Teacher / school staff solidarity needed

[OpheliasCrayon]

It's my last day of term today, but I just wanted to know if any other teachers were really upset by yesterday's news that secondary children were going to go back staggered in Jan and we needed to do online learning.

I'm primary and sen so, I'm not secondary, but I just burst into tears, I don't trust the government to stick to anything, I've been asked to prepare this anyway in case of bubble closures or if the government change their minds any further and I don't trust the government to stick to anything.

And furthermore I am very certain that they have no power of rational thought due to their insane ideas to roll out mass testing in schools. We're teachers not medics.

I just cried though. I can't take any more this term and this just felt like such a low blow from the government, dropping this on seriously exhausted teachers right at the end of term.

I know we do all plan during the holidays- that's a given, but it just felt like such a cheap shot because the government left us literally no time to prepare anything in school and basically have said here - happy Christmas, now you can prepare for this during your holidays (along with all of your usual planning) and have even less of a rest.

I just wanted to know if any other teachers felt like this?

And if you're not a teacher or member of school staff and have any inkling of having ANY sort of a go at us for what we can / can't / should / shouldn't do in school... Can I please urge you not to. I know that everyone has a right to free speech but I have no wish for this to turn into yet another teacher bashing thread (of which there have been many) when I know that I am at my absolute wit's end with this, completely exhausted and tearful and just wanting some solidarity from fellow education workers.

My school have been nothing but absolutely fantastic throughout about everything so my upset is purely at the government, just to be clear, and how they're treating us

Thank you

Yup I feel the same...I'm isolating this week and supposed to have caught up on data etc..plus home learning/ringing parents etc...in reality ive had at least one of my children home every day (family normally do childcare but with me isolating don't want to put them at risk) and have barely made a dent... I could cry!!

I'm already resigned to spending more time doing school work over the weekend to catch up..haven't got the tree up nor finished Christmas shopping and my house is a tip..

I feel like a huge exhausted failure...just when things seem to get better then something else comes along..

I've been diagnosed with stress and anxiety and put on antidepressants.. had 2 days off whilst adjusting to the meds, that's it...

I should've taken more time off but my classes need me.. we are minimal staff as it is!

Sending

Not a teacher currently, but you have my solidarity and horror at the way you have all been treated. It's actually despicable and I'm so sorry.

Hi op

I’m a teacher in secondary, but I like you, have felt pushed to my limit. I can only conclude that they do what they do, because we always produce the goods....and that perhaps if we stopped, they’d be forced to do things differently too.

For that reason, I popped my laptop away yesterday at 3pm and will not be picking it up until January 4th.

What’s the worst that can happen? Someone says ‘why haven’t you planned?’ I’ve got a very reasonable answer that actually I was neither given time nor money to do so.

Kids are the ones who suffer? Suffer is a strong word isn’t it. Children in third world countries suffer. My year 11 will not suffer if his teachers are unprepared the first week back...he might be confused and get shoddy work to do, but he won’t suffer.

So, that’s what I’ve been driven to...a complete rethink of how I manage my time and how much I’m willing to keep going above and beyond and the answer is...not much.

We only have to worry about it all if we choose to.

Primary school governor here, you have my full support and frustration at what DfE are proposing.

I wonder if all the Secondary schools have the technology in place to have all non exam classes remote learning at the same time.

Our Primary schools have remote learning plans in place but the supply of laptops for those who need them has been horrendous. We have enough to cobble together if a bubble bursts but not if the whole school has to close.

I'm more worried about the minister of education saying that the volunteers coming in to do mass testing won't need to be DBS checked.

Teacher here...I can’t take anymore. This term has been horrendous in every way. I killed myself this week to ensure the children had the most wonderful Christmas celebrations at school as it’ll be so different this year - they’re only small once. I spend all my free time planning to ensure they’re catching up and succeeding, sleepless nights over my SEN children who struggle....for the government to change the goalposts last minute AGAIN. My Mum is a secondary school teacher and I’m so upset for her.

We’re so unsupported by the very department that is meant to have our best interests at heart. What a shambles.

I’ll be honest, I cried all the way home from work last night. I truly love my job, and put up with a lot because I do think it’s worth it. I rarely discuss my work (SLT in a very deprived areas) with my childhood friends (mostly SAHMs who, like me, had very happy, affluent childhoods and now lucky enough to be raising their children with the same) but replied to a “happy end of term” message, quite jollity, pointing out that I had INSET tomorrow, track and trace duty most of next week then somehow working out how to set up a testing centre by January 4th. I was duly told to think about those being made redundant. The fact is, unless you are a person with incredibly high levels of empathy, only those currently working in schools have any idea quite how bad it is working in one at the moment.

Technically if you are not coming in regularly and will be supervised at all times you don’t need one. Most schools do ask for all parent volunteers to have them regardless of the above rule.

That is why in certain children’s clubs if you are an occasional helper eg parent rota, you don’t need a DBS.

One thing I was wondering, if some pupils are having exams as soon as they go back and so using the sports hall etc for that, where will the testing station be located as assume you will need a large space for it.

Secondary teacher here. I finished yesterday morning ( part time teacher) with a massive sense of relief. I'd photocopied resources for new topics for the first week back. I brought home my assessments and mocks to mark knowing which days I'd put aside over the holidays to mark them. Then last night the announcement was made. I am so stressed now, constantly checking work emails on my day off to see what the hell our head is planning. I didn't do any marking last night as I was unable to concentrate. This morning I've been close to tears. This will bring many to breaking point. The DFE are utterly clueless/ don't give a shit. 24 years of teaching and I feel like saying I'm done.

I am sure there will be many resignations in schools after this fiasco. So will also need to factor in lack of staff going forward

I was a teacher for 2 decades and so I know what a resourceful bunch teachers are. Experience of having to completely mentally re-plan a lesson on the spot because the classroom flooded/the books have been taken/power cut/fight at break/someone set fire alarm off makes you pretty adept at adapting on the spot to pretty much anything, and acting to the kids in your care as if it was what you had always planned on happening and reassure them you're in complete control of it all!

But this year takes the piss. And this is not unforeseen events, this is deliberate mismanagement by the government. It's no coincidence that all the massive changes to policy documents are happening on the last day of term. The idea of mass testing in schools hasn't just happened this week. It's been discussed for months. And yet here we are, only
a week after the govt said schools could close for 18th, giving out directives for online learning for 3 million children with zero working days notice.

May I remind people that teachers have worked through most of the school holidays already this year. They taught through easter and June half term. And teachers do not get paid for school holidays. They are contracted and paid to work for 39 weeks and already this year they've taught an extra 3 weeks, and on bank holidays, and that's just face to face teaching. Most staff would have also spent a large proportion of the summer holiday preparing their schools/classrooms to meet the guidelines for 're-opening' for all children in sept.

I'm furious about how the govt has treated school staff so abysmally. They've been expected to get on with it with no protection and no PPE. I know so many of my ex-colleagues who have now caught covid from school.

I am not a teacher but have children in two different schools and am so, so grateful to all the school staff on here, and in real life for everything you are doing. This thread has just prompted me to email my children's schools to say that to them too!
On balance, I think, despite the impact it will have on my child, the later return to face to face learning is a good thing. But the way it has been done, at the last minute giving so much extra last minute work to school staff is outrageous. I am beyond furious at the way the government are handling school /COVID stuff, but not one iota of that is the fault of schools or teachers and I think (hope) most parents realise that.

I'm a primary SEND teacher. It's incredibly frustrating that they simply don't seem to see anything wrong with dropping this on us last minute. I can cope but then we'll still get the "teachers are crap" narrative piled on when most of it is completely out of our control.

@BonjourMiss talks a lot of sense though.

I'll be getting as much rest as I can. I won't do double the work but when I'm planning I'll make sure that all my lessons can be quickly adapted for home or in-school learning. I'll gather resources as I go.
That's all I can do really at this point 🤷‍♂️

I am not a teacher, but have family members who are and I am appalled at the way the government is treating them.

Our teachers are on their knees! Working in unsafe environments with ever-changing goalposts.

To drop all this shit on schools on the last days of term is a disgrace.

As others have said - please don't worry about the non-exam years. As a parent I actually don't care if you sit and have a chat with my Y8 DDs class online for the whole week!

Rest, recharge your batteries and sod any parent who complains.

And for those who say this is justified... imagine you've got your bags packed ready to go on holiday and you get a phone call telling you to get back into work... that's what it feels like.

Not a teacher but a concerned parent who can see how hard teachers have had to work this year, and particularly this last term. To get to the end of term and then dump this on head teachers at the last minute is just outrageous. I feel furious on their behalf, not that it will do any good of course but teachers please know that you are appreciated by grateful parents all over the country

I’m a teacher, got the call to self isolate today. That’s Christmas indefinitely postponed for us. I’ve cried all morning as I just needed a break. A break from cleaning my room and the toilets 3 times a day, a break from worrying all the time.

The child felt ill a few days ago but didn’t want to miss the party lunch (a sandwich and a cake) so didn’t say anything.

Am trying to keep my chin up, but struggling today.

@QueenofLouisiana

I’m a teacher, got the call to self isolate today. That’s Christmas indefinitely postponed for us. I’ve cried all morning as I just needed a break. A break from cleaning my room and the toilets 3 times a day, a break from worrying all the time.

The child felt ill a few days ago but didn’t want to miss the party lunch (a sandwich and a cake) so didn’t say anything.

Am trying to keep my chin up, but struggling today.

Sending hugs. So sorry for you. This has happened to a class in our school too.

@ChristmasinJune

I'm a primary SEND teacher. It's incredibly frustrating that they simply don't seem to see anything wrong with dropping this on us last minute. I can cope but then we'll still get the "teachers are crap" narrative piled on when most of it is completely out of our control.

@BonjourMiss talks a lot of sense though.

I'll be getting as much rest as I can. I won't do double the work but when I'm planning I'll make sure that all my lessons can be quickly adapted for home or in-school learning. I'll gather resources as I go.
That's all I can do really at this point 🤷‍♂️

Same job here primary sen... Out of interest have you managed to do anything online successfully? If so what???

I don't mean share all your planning with me btw .. just like... Is it sensory tasks for parents to set up (I'd feel bad asking them to put all that effort in) craft? Videos? Treasure hunts in the house?

I'm so sorry there's so many of us crying over this. Let's all make sure we take some time for ourselves this holiday...even if it's just a long soak in the bath and a glass of something!!! We must!

Teachers absolutely should not have testing duties added to their workload, they will no doubt not be properly trained and as this very recent study shows www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4848 the test kits likely to be used are only about 50% accurate when administered by lesser trained staff!

It's not just teachers. I work in school admin. I spent today phoning 75 parents to explain to them that their child is a close contact of a positive case and as a result will now have to isolate until Boxing Day.
Say Goodbye to Christmas plans for these families.

It's been a difficult term, and that was just the final straw for me. I finished at 1.30 and sat at my desk and cried (thankfully I am wfh, I didn't embarrass myself ). We are just so tired of it all. It's constant, it's unpredictable, we have such a backlog of work to get through because we keep having these days where it all falls to pieces.

I'm chair of my kids primary school pta and we've been running a competition and this came through my letterbox today (it says thank you nhs, you saved my daddy) . And it brings it all home doesn't it, because there really are real people going through the most horrendous things here and the only way to stop it is to keep doing these isolations and closing bubbles and zoom lessons and all that crap. It doesn't make it easier though, does it? I am dreading January and I have deliberately not asked school what the plan is for us. I know teachers won't be giving swab tests, but I'd imagine auxiliary staff will be 'volunteered' and even if we aren't, the enormous task of admin that will go alongside these 'simple 30 second tests' is phenomenal.

You’ve had a really tough term thenewaveragebear1983 I am so so sorry. Thank you for what you and your colleagues do for the school community. Diamonds the lot of you.

I sent an email to my sons head teachers that basically said i was so sorry the government was treating them so badly, that the whole staff were doing well and solidarity.
I'm lowly admin in an infants and it was pretty tough going in summer term when our bubbles were getting set up but this really is another level for secondaries.

@ChloeDeckTheHalls thank you, that is kind of you to say so