Teachers social gathering at work

[Notsureifitssomethingornothing]

Hi, I have name changed just in case my previous posts mention my location. I’m not sure if I’m overreacting or not, and I’m not normally the Covid police: I can understand a bit of low level rule bending as things are tough at the moment. However, I have seen a post on Facebook showing a social get together for some of the staff at my dcs school. It is a photo of a finger buffet laid out on a table in a classroom, with a big bowl of crisps, a cheese board with one knife etc and is described as an ‘end of term party’. 7 people are tagged in it, as in x is with y and 6 others.
Would this annoy you/make you cross, or would you just think let them have their fun? I’m classed as a key worker (as is about 50% of parents in my area judging by school attendance) but as I work from home I haven’t sent my dc in. It’s been really tough at home but I thought I was doing the right thing, mainly out of respect for the school staff. The school had already announced they would only be opening to kw+v children prior to Boris closing school because lots of staff members felt unsafe.
Is there legislation regarding this at the moment? I do feel cross but have had issues with the remote learning provision and not sure if my feelings are clouded by already being a bit unhappy with the school.
How would you feel if you were aware of this happening at your dc’s school?
In ‘normal’ times I am very happy with the school and my children are content there. I don’t want to be ‘that parent’ but I have emailed them asking why this went ahead and whether a risk assessment was considered. Just not sure if I’m making a mountain out of it due to skewed perspective with lockdown etc.

At school on a Saturday?

How have you seen this post and the tagged people?

I agree with the pp who said there will be more people in a bubble than you imagine. In my year group there are 6 adults. We don’t maintain a 2m distance, we do share space. Frankly, we sometimes share pens.

Let them have their bowl of crisps.

Honestly focus on your own life

OP, yours is a really awful post designed to goad. Thankfully,parents at our school appreciate the effort we have put in to help this half term go as easy as possible.
We cannot wait to get back to normal and have our children back.

Be careful op.

I posted a photo this week of me horse riding in Florida.

It’s been nearly 2 years since I’ve been horse riding or in Florida. I posted it as a memory.

It’s not end of term and I do t know any teach who would describe this weeks as end of term. So either this is not a new photo, or I suppose the whole story could be bullshit?

@Notsureifitssomethingornothing

I do appreciate what you’re saying and maybe I am over reacting but would just like to clarify that there was far more food on the table... big tub of popcorn, sandwiches etc with chairs all round the table, not just the two items I mentioned.

Have you any idea quite how ridiculous and petty you're sounding? If they've eaten the two items you named...why can't they have the rest.

You're being utterly unfair and you just need to stop now. You've seen enough of us tell you this. Please stop OP you're not doing yourself any favours here apart from making yourself look really unkind and bitchy.

"We went separately to collect food using our our own plates and cutlery then returned to our classroom bubble. It was laid out by the cook wearing ppe."

This. OP you are that parent and you've done a horrible thing.

Not a staff room table. It’s very interesting to get perspectives though. I did suspect that I might be over reacting about it. I’m working evenings and weekends so I can help my dc during the day. My office is closed as we’re working from home but when we were planning to go back a few months ago we had to do lots of risk assessments and if we were doing any ‘events’ (charity emergency covid support) we had to do lots of risk assessments and justify why it needed to be in person and not remotely. I just assumed it was the same for most workplaces.

Ugh, us teachers clearly need to just sit in a cupboard on our own day and night and only come out to teach your children! 🙄

Just because people are tagged doesn’t mean they all are together. My school does things like this at the end of term. But since Covid we aren’t all allowed in the staff room at the same time. So we just fill our plates and eat with our respective bubbles - either in the staff room in our time slot or in our classrooms.

Damn phone -

I do not know any teacher who calls this week ‘end of term’.

Schools already have risk assessments for shared spaces. They wouldn't need to create another one.

The chairs are presumably around the table because that's where the chairs live.

Thank you. I can always rely on here to tell it like it is. I wasn’t nasty in my email to school, more came at it from the angle that as it was on social media lots of parents might have seen it and they might want to be aware of how it could look. I am happy to be told I’m overreacting, I genuinely didn’t know that this was allowed. I’m not too proud to apologise to the school for bringing it up either. I am aware my emotions are running high because I’m finding this lockdown difficult.

For context I’ve followed all the rules, all along, and also haven’t asked for a school place despite being categorised as a key worker (which I don’t agree with, so have endured the wfh/homeschooling relentless shitshow instead).

The teachers & staff at both my kids schools have been fucking incredible, I have a huge amount of respect, admiration & gratitude for what they are doing, going in day after day in what is a risky and difficult environment and keeping a smile on their faces & supporting kids and families both in and out of school is amazing.

Those staff will be working with each other every day - the exposure risk, considering they will have sanitised their hands prior to eating and drinking & can’t be any greater to the risk they already take in school on a daily basis working together presuming that they took appropriate measures & didn’t all lick the cheese knife & cough on the crisps!?

Also these days, rather than three ‘terms’ a year each half term is called a ‘term’ so yesterday was the ‘end of term 3 before the Feb half term holiday (UK). We then have term 4 up to Easter etc. That part is not complicated!

So, if they want to celebrate the end of a challenging term (half term, whatever..) together then I’d have no issue with it whatsoever, I hope they had a big bucket of gin with the crisps and a bit of a laugh too, they deserve it IMO. Putting it on social media on the other hand, not a great move - but I feel like that in normal times.

@MrsHamlet

The chairs are presumably around the table because that's where the chairs live.

😂😂😂😂

@MrsHamlet

The chairs are presumably around the table because that's where the chairs live.

Sometimes I just think that we, as education professionals, are just absolutely taking the piss by having chairs.

How was it on social media?

Were they all tagged in an open post on the school’s Facebook page or something?

@Notsureifitssomethingornothing

Thank you. I can always rely on here to tell it like it is. I wasn’t nasty in my email to school, more came at it from the angle that as it was on social media lots of parents might have seen it and they might want to be aware of how it could look. I am happy to be told I’m overreacting, I genuinely didn’t know that this was allowed. I’m not too proud to apologise to the school for bringing it up either. I am aware my emotions are running high because I’m finding this lockdown difficult.

You. Emailed. The . Sodding. School.

Oh my God OP I missed this, you did what? Well well done, you know you have a right reputation now don't you!

No you don’t need to just sit in a cupboard on your own while you work, but many people are just sitting on their own in a room while they work at the moment, so I thought it was poor judgement to post describing something as a party. Maybe they used the wrong wording for something that was actually fine and distanced with ppe, hand washing etc.

Most people are so keen to get their children back into school, I really don't think they would care about a shared buffet by the staff. Would it make that much difference to the spread of Covid if you're in a classroom without any PPE and lots of children? Maybe a little, but not much. It amazes me how many parents are key workers with 50% of the children in school.

@Notsureifitssomethingornothing

No you don’t need to just sit in a cupboard on your own while you work, but many people are just sitting on their own in a room while they work at the moment, so I thought it was poor judgement to post describing something as a party. Maybe they used the wrong wording for something that was actually fine and distanced with ppe, hand washing etc.

Yes people are sitting on their own working - my DH is. It sucks. But how exactly do you think that we are expected to teach like...you know... Children... From solitary confinement.

Seriously, you do need to just like...change your name back now, and stop this. You're digging a really massive hole, and it's getting embarrassing for you now.

We have had parents send in boxes of biscuits, chocolate and 'sharing' food. Photographs to say thank you to the parent groups have been shared in out learning platform.

The staff in the 'staff rooms' are within a year group bubble, though still sit/stay 2m apart. They aren't staff rooms as such just areas of school which are big enough for the staff bubble to sit.

Individual spoons have been used to 'share' some foods. Staff within the bubble do share the same kettle etc though. Sanitiser is used a lot.

Due to being vulnerable and also my current role I'm not in school right now so don't get to share these treats. I don't begrudge my colleagues from enjoying them. Same as I didn't begrudge the medical staff in my ward enjoying a box of biscuits when I was staying - one nurse told the lady next to me it was from a departing patient. I don't begrudge dh (solicitor) for sitting in a meeting room socially distanced and sharing his lunch break with a colleague or two on his days in work either.

I know it's rubbish being stuck home without much adult contact and interaction for weeks and months on end. But those who are in work are taking other risks every day to be there. To begrudge them a box of biscuits or a cheese board seems a bit much tbh.

distanced with ppe
You are aware that PPE is not required in schools except in communal areas (ie the corridors) aren't you?

It seems like I’m just a bit bitter. Thank you for putting me straight. If this was aibu the vote would be unanimous so I’m going to look at my reasons for getting wound up and try to sort myself out.