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.

borntobequiet
Yeah, we’ve seen that before. It’s Ireland, not the U.K. Different country.

Yes, I know - you called me dim on the other the thread because I didn't understand that staff rooms in this country were closed. Apparently not closed after all.

@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.

Bit late OP - you've already opened the can of worms by emailing the school. I can't believe you did that - who knows what the fall out will be for the teachers involved.

Our staff room is closed. It is possible to share a bag of doughnuts without a staffroom.

It’s nice to see that you have recognised that you were getting this out of proportion OP. You definitely aren’t the only person over reacting to things at the moment.

I’m working in school at the moment and plenty of parents have sent in food for sharing amongst staff. As we’ve been told that we aren’t expected to social distance within our bubbles, it would seem odd and a bit rude to refuse well intended small gifts.

They're idiots putting it on FB. We did similar at our workplace but had a strict no photos rule.

@slothpaw

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.

It’s given me the impetus I need to finally quit teaching. I postponed my retirement last Easter, to help the country through the pandemic. I did intend to see it through to the bitter end, but more and more have been left feeling, really, what’s the point? Life is just a constant onslaught of complaints from parents, most of which contradict each other. You know the fort of thing. I’m going stupidly fast and ridiculously slowly, in the same Teams lesson, according to the parents watching who felt I needed their feedback. I’m also unreasonable for being to strict and too lenient at the same time, most days, and I should not be doing ABC, when parents want EFG or HIJ or KLM or OPQ or RST. Instead. Of course, if I do XYZ, then I get parents emailing to complain that I should have done ABC. Most of the time, what parents advise or request just wouldn’t work educationally. But I spend more of my time and energy fending off these ‘have you thought of doing ....’ suggestions from people who don’t know how to teach a lesson. It just makes the whole endeavour I’ve online teaching seem like a waste of time. And Mumsnet is riddled with a lot of the same opinions. I worked 80 hours last week. I have worked hours like that many many weeks over the last 35 years. Most of those hours have been a waste of time. I have finished now

Only allowed 4 in out staff room. I don’t go in there. I bring a flask and spend all day in one room and the playground. Mask all day . No way am I sharing a buffet!

@OpheliasCrayon

I work with my class team in our bubble. I teach SEN , we would do that we share snacks and stuff as we work in close contact, no ppe, all day everyday so what difference?

In some schools they have year group bubbles so all of the year 4 class team for example so again they're together anyway

Think you're being a bit judge-y / unfair. We all work really closely together and year group teams are often bigger than you think with all support staff anyway it makes no odds!

So your quite happy to break the law as well?

This does not read as a genuine situation to me but it would not bother me if this happened at my kid's school, I just don't think it would at the moment.

However (totally off topic) watching the news last night I was surprised to see a large cake on a table in one of the vaccination centres, and I have heard rumours of tea and biscuits being provided. Now that's a bad idea surely. I will be in and out asap, wouldn't want to eat or drink anything.

Firstly I’d make sure it wasn’t an old picture!
Secondly - no I wouldn’t get cross about it because of the half term they have had and fact they’ve been asked to go in without PPE etc

Oh ffs our nursery had a Christmas party on the last day - had lots of food and cakes and stuff - it was the staff and children who are together 10 hours a day Monday to Friday for months ! So what’s the big deal 😂

@SakuraEdenSwan1

Report it to the Police, teachers think they are above everyone else, they are not and what they did was illegal, selfish and stupid.

Nice

I have been coughed, sneezed and wee'd on this week alone by children. All of these are vectors for Covid in the real world but apparently not in schools.

We are testing all our staff who are in, at least twice a week. We would know if one of us was positive.

I assume this is the same at your children's school.

@SakuraEdenSwan1

Report it to the Police, teachers think they are above everyone else, they are not and what they did was illegal, selfish and stupid.

If this is serious .... from the OP's posts, which laws have the school staff broken?

YANBU but if you dare to criticise teachers or anyone who works in the NHS (an organisation of what a million) then you’re for it!

@MrsHamlet

No shared food (we’ve had to turn away donations of whole cakes etc) all to remain 2m in the staff room.

Maybe I'm being dense here - but why can't someone cut the cake and leave it for others to help themselves?

I was just going to post this question. I work in a non-clinical role in a hospital. There's about 5 or 6 people in my team who go into work. We sit one person to each office. Someone brought in a cake the other week for a birthday. They cut a few slices then left the knife alongside some hand sanitiser and a big pack of Clinell wipes(heavy duty disinfectant wipes which kill at least 99.999% of pathogens including coronavirus). Once the pre-sliced pieces were gone, when anyone wanted a slice they hand gelled, cut a slice, then wiped the knife handle with a wipe.

Op don't be a dick.

Would you rather school staff share pictures of themselves shivering to death in classrooms because windows are kept open, with half of their year group in as 'key worker' children , looking incredibly haggered as their work loads has quadrupled this term?

@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 are being bullied as usual by the teachers on here, you are not overreacting, you and I know fine well what they did was wrong, but god forbid anyone upset a teacher on here!!!

Hello, police? I’d like to report a photo of some food. Yes, food. On Facebook!

I think it was going to be eaten. By teachers.

Hello? Hello?

And the cake was in the corridor, we each took our slices back to our individual offices to eat..

[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]
Back in the day, when we had a staffroom, I could see this being a problem. 100+ of us in there at lunchtime, eating together.
But we've not had a staffroom for 5 years. And there are no rooms designated for more than 6 people (except classrooms, obviously)

@SakuraEdenSwan1

I’m a teacher and I agree with OP that we shouldn’t be having social meet ups and defo not putting it on social media...!