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.

I'm part time but my situation might not inform yours as we have a voluntary rota, and we say when we are available.
To ask you to work on a non-working day is ok if it's a request I think - same as some people have been asked to work over Easter or tomorrow. You don't have to. And if you do agree, you need a day back elsewhere in the week.

In the old days we used to go to the nearby pub for lunch on a Friday lunch time. These days I'm lucky to wolf a sandwich at lunchtime.

Ah, yes, I remember the good old days!

dfemedia.blog.gov.uk/2020/05/07/school-reopening-covid19/?fbclid=IwAR1KF3wreIMnKOLjR6EhWRBVwYgW2Fvf3JAHUac2KHAY8MQ7U4FJLxJ1r60

I bet they’re fed up with having to say this 😂

Hahaha - I bet they still announce 1st June on Sunday!

I read a tweet from Peston earlier basically saying that top level of government was panicking this morning about what the papers were saying. Considering they feed the papers leaks, it probably serves them right. Get Peston to do the back pedalling for them.

My post about school opening is a reasonable read by the way - I figured it needs almost moderating, by the OP ignoring the goady ones and just focusing on re-emphasising some good or useful ideas, it stays sort of on track.

Interesting post from a teacher in Taiwan - if they tried half the stuff they have to do there, here, kids would be going off with anxiety within the first 5 minutes!

pfrench

there are some quite pissy responses on there, its almost funny.

I've ignored those!

There are some good ones too!

Its good to see a discussion about it.

@pfrench, you raised a good point about the behaviourally challenged pupils.

Returning to secondary schools is going to be a logistical nightmare. One where there is limited room in the classroom, if we continue with social distancing measures. Where disabled and behaviourally challenged pupils might be less easily catered for - they still have a right to an education, it's just how we go about achieving this. Especially as those BC pupils are also likely to be those least engaging in current online learning platforms. Only one of our learning support pupils is currently in school and they are a nightmare to keep on task where there are only a handful of other pupils in and the rules have been significantly relaxed.

And those apparently nt kids who can't stay in their places or follow basic instructions like 's it down.on a chair.'

riga OCR combined science. Our HOD is pretty obsessed with doing spiral learning.

Ah my last school did spirals of enquiry.

We are just straight forward AQA.

@Asuitablecat - you're right. A handful of pupils and we have to constantly remind them 'social distancing'. They can't or don't want to do it. They don't see how it matters to them and that is the problem. It might not matter to them if they are young and healthy, but it comes back to teachers and pupils with underlying conditions which on the surface are managed and controlled, but conditions which are known to cause significant problems when catching this virus is added to the mix.

Reading some of the other threads, the parents that are frothing at the mouth about schools needing to reopen as soon as possible are also the ones who want to get back out to restaurants, hairdressers and play parks on Monday given half a chance. Many of the parents (and children of) that we will be dealing with, don’t sound very cautious! It doesn’t sound like they will be thinking of transmission levels or complying with social distancing for a second longer than they have to.

Which will be nice for us...!

Schools in Wales will not reopen on 1 June, regardless of decisions in England, the Welsh government announced this afternoon.

Where did they announce that @RigaBalsam ?

I think you're right. There are a lot of people who don't think about others before themselves, we've already seen this with parents refusing to pick their clearly sick child up. I suspect there will be a lot more 'its only hay fever/asthma/a cold and pushing paracetamol down kids to get them through the initial temperature check - if they even do that. Our primary is checking temperatures for key-worker children every day on the way in. Secondary school has said they are not allowed to...

www.besa.org.uk/insights/policy-update-07-05-20/

This is interesting-just saw a link to it on FB. Not sure who BESA are?

My region in France has just passed into a "green" zone - we are going back !

Now refreshing my emails every 5 minutes to see when the bloody SLT is going to email through instructions about how exactly we're going to manage 15 students to a class.

awaits Brian the magical unicorn to double class rooms and number of staff

Announcement from Kirsty W I think was in the Guardian site.

Intersecting Appu

I worry slightly about other illnesses for staff. We phone in sick. Feel really shit. Get tested. Comes back negative. Get told to get back to work.

This won't be unique to teaching. It's a general concern.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-52580877

Link about Welsh schools here. It seems like Scotland/NI will follow- I think it will be a tough sell having English schools only going back on June 1st. Doesn't rule out June 2nd, though!

I need to live and work in the same country There must be loads of us x borders.

Neuro - ah yes. My first job as an nqt I had a head of department who insisted on me going to the pub at lunchtime Guessing it’s a sackable offence now but it was lovely at the time. About 18 years ago.

Riga - I have nothing to compare ocr too. In my original specialty subject I could tell you the strengths and weaknesses of various exam boards and syllabus. I know I hate the textbooks and the ocr gateway worksheets for pags etc. Totally inaccessible for most of my students but don’t know if there are actually foundation textbooks and sheets and we just don’t have them. HOD believes we should teach at the same level to all students in the name of high expectations. She only teaches top set gcse groups and a level funnily enough

To not too.