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.

Omg there's a 'one' on that thread.

Which thread? Or don't I want to know?

Thanks for cuppa. I suspect our school is being pretty good. We have an acting head who used to be (presumably still is) in charge of all PP monitoring and provision so she's probably very aware of the range of home situations and realities that kids are coming from and that probably informs her 'no pressure' approach.

Ds and I (it really is a team effort despite knowing it shouldn't be) have managed to catch up on all maths assignments despite nearly coming to blows over it It does make you appreciate that if I'm a teacher and find supporting ds' schoolwork hard it must be a nightmare for some parents who are truly not academic and still scared of school from their own time.

I've just had a call from school about my health and absence procedure and opened the door to talking about changes to my role to be able to return so fingers crossed that's looking up too. Apparently they have literally no idea about reopening and are encouraging people not to forward plan unless they're confident what they're planning can be adapted/switched easily.

Going to venture out onto wider mn now. Hard hat in place.

that probably informs her 'no pressure' approach.

Problem is, a complete, ‘back off’, no pressure’ approach could mean some kids slip through the net who were not on the radar before. These calls/emails aren’t about the academics sadly. I won’t go into specifics obviously, but I have one Year 12 student who I am very glad I contacted.

So, no PPE needed in classrooms then.

Just keep washing those hands then and crack on-you’ll be fine!

That's it, hope we have soap this time.

Checking in with a here too. Ecstatic that DS has finished this week's English work but seriously worried that he has 64 pieces of work in his To-Do list on GC.
I sat with him for 3 hrs to get it done on my laptop, as he cannot edit a document on his iPad. DD has done everything calmly and coolly.
So 3hrs a day over the next few weeks = how many completed assignments ? haha!
By god I need a gin.

pinkrocker that's a lot of work on his to do list. How old is he? Is he stressed with that or just you?

'No pressure' doesn't equal back off totally and not check on welfare - didn't mean to imply that. They're obviously checking on everyone but with the emphasis on welfare rather than 'x hasn't done the 526 pieces of work that were put on GC from 10+ different subject areas'. Apparently we're finding is the no pressure approach results in a better uptake and engagement than the alternative which makes sense to me.

pinkrocker - I feel your pain. if ds saw the number 64 on his to do list he might throw himself out of the window. Me too to be fair.

He thinks, in his mind, the schools are on holiday. So he doesn't need to do the work and doesn't care (just me!) Obviously he hasn't seen me working on my laptop for hours on end
But he swore blind to me, promised he'd done it all and there was a huge argument when I found out how little he'd done. Just proves I can't trust him to get on with it and I thought I could, so that makes me feel really bad as a mum (and that he's the son of a teacher!!)

Honey I've archived my GC from April, those that haven't done it aren't going to, so it's pointless them seeing all this work looming over them waiting to be completed and returned. I think DS's teachers should do the same.

'No pressure' doesn't equal back off totally and not check on welfare - didn't mean to imply that. They're obviously checking on everyone but with the emphasis on welfare rather than 'x hasn't done the 526 pieces of work that were put on GC from 10+ different subject areas'. Apparently we're finding is the no pressure approach results in a better uptake and engagement than the alternative which makes sense to me.

I’ll ‘back off’ after this post, (ha ha!) but it probably has been crossed wires from the beginning. I’m talking about a school of 1700 and just ‘checking in’ on anyone who has had zero contact with a subject since 20th March on anything (no email, no logging in, no completion of any quiz to speak of, no work sent, none downloaded etc). I haven’t meant chasing up every piece of work not done for example, heavens not! Now, because as a teacher we only see our ‘subject’ it’s hard to know if that just means they are focusing on just one subject or not because they haven’t deemed your one important/able to do etc or if they are struggling or parent has just assumed child is working but finds out they haven’t been, and so on. That’s all. I think we have established as teachers and parents that whatever approach a school takes, there will be some who complain (I am sure some parents at your school won’t be happy just as at mine or my DDs they won’t -some never are, eh?!)

Anyway! Nearly the end of another crazy day. I’m in school tomorrow on rota so best make sure there is at least soap there

If we are back at school from June 1st (with no PPA), then will we still be on childcare rotas for half term?!

Had 4 hours of Cag-ing today...

And that was the tip of the iceberg.

Hang on a minute! I’m taking no PPA waaay more seriously than no PPE

We've been told that if we are on the rota during half term week, we have to take leave the week before so we are all square by 1st June.

No mention of who will set and support the work that week though if teachers are off.

@likeafishneedsabike sorry-clearly too many acronyms for me, I can’t cope

We haven't been setting work for holiday weeks (ditto the upcoming Bank Holiday on Friday). School has been opened and staffed, but it's really just a play-scheme.

I see Chris Dyson is making a complete knob of himself on Twitter today about an announcement tomorrow.

Big Gav intervened eventually - there isn't one - tomorrow, anyway.

You can I've been working really hard today- not been near the thread!
All prep prep prep today. And cag round 2. And zoom meetings.
Then a bike ride. By myself.

I've been in school.
Dullest day ever!

Me too. Dizzying heights of four kids much more interesting than the one last time. Still no one can SD though.

EXACTLY!! I had 5 kids, in a large classroom, tables spread out nicely, individualised stationery pots and laptops and so forth and it was all scuppered by 10 past 9.

I just don’t get it. Top news today on my app is that we have the highest death rate in Europe, yet we’re about the only country saying we’ll start opening schools soon and now, they won’t be giving teachers PPE?

What must we look like to the rest of Europe??

Good plan pinkrocker - no point in turning off those who are only now tuning in (for whatever reason) by them facing an avalanche of work.

Science, in my schools curriculum, spirals - ie. we keep going over essentially the same topics in each year but deepening understanding and technical depth each year. I don't feel it will be 'too' difficult to students up in science - will just have to be mindful it's e.g. their first time encountering eg. electromagnetism rather than assuming some prior knowledge to build upon (with the reality being most of them have entirely forgotten everything even when they have done it the year before).

How do people feel about their own subject area and capacity to fill in the gaps?