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.

@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.

FGS. Are you always this unpleasant?

I'm a teacher.
I live in the cupboard at school and eat dry crackers each day.
Committed to stopping the spread.

borntobequiet
Gosh, that was ages ago.

December actually.

So, to all intents and purposes, in most schools, staff rooms are closed.

In which case, the op was probably right to complain about the staff at her dc's school.

@GloveFromAbove

This could have been the school I work at. The picture was taken at Christmas by a member of staff.

We have had a difficult year. At present we have 50% of children whose parents seem to have landed ‘key worker’ jobs since the first lockdown.
Daily we have parents complaining about what we are doing, what we aren’t doing, how we are/aren’t doing it. Daily we have phone calls demanding places for Little Johnny because he’s very special and they couldn’t possibly work with him there.
We have parents exploiting the ‘two key worker status’ even when they’re on maternity leave.
We have parents who refuse to comply with our risk assessment; wear masks, refuse to use the one way system in the school yard, pick up children from other families, socialise outside of school and continue to metaphorically stick two fingers up at us. We have parents who drop their children off and go for a walk or run with other parents. Children tell us they are staying with cousins and are having sleepovers.
Speaking for myself, I have followed the rules since last year. I haven’t seen my eldest child properly for a year. Yet I can still look after the children of people who refuse to follow the rules.
It’s been bloody hard OP so don’t begrudge us a buffet.

When we ate this buffet, we were either socially distant or ate at different times.
And if it is us you’ve ‘reported’ to school, it’s so unimportant our headteacher hasn’t even mentioned it to us!

If this had been NHS no one would have batted an eyelid. In fact during the first lockdown many people donated food for treats to the NHS staff. This is a prime example of teacher bashing. It’s not easy trying to keep up with learning for your child but teachers are the wrong people to be blaming for the shitshow that’s happened over the last year.

I feel for you. You’re doing an amazing job.

I believe the rules were changed to 1 parent key worker role in this latest lock down. I know personally of people in roles that never required weekday work past a couple of hours, that have abused this, and sent their kids full time.

Our local schools don’t have a high percentage of key workers, so I don’t think they are checking the finer details.

But it does make me very cross, as I am homeschooling, working and a lone parent, so under a lot of pressure to keep a roof over our head.

I’ve not emailed the school on this, and I wouldn’t be arsed about an end of term buffet at school for teachers that share facilities frankly. They deserve praise and support not vilifying. Further 10 days until they come into contact with your children again in theory, so I really do not understand the beef.

Thank you teachers!

I agree with those who suggested this Is very unlikely to be a recent post.
a) few teachers would call the end of half term the end of term.
b) even fewer schools would allow this to happen right now
c) almost nobody would be stupid enough to post it on social media right now, even if it did happen.

My school had an indoors end of term 'do' at Christmas. We were asked to distance and there was no shared food (pre poured glasses of mulled wine) but of course very few did distance and SLT got very stressed (they shouldn't have organised it in the first place then!) Everyone was very careful to hide the event from parents and if anyone had put it on social media we'd have been in trouble. It was very much hushed up and we all knew we were doing something we shouldn't.

I know lots of teachers in other schools and they would have been either very shocked or very jealous or both. It's definitely not the norm to have social gatherings at work right now. May even be illegal, idk.

Personally, I wouldn't care. But I know many people would be very angry about this. Surprised that the majority on this thread think it's fine.

I personally wouldn't be bothered but will say in an office this wouldn't be allowed to happen at the moment in ones I have worked in, and teacher prob shouldn't have a parenf of pupil On sm I wouldn't if thought as makes things like this difficult

My school had an indoors end of term 'do' at Christmas.

What, you mean that last week of term when everyone was shouting that schools were perfectly safe, and LAs like Greenwich were threatened with the High Courts to force them to reopen the schools they'd advised to close (on account of the local infection rate in secondaries being 2509/100,000 and primaries not far behind)?
That week? Surely, if the Government were telling the truth, then there should have been no problem with staff doing this?

Oh we get criticised all the time in the nhs... but I really doubt that teachers are posting pics of jolly get togethers at the moment.

CallmeAngelina Yes, that week. Our school actually did feel safe and we didn't have any cases. I guess it wouldn't have happened if we're a school which had been affected by Covid. But, regardless of what anyone felt or thought, it wasn't allowed, was it. On a societal level, indoor gatherings of any number were banned and on a school level, we weren't allowed to mix bubbles or have communal gatherings of adults. I really don't think many teachers would have found this acceptable. Most seemed to think things were pretty serious and scary by Christmas.

I just assumed it was the same for most workplaces.

Well it's fucking not.

Schools have magic walls and can't transmit Covid, so millions of children can attend and mix. Bubbles of 250 are fine. Distancing is not necessary. Masks are too detrimental to communicating.

These people, if it is a recent photo, are working in the least covid secure workplace possible. They are expected to just get on with that.

Just let them.

@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.

Well if all school staff sat working in a room on their own they would be at a much reduced risk of catching covid, so maybe you should suggest that to the school. Oh hang on a minute, they can't, because we need our keyworkers to be able to go to work, don't we?

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 you are talking about to many people meeting up in one place, you must be ringing the policed everyday the school opens a classroom.

Or are you just being a hypocrite?

Yes, exactly pomegranates . I think either old facebook post or fabricated mumsnet post. It's just not something teachers would do at the moment.

@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.

Why? NHS entitled to the vaccine, teachers not. Should that be allowed? NHS staff paid for the hours they've worked (one of mine is a nurse and says they've never made so much money) teachers expected to work through holidays unpaid. Should that be allowed?

You sound like you should still be at school.

@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.

You and every other frontline worker.

@FrippEnos

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 you are talking about to many people meeting up in one place, you must be ringing the policed everyday the school opens a classroom.

Or are you just being a hypocrite?

No, she's got a thing about teachers.

@Icandothis123

I'm a teacher. I live in the cupboard at school and eat dry crackers each day. Committed to stopping the spread.

Crackers? Plural? Shame on you.

teachers expected to work through holidays unpaid

Government (and union) guidance (early April) stated that school staff looking after key worker children during the school holidays should be given time off in lieu or extra payment.

I hope @SakuraEdenSwan1 calls the police. Just so the transcript can be published as comedy entertainment.

@Clavinova

Not given in my experience! (wasn't that added to the guidance in Dec 2020, not April)

@ancientgran I actually do think teachers should have been prioritised for vaccines.

It's just unnecessary risk which is why some hospital trusts have put a stop to it. Not sure why that makes me sound like I should still be at school

@Clavinova

teachers expected to work through holidays unpaid

Government (and union) guidance (early April) stated that school staff looking after key worker children during the school holidays should be given time off in lieu or extra payment.

Well not in the schools I know, the only time teachers were given they were at home working. Maybe some well off schools paid them.

[quote Doublechins]@ancientgran I actually do think teachers should have been prioritised for vaccines.

It's just unnecessary risk which is why some hospital trusts have put a stop to it. Not sure why that makes me sound like I should still be at school [/quote]
The "its not fair if we can't do it they can't do it", we've all heard kids say that haven't we. Adults not so much.

Jesus Christ on a sodding bike.

Basically, at the moment, teachers are:

a) Lazy, workshy, uncaring arses whose only mission in life is to ruin kids’ futures by suggesting that they might need some covid mitigations in their workplace

Or

b) Reckless, foolish idiots for collecting a treat from the same location as their colleagues with whom they spend all day crammed into tiny, unventilated rooms.