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 am noting that the only time Johnson specifically mentions schools is at PMQ , and only ever to divert from the question Starmer actually asked. Twat.

He has been called out by the Children's commissioner for lying about child poverty. He also said the main cause of child poverty is children missing school, also not true.

Twatty McTwatface.

@AppleKatie Planboard is completely free, it’s definitely been a game changer for me because I like planning ahead but hate it when I have to cross things out in my planner...

Wow... a senedd member who turned up to the chambers in person to take part in the online meeting from there made the news.
He turned up saying it was wrong to tell children and teachers to go back to work when the parliament in wales were still not going to chambers.
They threw him out of the online meeting then threw him out of the empty chambers too.

Thanks @ilikepi I will investigate.

Essentially I want the perfect system but am too tight to pay for it!

Wow DrMadeleine fancy throwing someone out for saying something you disagree with. If I did that my classroom would never contain more than 15 kids at any one time. Which would be perfect for social distancing, but terrible for educating them.

I've had a frustrating day today. I was in school for 2 lessons, first and last. My first lesson was only supposed to have 2 kids in, and both of them rang in sick because they have headaches!!! I hope these are "I don't like school while it's weird, why do I have to go in" headaches rather than "first symptoms of covid" headaches. 🤞

Working blooming hard in this heat today.

This was interesting on teacher Tapp re intervention and emergency aid catch up. Hint; it's not what you think it should be!

nicolebarbaro.com/2020/06/18/is-online-education-hackable-spoiler-no/

So, partner has to stay in hospital another night, so I took the opportunity to go to school and actually converse properly with people I work with!

It's mad - our reception class has 2 children in it. Our year one bubbles have 4 and 3 children in them. Our year 6 is slightly better, but not much (6 and 8). Key worker children (none are KW, all V) - 6 in the year 2 and 3 bubble, 7 in the year 4/5/6 bubble. Parents said they would be sending their children back - we had planned for 15 children in each bubble. No one seems interested.

Is that just a bit mental? Why aren't they sending their children back? Teachers bored to tears. Two adults in each bubble too. Totally mental.

We're the only year groups where people are engaging with online learning - no one seems bothered by that either!

The gaps at my school are going to be oceans wide!!

Still, I feel much better about stuff in general for having gone back in - 3 weeks at home has been horrible - really disconnecting. Have done all my orders for the new year, been through resources, stripped the room. Got a pep talk from the other ass head who has stopped me spinning out about the reality of September. Talked to the English lead and got her to reduce her expectations of what we're going to be able to achieve in the first few weeks of term.

All round phew.

Oh and the key worker children are bored witless with watching lessons online. Just pissed off with the whole thing.

Are you in a particularly disadvantaged school, goats?

Those numbers are mad, especially when you consider all the ‘parents are desperate to send their kids back’ threads.

ohthegoats - im glad visiting has helped.

Yerp noblegiraffe. Also very high EAL/transient families - parents very invested in their home countries, so get a lot of their info via non-British news channels.

Ohthegoats, I've missed your partner is in hospital and I hope they get well soon. Sorry to hear that.

Not being in is disconnecting. Well done for sorting things. I feel anxious about not being set up for sept but I'm just going to have to wing it.

Following the rules or not was hard. My sons school didn't and took more KW as so many are here from all year groups, plus any extra pupils who were struggling for what ever reason. Also most of y4 as it's a first school. Not reception. As a result there's a lot of worry about the ones in school doing better than the ones not in school. I think we worked out it's about 50% of the school. I know a lot didn't get places. We didn't.

I'm trying to reassure Dh that ds will be ok and is the same as the majority of y2 everywhere. Most of the extra kids are only in 2 days as afar as I can tell.

In your school though you may have had more in from other years with that approach.

My own school are sen and apparently we've managed to get around 70% back in on split weeks for this term. I'm still wfh.

I think at the time, my head was worried about offering time to other year groups in case there were too many to offer them all a place. There were only 2 teachers left, and a possible 180 children.

I don't know. Head seemed very laid back today, in a positive way, not in an 'ignoring guidance' way.

It was an impossible jigsaw.

If there's one thing that applies to this across all sectors; it's that hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Gosh, my kids' primary was heaving today! Two bubbles per year group almost full ( morning and afternoon sessions with cleaners in at lunchtime) keyworker bubble looked full as well.
Year 10 in my own school - I reckon we have had 85-95 % most days. And it's definitely not an affluent area!

And for today’s clusterfuck: the DfE seem to have published something this afternoon that says primary children don’t and haven’t needed to be kept apart in the classroom. Which contradicts the guidelines that they still have online as current.

At this point it’s difficult to tell whether it’s incompetence or they’re deliberately lining schools up to take the fall for not enough children being back in school.

I saw that. Ridiculous. The old guidance is still there though.

The latter rafals

It’s a patten they make a rule and then a few weeks later say they never made that rule in the first place. They are attempting to cover all bases to prop up their political credibility.

Or they are stupid.

Could be either tbh, same result.

The heat had clearly got to me- spelling and grammar optional this evening.

I would have thought so piggy but it’s the DfE so I’m not completely ruling out the idea they have no idea what their own guidance says.

My school is quite affluent and 2-form entry. The KS2 classrooms are quite roomy, but I only really have (usable) space to fit 10 kids - possibly 11 at a push, unless anyone thinks I should be putting tables in the cloakroom and door area.
So, we have all classes back, ranging from 7-14 in numbers. They will be here for two weeks, and partially replaced by a different block of kids for the remaining 2 weeks (some overlap with KW kids staying the whole time).
Strict areas for separate playtime and PE etc.. Individual stationery packs and playtime equipment. for bubbles. Constant hand-washing and sanitising of tables etc..
Kids in school do the same Home Learning tasks as those at home, with free "play/golden time" for once they've finished.
It's actually been very nice. The kids have behaved beautifully.

Wtf Rafals!?

Our KW kids look bored shitless. Sat in front of a laptop all day basically until they've finished the set work, then art projects.

Yep Neuro. The first pic is today’s release. The other two are from other guidelines. The one about 2m was definitely still live this afternoon.