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

Here's a nice article about Israeli schools. By which I mean, here's an article about school transmissions and closures in Israel. Even though it's the Torygraph you can see enough to get to the bit about 900 schools being closed.

[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/06/06/schools-outbreak-jeopardises-israels-emergence-strict-lockdown/]

Ffs cant link.

It's in the FT too.

www.ft.com/content/224fa625-657c-4ffb-a6a0-a40e04d685b9

DD has heard what is going to be provided for her year 10 classes.

2 slots a week. Mon and Fri mornings for 3 hours at a time - no mention of breaks. Always the same group of kids and same teacher. They will aim to cover maths, english and science on a rolling programme and will be doing what the kids who are staying home are set. The idea is that they have someone to ask if they need it. DD told me that she doesn't need to ask for help so that would be useless!

As I've mentioned on another thread, we had huge drama with DD going missing Fri night after an argument (about something on the news!) and it took the police 4 hours to find her - 5 miles away at 2am.

It brought to light that she is struggling with anxiety that's coming out as anger and frustration. So the decision is that we are not sending her back to school. She is accessing support from the school councillor - yay that they have one - and the gp in the meantime. She seemed to be doing so well up until now.

I'm worried about Sep. If kids are all in but part time. What will happen to my child who will have to be in full time if I am. My dh is a teacher too. I worry that he could be separated from his friends and put in a mixed year group KW bubble. If that happened he would be thoroughly miserable and get a worse standard of education than the rest of his year group.

Time for a lottery ticket I think.

I reported to SLT about the child in my bubble who had told me that his family hadn't been observing social distancing outside school. No reply or acknowledgment.

Oh my! Just dove in to the What people want the gov to do about opening schools and am gobsmacked at the 'tell all the at risk and shielding people to get back to work' - as if they are slacking rather than being told by the government to take care.

I await the gov advice for Wales tomorrow. I posed a question, that was answered on the NAHT cymru question and answer session with the Minister for Eductation. I wanted to know whether there would be clear advice for those who are at risk as well as shielding in the guidance as the at risk people seem to be a bit of a grey area and our HR dept is actively pushing them to be at work and on the rota.

She answered intially about the shielding people, which disappointed me as it's the same mistake that heads are making. BUT they then directed her back to that question at the end and she said it was now clear that it was an issue that needed to be clearly put into the guidance.

I await to see if it has been. And what on earth we have to do to get the kids back. And to find out whether all our current planning has to be thrown out ( a la England) and starting again.

@StaffAssociationRepresentative - you're right about needing wraparound care. I really need breakfast club and an after school club right now to make my life easier for work, although DH has agreed to go in late where he can so he takes the children to school instead of me. My school are being very accommodating for me, but how long do I expect that to last?

Well our back to work has been interesting this week. The covid19 policy drawn up by SLT looks very different from reality.

By “Clearly marked bubble areas on the playground.” Read Staff used discretion as to where you let your bubble go.

By “At drop off and collection times all SLT in high-vis jackets ensuring parents and children adhere to the 2m distancing rules and don’t bring in items from home.” Read Not a high-vis in sight, all SLT but one stood together having a chat, nearly all children bringing in bags which they were told not to.

By “All staff have access to gloves, face masks, aprons and visors which they can wear at their discretion. These items must be worn during personal care and first aid.”
Read Staff belittled when asked the whereabouts of PPE. Informed PPE is only for first aid, there are no visors, and masks should only be worn if a child is bleading significantly. Not for a graze!

By “bubbles will remain fixed with siblings housed within the same group.” Read Siblings can be spread over different bubbles. Children will be added to/removed from your bubble as and when numbers require us to do so. Tables are measured at 2m intervals but we can get around this by sitting siblings together at the same table to squish a few extra bodies in. Again staff will be belittled if they challenge SLT on this matter.

Glad I work at such a suportive school! So glad my safety and the safety of my family is of such importance to them.

That sounds terrible, IHate. Yet another policy written for the sake of it then disregarded by SLT. I've known a few of those.

Jesus ihate!

Surely parents would also be very concerned?

Piggy I hope you appreciate some of the differences I was attempting to point out on the numbers thread re G.

Neuro I would hope a couple (at least) would complain. Given the opinions on threads here though I have a feeling that the number 1 priority is children in school. Unfortunately, safety is an afterthought.

The numbers thread is a clique now and is attracting corona deniers, I liked the original OP. But , yes, good effort!

ihate, sadly ,I feel your pain. I have the secondary version of this SLT.

madeline the NASUWT noted a change for vulnerable people in the DfE guidance. Where it initially says WFH it now says where possible. They realised how many teachers this is. And sod the ones who live with them, who are no longer mentioned at all.

As NAS pointed out where possible is very open to interpretation.

Correction : school staff, not just teachers.

I want to know why the pubs aren’t open? Lazy pub owners, they could easily just put tables outside and a bucket for people to wee in. It’s clear that pub staff are just lazy and don’t want to open, they’d rather sit at home on furlough.

IHate, it's an own goal though too. Being lax around transmission risk is going to cause havoc and result in spikes, resulting in closures or more people being quarantined for 2 weeks. Staff.

The who have just announced that it's just as you start to feel unwell that the greatest transmission happens.

Yes piggy, it's a clique.

This comparison with Germany is erroneous. Too many differences.

@FlamingoAndJohn

I want to know why the pubs aren’t open? Lazy pub owners, they could easily just put tables outside and a bucket for people to wee in. It’s clear that pub staff are just lazy and don’t want to open, they’d rather sit at home on furlough.

Please for the love of Geoff start this thread!

Unless the govt are radical and change the entire education system for the better.

I can't believe we have the highest class sizes and lowest teacher ratios in Europe, and almost in the world!

Lux has an average class size of 15 at primary level!

I loved your map!

But, also, that is a monomania on that OP. She admits that everything is different and does at least focus on education, not childcare but seems unable to acknowledge that the driving force here is childcare (no matter what people say) ergo full time return is called for.

That's why I pointed out the monumental mindset change that has to happen! I hadn't realised how much parents were seeing school like this till now.

Wow, there are some very angry people around out there on the threads this morning.

The trouble is, there's a window of 7 years where it is childcare, or at least makes childcare easier. I know a lot of people who work a few hours or opposite shifts to their dhs. We had nursery and cm until school, then.school, cm and after school club. We've been.lucky cos I've been off so far. But when I'm back on 22nd, we are really going to struggle. And in.September if I'm in.every day and my kids aren't, and if my cm isn't allowed to.take over 5s, we're screwed. Do I ask to go part time? Does dh? Although it's looking v iffy in.his place (4 wheeled machines), so he may not even have a job.

I'm stressed. Waiting to hear if we have a place in a hub, but I know.some hubs are closing when.schools are taking more kids. Have my mp and am ready to email if we're denied.

Listening to LBC the last two callers have slated teachers and Nick Ferrari is useless.

Why do they think we have so much power! Ugh