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.

Just saw a good tweet - out of total schooling, R - Y13, the missed days so far amount to 1.9% of their education.

A whole generation thrown to the wolves though, according to MN. Obv.

Seen on twitter complaints that the funding for Oak wasn’t put out to tender.

Fgs if it had been we wouldn’t have anything until well after a vaccine. The teachers aren’t being paid, they’re on secondment and it’s not turning a profit so why all the fuss about the funding?

It is going to be a mess.

Nothing else has either. Hence shit loads of ££ wasted on apps and things.

Anyone else seen Vic Goddard’s ongoing Y10 laptop issues? Finally got the laptops, way fewer than needed, they were all locked. Couldn’t get the passwords, finally got the passwords and the passwords don’t work.

I think in the grand scheme of things Oak is doing a pretty good job. Probably because it’s teachers organising it!

I have no axe to grind with Oak and I am sure it is just professional jealousy... it can't shake off that clique accusation. Plus, also , some teachers have provided stuff to each other completely free . But, yeah, so what?

That said, I hope they get some QC on their resources for English as they might be being paid for stuff that really isn't being used ( I guess that doesn't matter since they still use their time to create the resources).

None of our local schools have got their (hardly any)laptops yet!

I wish they'd add the whole curriculum on Oak. My two, food and textiles are not really featured as they're not essential subjects.. leading me to feel like I'll also be non-essential. Good job I'm teaching RE, computing and PSHE too from Sept or I'd be stuffed.

I do like the use of widget symbols on oak.

I did find the full literacy lesson a bit much for ds; I think it would work better in chunks, eg spelling separately. But I haven't looked at it for aaaages. And at the same time, it's a full lesson which so many have been clamouring for.

Basically though, they volunteered themselves and it was more than the government did tbh. Between Bitesized and oak you have a good range of options for primary.

The great catchup begins.

Two weeks in the summer - one for the new y7s and one for y10.

Plus twilight catchups for current y12.

All paid, but a flat rate, so being top of the pay scale it's lower than my normal hourly rate.

Voluntary at the moment.

I want to cry.

is that a MAT saying 'how high shall we jump' bea?

I teach 2 kids recovering from leukaemia, 3 diabetics, and 1 with a serious heart condition

Whilst the stats on type 1 diabetes are alarming in comparison with non-diabetics, it is still very much the case that age is a protective factor. The average age of the type 1 diabetics who have died has been in the low 70s. There is an alarming 'no one under aged 20 has died with type 1' message (well, I find it worrying anyway) but type1 on it's own has not warranted shielding. I will be sending my type 1 into school unless something shifts in the data - although should say, as he's year 6, the school risk assessment apparently said no. I have concerns but the odds on there being a problem are miniscule.

Leukaemia and heart issues are a different matter, I'm sure.

The Independent running a report on at least 9 schools fully or partially closed this week because of cases.

I dodn't want to alarm you lost and I agree that the diabetes in young pople doesn't seem to casue issues but I do thinkt he discussion juts being around deaths as a stat on wider MN aren't very helpful.

I am concerned that young people might still catch the virus and find it hard to recover : the lungs in particular seem badly affected. But again, so far, even this kind of serious illness seems rare.

I very much do doubt that anyone with a child undergoing cancer treatment will send them in. Certain heart conditions make people vulnerable to infections : but these are usually bacterial, so CV shouldn't be too much of a threat (0r so I keep telling myself. DH had a heart infection about 12 years ago . I don't want to live through that experience again)

Between Bitesized and oak you have a good range of options for primary.

Agree.

We're looking at teaching chunks of the knowledge for foundation subjects through reading and writing. Which is back to old skool. But I like it.

I am reading the don't bash GPs thread with interest. Generally gentle but some veeeery familiar posters then appeared. Makes you wonder who they do rate.

Why do year 7s need a 'catch up'? They'll have pretty much covered the curriculum by March anyway, and have had a term in school making sure they've mopped everything up. Not to say there aren't massive dips anyway, but you know.

Makes you wonder who they do rate.

Themselves.

Maybe the Y7 would be for baseline assessments given no SATs results?

@Piggywaspushed

I dodn't want to alarm you lost and I agree that the diabetes in young pople doesn't seem to casue issues but I do thinkt he discussion juts being around deaths as a stat on wider MN aren't very helpful.

I am concerned that young people might still catch the virus and find it hard to recover : the lungs in particular seem badly affected. But again, so far, even this kind of serious illness seems rare.

I very much do doubt that anyone with a child undergoing cancer treatment will send them in. Certain heart conditions make people vulnerable to infections : but these are usually bacterial, so CV shouldn't be too much of a threat (0r so I keep telling myself. DH had a heart infection about 12 years ago . I don't want to live through that experience again)

I very much agree with this- just "surviving" doesn't necessarily mean recovery to full fitness, and I'm aware of some cases where young(ish) people have developed CFS following having coronavirus.

I teach two type 1 diabetics in Y10, and neither has returned to school (their choice, the school was open to them returning).

We're looking at teaching chunks of the knowledge for foundation subjects through reading and writing. Which is back to old skool. But I like it.

I think they're doing that at my ds's school by the looks of it. It makes sense.

But yes, all the hard work on the curriculum recently. I suppose it's there for a more normal future. I bet we look at it then and decide it's way too packed.

I do thinkt he discussion juts being around deaths as a stat on wider MN aren't very helpful.

I agree. I've know of a couple asthmatics who have caught it (conformed) and it's worsened their asthma considerably, and now on different, pretty hardcore expensive inhalers. Thats my fear. I know if someone else with asthma who was fine but it's not been confirmed that she had it. The stores of cfs concern me. No young person wants that.

Bea sorry, is that your school, academy or a wider thing, the summer catch up?

Better bloody stay voluntary.,

I note there's a big outbreak in Germany prompting a local lockdown.

Wonder when the numbers thread will discuss that...