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.

We’re not going to have any heads left. The way the DfE and government has treated them is despicable.

I made the mistake of reading some of the comments on the DM article suggesting teachers give up their holidays. Most of them are vile, but some of them took my breath away. Some people appear to just despise teachers-why?!

We’re not going to have any heads left. The way the DfE and government has treated them is despicable.

Against my better judgement I read the Daily Fail article.

Back in August to prepare? Surely most of this can be done remotely? I'm resigned to the fact that unless we're back in as normal in Sep, we'll have to do a massive amount of preparation over the summer, but it's one thing doing this flexibly from the comfort of my own sofa and quite another being dragged into school to do it.

@Appuskidu

I made the mistake of reading some of the comments on the DM article suggesting teachers give up their holidays. Most of them are vile, but some of them took my breath away. Some people appear to just despise teachers-why?!

Appu, never read DF comments, every time I have I've lost my faith in humanity!

I know my LEA / HR were vehemently against staff working in the hols the last I heard.

There's often play schemes for pupils with Sen that are funded separately that a few bonkers teachers and TAs do; they get additional pay. Not usually the staff with kids though.

The holiday sports clubs my son has been to and the play schemes don't seem to need to slt in though; it's run through the caretaker opening and cleaning the relevant parts of the school.

It would be fine if these were externally run, but obviously would be child care and fun stuff, not catching up.

I don't think that hugely matters though. Children getting used to attending a learning environment and having fun is part of the problem to solve.

Our caretaker has been every day as well-all through the holidays, too. He’s got no assistant-he is definitely going to need a break.

Othegoats, I'm sorry to hear about your pupils near the reading incident. :(

I think your suggestions for sept are sensible.

Oh definitely Appu. We do have a big team, and a business manager who also opens the building.

Small schools couldn't do it easily.

Some of our local Primary schools can’t afford a caretaker/premises manager so I assume HT/teachers will have to be in during the holidays if adjustments to the classrooms etc are required

Has anyone done the Teacher Tapp for today?

Again misleading for part timers-you have to tick which days you were in school last week, but there was no option to say if those were your normal working days or not.

Appu also misleading for SLT. I’ve worked 60+ hours but very few of these supporting home learning as I don’t have a class of my own.

Yes, me too!

Teacher tapp hasn't given me the answers I need over the last few weeks.

I'm not supposed to be working today, but can't focus on anything else because im5thinking about next term. Don't want to plan things twice, so trying to work out whether I can have everything planned for 2 stage learning- ie, formulaic but.. input skill/key knowledge, short quiz/practice skill in first part, main task as second part - which could be done remotely or in school. This isn't my maths thinking, but everything else. Foundation subjects through reading comprehension for awhile too. Well chosen reading comp. texts.

Teacher Tapp does know if we are part time , I thin so should factor that in but it is worth contacting Laura McInerney to point this out.

I am not a martyr. I picked the 20 hours worked. Yes, it's less than normal : so what? I actually don't believe any profession marooned at home is working as many hours on average as when at work , mainly due to no meetings, no parents' evenings etc etc in my case. I also don't have things like a tutor groups and am not starting work at 7.30 am.

I had a stupid week last week. Shit loads of lesson videos and reports. Only worked 2 hrs on Friday though to make up for it.

I can’t see how any of the guidance works at all for post-16 setting. Bubbling/streaming/setting is impossible. My classes are generally very full - I’ve had 26 in a room with 25 computers before - and of course they’re all over 16 which although still in the low risk category, is not “children”. From my two days in college I can already see they don’t social distance in the slightest outside class (though are happy enough to do whatever cleaning/washing routines you ask of them in class).

I'd love for Lord Adonis to explain to us why, when we've been setting and marking work for classes all along, we should give up our holidays to catch up kids who haven't bothered to do what we've sent.

I'd love for Lord Adonis to explain to us why, when we've been setting and marking work for classes all along, we should give up our holidays to catch up kids who haven't bothered to do what we've sent.

Definitely.

Why does he get a platform to write blueprints about what teachers should or shouldn’t do during their own holidays?

It’s not his job!

Remember
This is the idiot that said all school should do live lessons (complained to his best mate about it)

Then two to three weeks later was complaining that zoom didn't work in the house of lords.

He is a monumental prick.

I shall continue to ignore him, then.
I've just read that Germany's R rate has doubled to 1.79. Is that true, because if so, that is very worrying!

They just said 2.89 on the news. Very localised.

Oh come on, you expect it in the Daily Mail but the TES?!

This article suggests that support for teachers is high but that “ Overzealous protection of the six-week summer holidays when everyone else is struggling or, worse still, as redundancies ramp up, would see public opinion turn quickly.”

www.tes.com/magazine/article/we-mustnt-waste-opportunity-covid-19-has-given-us