The Fifth Republic - safe space? Solidarity Comrades!

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

You are most welcome to this school staff support thread to get us through stressful times. It is meant for school staff. 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.

In the other staffroom, there is rhubarb & ginger gin, along with tea and coffee.

Can we watch??

Would love to be a fly on the wall.

@worstofbothworlds - I’m thinking of the room I do language lessons in at my local university, I appreciate they may be letting us loose on the nicer rooms as outside customers!

I know I know, I shouldn’t touch SM with a barge pole but was looking a the comments and they were mostly pretty sensible and weren’t fooled by the article but I think I did stumble across our friendly TB poster!

SM? DM -sorry!

phlebas -
Almost all of the kids in at my school are there because their parents can't cope with them or because they are under social services. The only keyworkers children are supermarket or carers children. Coping with the behaviour is awful.

Have you seen the comedic guidance around updating your behaviour policy to reflect the new rules!

*Ahead of opening for more pupils, schools will need to update their behaviour policy to reflect the new rules and routines, and communicate these changes to staff, pupils and parents.

Think about if and how your school rules need to change. There are some example new school rules given in annex a which you could adopt or adapt. Any revised rules will need to be referenced in the revised behaviour policy with sanctions.

Consider how the new rules and routines will be communicated to pupils and parents/carers. Best practice suggests this includes:

proactively teaching new rules to staff, pupils and parents

regularly and rigorously reinforcing behaviour throughout every day

consistently imposing sanctions when rules are broken, in line with the policy, as well as positively reinforcing well-executed rules through encouragement and rewards*

I particularly like the part about imposing sanctions! Maybe we can just FTE every child that isn't completely docile

Love the comments in don't pay them. They fail to realise this would not be the big saving they expect.

35 school days left after half term give or take. We aren't paid over summer so we have essentially done 83 percent of the year. They fail to realise this.

Checking in . Lots of sensible and valid questions on the minister's webchat today. I wonder if she will answer any of them directly or fudge and talk around the issue in the way we've come to know, whenever it comes to MN webchats.

I've just had a lesson with my Year 7s and they have honestly been a joy to teach so far. They deserve this half term break (as do we!).

Those behaviour "guidelines" are laughable.

I must remember to proactively explain the new rules to my spitter and biter. While he calls me a c* again. I really want the unions to push for those children to stay home, or for exclusion to be easier. During the last week of school, he had to be handled out of the classroom twice and spat at and kicked 4 children. As I am year 6, and he's my size, "handling" can be an issue and usually takes 2 of us. Or we have to evacuate the room if he won't come out. All things that should not happen now. But probably will because he's in every bloody day normally and at the moment although thankfully i'm not in at the moment. Others are though, and I will be come June.

I have 4 children with risk assessments and risk reduction plans and I do NOT want any of them in.

phlebas - don't be so defeatist! Surely if you consistently impose sanctions then the behaviour will just stop!

If i were a head at this point i would be wielding my exclusions stick with much gusto!

phleb #solidarity. Even though we are an sen school we have many pupils who can be like that when unsettled and it can still take most of the class team to cope with them.

I love how the mail are desperate to.send kids back.into an.environment staffed by militant lefties. But aren't they scared we'll promote our liberal agenda amongst innocent kids?

Btw, I take it we've all seen The Poke on today's headline?

And....2 days of no.biting on.threads. star of the week over here please

Hi all. Just caught up after an mn break. I have a really sore, tight feeling throat and pain swallowing. Took paracetamol without thinking so have to wait for it to wear off to get a true temperature reading.

Our school has sent out a letter saying that they were waiting on more guidance on year 10 and 12 to have some form of contact this school year but it was highly unlikely that years 7,8,9 would be in school at all before the end of term.

Feeling a bit nervous about requesting moving to my specialty subject as maybe that could be accidentally inviting being made redundant if they only teach core subjects next year? Thoughts? It seems unlikely as they have no means of recruiting enough core subject teachers so presumably everyone will get used in some fashion but?

Happy Friday everyone.

Ps Alan Moore is local to me and godlike in some of my male old friends eyes

Just seen this on FB. Is it true-about teacher exposure level compared to other jobs?!

James O'Brien on LBC is brilliant. All callers supportive of staff over the demonisation of schools/unions in the media

When I looked it said secondary teachers are almost never exposed to infectious diseases. Bit sceptical about that myself. They also seemed to think we only come to arms reach proximity to others

I can have kids huddled all round me whilst I try to make prehistoric equipment work for them

James O'Brien on LBC is brilliant. All callers supportive of staff over the demonisation of schools/unions in the media

I love him

I can have kids huddled all round me whilst I try to make prehistoric equipment work for them

I saw that. Lies. They stand so close and breathe right on you.

@TheHoneyBadger - been feeling ropey for the last few days. My sister encouraged me to get a test but I felt it wouldn’t be fair to book one considering I’m secondary and haven’t been needed in school for the hubs. Anyway, went and had a look and there were so many slots available I thought I might as well. (Even just so husband can get out and have a run again if I’m negative.) So I’m booked in for 2pm. Shitting it a bit now.

Take care of yourself Honey.

Phleb we are in similar schools and I completely agree with exclusions having to be used far more frequently. Our hub is awful.

And Murray

I don’t drive Murray. Good luck with yours.

I’m mystified because I haven’t been ‘in’ anywhere except the chemist for over a week to catch anything. I suspect I had coronavirus in January but obviously even it it was we’ve not had clear answers on what if any immunity is gained.

I’m avidly awaiting reliable antibody tests emerging here. There was much talk of how essential they’d be yet now they never get a mention

I am now engaged in CAG wars with SLT who do not seem to understand that exam boards do not scrutinise each individual child's result but look and see whether a pattern of results make sense.

My SLT seem to think they get some kind of award for not having anyy grades altered by exam boards so are merrily deflating them in advance.

That FB post is not very fair on hairdressers, though as it is based on old assumptions and the full BBC article picks them out (and taxi drivers) as being at a unique new risk because of extended 1:1 contact.

Cat for you!