The Sixth Republic - Will we or won’t we? That is the question! #solidarity

[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.

Well my HR phonecall strongly suggests that my trust will use the "science" to say it's fine for asthmatics and diabetics to go back. Apparently I'll get extra paper towels in my classroom. That's OK then. Bound to be fine now. And we'll need to clean the room and toilets. Where are the unions? I am NOT cleaning pissy year 6 toilets!!!!

Yes. Kids who engage with thev work.have got lots to do. Presumably private school kids have more invested parents. Or have managed yo guilt their kids into doing more work.

Incidentally, a school in france has had to close again afyer kid tested +'ve.

Buses will be a problem in my area. Year 6 take school buses.

Lots of older students take buses. Many drivers are in vulnerable categories and there aren't loads extra. the buses were all made smaller (not literally!) last year due to budget cuts.

Bus duty after school is hell as it is...

That said, I think my colleagues and I are managing to get some good lessons together that are accessible to all of our families. Our high participation rates suggest the work is engaging and parent feedback during my class calls last week was incredibly positive. “Very happy” and “you’ve nailed it” .
Some of our children are working even better than they were at school.
Of course it’s not perfect. I wish we’d had enough time to plan lessons and give pupils the print outs they need, that would help enormously (only 10% seem to have access to printer).
So this narrative of ‘it’s not enough’ or ‘not good enough’ is really depressing.

Oh phlebas that does sound grim. I wouldn't want to be cleaning year 6 toilets either, gross

We all had emails this morning asking if we are in any vulnerable or extremely vulnerable groups, as things have changed since the head last spoke to us all. He hasn't yet said who he would expect to come in and who would continue working from home (if anyone). I think he's checking who is affected in any way, then will make decisions about who should come in based on what proportions of staff are vulnerable.

Some of our children are working even better than they were at school

This is the Great Unsaid as it does not fit the narrative.

Absolutely true. I've had some truly outstanding work from some surprising kids (in two categories, mostly: the bright but easily distracted and the most weak).

Yes, this Great Unsaid is affecting my classes too. The nice, quiet conscientious kids can get a lot more done without the distractions in the classroom. Also, some of the biggest distractions in my classroom are producing a lot more work because they just don't have an audience to play to, so are just getting their heads down and getting it done (or their parents are making them get their heads down and get it done).
There's just as many kids working really hard and getting loads of work done as there are kids who are not engaging or doing the bare minimum, at least in my classes.

If I were being asked to make a rather sudden shift to live lessons, and no one had trained me to do this or checked I had the right ICT, broadband and a quiet and secure place to broadcast from, I would be phoning my union faster than you could say badger's arse.

It's really hit me today how much I miss being in the classroom with the kids though. I miss knowing how they are, what they've been up to, etc. Just the snippets of their life that they share with you as they come into the classroom or while you're going round helping them. It's the relationships with the kids that I enjoy most about teaching, and I'm not getting any of that right now. The only communications I get are entirely about Maths now, other than a few who are emailing me every thought that pops into their head (I like this, and happily have a chat with them, but these specific kids have been told to limit their emails to 2 per teacher per day )

My children working well are the low ones who need a lot of support to get going. With 50% of my class at below expected, and a TA only from time to time, it’s impossible for me to give them the support they need.
Now they are at home they (fortunately) have a 1 to 1 for an hour a day - mum!

None of the above mistress although we all have school laptops. o other kit though and everything is blocked.

Certainly space , given DH is a teacher, I have a school age DS and one doing uni work allegedly..) is an issue and broadband only reaches three rooms!

Can you imagine what this pandemic would have done to schooling in the 80s ? What would have happened? I find that a fascinating idea.
I guess kids would have had textbooks, mind.

We’d better be wary of telling people about the ‘Great Unsaid’ as the commentary about us will change from ‘Shit but essential’ to ‘Shit and useless’

Well, they d say parenting makes the single biggest difference. I know it is sexist, but a good mum , regardless of levels of educational achievement really, is the single biggest driver of motivation, support and success.

Can I ask the primary teachers - I had been emailing my 2 primary aged kids teachers some photos of the work they have done just once a week. But I stopped emailing as they felt they had to reply and I didn't want to add to their workload as actually we are fine trundling on. Also it felt a bit "showing off"
Would you want to see snippets of work once a week from every one of your class?

Mistress I may use that quote...

Well my HR phonecall strongly suggests that my trust will use the "science" to say it's fine for asthmatics and diabetics to go back. Apparently I'll get extra paper towels in my classroom. That's OK then. Bound to be fine now. And we'll need to clean the room and toilets. Where are the unions? I am NOT cleaning pissy year 6 toilets!!!!

Jesus phleb, really?!

That's definitely something to be wary of Wife
I don't think it's because I'm useless but it's just a fact of life that 30 teenagers in a room will find each other a lot more interesting than me. I'm the same, if I have to do my PPA in the staff room with other staff around I will chat while I work. If I've got a lot to do I need a quiet space away from everybody (I have been known to sit myself in the corner facing a wall with my earphones in if my classroom is unavailable). I used to be pretty conscientious at school but I think I would struggle now to learn with that many people in the room.

That many people and the kinds of behaviour. I’m amazed when I get an eager beaver who can get loads down in class despite eg being sat next to an infamously disruptive child. I don’t think I could have coped if school was like this when I was a kid

phleb if you are an asthmatic/diabetic on the vulnerable list, useless as it is, your HR are ignoring even the DfE guidance. I am in a grey area, but you most definitely are not.

I’m thinking of a particular pair of students. I’m afraid I had to keep them sat together because no one else could cope with said child. I lavished praise on their work and ability to concentrate.

I had a year 8 group another year with about 10 really disruptive kids and so the group was a nightmare to teach and they and their parents knew it. I loved parents evening that year as I managed to get a decent conversation and the chance to properly praise in front of parents the kids who had actually managed to behave and make a decent effort at learning.

Private schools have teachers spinning plates as they need paying customers

This is how I feel today. I'm keeping my Y6 dc off if they go back after half term. There's no way I can do a live registration at 9am, Teach lesson 1 at 9.15am and drop him off for his scheduled time slot. He's happy at home and motivated but I've heard that there are many many dc planning on returning.

I couldn't learn at school nowadays. Completely unsuited to quiet kids who need total silence to learn. I would have loved 100% online / home schooling (or a 1:1 tutor/governess!)

Honeybadger had a more sensible reply than mine, phleb.

I've just seen a post asking for risk assessments for asthmatics who are choosing to go in; many slt leaders replied all theirs were wfh.

I am really concerned around the string of emails we are receiving from our pastoral time. Approximately 30 in the last two weeks saying pupils cannot complete work due to a relative dying or a parent being sick.

We have had similar before of course but not this amount.