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

Well was allocated my bubble yesterday. It contains 10 children ranging from Yr6-nursery and one UKS2 child whom is violent and throws furniture.
Our policy says the day will be very structured: maths, times tables, reading, English; spag; pshe; humanities; drawing. and all children to remain at desks with personal tray of stationary.

My child with violent tendencies’ trigger is being asked to sit and work as he struggles! This is going to work out well isn’t it? No 1:1 support as child has no funding. If the younger children are lucky enough to dodge the crossfire, it will still be scary for them.

I have this week to plan how to teach “structured” desk based lessons which will include nursery, challenge yr 6 and suitable for everyone in between, my brain hurts thinking about it

I will be with my bubble all day including lunch and breaktimes when we have been asked to remain extra vigilant about SD. I hope by some miracle I suddenly hit the menopause so I don’t have to deal with menstruation whilst I have 10 children attached to my hip!

Feck, just checked my calendar and guess when I’m due on? The 8th! I think I must have been a really shitty person in a previous life.

Only just read my local lower school will not open til 15th. Folowing iSAGE apparently. I wonder if they actually know the local area has a high infection rate and just aren't saying...

A bubble that contains nursery to year 6? That’s madness surely!??

Ihate wtf is the thought process behind that?! Are they KW?

How on earth can you teach that group? Elder ones will have to be independent surely?

Can I ask for your opinions? Probably outing but will name change after. I have a type 1 diabetic child in year 6 who was due back next week. He wanted to go and statistically, despite the diabetes, I figured it was unlikely anything would happen so said yes. School phoned me yesterday to say 'risk assessment says no'. In short, I was told that the one TA who could look out for him was shielding and that after phoning the hospital diabetic team, they were unclear how they might get another staff member trained up. There is a second type 1 child in school in year 1 so I am assuming that the second teacher able to manage the condition is with him. I teach, I know the pressure schools are under, I just accepted it and asked them to keep me up to date because he was keen to go in, even if only for a day or so, before the end of term. In a sweet touch, year 6 teacher phoned my son to explain the situation to him - and said shielding TA was in school and spoke to him also. Said TA's name is also on the list as being a 'bubble lead' for the bubbles that have been created for Year 6.

Now, I don't mind that even though in 3 months time he'll be managing his condition himself in high school and we all know he can manage it himself because I know risk assessment/health and safety etc. I also can cope with the younger child being given preference if a preference has to be given. But my goodness, why lie to me about it? Do I have a complaint here or do I just accept 'difficult times' and move on? My son is fine at the moment and has accepted that it just the way it needs to be but he hasn't twigged the lie. The school is part of a MAT and the SLT member I spoke to has been on leave this year with stress (related to alleged fiddling of SATs but that's another story and difficult to know where the gossip starts and reality ends) so again, in fairness, I don't want to cause problems but I don't see why I should accept the lie rather than whatever the truth of the situation is?

I think I’d email and lay out the two versions you’ve been told and say you have been left confused as to what the real situation is and why you have been given differing accounts? I’d restate that your ds is extremely keen to come into school and you would be grateful if they could check again if it was possible given a trained ta is in school.

Doesn’t have to be shitty or rude. Just politely lay out the facts?

Tbh, I am more concerned about a school that ahs a shielding TA working!
That to me is appalling.

I would want to unravel the truth of the matter but I wouldn't want anyone shielded (or vulnerable) in a school atm.

Morning all. It's lovely to read that many dc who went back yesterday had a nice time and enjoyed themselves. It's strange that some think that means everyone should be back at school. Having a nice time wasn't in doubt so much as whether they might be at risk of getting sick and spreading it around - we hardly know the answer to that after one day.

Hmmm.... I am a touch suspicious of the motives of that 'my kids have had a lovely time' thread ;if you are familiar with the Coronavirus boards, you will recognise some of the user names...

That's not to say that many kids didn't have a nice time. I think we all know how hard teachers have tried to ensure that. We all also know to wait a few days before moaning and bashing begins! At the beginning of lockdown ' my DC has too much work!' posts dominated and look at how that turned!

@Piggywaspushed

Tbh, I am more concerned about a school that ahs a shielding TA working! That to me is appalling.

I would want to unravel the truth of the matter but I wouldn't want anyone shielded (or vulnerable) in a school atm.

Gosh good point! I missed that bit.

I’m off to give blood today. Bit sad that they’re not screening blood donors for antibodies. I’m pretty confident that I’ve had the virus (was really ill and had to sleep propped upright on pillows to get air in-every time I lay down any flatter my chest audibly creaked and crackled and I felt like I wa suffocating) back before we knew it was here and I’d happily donate plasma. Seems a wasted opportunity but apparently we’re a third world country when it comes to testing capabilities.

It would have been so much better to have enough testing before reopening schools. They don’t know how long immunity lasts but a test showing antibodies would have at least given the person confidence they were safe for the summer term.

Hmmm.... I am a touch suspicious of the motives of that 'my kids have had a lovely time' thread ;if you are familiar with the Coronavirus boards, you will recognise some of the user names...

Me too piggy call me negative and cynical if you like. Honey moon period and all that.

I’ve spotted a few thinly veiled digs in that thread RigaBalsam too-the ones focusing on only the teachers that had the right frame of mind and attitude, eh!?

I am sure there are some genuine posters but agree Chloe some posters can't help get the did in.
Only a few weeks until the moaning about our summer holidays start.

Pass me the vodka! I know it's not even 11am but still. Aghhh

Not even going to look at the other threads, to be honest.

We've had plan for the return to work on the 15th, and I can't say I'm especially happy with it, or who is being asked to do what, but I will see how it goes (and how many students actually turn up on the first week).

I was feeling pretty zen about everything, but now I'm feeling more stressed about going back in again.

Apparently because teaching is less stressful than being a banker in the city or a top lawyer we don’t know we’re born.

How much do they get paid again? And how many of them burn out young but have earned enough to get out with paid off mortgages etc.

Must stay off other threads

I think teaching is stressful in a different way to being a banker- there will be times when a student has said something that keeps me up at night because I am so worried about them. I'm sure banking can be/is stressful, but I don't think that's a situation they have to deal with often.

And they can afford to outsource a lot more, which must help!

My secondary has pushed back opening to Y10 and 12 to the 15th. Although nothing yet about changing the rota again so I assume I am in the extra.

My DC's primary have been very helpful with detailing how the new routine is going to work for the children, although I have had to contact them as DD2 has a pencil grip for writing and while the one we have provided is in school, I doubt they will have thought about it for their stationery packs. I've offered to send in a sterilised one and take the one there home. At £3 a pop I can't afford for her to lose one. School provided some initially but they don't stop her crossing her fingers right over each other as they're just the bog standard fatter grips so we offered these ones after trying them out at home.

I think teaching is stressful because whatever you're doing, someone thinks it's wrong. Because you're constantly having to change what you've done. Because you have too many masters. Because if you have your own life, you are constantly putting them second. Because you are often powerless- especially in the face of disruption/apathy/rudeness.

A primary school in Derby has closed when 7 members if staff tested positive! I am assuming these are infections picked up at half term. No children have tested positive. Only one of these staff members had symptoms, it seems.

I think the gov't would ordinarily have only advised the bubble to get a test but it looks a bit like everyone did.

In other news Prof Ferguson says if we have a second spoke it will probably be in September. Marvellous...

Piggywaspushed

On the brightside most of us already have TES accounts.

I will just log out of MN.

Whether I will ever log back in remains to be seen.

Honey moon period and all that.

Yep, of course. Children will have been bloody thrilled to be in school yesterday with their friends. Once/if they start getting asked to do actual work again, it'll change. Also if the weather turns to be honest.

The weather is going to turn on 12th June because that's the day my new garden furniture is arriving. Haha.

Looks like my local primary is doing half days. Saw children in uniform walking home with parents when I was out earlier. Sadly also saw gaggles of pre teen/teenage girls twice. No social distancing amongst them or from the people trying to navigate around them. What parent thinks it’s time to let them out to play?

The press are still saying that we in wales should be bringing forward the summer holidays.
As much as I would welcome an end to the grind of teaching remotely, I don't then fancy a 20 week term starting in August.

We should hear tomorrow about the senedd's plans for us.

How do the summer terms in Scotland work? They start back in August.