I am not going to lie: I am lucky. I work in a school with a two-week October half-term. 

It was only when I started working in a school with this sacred double-length break that I actually made it to the middle of December without contracting flu or tonsillitis, or even the double whammy of - wait for it - both. Much to my family’s relief, I also retained my sense of humour for the duration of November and December. 

The second half of the autumn term is brutal. The half-term break means the clocks go back, and then, as soon we return to school, Mr Claus enters the realm and it’s non-stop festive cheer for the next seven or sometimes even eight weeks. 

The benefits of a two-week half-term

I grew up in an era where no one had ever heard of a two-week half-term. But, over the years, it has slowly begun to creep in. This isn’t just a phenomenon of the independent sector; it is becoming increasingly popular in state schools, too. 

Some local authorities have held consultations on reducing the six-week summer holiday, in favour of an extra two weeks in October. Other schools, particularly academies, have brought it in with the reasoning that parents could choose to have a holiday at a time when costs are cheaper than in the traditional half-term break, thus reducing the need to take holidays during term-time. 

To be honest, that isn’t really a good enough reason when there are families out there struggling to put food on the table, let alone plan trips to warmer climes. A better argument is that the autumn term often ends with an eight-week half-term. As a result, the end of this term becomes less and less productive, as students and staff become very tired and illness rates rise. 

But, equally, while teachers might embrace the two-week half-term break, for some parents it sounds like a cruel joke, designed to bring them out in a cold sweat and have them reaching for the wine. 

A circuit-breaking reality for all schools?

This issue of the two-week half-term has been around for a while now. However, it is suddenly current again, because there is increasing pressure on Boris Johnson to introduce a two-week “circuit breaker” in October. This year, the two-week half-term might therefore become a reality for all schools - and, who knows, maybe it will be here to stay. 

So let’s look at why - this year of all years - teachers need a two-week holiday. I’m not talking about the need to reduce cases of Covid-19. As it stands, teaching isn’t quite what we all signed up for. Most of us appear to have transitioned to the British military, via a PGCE, and currently have a job description as long as loo roll. 

This transition has seen many combine their teaching duties with military-style operations. Along with the students, we live in zones, safe areas, clusters and bubbles. We live our lives in lines: either following them or lining up in them. 

We have two-metre distancing between ourselves and our pupils, which feels like a no man’s land, particularly when we are trying to teach. Anyone else been midway through a Year 7 lesson, only to find that you can’t give your students the support they need, as you can’t cross over the line of defence?

We work in logistics, carrying boxes, bags and suitcases of equipment. We are cleaning and sterilising like we are preparing for open-heart surgery, while dressed in combat uniform (a mask), protected by armour (a screen or visor). 

Coronavirus: Teachers need a break

Carrying out these duties means that we’re currently in peak fitness: we’re walking more than 10,000 steps a day, lifting our bodyweight in textbooks, and making 50 round trips of the school, thanks to the one-way system. 

On top of the fitness regime, we have suffered sleep deprivation - as seen in military basic training - as we frantically rewrote schemes of work on the back of the infamous 7.30pm announcement on Friday 28 August, and have continued to adapt and re-adapt ever since. 

The non-teachers of this world don’t seem to understand that the damned virus lives on paper, paintbrushes and even Bunsen burners. Am I the only one who has woken up at 3am in a panic, because the textbooks have missed the quarantine period? 

If teachers ever needed a two-week break, it’s now. Like all good soldiers, the teaching profession needs two weeks of R and R.

But school leaders need to plan, teachers need to adapt, and parents need to source childcare. So Gav needs to get on with it and make a decision.

Emily Gunton is director of music, head of co-curricular and outreach and school consultant teacher at Blackheath High School