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.

@Tr1skel1on

and

I'm really sorry to hear that. We've lost colleagues in the past quite suddenly and it devastated our school community.

@Tr1skel1on so sorry to hear that xx

@MurrayTheDemonicTalkingSkull our local high school moves the Y9s into Y10 from the end of May so they have a bit extra GCSE tuition I guess. Is this the same as yours? I don't know how they'll allocate classes and start GCSE work from home, it will be interesting to see.

@Tr1skel1on I’m sorry. We’ve lost a recently retired colleague too. Not someone I knew particularly well personally but it’s still awful. It’s a shock to have it come into that world.

One of the (many) reasons I struggle to see how school can function in these times; it is going to touch everyone and bring so much sadness to every community.

@Tr1skel1on - you are most welcome on the staff team. Really sorry to hear of the loss.

I heard this morning that one of my former students has contracted the virus. He should be okay - fit young man only two years out of medical school.

Just ignore Xenia and the other baiters. They have nothing to do other then have moan. Imagine how bloody draining they are in real life. They spend all day bitching and I get to teach some nice children.

#solidarity #keepthemoanersout

@pinkrocker Yeah, that’s similar, except all of the years move up, so the whole timetable usually changes to what it’ll be after the summer.

It’s quite nice cause you get about a month with your new classes to settle in and then after the summer you can focus on the new first years that come up from primary.

Downside is having to be energetic and enthusiastic starting courses when you’re dragging yourself towards the summer holidays!

We don’t have separate 6th form colleges up here, either, so the fifth and sixth years start the following year’s qualification at timetable change too.

We have this move up too (we call it rollover). It used to be really common but a recent Teacher Tapp suggested it was rare (probably because lots of schools replaced with a three year GCSE).

I actually hate rollover and am glad to (probably) seethe back of it this year. It always causes timetable mayhem, encouraged staff to leave at May , so lots of us filled in and had zero gained time, and lost us our honeymoon period in September. However, the lost teaching time in some subjects will cause a headache.

Has anyone else's school got really over obsessed with year 11s and A Level prep, as if somehow that's a big priority? I get fee justification in private schools but I can't see, other than a few pointers, why my school is getting so over excited about year 11. And I say this as someone with a year 11 DS.

Is it because they want to keep them for sixth form piggy? Don't know if there's much competition where you are, here there is quite a bit.

We don't do rollover but quite a bit of thumb twiddling at the end of each year - another reason perhaps why I'm not as alarmed by not going back after half term as some people are.

Did anyone pop out to see the full supermoon yesterday? I meant to then forgot.

No, it's not that at all honey. We have no real competition (if they wanted to focus on anyone it ought to be the external candidates who do tend not to turn up). It's just someone over excitable on SLT, I suspect. Our SLT all come from one subject area (well, two, but linked and core subjects) and they see things in a certain way. Personally, both my subjects are new at year 12 so there is no learning to lose and I like the idea of discovery and interest and excitement. As a friend said to me yesterday, whatever happened to 'awe and wonder' in education?

I think it might just be because they are getting quite a lot of emails form anxious parents and year 11 students feeling that they are missing out on some huge prep time (they probably read MN!)

I saw the supermoon through my window. Very lovely.

Seems daft really doesn't it - if they know what subjects they are going to be doing in sixth form already they must have the imagination to be able to buy relevant books and start reading surely?

I found myself muttering a lot about the effects of spoon feeding whilst getting ds through his maths work this week. I honestly can't remember ever being asked what work I had by my parents let alone expecting them to sit and do it with me. DS says just because my generation had cold, rubbish childhoods doesn't mean his should too

Yes, spoon feeding has been such a thing for the last, maybe , 15 years and has got far worse , I think, with some people's interpretation of the knowledge curriculum.

DS2 has had a few pointers and has watched a few history docs (based on GCSE topics) and is keen to look up his new subjects on Seneca. That is all I would expect. As you say, the really keen ones will (and always have) devote time to pre learning. We shouldn't have to tell them to do this!

I have heard in some schools that year 13s are being given bridging work for uni.... ermmmm... isn't that the job of the unis, if anyone's?

We’re a sixth form college, and as all the local schools are 11-16 they unilaterally decided to stop teaching y11 as soon as it was announced exams were cancelled, which I think is pretty shit and not good for us next year. And we’ve been pressured for transition work to put on the website for y11s contacting college wanting something to do! I actually have no problem with providing that as we usually would do something but it’s the fact we were hassled for it a good couple of months earlier than we’d usually have to do it just at the time we were adapting to remote learning.

We’ve only just been told we can stop teaching upper sixth and the expectation is that we do as much as possible with lower - certainly as I can’t see where the extra time is coming from I’ve tried to stay as close to the year plan as possible. I have about 75% engagement (no live lessons) after cajoling and chasing up so I reckon some of that 25% will drop out and those who have really been struggling I can catch up ok when we get back.

I can see it is a bit different if your only year groups are sixth form gravity as you would have to be doing something , obviously! but I do think secondary schools have bigger fish to fry.

I hadn't quite finished teaching the content of my GCSE subject when we locked down but, as it was another text, it has zero knock on effect to the A Level.

We only stopped teaching year 11 yesterday and are teaching U6 til next week.

Finishing courses/revising for exams that they most likely will never sit.

Engagement is hovering around 50% I’d say. If they do choose to sit in the autumn they stand a better chance though I suppose.

We're an 11-18 school and we stopped teaching years 11 and 13 as soon as it was announced the exams were cancelled. I think every school in the local area did the same. Because we knew there would be no engagement and it would be teachers seeing work for the sake of it.

The maths department are a bit concerned about the effect on the y 11 kids wanting to take A Level, as they won't have practiced the skills that are very much assumed. So we've sent them all bridging textbooks that we already had as we usually send them home with the new ALevel kids to do over their long summer anyway. They are going to have a test in September on the prerequisite skills and will be given extra revision lessons then. We are still not actually setting work or doing lessons, we've just provided resources they can use as they want to.

Our head is definitely not demanding that anyone teachers year 11 now.

I'm still reading through pfrench's thread.

I think people should have to honestly state either a) I want schools open for educational reasons or b) I want childcare.

There's a lot of obfuscation switching between the two reasons. In reality schools are not going to be able to be meaningful childcare (staggered returns, part time etc) or meaningful education.

If people were willing to admit that they just want childcare and the government were willing to admit schools can't open in their normal form until at least September then we could explore properly how to provide that childcare.

And as a note fully qualified teachers are not required for childcare so teacher shortage, ill health and the simple fact they're already working doing online education wouldn't be an issue. Supermarkets took on tons of temps and 'government childcare centres' (emphasising they are not operating as places of education) could do the same with some kind of working around dbs issues.

I’m not bothered about them not doing the whole content of the GCSE course at all, it’s just the message it gave to them to just stop working on March 20th I think was unhelpful - that’s nearly six months out of education by the time they get the sixth form! As they’re feeder schools for us a little consultation between us could have made it easier for everyone - but I suppose they did what seemed best at the time. One thing we do have that’s easier is that teachers don’t do tutor groups (we have a heavier teaching load in return but I prefer that), we have pastoral staff who do that. So right now we do an engagement register every week - simply engaged/unengaged/ill and the tutors follow up with unengaged students each week. It took a few weeks to get going but it is effective. Of course I’m still free to email/message students through Teams myself as week.

I don't know how Xenia has time to post, what with her high powered job and all.

Wev stopped 11 and 13 straight away. There's lots of competition near us for 6th firm, but I suspect a lot will want the security of what they know. And may want to resit.

We kept on with 11 and 13, only stopped y11 as of yesterday and still next week to do with y13. Engagement has been really low from those 2 year groups unsurprisingly but have been sending lots of nice messages to those doing something. I assume we only did it to avoid parental backlash as we were told from the off not to chase those 2 year groups.

Find it deeply sad to read a care worker proudly announcing that when a colleague tests positive the other carers who have been working closely with them don't go off to isolate for 7 days because that would mean no one to look after the old people. No wonder so many elderly are dying in care homes. I appreciate staff shortages but jesus. They were using it as an example of how teachers shouldn't go off to isolate just because they've been exposed to positive cases.

Actually, I have been thinking about this (and I am sure by the sounds of it this is not your workplace, gravity) my DS has applications in to three sixth form providers and the only one that hasn't communicated some pre work to him is the specialist sixth form. Although, as I said, it doesn't bother me especially , anyway. It would be nice for him to hear from them. the only comms he had was an invitation to a virtual open day because they definitely are worried about bums on seats,

Quote: you can’t send everyone home because one teacher has tested positive. Can you imagine if that was the case in the other industries working currently? I work in a care home 3 staff have tested positive have all their colleagues been sent home to isolate! No way as there would be no staff to look after residents.

I'm am SO glad I don't have any relatives in care homes because reading that makes me want to weep.

That is awful honey!

Illegal is not the word I am after , but it is certainly some sort of H and S breach.

You wouldn't send all teachers home if one tested positive, obviously but that super duper app might alert a few! I presume care workers will also have the super duper app.

Care workers are treated really badly by employers.