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.

Irish Times - November;

Staff rooms a key risk for spread of Covid-19 in schools, health officials warn.

www.irishtimes.com/news/education/staff-rooms-a-key-risk-for-spread-of-covid-19-in-schools-health-officials-warn-1.4414623

This is Mumsnet, teachers can do no wrong!

Not sure where you get that impression from. Teacher bashing is a very popular pastime on Mumsnet. Happily vaccine bashing has taken over temporarily (maybe for half term).

I've been in school everyday teaching key worker kids as well as online lessons for another 30 children. This is exhausting and difficult to juggle. There are 4 adults in my 'bubble' sharing computers, books, pens etc. Up close teaching children with no PPE every day. If a parent was petty enough to complain about me sharing a snack with someone in my bubble, they are clearly ignorant of the working conditions in a school.

Gosh, I work in a school in a small office with 5 teachers. We share a kettle and microwave and don’t wear masks in the office, just in the corridors and when mixing with other departments. We also get tested weekly.

YABU when you think about the logic and logistics of a school day in terms of risk and so forth in comparison to this. It could have been instead of lunch, washing hands, social distancing - various things all mentioned by other posters.

But there’s the reality and then there’s the optics.

A social media post wasn’t necessary. At a time when almost everyone is struggling due to lockdown, and when hard choices are being made daily, whoever put the social media post on is short-sighted at minimum.

It’s a bit like the single person living alone vs married living with a family debate that is sharply in focus at the moment: it’s not really on to rub your lovely family time in a lonely person’s face who would love company on the sofa, or revel in your ability to read in blessed silence in the living room while your friend is feeling completely peopled-out. At the moment, you just keep that kind of ‘at least I can still.....’ type stuff even more to yourself because so many people are feeling what they haven’t got in much starker relief. You don’t stick it on social media.

[quote Clavinova]Irish Times - November;

Staff rooms a key risk for spread of Covid-19 in schools, health officials warn.

www.irishtimes.com/news/education/staff-rooms-a-key-risk-for-spread-of-covid-19-in-schools-health-officials-warn-1.4414623[/quote]
Yeah, we’ve seen that before. It’s Ireland, not the U.K. Different country.

I’m a ward based nurse, our trust has said no shared food (eg box of biscuits on the desk to share) and no making each other drinks.

I still couldn’t worked up about this. Let them be, they’re going through enough without the mummy mafia checking up on them.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they rethink their social media policy to stop parents seeing this kind of thing. If it was on a friend’s Facebook you might have lost a friend when you sent your email.

@GinAndTonicOnIt

There’s usually a LSA in the same room but we don’t need to go near each other.

All meetings over Teams

May walk passes an adult to move rooms

Lunch time duty stood about 15m from kitchen staff

That’s it

Food on table for staff to help themselves.
No doubt they will social distance and sit apart.

This is a problem why?

This post is just part of the covid police attitude and also reflects the desire to constantly find something to criticise when it comes to schools.

@hansgrueber sounds like the spitter has special needs imo. I don’t think I’d advocate a ban on a special needs child from what might be respite care. We all know of cases of how that could end for the parent / child.

For goodness sake! We’ve had communal celebration food several times. We don’t share cutlery or crockery, or even eat it in the same room if I pick up a piece of cake, I know it’s completely untouched by any human hand except mine. The door to the classroom will have been disinfected and propped open. We are not allowed to use the kettle or the microwave, have not been fir a year. We are however allowed to eat. Yes, even bring in food for others to eat, providing we have not touched it. But then, Who touches food they are going to offer to someone else anyway?

@frazzledquaver

It's very hard when you and your family haven't been within 2 metres of another human being for months. We're in lockdown. It probably feels really different if you have to go out to work and be around people, so these staff members probably don't even consider that doing something like this feels like going to the moon to those of us who are at home. I'm sure they feel that if they can't be safe at home, why shouldn't they have some fun? It shows a huge lack of empathy to post it on social media though. I really feel like my DD's school has no understand of the isolation and alienation that the families at home are experiencing as it's all "look what fun we are having in school with no social distancing and staff crossing bubbles". And I know that lots of the staff (either those working at home or going into school) are continuing to socialise. It's a tricky one.

Believe me when I was, as someone who is CV, was being expected to teach across bubbles and teach over 250 children every week, with no social distancing (infant school so no expectation to do so) and no masks it in way felt even vaguely fun.

It also didn't feel fun when I subsequently caught covid and ended up in hospital either.

But yes, no empathy from schools I'm sure.

@hansgrueber you not considered if they're talking about an SEN classroom perhaps ? I get kicked, hit, hair pulled, spat at, full pads thrown at me, cuddles after hands have been down the toilet, dealing with smearing on the walls ... All part of my job and no one is getting "banned" for it. You need to be a little more open minded as to who some of us teach and respect that these things happen and it is perfectly ok

And yes... We share snacks.

Communal food is not allowed foe hospital staff at the moment so I don't think it should be allowed for teaching staff either.

@Doublechins

Communal food is not allowed foe hospital staff at the moment so I don't think it should be allowed for teaching staff either.

That may not be the case across the country. The doctors and nurses in the ward I was in, in October, were sharing biscuits from the same box,

@Doublechins

Communal food is not allowed foe hospital staff at the moment so I don't think it should be allowed for teaching staff either.

Some hospital staff.

It's allowed at my large teaching trust.

Shared food in workplaces is a big no-no. This is how some outbreaks have spread (in care homes, healthcare settings etc). Yes it’s nice to have a treat etc but is it worth undoing all the hard work that’s been done to get this virus under control?
Would anyone really want to grab some crisps or a slice of pizza from a bowl/plate others have had their hands in, or breathed on??

This thread has given me the impetus I need to finally quit mumsnet.

So sick of the teacher bashing when we risk our health and our lives and the lives of our loved ones every day.

@Notsureifitssomethingornothing

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.

Well done OP. Take a long bath if you can , these times are hard for all of us, try and give yourself a little treat.

No, what you describe is not acceptable, op. I work in a school and we had our staff Christmas "party" in the playground, socially distanced, with no sharing of food. It was a bit grim, true, but we couldn't justify anything different.

Oh my goodness this is crazy. We've had very kind people donate things to school. My TA has been known to bring in bags of doughnuts to keep us all going. We take it in turns to visit and help ourselves, we wear masks and sanitise our hands frequently.

We're not allowed to all gather together but the joy these little treats bring are immense.

My friend works for the nhs and has been overwhelmed with gifts from the public. Never once would I think it was inappropriate. I would consider her and her colleagues professional enough to share the food and remain safe.

Yanbu I’m a TA and that would not happen and if it did, I wouldn’t be there!

Staff tend not to take photos in school on their own private phones/tablets. Phones can only be used in designated areas and not in classrooms. Taking a photo on your own phone in school and posting it on social media would lead to a meeting with SLT.

Our Head arranged for food to be provided for staff who are in school. We take turns to collect it and eat in our bubbles. We all eat with the children in class at the moment as there aren't enough people to cover breaks.

I've lost count of the times I've had children coughing and sneezing right in my face. I've cleaned up their toileting accidents, mopped up their wee on the toilet floors and wiped poo off the walls. That's just in the past week in a normal state primary.

Taking food from a table would be a thousand times less risky in terms of catching covid.

We had no Christmas party or any social event since lockdown in March 2020. Madness -even worse that they’ve gone public!!!

Haven't read the full thread but I totally get what you mean. I work in NHS. We have clearly been told not to share open food and distance on breaks etc. Most of outbreaks between staff seem to have occurred with people having tea/lunch break together. I agree not appropriate when everyone is being asked to socially distance.