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.

Checking in to the staff room. Feeling stressed at the constant voices of "get them back to school". I have a child in primary, one in secondary and teach secondary myself. The childcare stress of me returning before them is enough to keep me up at night.

I’m primary, and we’ve just been told by our head that all corridor working spaces (I think we have about 12 plus 5 for reading volunteers) have to be cleared ASAP. Unless he can magic up some extra classrooms that is all of our 1:1 space gone. Of course perhaps he can!

I can't see it being more that letting a few more key workers and pupils with Sen in in most schools. My school are moving from a 3 week rota to a two week rota over the next couple of weeks as a few more come in. (All sen though.)

The point on women's hour today was made that we need to establish why pupils are going back. Which ones and why. If it's for economic childcare reasons that's different to vulnerable pupils and different again to key year groups. Who has priority? And the impact on staff was highlighted greatly. I think a tweet was read out about teachers being "one big experiment" as no ppe and pupils can't SD.

I've been on the radio a few things, but I'm not a face made for telly!

If it's for economic childcare reasons that's different to vulnerable pupils and different again to key year groups.

Good point. If it's for economic reasons, then is it just childcare? And would we have to keep providing it over the summer holidays. Everyone seems to be forgetting that it's only 7 weeks of school, then we're off anyway. What is the 'economy' going to do for childcare then?

And if half of the childcare we need to provide is for teachers with children going back to work, then that's a bit mad!

Get back to normal in the HoC, take those risks yourselves, then ask us to go and do the same.

we need to establish why pupils are going back.

This is what is baffling me. If it’s with caps on class sizes and rotas then it won’t be a good education, good for mental health or good for getting parents back to work. I’d love to hear from some teachers in Denmark about what exactly they think they are achieving.

If it’s all-in, well, that’s good for education and working parents, but screwed for health. If Denmark’s R rose with all the stuff they’ve put in place then what effect would a full opening have?

Scotlands impact on NHS graph is primaries only.

Me too, cat but my general knowledge on a quiz show isn't quite the same as Ms Birbalsingh

we need to establish why pupils are going back

I wish someone would ask that question at the briefing.

Options for allowing pupils to return to school
We are considering a phased approach to returning pupils to school, when it is safe to do so. We do not consider it likely that schools will reopen fully in the foreseeable future. Indeed, we are not yet certain that they can re-open at all in the near future.
The Education Recovery Group (ERG) has been established, chaired by the Deputy First Minister. The ERG brings together the Scottish Government with our Local Government partners and key stakeholders including teacher unions and parent representatives. The first main task for the group is to model what a phased approach to school re-opening will look like. The ERG has been asked to consider the ‘what ’and ‘how ’of phased re-opening, but not the ‘when ’as this will be a Ministerial decision guided by the evidence on progress in suppressing the virus. Ten workstreams have been established with partners (reporting to the ERG) to consider the wide range of policy, practical and operational issues related to re- opening schools.
Subject to that work the options we are examining for return to school are:
i. Developing a chronological list of priority groups who would return to school in an agreed order (for example vulnerable pupils and pupils who are in transition, e.g. from P7 to S1 or those about to commence national qualification courses in S3-6).
ii. Modelling a new approach to schooling for the foreseeable future. To enable ongoing physical distancing, most pupils are likely to have a blend of in-school and in-home learning. This would include attending school part-time in blocks of a few days or even a week at a time, to enable deep cleaning of schools between groups. Learning at home will be supported by consistent, high- quality online materials which will be developed to support the curriculum.

A lot of people I.know pretend to.worry about the education, but don't think twice normally about taking term time holidays or keeping kids of for fairly spurious reasons. I don't think they've actually though about what l I f ed will be like for their kids. It's not about their education;it's cos they're sick of ha v I ng to look.after them cos gparents are out of action.

The relief of finding sane people! Thanks @GravityFalls for pointing me over here. Don't worry, I have my own mug and a spare collapsible one in my backpack.

And this I know it's a red top. ( hides behind the toffee vodka)

www.mirror.co.uk/science/coronavirus-least-15-more-children-21977053

A lot of people I.know pretend to.worry about the education, but don't think twice normally about taking term time holidays or keeping kids of for fairly spurious reasons.

Just saw on another thread, a poster moaning about kids not going back, but then also moaning about holidays not happening this year. They have a holiday booked for September that they've saved up for and the kids will be gutted to miss. Erm....

(I'm not against kids going on holiday in term time, if I wasn't a teacher we'd do it every year to go skiing.)

Dd (year 12) just had a call from her tutor. Asked how she was, was there enough work, etc.
If that was you, she totally lied about the long walks. She is doing the work though.

Oooh I’ve been phoning Y12. They all say they’re going out for long walks.

In my village they are going out for 'long walks' by going for short walks into nearby fields and sitting around with their mates for an hour or so. I see them on my walks/runs. I don't dob them in, it must be shit being a teenager right now.

I have called my year 10s all said they are loving it so far.

Long walks to accidentally bump into other yr 12s going got long walks

X post French I would feel.like my youth had been.stolen, if I were a teenager right now. I would be (more) unbearable, waft about the house being a pita and cry endlessly about how shit my life is. I would also do all I could to.make everyone else feel.as miserable as me and probably spend a lot of time drawing portraits of rock stars and writing stories in.the style of Stephen King and Clive Barker. Wonder if my parents are realising how lucky they are that this difnt happen.when i was 16.

Asuitable cat - this is my dd right now. Today she got halfway through making cookies before giving up and weeping because what's the point of even making cookies. Now she is in her room/tomb reading misery core books and listening to gloomy music and probably drawing more sad girls on her wall. I can't check though because as soon as she hears anyone in the corridor she shouts "Leave me alone mum" as a warning.

On the other hand ds is loving it. He's a joy to have around and it turns out school makes him an arse.

I had a staff meeting today and ominously there is talk of measuring rooms.

Our hysterical teachers' unions refuse to put pupils first over coronavirus
ROSS CLARK

Who is this guy? What a weapon!

My year 12s would have to go on VERY long walks to meet up with their friends. Most of them live on farms or in villages where they are the only year 12 living there. They'd have to walk a good couple of miles to get close enough to meet their mates!

Afternoon folks. Checking in after a stressful day at work with kids emailing constantly with IT issues that they SHOULD have realised on, ooh March 23rd if they'd actually bothered do anything once we broke up.

7 weeks in and they are just thinking they will do something. (Mainly because I emailed all on Friday to say no work uploaded by beginning of this week and I would be contacting parents to see what the issue was)