The Tenth Republic - what is the new normal?

[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

If you come with a stick to beat us with then please do so elsewhere and not in the staffroom.

I'm noticing more teachers (or people claiming to be teachers) saying they too want to get back to work without any social distancing.

Yes, I’ve noticed this. I think it’s unlikely they are all actually teachers.

I work with someone like this, unfortunately. Although fortunate that I am not in their ‘bubble’ as I would not feel safe at all.

Obviously you will get people of all ages who have a different attitude to risk - or a "it'll never happen to me" approach. But their choices affect everyone. Sometimes at work I will gaily jump up onto a table to put up a poster - that's my choice, it should not be written in anywhere that all teachers should be willing to do this as it contravenes H&S.
There will be teachers breaking lockdown rules, and those who stick rigidly to them. I care for my pupils and want to support them, but I don't love them like I love my own dc who want their mother healthy and alive.

(as without me, who would buy their v-bucks? )

I'm noticing more teachers (or people claiming to be teachers) saying they too want to get back to work without any social distancing.

I wonder if it has anything to do with some of the louder posters about schools going back disappearing.

But then I am a cynic.

Every time I think that I wouldn’t be bothered about going back with no social distancing, I remember my colleagues who would be terrified by the prospect, and the pupils this would exclude. My desires don’t trump their genuine needs.

Yeah, I'm not very concerned about getting it. Rightly or wrongly.

I'm concerned that I live with a person who gets every bug I get about 10x worse and for 10x longer. And who is immune compromised, and who has asthma. And is an overweight 45 year old man.

I'm concerned about the logistics of it. The stress of dealing with it all. The stress of my staff, the stress of some of the kids and associated behaviour. The fact that I know I wasnt coping very well with all that in March.

I'm furious that anyone, politician or otherwise, thinks it's ok for employment law and international pandemic guidance to apply to everyone except my industry.

I'm furious that anyone, politician or otherwise, thinks it's ok for employment law and international pandemic guidance to apply to everyone except my industry.

Exactly-why does every other worker get some sort of protection?! I haven’t heard any union comments about this yet-wonder what they’ll have to say.

Daily Mail is frothing this morning saying ‘Teachers will be asked to give up some of their summer holidays’. They can get to fuck if they want me to do that.

My HT stood RIGHT BEHIND me when I was in last week, sorting out things for our return. When my cautious year group colleague said to the head '2m!' the reply was 'Oh I don't. I don't believe in it. And I'm sick of seeing masks.'

Joy. We're setting up all the stickers and arrows and tables at the right distances. But at the bottom of it, the headteacher doesn't believe that social distancing should be a thing and finds it hard to remember to do it.

Does anyone else wonder whether the demand to send all kids back to school with no distancing in Sept, when other work places are expected to have SD in place, (even if and when that reduces to 1m) will end in teacher strikes?

I hope so. I'm raging today... need to go for a run.

Popped over to the Daily Mail to see that apparently it was the unions who forced the government into a humiliating climb down over reopening primaries to all kids before the summer, rather than it being the government’s own requirements for bubbles of 15 that meant this couldn’t happen.

Also, teachers could be forced to give up their summer holidays (no you can’t, not without paying us) and an army of retired supply teachers will be drafted in (has anyone asked them?).

If the government was deliberately setting itself up for a fall this would make sense. But then why would they do that? They can’t really be that hopelessly incompetent.....can they?

As I posted before the slightly more credible, but nearly as right wing ST also says this about summer holidays. No smoke...

I have already seen some tweets form some MAT CEOs planning to open at weekends , after school, before school, and in the summer. Obviously, if I earned £350k to never go anywhere near an actual classroom , I'd not see the issue either.

I guess they’ll say that schools opened over Easter for keyworkers so why not the summer?

Except at my school you got paid if you went in.

It's worth reading the plans for NI :

www.education-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/education/Northern%20Ireland%20Re-Opening%20Schools%20Guidance%20-%20New%20School%20Day.pdf
I assume we will copy these in England.

Wales tried to take a week of the summer holidays away from teachers and that doesn’t seem to have worked.

That’s interesting, piggy. It doesn’t mention specific bubble sizes, just 1m between children.

It will be interesting to see what they decide in England about the CV and CEV. We have all staff back in now who can be. We could scrap any sort of SD and have 30 to each teacher that’s back, but that is nowhere near the whole school. We can’t afford to replace the CEV/CV and we need a teacher in each classroom to teach each class-what will happen?

I don’t see why under employment law-we would be entitled to NO form of protection other than washing hands. Have any other jobs been told this is the only thing they would have in place?

We can’t afford to replace the CEV/CV

And they will be needed to set work for the vulnerable kids who can’t come in or whose parents won’t send them in.

But it’s ok...army of retired supply teachers to the rescue! (Presumably working for free because all the extra money has been spent on non-qualified tutors).

The whole NI document is so much more clearly written than anything I have seen from the DfE. It's very clear on CV teachers, I thought.

Note all the refs to blended learning for oldest students.

The big black hole in their guidance is our equivalent to years 10 and 11.

How do you think we should do it? I mean, I know this was asked on the health board but they dont come here, so... ideas?

One thing that just struck me about NI is that they have a grammar school system. This might make it much easier to have bubbles as the kids are broadly similar ability and broadly doing the same subjects? The guidance says bubbles up to and including Y10, but that can’t possibly work once kids take their options here.

I think we should go for all kids on a rota in Sept, with teachers having 2 bubbles of 15, but actually obviously a bubble of 30.

Proper data kept on all illness stuff during that time - might involve testing regularly to see for asymptomatic stuff too. No rises in anything by end Sept, then start mixing bubbles more - streaming, intervention groups etc. Another 2 weeks. Then if nothing of note happens, we aim for everyone back after half term. Including vulnerable kids and adults. Shielding kids and adults are a different matter, and it possibly needs to be looked at nationally. Buddy them up, proper online tutoring with zoom stuff like online school. Give those families the tech to be able to do it.

This is what furlough can be used for - part time childcare for a month.

If cases can be linked to school transmission, then the whole thing needs a rethink, but if not, then that's a tick in the box.

It means that September doesnt really work for learning, but socially and mentally things are better. It does mean that even if there are second wave issues, that we know schools are ok and providing staffing is there (cos staff are going to get it from other places, or schools anyway), they can stay open.

Year 10 in NI is our year 9 noble.

Shielding staff are actually a good solution for shielding children as they can provide the online tutoring (I'd actually really like to do that)

The sticking point is finding someone non shielding to replace them in school as it's more money....

Ohthegoats Ive seen the plans for my school and on the busiest day (many are not busy) I will teach over 100 students in that day.