Ordinary people's extraordinary stories & Everyday Conversations Regarding Mental Health

The Tim Heale Podcasts S3 E33 Special Lilly-Marie

August 11, 2021 Tim Heale Season 3 Episode 33
Ordinary people's extraordinary stories & Everyday Conversations Regarding Mental Health
The Tim Heale Podcasts S3 E33 Special Lilly-Marie
Show Notes Transcript

In this episode I chat with my 12 year old Granddaughter Lilly-Marie about the effect the the last eighteen months has had on her transition from junior to secondary schools and the impact it has had and all the measures that were put in place.

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0 (1s):
The Tim Heale podcasts, ordinary. People's extraordinary stories. <inaudible>

1 (18s):
Welcome to series three of the Tim Heale podcast. In the last two series I've told you about my life. I've met many interesting people along the way who have become my friends and what they all have in common is they all have fascinating stories of their own, which they're happy to share with you now. Thank you for listening. Welcome to the Tim Heale podcast. In this episode, I'm going to do something slightly different. I'm going to have a chat with my granddaughter, Lily-Marie, and her experience during the last 18 months of locked down.

1 (59s):
So Lily will go back to around about February, 2020 when the virus started and will happen to you and your school. So what happened on the first day of lockdown?

2 (1m 18s):
So my school then a lot of our restrictions changed and we had to wear a mask. We had to keep me keep apart two meters and we couldn't be with our friends as much as we normally would. And then it went into, it got worse and our school had to be closed down and they've finally found a way of bringing it back. And we were doing this thing where a lot of we would be separated from our friends.

2 (1m 58s):
Like half of the class would go in one week and then not going in the next week. And the other side of the cost would go in that week. So we'd rotate it up week by week. And it was really, really hard because I didn't get to see my best friend. I didn't get, see any of my friends. So it affected us quite a lot, especially during break and lunch, things like that.

1 (2m 24s):
So this is the last term of your junior school way where you would normally do some exams and you would normally have your end of term parties and all the rest of it just before you spread out and go to different secondary schools.

2 (2m 43s):
Yeah, we missed out on our SATs. So going into senior school, we had nothing to go on. We were, our teachers didn't know anything about us. If they didn't have anything to refer to from primary school, we didn't get our end of year party or anything like that. Cause everyone was closed and we couldn't gather in big groups. So instead all the parents and the kids from our class got together in a field and we just had tea at all. Couldn't had some food and just had a little festival, so of, in a field near us.

1 (3m 29s):
So you kind of make the best of a bad job really. So doing during those few months where you couldn't go into school, was there any provision made for you to do lessons or did you just have to sit at home and, and hope for it that something would happen? So what, what, what, what was made from the score?

2 (3m 52s):
Well, we didn't have anything cause at that time we cause it's, it was quite a small school, so we didn't have any of the technology that we have in senior school. Now we didn't, we couldn't do online schooling or anything like that. So we, we basically just had to stay at home. A lot of our parents set tasks for us to do, to try and keep our mindset in the right place. But going back into school after that was very difficult. We didn't have anything to do during that lockdown. So

1 (4m 28s):
How long did that actually last, can you remember?

2 (4m 34s):
It lasted around two to three weeks around that.

1 (4m 40s):
So it wasn't too bad before you go back into school. So when you went back into school, they split your cost down. So you had to have half the class going for one week. So you had a week at home, alternate weeks. Did they set work for you while you were at home? Did they give you homework to do during that period? Or

2 (5m 5s):
We did have homework. We didn't have as much as we'd normally have because we couldn't take things into school and out of school just in case. So we saw a, got homework sent to us or we got homework sent to our parents and we'd be able to do that. However, also we weren't, we couldn't do a lot because we got told that we weren't allowed to take back then pencils in anything like that because they did supply at school, but because they didn't want us taking anything in or out, which was understandable, but it made life a lot more difficult for,

1 (5m 51s):
So did you have to clean down everything all the time? Did they sterilize everything?

2 (6m 0s):
They, they would clean it before we went into school break lunch. And after you ran in school, but we would have to eat lunch at our desks. So we would have to go class by class to get our food from the cafeteria, bring it back to our classroom, eat. Then we'd have to pack everything in order. And the dinner ladies come and collect it from my classroom. And then the cleaning lady would wipe down our desks and do everything like that, which we eventually got into a system where we could do that. And it was easy, but it was also, it was because we went through a whole junior school without all that.

2 (6m 48s):
It was took a while to adjust to it. Mm.

1 (6m 53s):
So at the end of term came and you, you had done any of you examines, you hadn't had any of the, the social interaction that you'd had in the previous months before we got locked down. You've missed all your friends throughout this whole period. So what did you do during the summer holidays? Were you able to go and see friends in, because we were still in lockdown, I guess until it was, it was early July where they start to lift the restrictions.

2 (7m 24s):
Yeah. So during the summer holidays, that is when we had that little Gabba of our class as our end of year party, basically. Cause we couldn't have it as we were going to cause we were going to go in limos and everything. It was going to be a whole big party, but it all got canceled because of COVID. So it was still a lot of fun. However, going through the summer holidays, when able to interact with our friends as much, we weren't able to just do anything to actually enjoy our summer holidays.

1 (8m 7s):
So coming to first day of term in your new school, what happened because they didn't have any stats to go on, they didn't have any exam results. How did they go around sorting you out into the new skull? And are you streamed at that score? Do you have of the clever kids in the higher classes and the kids that aren't doing quite so well in a lot of classes or is it all mixed up? How did they go around sorting now?

2 (8m 42s):
So we did in each of our class the very first day I liked it cause they brought the year sevens in on the Friday and then the Monday, all the classes came back. So the year sevens on that Friday, we'd go through our classes and we would be able to meet all of our teachers and have just they'd meet as get, know our names and explain what we would be doing over the year in that class we had, when we start going into normal lessons, each class, we had to do a exam to sort of, so they could get to know our level a bit more and they then put those exams in 12 files.

2 (9m 36s):
And so that's basically was going to act as our SATs from year six.

1 (9m 42s):
Mm. So I guess at this stage we we'd, we'd locked down basically. So we we'd come out of lockdown in a July. And when do we go into it? And it wasn't till about late September, early October that they, they put us back into a lockdown. So, sorry, those first few weeks of September that you knew skull was just going back into solver, a normal school environment.

2 (10m 9s):
Yeah. The thing is originally without COVID year sevens would have been moving around the school just the same as every other year. However, they've decided to keep the year sevens in their classrooms and the teacher was, would move around the school. But eventually as it got closer and further into the year, we've started moving around. How about however, we just moving around our Cory door, not the entire school anymore. So that has been quite hard to adjust to.

2 (10m 52s):
There's been a lot of changes, go through our school to fit the COVID regulations and everything like that. And it was very, very difficult to adjust to it. However we all got on with it. And now we're settling in a bit more. And when we go into your age, we will be moving around the school again.

1 (11m 16s):
All right. So the first few where you say you you're in one classroom, the teachers came in and out from the different lessons that you were taking, what was the, the regime for cleaning down like we, where you were you having to do all the cleaning and the tables wiping the tables down. Did you have to wear masks? How, how was the regime worked for that?

2 (11m 48s):
We had to wear masks and less we had, unless the teachers I had up here had had an email from our parents to say that they do not want us wearing a mask and we should be exempt. So I, as the year got further on, I struggled wearing a mask. So I go exempt. And, but the thing is when the teachers would move around, they would have to wipe down that desk, keyboard, computer, everything. We would, wouldn't have to do that when we go into more us moving around and going into more the labs and sort of things.

2 (12m 34s):
When I teach to take it to the lab, we had to wipe down all the tapers cause your rights had been in there and all that. So the teachers mostly did a lot of the cleaning and all that. Obviously we would have clean as our school to do it in the morning and evening after school. But we did have to make sure the, we were keeping safe and still keeping distance away from our friends and all that, which was very, very hard.

1 (13m 7s):
So what happened to sort of play times? Were you allowed to go out and interact with your friends then? Or did you, or did they not let you go out into playground? So what, what was, what was the regime for dad at that time?

2 (13m 24s):
So we would be able to go out and lunch and break you. They normally, because of COVID they wanted us to be in fresh air and outside. If once we were finished eating you, you do have the choice to eat inside or outside. I personally liked the inside, but a lot of the kids do eat outside. We, once we finished eating, we have to go outside to get fresh air and all that. We're not allowed to just sit inside. However, a lot of the time I would stay inside because I just felt better being inside.

2 (14m 7s):
And we, we would have to only go into the cafeteria a couple at a time in order to make sure that we were still social distancing in the line as well. Yes. Evans had a slightly different cafeteria to all the other years because we would just have like this little area where we'd have pizza and hot food and then cold food. Whereas the rest of the years would go through a, a actual kitchen and all that to get all their stuff.

2 (14m 48s):
And we were separated from every other year. The rates in the year seven would go at the same time. And the year rates would have to say in a whole other section to the year sevens, which was good because then we were all social distancing and keeping to herself. They didn't want to cross years over because if one year went down, then the other would go down as well, which we didn't want to happen. So it was good and bad in both ways of not interacting with the other years.

1 (15m 22s):
So this is prior to the second big lockdown that came, I guess, middle of October. So what happened in the middle of October when they closed the country down for a second time?

2 (15m 38s):
So our school was okay to begin with, but then a lot of our students were going down with COVID a lot quicker and all that. So they had to close the school down. We were doing online learning, which was all well and good, but it also got to the point where it was quite hard because of internet, not everybody had the best internet home. So we would disconnect from a lot by lessons, but because the teachers had no way of knowing that they would straight away shoom that we would just kind classes and not bothering to do them.

2 (16m 25s):
And we would get told off quite regularly. Our parents do have the chance to contact the school. If we disconnect from our lessons to let them know that we have disconnected and haven't just cut them. However, a lot of the time that didn't work either because if our online lessons weren't working, it probably meant the entire internet wasn't working, especially in my house, Maisie and I, we were both trying to get onto our online lessons and everyone else were on their phones and watching TV and things.

2 (17m 10s):
It was a lot for the internet to take. So either however, I would disconnect from our lessons and it was, it was very hard to get used to and adjust to it. But in a way it was good because we were staying away from school and we were keeping safe. However, it was also bad because we struggled a lot with the online lessons and the internet and not, not actually being there in person for the teacher to explain it to us was quite hot because normally the way a lot of kids sort of learn is off the teacher's facial expressions and things like that, which is what I do.

2 (17m 59s):
So not having that was really hard. Cause we had to keep, even the teachers had to keep the cameras off and us students had to keep our microphones off in case we didn't start the lesson or anything, which was really, really hard.

1 (18m 14s):
So at this point on, well, through October, November and into December, I guess all the way through that, that first big term of secondary school for you.

2 (18m 29s):
Yeah. We went back to school at some point in December. However, after we broke up for Christmas, we then went into enough bar shut down of our school because obviously our families had been mixing and all that.

1 (18m 50s):
This was over the Christmas when, when the government said don't, we can now mix a couple of families and, and then reunite on it a couple of days later, you could go for Christmas Eve or boxing day or, or question or stay, but then you can go again and then you weren't allowed to make so at all, a new year. So yeah, they, they force set massive lockdown then. So into the new year and the new new term, we allowed to go to school or we still offer net to Dota online learning.

2 (19m 32s):
So to start with, we were still doing online learning because of Christmas. They had shut the school down because it was really dangerous because we had been mixing in bubbles and things. So to start with, we were doing online learning again. And then after a couple of weeks of that, we went back into school and it was very different because there were, they had put in one way systems and everything like that. That was very different to what we had had before. We would still be social distance and everything. But now they've put in proper one way systems and a lot of things that were places we couldn't go and places we could go places, we had to go with permission.

2 (20m 21s):
It was again, very hard to adjust to that. But when we eventually did, we got used to it and now it's just store of you kind of get in sync with it. And it's a lot easier now that we've got used to it.

1 (20m 37s):
And what was the testing regime like in that time, just into the new year, what was the testing regime like before, before Christmas in, in that second knockdown? So

2 (20m 48s):
We would get sent home with us a couple boxes of lateral flow test and we would have to do them every Sunday and Wednesday. And I really didn't like them, but I eventually got used to doing them and it was quite easy, but we have to send in the results of that test to school and we'd have sending them in. If you did not send them in, you weren't allowed to come into school because they haven't got the results back.

2 (21m 33s):
If it's negative, then you're going to come into school and probably pass it. No, if you're positive, sorry. And we had to, we had to stay in our seating plan. And if we had to change eating plans, for any reason, the teacher would have to look it onto the thing on to her system on the computer and send it off to our head of year and the head teacher. And cause if one of us went down with COVID, then they would have to find everybody that was sitting around us within two meters and they would have to isolate as well.

2 (22m 20s):
So it was very, I understood why they did that, but also it was hot because you had to remember every single seat, every single class. And it was, it got quite tricky at times. However, you got used to where you're sitting and it got a lot easier as time went on.

1 (22m 42s):
So you're moving around the school at this time. Then

2 (22m 46s):
We were moving around our Curry door because we wasn't <inaudible>, weren't allowed to move around the school I've every other year was except from year sevens, which was quite difficult because we all went into school thinking that we would have to remember where all our classes was and all that. However, they didn't do that.

1 (23m 11s):
So how many classrooms did you have access to?

2 (23m 16s):
So we, you, seven form rooms are based in the language rooms. So we had about eight or nine classrooms to go around, but there would be one side of the Cory door that had a different timetable to us. So they would stay in that side of the corridor on, we would have to stay in the other side of the corridor. And so say some of our classes would be in the same cloth as time went on and we got closer to the end of year seven. So the art art teacher would take us to the art room and our science teacher would take us to the lab.

2 (23m 59s):
But other than that, we couldn't go anywhere else. PT two would take us down to the pee hole to do P however, we had to always be escorted everywhere because we have to make sure we stay in, in our bubbles and not mixing with any other year groups or anything like that.

1 (24m 22s):
Okay. So how many times during this period did your class have to go and self isolate? Did you have any incidents where your bubbles, where somebody came in with a positive test and you all had to go home or did you manage to stay in score? Sorta host sort of third lockdown?

2 (24m 49s):
My class, my form was generally okay. We didn't have any positives in our class. However, some of the other classes did and that entire form would have to isolate, which would be quite weird. Could you walk past certain classrooms and they'd be completely empty? So it got, especially as the thing is they keep her separated for school lessons and things. However, when it gets to break and lunch, we're allowed to mix with the other classes, which I don't understand how they keep track of that, but they do. And it got quite difficult and I would have friends in other forms.

2 (25m 36s):
So we would meet each other at break in line, which not all the time. A lot of the kids wouldn't over social distance, including me and my friends. We wouldn't do it all the time. A lot of the teachers would go around saying, please keep socially distance. They see anybody breaking that rule. Then they would go up to them and remind them. However, a lot of the other teachers just would let kids get on with it and not say anything

1 (26m 12s):
Outside in the playground.

2 (26m 15s):
Yeah. Outside in playground and in the whole as well, the cafeteria we would cause there's loads of tables. However, you were only allowed a maximum of six people per table and you have to clean up off yourselves. And if you don't, you will be brought back down to do it and own that. So you would have to socially distance on the as well, the tables were quite big, so it wasn't too hard. But the, also they were round tables rather than long tables. So it was could sometimes be quite difficult trying to get that distance in between you.

1 (27m 4s):
So this kind of brings on a little bit what happened when they started to ease the restrictions,

2 (27m 15s):
The classes would stop and they would start to mix. Okay. And it would be all look all. Okay. When they started to ease the restrictions, we, a lot of our courses, they that's, when we started moving around the Cory door mostly and we were allowed to sort of not have to socially distance all the time. So it was, it got a lot easier as that happened. And we would always, we would always sort of have those restrictions through there, but they wasn't as strict as they would normally be.

1 (28m 2s):
Okay. So essentially you've, you've gone through the whole school year. You've managed to con continue to go to school. You've you? Haven't called COVID

2 (28m 18s):
Yet catch COVID back in January. I think my dad, mum, my mom called it from someone at work and my mom gave it to me. And then I went to my dad's not realizing I had it. And then as soon as I got to my dad's, it started to show that I had had it and I gave it to my dad. So we did go down with it. I was in my mum was quite bad with it. My dad was the worst with it. He, there was one point where he did have to go into hospital.

2 (28m 59s):
Whereas luckily I got off quite easily and I was just, I was in bed quite long and it didn't affect me as much as it did my mom and dad, luckily,

1 (29m 12s):
Well you're in bed an awful lot of the time anyway. So it's difficult to tell. So you didn't feel that bad with it. So effectively you kind of built up an immune system to it. So you're unlikely to get it again. Oh yeah.

2 (29m 30s):
I'm, I'm definitely unlikely. Very unlikely to get the same strand of it. I, there is a chance I still can catch the other strands, but that strand of COVID shouldn't affect me. Hmm.

1 (29m 50s):
Okay then. So what we're, we're coming up to sort of the end of the school year, the restrictions have been relaxed quite a bit. So what was your take on what you were doing at school? Were you looking forward to the end of that, that particular school year? Did you have any examples to say at this time and have they adjusted your classes as you've gone through to put you in a different string?

2 (30m 24s):
As we did get closer to the end, we did get, get told our sets for, so in things like English and math, we have been putting our sets now, however, with things like science and art, we were not going to find out our art set until like halfway through year eight. And we are only going to be told our science that at the start of year. Right. So some of the lessons, we don't get put into that until quite a long time away, but we are in sets now and we are now getting used to our new classes.

1 (31m 8s):
So you'll miss in quite a bit then with different classes. So different bubbles from other classes that you weren't missing, whereas before, so you you're going into a different class for English to a different class in mass with different pupils. So say you're going to be mixing a lot more of a different classes. Is that right?

2 (31m 31s):
So normally we would, every single class would be separated and we would stick in that same class, every lesson. However, now we are dying to meet with other classes for certain classes. Yeah.

1 (31m 49s):
So are you looking forward to starting year? Right. And moving around the school?

2 (31m 55s):
I am a little bit nervous. Luckily in my school we have for the first week or so, if you're late to a couple of lessons, you don't get to told off because it's new. And you're trying to remember where, where your classes are trying to get your way around the school. But as it goes on, if you are late to a class, then it will be detention, which is quite nerve wracking because you don't want to have that happen, but I'm a bit nervous for it, but we're so excited. Cause I feel like when I go into right, and we're going to be moving around school more and be with our friends again, I'm hoping that we'll settle in a bit more.

2 (32m 39s):
And I did in year seven and cause we had a lot go on in year seven. So in year, right. Hopefully none of that will affect us anymore and we should be okay,

1 (32m 51s):
Well hopefully you won't have to go through what normal class seven go through in a normal year. They're older kids picking on you and sticking your head down the toilet. So things like that. So you might have missed or gotten to year eight where I think you've already added, done TSA or you might be doing it to the year sevens.

2 (33m 14s):
Yeah, we would definitely lucky on that aspect because I got told by a lot of people such as my dad or you, the fearful shown the ODS do do that to you. So not mixing with the other years were okay because we didn't have to go through any of the older kids being all, oh, I'm here already and I'm used to school and being quite mean to you. So I missed out on all of that because it was just our year, which was, I really enjoyed that because it gave me a chance to actually get settled into the school and get my bearings.

2 (33m 55s):
Yeah.

1 (33m 56s):
Doing, join us, go now.

2 (33m 58s):
Yeah. It's still, it's a, it's a really big school. So I haven't even seen half of the school yet because of COVID and all that. So hopefully going into your rate, I will know that and be more settled. I do really like the school it's, it's really cool and big and quite intimidating at times. But once you, once you make friends and all that, you're located with that.

1 (34m 33s):
Yeah. So you got kind of head start now, so you, they they've broken you in easy. So it's been a fairly easy process, I guess that's one positive that could be taken out of this year of lockdown with COVID. Yeah. Well, I wish you very, very, very best for the new school year, going up to two year eight and I'll be interesting to see how you get on.

2 (35m 5s):
Yeah. It's definitely going to be nerve wracking going into the first couple of weeks, but hopefully you get used to it.

1 (35m 11s):
Great challenge. Yeah. Thank you very much. Thanks for listening. I look forward to the next one. Thank you for listening to my podcasts. If you have enjoyed them and your podcast app allows, please leave a comment and share it with your friends. The reason I got into this podcast malarkey is so I could leave a legacy for my and my grandchildren in the years to come. So they will know what I did with my life. I wish my grandparents had done the same for me. Unfortunately they didn't in my latest series on giving people the opportunity to leave their own legacy for their children and families for the future.

1 (36m 0s):
If you have any criticism, positive or negative and you wish to get in touch with me direct, you can email me at timheale@hotmail.com. That's timheale@hotmail.com. I thank you for your time and thank you for listening.