The Third Republic - solidarity comrades!

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

You are most welcome to this school staff support thread to get us through stressful times. Baiters and bashers can jog on somewhere else.

If you are not staff and just have a general education query please start your own thread.

You can play here only if you are a member of one the following groups-

-ABBA - anti bashers and baiting association
-SWAB - school workers against bashers
-SWOT - school workers opposing teacherbashers
-STARS - schoolworkers together against ranting + slurs

Other requirements for staff room entry include the ability to find the staff room, the ability to find a clean mug in the staff room, knowledge of the photocopier codes and the ability to sniff out where the toffee vodka is hidden.

Well...! Just got off a zoom SLT meeting. Upshot basically being...

Q - What do you think coming back to school in some form SHOULD look like as our authority are asking the HTs for this info.

Fact - It probably won't be full classes back until January, although we await to be told how to start opening up more fully before then.

List of essential workers not to specify both parents needed to be key workers for kids to be able to access school.

And HR telling the heads that if 'vulnerable' and 'at risk' staff on the gov's initial guidance (nasty word that as leaves it open to being ignored) don't have the shielding letter and aren't signed off from work then they won't get paid if they don't go to work.

Some supposition of whether the high schools will be involved a little in the transition aspect and whether year6 actually go there, with their primary teachers on whatever rota rather than back to their primary.

All sounds like a bit of a mess.

We've been 'promised' 3 weeks notice of returning to school here in Wales. What we also hope is that we find out first re opening as we didn't re: closing. Our HT found out on Twitter that we were closing 2 days later.

The disadvantaged gap.

Correct me if I am wrong. Please do.

The major concern to me is their physical and mental well being. Lack of food, violence etc. Education wise though they ' could be ' behind as they have limited resources.

However my dd who has access to all of that has been hard work. She isn't doing much. We have argued. Its been hard. I have my own work to to do. She will equally be as behind.( education wise)

Will there be a spoilt brat gap, a stress gap a parents have to work too gap or am I just a bad parent?

Physically ok. Education not so much.

Riga, the thing is your D will have over the course of her life been able to access and exposed to a vast array of learning opportunities outside school as well as everything you've supported at home with for school. The "cultural capital." Evidence shows that children who do not have this kind of rich childhood have a wider gap and also benefit comparatively more from big quality education at school than their more privileged peers.

Even the range of vocabulary she's been exposed to via you will have given her an advantage.

To my mind, often the keenness at learn and the ability to read and concentrate are the key skills to be able to pick up on any missed learning.

But I'm of the cohort in the 80s/ early 90s where we didn't do any English exams and I don't remember doing much in the way of spag or even how to structure an essay. I had to work it out, but the ability to find out and learn quickly was what helped there.

Yes I see your point and agree over a lifetime that will obviously affect her but I mean on a more general level curriculum wise from a Maths point of view. She essentially lives with two Maths teachers and isn't doing well in it. Actually better at English.

She hides in her bedroom too so she isn't even exposed to my awesome conversation.

From a curriculum point I think there will be more of a level then is envisaged. Maybe I am wrong though.

I have bitten on a thread too. So am anxious again. I have been asked to pay someones mortgage.

And my "privileged back ground" in terms of parents who took me to lots of interesting places and gave me interesting things to do, talked to me about the world and points of view etc.

Maths may not be her thing? I scraped a c gcse and I think I was a bit plagued by dyscalculia (or shit teaching.) I did ok. I didn't really see the point of it tbh. When it was creative I enjoyed it!

Most kids rebel; I remember the severe disappointment of a sciencey pro evolution colleague when both of her kids became born again Christians!

Thanks Neuro maybe we have made Maths and Science too geeky so she is doing the opposite.

She is doing nothing. I will have to come down hard on Monday or at least some sort of compromise.

I had to come down hard a bit on my ds a couple of weeks ago. I made it target based of 4 short jobs I knew he could do. It took max 1.5 hours with a break or two within that. I had to just stick to it for a while and then once he knew it was short and achievable he was happier to do it. Getting it done very early seemed to be the key. But all kids are different! And he's only 7.

Ps knitting/ crochet is coding - can she do some of that?!

Ps knitting/ crochet is coding - can she do some of that?!

I could try. My DM is great at knitting and we live with her.

She is now saying she would rather do an hour twice a week with my partner doing Maths and Science with me and read her book. Should be good explaining to my colleagues why she hasn't done the work they set.

Riga my dd2 is not keen on maths either, even though I'm a maths teacher. She's ok at it, but hates it really. Maybe she'll change her mind at some point and find that it's her thing. She doesn't seem massively enthused by English either though.
I think our kids will be in the same boat as other kids whose parents are working. The resources and parental attitude are there, and if they are a bit behind now, well so will most kids be, so the curriculum for next year will have to shift a bit (I know I'm not expecting any of my pupils to learn anything NEW, just practise stuff they've done before, so anything new they should have learnt this term will be taught at some point next year probably). The disadvantaged kids will have the same lack of practice that ours have, but will have EXTRA challenges in terms of trying to catch up later, as they often don't have the support at home for that either.

There will be a much wider range of attainment when we get back to normal, which will be a massive pain in the arse to try and deal with, especially at primary level where all kids are in the same class.

Riga - I feel the same.
I have a ridiculously bright 3 year old who isn't yet potty trained, yet can do mental arithmetic to 20 and take apart and put back together clockwork toys unassisted. He has spent the last few weeks on his head watching citv or cbeebies while I try to home educate his sisters plus get my own work done. He is totally resistant to me teaching him anything.
I have a fairly compliant 6 year old who although she can read freely (she's on chapter books like Narnia series at home) I think I've only got her to write one sentence this week. Yet at school she writes loads. She's done lots of crafting though. She also doesn't like ebooks and knows all of our books by heart.
I have an 8 year old who lives for books. The library is closed and she's read all the ebooks she can find that she wants to read. She's not so good at maths and just get upset if I try to explain anything. Because I'm not her teacher, they do it differently at school, I make her feel bad :(
I've just run out of oomph this week. And spent way to much money on buying a load of reading books..

*too

Thanks all.
Thanks for understanding. Kids eh!

I've just run out of oomph this week.

I hear you! I must have said “Pay Attention!” to my DD a million times! It doesn’t help that I’m also marking so much Year 10 this week! At least Friday is a Bank Holiday

I have been asked to pay someones mortgage.

What fresh hell is this!??? Some posters!

Just like to moan at us as we haven't thought about every possible negative scenario for parents.

RigaBalsam

That is one weird thread.

Its one of the first where the person that derailed the thread is complaining about someone else derailing the thread because they tried to put it back on track.

And the they definitely said they wanted money to pay their mortgage and food.

Riga: She is doing nothing. I will have to come down hard on Monday or at least some sort of compromise

^ I have had to with ds too this week possibly why I’ve been a bit grotty on here and my parent head being on.

Apologies for mansplaining-never been accused of that before. I perhaps should have reminded that I have been in touch with school already and told them we’re doing our own thing and been told that was fine.

My wanting people to remember none of this is compulsory and lots of kids will have gaps for lots of reasons (not just being vulnerable or having feckless parents) was because I could see some posters getting angry about work not done and making assumptions. I work with childless colleagues who make horrible assumptions loudly about parents all the time and I’m possibly a bit sensitive to this as I think we can get in a bit of a school is everything bubble and forget people have whole lives going on.

I am sorry for offending people. Battling with ds and trying to get him to properly try at maths work rather than just give up because he doesn’t understand is really taxing me. Maybe teachers will assume I’m a shit parent but not all kids are motivated or good independent learners. For us it requires me having to sit there and do it with him. Plenty of parents won’t have the time or ability to do that.

Again sorry. Stressed out and struggling with health and head scrambled from trying to reawaken 30 year old learning about Pythagoras and areas of trapeziums and what not

Afternoon all. It’s glorious here.

Remember the old days when you would play rounders and take out a book on afternoons like this? I always kept a stash of ice lollies in the freezer for them too. Was blissful.

Now that's a good idea! I think we will have "games" in the garden this afternoon 😊

My child is genuinely doing nothing she's 'supposed' to be doing via school. We're just having fun. She's still in reception, so there is definitely less pressure to 'worksheet' our days, but I can't get her to read to me at all. I know she's reading to herself in her bedroom, so I've strategically left some appropriate books around by her bed. We're doing stop motion videos, lots of art... paddling in the river etc. We put some of this stuff on her google classroom and her teachers respond.

Maybe teachers will assume I’m a shit parent but not all kids are motivated or good independent learners.

Oh love, it’s not assuming that at all and I am so sorry things are tough for you.
For me, it’s thinking the opposite-I don’t want to offend a parent or upset them by getting in contact when all is okay but if we have not heard anything we just don’t know. So, like you have already mentioned to your school about what you’re plans are etc, it can be a helpful idea to prevent crossed wires. That’s all!
It may not be compulsory true but schools have been told to make sure support is there and sometimes, the first step is an awkward email/call to say I’ve not had anything through, is everything okay? That and the fallout from this will have a knock on effect for a long while yet, even for option subjects.

It’s all just a bit shit isn’t it? Have a cuppa!