise here after level -1 day, and we're then boosted by schools returning very soon afterwards. I suspect we had a much larger peak than England because we still had a lot more susceptible people, but having worked through that population we've generated more immunity and will now settle at a base level too. If we've done enough work (so to speak) to reach equilibrium, I expect we'll bob gently along too, and hopefully avoid the massive spikes going forward. The fact cases came down on their own without additional measures (and they were down before vaccine passports came in) makes me hopeful this is the case, and we seem to be settling at around 2500 a day.
Personally, I think the current situation is probably as good as it gets infection wise, short of imposing lockdowns which just create an immune debt that has to be 'paid' in spikes later. I think a face covering on a crowded train might have some effect if worn properly, but struggle to believe that wearing it for a few steps in a restaurant makes any difference at all. I think we may as well ditch all remaining restrictions, because there is no more progress to be made with them and they're just doing harm at this point. People need to be exposed to every day bugs to keep their immune systems healthy, and this idea that you can prevent disease us just storing up problems long term.