The Eight Republic - half term over - primaries under pressure- 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.

If you are fed up with cakes and biscuits there is now a cheeseboard on offer

My school is opening further today.

September is going to be awful if it's not back to all children in. If the second wave thing happens as NHS expects in October/November with the flu season, then I expect schools will be in and out again (localised or individualised). It's going to be really disruptive.

New hobby is writing to MPs

My last MP knew me because I wrote to him so much. Nowt wrong with that.

Busy time for them having to write letters in between homeschooling their 4 children for 6 hours a day, and being an ICU consultant working 35 hours/day shifts.

God that Nihil person. They must ignore their kids they seem to be just waiting for people to post anti teacher stuff so they can jump on. I read her post and knew it was her before I checked the name

Well, I've just been informed that I'm putting up too much work (by a parent). And 'can we have more worksheets' from another. Haaaaa. Can't win.

I try really hard to make the lessons as inclusive as possible - in class I'd expect everyone in my year groups to be able to do the work they are being set. Obviously with support. But then I'm putting extension stuff on to every lesson too. With other links to resources and so on.

I think if I'd had an older child with this going on, I'd have tried to get a project going. I spent the last day in school with my class in the ICT room showing them how to use BBC bitesize properly, how to use search engines properly and so on, then gave them an exercise book (in addition to paper packs), and said 'do a project on something you are interested in'.

Saw a lovely thing on Springwatch where a dad had his kids try to increase the amount of wildlife in the garden by doing various projects like making small ponds or something. Was good.

I know people didn't have time, or gardens, but you know... it's also fine to write an instruction manual on how to play minecraft or whatever.

I'm in my mid 40s, but back in the day of primary school for me, it was all about the project. Reading, writing, drawing, making maps... lovely stuff. When I was off work last year I had an exercise book going all about the implications of no deal Brexit (I know!), and it turned into a little project book with mindmaps and diagrams.

Geek.

I've just had 30 pieces of work scanned in and emailed to me by an admin person at school. All dropped off by parents for marking. None with names on.

Hmmm.... Not sure what I'm supposed to do about getting back to them. Maybe I'll just wait for a thread to start up about non-marked work and assume it's about me

Around half my class have sent in (by which I mean emailed) work for me to look at. They have been advised to bring it all back if/when they return. By my rough calculation, that will be many thousands of pieces of work, all at once in a pile of un-labelled scruffy bits and bobs in random un-dated order. What on earth would be the point of marking that? How is it going to "move them on?"

Yeah, that's what we've said.

I've had a good third of each class send typed or scanned work weekly. They've been told to hang on to it until return, too, if they can't email... Some others have started dropping it off at school... But names on each piece would be nice!

I just had my first live lesson : as predict the quite ones were quiet and might as well not have been there. The normally noisy ones dominated the chat function. How are all these live lessons serving our most quiet students?

How are all these live lessons serving our most quiet students?

Been doing it for half a term now. Disable the chat function until such a time as they are willing to tell you that they can use it properly. I have found 'send me an emoji of how you think I'm feeling today and I'll pick the nearest one' competition gets rid of silliness at the outset whilst allowing silliness.

You can still pick on students in the same way you would in a class. Ask 'X, what do you think? and expect an answer in the chat function (if not still disabled!). All the 'hold up your whiteboard' stuff can still be done with chat - just tell them to write their answer in chat but not send it until you signal them to do so.

I also think quiet students are getting the opportunity to listen to their lessons in absolute peace. Something that doesn't always happen in school.

There is a course on FutureLearn about teaching online. I found it very useful.

I've managed just one of my three 1:1 live sessions today due to technology issues. I spent most of my morning trying to figure out the problems and get it working. Fortunately, one of the families can try again this afternoon and I did get it working for one. But it's so stressful! So blows raspberry to any parents who think I'm not working as hard as I usually do!

Going to avoid those education threads. Hopefully.

It gets easier, @Sallylovescheese. I am at the point where I will be resentful when I have to go further than my kitchen in my pjs to do a full day's work!

Our quietest and even some of our louder boys - who are actually engaging - are doing much better work from home, just off worksheets/recorded lessons.

We've been told to keep dd2's work organised so she can take it with her when she's back at school. She's not going to bother, as I know there's no point. I've marked it already, and email each week to let them know how she's done.

I'm getting at least 3/4 of each class emailing every lesson, which is pretty good. I won't be marking things that are dropped off at school with no name, although we haven't had that yet. I suspect the kids with no email access are also the ones who aren't being supported in their learning for whatever reason. There are 3 villages without internet access today as someone set fire to the cables over the weekend. So I don't know how they are supposed to do any work now, as none of them are on the list to have paper copies posted home.

I went on MN yesterday and hid 4 threads without even bothering to open them. That felt cathartic! Went in to look after KW children on Friday afternoon. It's lovely to hear them chat and stuff, but social distancing is difficult. They stay in their bubbles, but can't help wandering to each others' desks. Spraying down desks after they eat their lunch and spraying equipment after it's used.

Annoyed today as it's an unpaid day, so I've been helping the dc with their work, and had a shedload of housework/errands to get on with. I know I shouldn't look at my work, but have answered a dozen emails and had to chase for overdue work too. I've also got some marking that I didn't manage over the weekend, which needs to be returned tomorrow.

Last week the parents received an email saying that we would be trialling video enabling on Teams this week with a couple of lessons. I don't think the teachers have been informed that this is happening at all!

DC were given a large exercise book for their work on the last day in school, but we've recently switched to paper and hole punching it into project covers. The teachers are sending out worksheets for them so it's a lot easier than sticking them in the book which makes it harder for one of mine to write on the back of that page. I just print off the weeks activities and put that in then the work on top of it. Has the advantage that I can tick off the work as they do it so we know where they are up to.

DD1 submits all her work online and has been taking photos of any hard copies she has worked on - art pieces for example. She's putting them in a folder too but considering the row I have just had with her over her work, I'm not worrying about keeping any of it. She has only had feedback from one teacher and that's that the work is good. What I am struggling with right now is I know she is a very capable student, but she is making basic errors in her work - one word answers where I would expect to see full sentences, using where instead of were or vice versa. Missing capital letters. Things which I now assume aren't being corrected in class normally if they are not being corrected during this period.

DD1 has just screamed at me about it when I suggested I look over her work before she submits it, that I don't like her, that I spend all my time with the younger 3 and so on. I'm sure it's just pre-teen angst (she's 12) but it hurt as I used to feel that my parents gave all their attention to my sister so I try hard to balance what I give everyone.

Thanks, Lost. I have to say, the fact I was wearing slippers helped somewhat! But at least two done today. I'm at school tomorrow, but just in my office.

I've realised today that the way the world is right now is starting to feel normal. Which frightens me somewhat.

Anyone primaries back in and struggling?

It all feel clinical, they're not getting much time outside and I'm having to tell them to stay apart so much it feels like I'm nagging. Plus all LSAs are in whether in a bubble or not and there is nothing to do.

Hello all! I know you will all understand this:

scrolling through my local FB community group right now and yet another parent complaining that a particular secondary school of theirs has provided nothing in past 12 weeks and lo and behold, parents from each year group coming on saying the opposite (kid is in Year 8) and that all work is in a few easy clicks on school website, links to video lessons on GC and work set for each year group (lots of parents posted screen shots of the website) and even saying there was too much work in fact, plus getting regular phone calls home.
Of course it turns out parent (or child?) has never checked school website and changed phone number without telling the school but has waited 12 weeks to moan on FB Mumsnetter perhaps?

It’s why I increasingly don’t believe many posters on this site who claim zero work/contact....

I am teaching year 6 bubble and it is going quite well. What I am not enjoying is the amount of crap all over mumsnet at the moment. There is now a new thread moaning that schools are not doing enough to look after the well being and mental health of those at home with their parents and apparently it would be nice to get more phone calls from teachers to chat about how they are doing! I have literally had 30 mins to myself today. The rest of it I have been supervising or working with my class. I honestly despair. I now understand why so many people have given up with all those threads. I am fed up now and will no longer post on any of those threads.

Interestingly, I picked up a Computer Science teaching mag (called ‘Hello World’) at school today and a very interesting article interviewing Katharine Birbalsingh from Michaela Community School and she said some very interesting things about live video lessons.

I’ve taken screen shots (hope you can read them!) but upshot is, even with her strict discipline and rules, she doesn’t think live lessons even work effectively in her school but also, comments on a lot of the current hyperbole over ‘catastrophic everlasting problems’ of all pupils not being physically in school currently.

I normally don’t fully agree with her (and I have met her!) but I read her comments appreciatively!

That's interesting ChloeDecker, thanks for posting.
In so many of these threads it seems like posters are focusing on how much teaching they can see, rather than how much learning is happening.

Ha, good article. It's interesting, because I sat in training last Friday on Teams and didn't look at the screens once - I just carried on with making my lesson powerpoints.

Also, I like her point about 'it wasn't all great before, this isn't much of a disaster'. I'd say that's true - the kids who are getting supported at home are going to do alright whatever, the kids who aren't - well, it's 50/50 isn't it. They might engage with lessons, they might learn it enough to be tested on it, they might get some extra booster PP lessons, but fundamentally they and the people around them don't value education, and that's that.

Thanks Chloe that is a good article.

Went back to school today for the first time since 17th March.

I found it creepy and weird. Hand sanitiser,One way systems etc.They have removed desks from my classroom. It has never been so clean. The key worker provision looked grim sat in silence on computers most of the day. Only about six kids in.
I am back next week to do my consultations next week. Interesting that 40 percent have said no to returning in our year 10.

First time in school for me today to find out about plans for opening up to year 10 and 12. Plans in place seem good so that's a relief. No more than 10 pupils in the year 10 classes.

Have any of you been asked to write reports for this term and, if so, how different will they look from usual?