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.

That is utter neglect of the safety of residents. The poster doesn't even seem to note that that's unsafe practice or putting extremely vulnerable people at risk. And she, whose just proudly admitted she is engaged in massively unsafe practices, wants to send her kids to school for us to look after and trust her to not put us or other families at risk.

I may have to stop reading that thread!

Must admit , I didn't read it. Sorry pfrench!

One of my favourite ever school moments was the list we got given pre-English Lit A Level. The books to read. It's 5 sides of A4 long, done on an old skool typewriter. I've still got it, and I've still not read all the books on it.

HoneyBadger - it needs some brave folk in gov to just say we need childcare. I hate doing childcare, but needs must. There are no brave folk in gov.

Piggy - don't read it! Dickheads are all over it, it needs filtering.

awesome, funnily enough, the maths dept is one of the depts. that populate our SLT. Which is fine. But they do see things through that prism. Obviously, losing maths skills is an issue anyway at A Level and I think our maths dept have always set a bit of bridging work. It doesn't, though, follow that this makes them amazing and the rest of us laggards because we don't want to teach them the whole of basic Marxist theory before September...

In my school (and I am sure others) one of the main aims of certain depts. has always been to put some kids off A Level before they start. I worry that setting them too much (and too bewildering ) work before they start will put off too many of them ! And probably the wrong ones, too!

Has anyone's school thought about their entry policies for sixth form since CAGs? Are you going with the CAG or the adjusted grade?

Can you imagine if that was the case in the other industries working currently?

Uh, they do! Was a big issue a few weeks back before testing - medics off with symptoms because no idea what they had. Care industry all over the media yesterday for not providing sick pay. People can't afford to go off sick. Gross negligence in one area shouldn't mean that's ok for others to do the same.

Our ex head was a former maths teacher. He would often go on about how you need to set tons of work in each lesson, if you think you've set enough, set some more etc.

Easy said when that means you just have to say answer questions 1-40 instead of 1-20. In other subjects without textbooks full of endless tasks it's a bit of a different story.

I'm reeling over that carer's comment. I'm terrified that people are interpreting putting the lives of the extremely vulnerable at risk is somehow heroic 'cracking on'. It has really floored me.

Honest to God I'm going to make ds swear he'll kill me rather than let me go into a care home. I will access the right drugs and keep them in a little safe ready for the time.

I used my reading list for years. I have a massive one I've given out for years, after a 6th former once told me he'd only read Harry Potter and I was aghast. It probably needs a big update now.

@Piggywaspushed I assumed maths was one of the subjects on your SLT. I recognise the attitude (and I'm in the maths dept!!!). Is the other subject science by any chance?

Our SLT is dominated by humanities, with MFL making up 4 of the 5 senior management! I think the best SLT teams have a balance of subjects so they can see through the issues EVERY subject has. Teaching skills based academic subjects is completely different from teaching content based academic subjects which again is completely different from teaching practical subjects.

So subjects where we need them up to speed on certain skills, we want them to be doing a small amount of practice on those skills regularly. Subjects where the A Level is based on completely different content don't need that. Practical subjects would probably like the kids to be practising those skills as well, but in a way the kids choose for themselves (art teachers probably want the kids to keep drawing/painting, food tech teachers probably want the kids to keep cooking, pe teachers probably want the kids to keep as physically fit as possible, etc). We all want/need something different from the kids who are going to start our A Levels in September. And let's face it, a lot of the kids won't engage with any of it at all, and who can blame them.

The transition work I sent has all been lockdown-friendly, mostly creative stuff that really interested students could turn into huge weeks-long projects if they wanted and others could just dabble with.

As for entry, the message is that all students who have been offered a place (which is everyone, we’re not selective) will get a place. I assume they’ll have to be flexible on entry requirements to the different pathways (A-level/BTEC or equivalent) but usually at enrolment it’s very obvious to spot if a student is a 3 A-level student or better suited to a different route and we talk all that through with them. If someone’s borderline the course leader gets a say in whether they’ll take the student or not. I’ll usually take anyone who’s interested tbh, I plunge straight in without any “fun” stuff at the start (because they always think my subject will be fun) and if they can stick out the first couple of weeks they’ll be fine in my experience, and usually do better than prior results would suggest.

Is the other subject science by any chance?

I exempt you and noble form my sweeping generalisations about maths teachers but not my DH

We finish teaching Year 11 and Year 13 next Thursday. Very few are engaging in lessons. Some come into Teams for a chat. A group will be starting the EPQ after that

#solidarity #bankholidayjoy

Trouble is at our place, gravity we don't have alternative pathways (the few vocational subjects have to be done with at least one A Level). Certain A Levels really do get the 'oh well, that's easy , opt for that' message from SLT/ HOSF and so we are lumbered .(we need to stop getting them such good results!!)

Next year, I may well have kids sat with a GCSE 3 in maths and/or English attempting A levels, whilst resitting the core GCSEs in order to let a 'real' 4. And they won't be able to go elsewhere to do something more suited to their needs and abilities, because I doubt a college will let them in without their real 4s!!

suitable, I have always given out a reading/watching list. This is no longer seen as good enough, it seems!

Certain A Levels really do get the 'oh well, that's easy , opt for that' message from SLT/ HOSF and so we are lumbered

I’m well used to that! Actually it’s our BTEC that gets clobbered mostly - at enrolment we always get a big speech beforehand about how we’re doing what’s best for the student and how we need to take their needs into account and tailor their courses and we always whisper to each other “and if not, stick em on BTEC media!”.

We’d take them with 3s on technical courses as long as they were doing resits. And maybe even on an A level if they were doing a spilt course. But we have quite poor-performing secondaries in the area (for a variety of reasons) so we can’t be too picky or we’d have no students!

Well, my thread has turned out perfectly. All the usual suspects have come round to the fact that school in June and July would just be childcare, not education. So I've suggested that since it doesn't matter about education in June and July, it also doesn't matter now - the perceived quality of online learning resources is irrelevant, and people should stop having a pop at schools and teachers.

No need to go back to the thread. Thanks for anyone's input on it.

piggy the colleges near us accept kids without their "real" 4. Not for level 3 courses though, they have to do level 2 courses over 2 years, which means they don't then have time to do funded level 3 courses, which the kids didn't realise when they were applying for the college.

How could I move into secondary teaching?

My first degree was civil engineering, I have a masters in an environmental science subject (with some geography post grad units in it). I worked as a civil engineer in waste management for 10 years before doing GTP. I was a deputy head and a senco in my last school, have taken a step back for current job.

What's useful in that lot for secondary?

We do level 2 courses but they’re a devoted year and then we’ll nearly always take them on to level 3 afterwards. I’ve had a few go to uni who came in with the absolute direst of results, which is always pleasing. Not just that, we often manage to turn them from kids who can’t even look you in the eye or have conversations into fully-fledged adults with social skills, friends and everything!

Pfrench, buckets - you could go into secondary Sen very easily too. Also, middle schools?

DS2's school is offering seminars for Y12 and Y13 on Teams on different topics, no idea on the take up. DS2 is Y12 but is busy enough with his regular stuff.

School also also seem to be doing talks on Teams for Y11 including things like apprenticeships. And weekly assembly. Friend's DS in Y11 at another local school has signed up for EPQ and is having rows with his mother because she expects him to be engaging in bridging work and he doesn't want to. Which seems a bit pointless to me.

That's what our kids are expecting gravity, because that's what they do for kids who have 4s in maths and English but not enough other grades to get onto the level 3 courses. BUT, hidden somewhere in the prospectus is a clause that says if you need to resit maths and/or English you will need to spread the level 2 course over 2 years. It's apparently because they need the time to do the English and maths so they can't devote the time to fitting a level 2 course in one year.

Pfrench, we count engineering degrees as maths degrees at my school.

@pfrench - geography and maths! Do a teacher maths refresher course and you are in.